Natural Gas In The 1970's

Natural gas is not a renewable resource, since there is a fixed amount of it trapped in the Earth. However, many people think that there is a small amount of natural gas and that we may use it all up. This is not true. There was said to be a gas shortage in the 1970’s so prices of oil skyrocketed from three dollars a barrel to twelve dollars a barrel. In reality, this was an excuse prompted by the government's lack of faith in the industry's ability to discover and develop new reserves, and not by lack of gas supply. The disastrous impression left by the “shortages of gas” in the 1970's is that there is little gas left to be discovered and will soon run out . However, in reality, the gas resource base is massive, and probably even larger than

currently estimated. People are often confused by the difference between "proved reserves", the ones that could be cheaply produced with the current technology, and the total natural gas resource base.
I am performing a study on the cause and effects of today's rising gas prices.

There are two theories as to the cause to the soaring gas prices. The newspaper articles and the press seem to be connecting the problems to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cutting its crude oil production by roughly 8 percent last spring. This statement is true but there is good reason behind OPEC's decision to decrease production. This reason ties into the second opinion as to the cause of rising gas prices. The thinking is the slowing in production that is directly connected to the changing industry and technological

standards.
There's a new kind of technology becoming slowly popular and it’s name is electric cars. Electric cars eliminate the need for Petroleum; which, in effect, reduces the demand for crude oil. However, as all things electric, the cars need to be recharged frequently. Cruising range for most electric cars is only on average one-hundred to one-hundred and twenty-five miles before it needs a long, twenty hour charge. Charging stations are not found very easily right now, as the concept of electric cars is new. For this reason, hybrid cars are more in favor over the electric car. Hybrid cars run on petroleum and electricity; this dramatically increases the cruising range upwards of seven-hundred miles on a charge and tank of gasoline or diesel.
Now, as most people have figured out, gasoline is quite a bit cheaper than diesel; this had not always been the case. Originally, diesel was cheaper than gasoline because it was easier and cheaper to refine from crude oil. Today, roughly 98% of vehicles on the road all run on gasoline while the remaining two percent run on diesel. Consequently, refineries are built for optimum efficiency in manufacturing gasoline. In a standard 42 gallon barrel of oil, twenty-one gallons is gasoline and about twelve gallons is diesel; with the rest being other products. So, the reason for high diesel prices is not enough gasoline being sold!
Even though, diesel engines can travel farther on a tank than gasoline can because unlike gasoline, diesel has a substance to it and is not automatically turned into heat once the brakes are applied. More miles equals less fill-ups and less fill ups mean less money spent!
Another issue concerning fuel prices is electronic commerce (e-commerce or e-business). One of the basic principles of e-commerce is the “just-in-time” practice as part of the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) program, (developed by the grocery industry). With headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Proctor and Gamble, or commonly known as P&G, developed a “continuous replenishment program” that gained mass attention. CRP eliminates the unnecessary costs, such as warehousing and handling, by keeping the products moving through the supply pipeline instead of storing them in warehouses or distribution centers. The shipments are tracked by a time-efficient, paperless flow of information known as the transaction processing system and are delivered on a “just-in-time” basis.
Recently, gas and diesel prices have plummeted!

Reason being, close to home, in South Dakota there are massive oil fields and finally the United States is making use of them! In result, we are not buying from foreign parties and paying crazy high taxes to have it brought here and refined for our use. Over the course of the last few months, gasoline has dropped about a dollar and thirty cents; diesel too, has dropped substantially in result from people buying more gasoline.

Another positive from the oil fields are an increase in steady income employment; about $75,000 to $80,000 a year with training available on site. However, these jobs are very competitive and is hard to get employed now. The devastating truth is that one day we will indeed run out of oil and we will have no choice but to search for a new resource to run our vehicles and tools on. Tests and trial runs on hydrogen fuel cells are in question for a reliable method to replacing

petroleum.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell cars makes water by combining two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule- this makes electricity. It works like a regular battery by storing chemicals inside the cell and converts them into an electric charge. The cells produce 90% less pollution than a regular car and is more efficient than gasoline. However, Hydrogen is hard to store, transport and deliver because it catches fire easily and the technology is still very expensive! Hopefully by the time the oil runs out, there will have been portals invented and we can all teleport to where we need to go. As for now, we are in the mercy of our government.