Episode
58

2022 Natural Gas Demands and Trends – with Stephen Schork

October 19, 2022
|
Duration:
1866118
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In This Episode:

Join energy coaches David Arkell and John Pooley with guest Principal & Cofounder of The Schork Group Stephen Schork on an episode about what's currently happening in the natural gas market. This episode features natural gas prices, transportation costs, electrifications impact on gas storage levels, renewables. and more. Take a look at The Schork Report here: http://www.schorkreport.com. Check out our 360 Carbon Excellence Program.

Highlights

  • Market Design and Policy Gaps: Effective market design requires clear policy objectives that balance demand, supply, and environmental goals. Without these, Alberta’s market struggled to evolve as conditions changed.
  • Importance of Price Signals for Clean Energy: Effective price signals can drive renewable energy adoption. Alberta’s reliance on coal-centric pricing has delayed a shift to sustainable energy sources, highlighting the need for market reforms that reward low-carbon energy.
  • Need for Forward Contracts and Risk Balancing: Fulton suggests that introducing forward contracts, where suppliers commit to future energy prices, would help reduce reliance on real-time pricing and encourage investment in reliable, cleaner power sources.
  • Risk Management as a Market Driver: Unlike other commodity markets that balance risk between buyers and sellers, Alberta’s market design does not effectively manage risk, which hampers investments in new energy infrastructure.
  • Encouraging Local Generation: Alberta’s focus on large-scale generation located far from consumption areas should shift to more distributed generation closer to demand centers, improving reliability and reducing transmission costs.
  • Key Insights

  • Volatility in Natural Gas Markets: Schork explains that events like the Freeport LNG outage create price volatility in the U.S., with the potential for significant price swings depending on geopolitical and market conditions.
  • Geopolitical Risks and LNG Export Concerns: Events in Europe, particularly Russia’s supply issues, have made the U.S. a critical natural gas supplier. Delays in LNG facilities like Freeport impact supply chains and influence North American prices.
  • California's Energy Policy Impact: Policies in California to phase out natural gas connections and increase EV adoption could strain the power grid due to increased electricity demand, raising concerns about infrastructure readiness.
  • Challenges with Renewable Investments: Schork highlights the slow financial returns on renewable energy investments, contrasting them with profitable fossil fuel investments, impacting institutional investment choices.
  • Future Energy Market Scenarios: Predicting a volatile energy market, Schork anticipates continued fluctuation in natural gas and oil prices, particularly with looming inflation and potential economic downturns.
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