Natural gas clean and green

Claudia Cattaneo,
National Post
April 27, 2009

The emergence of immense new supplies of clean-burning natural gas from shale deposits in North America is shaking up the energy industry.

It may also end up turning the green energy debate on its head.

Among those making the case that it must impact the debate, particularly before climate change legislation is implemented, is Randy Eresman, CEO of Calgary-based EnCana Corp., one of North America's top natural gas producers from shale.

Mr. Eresman was one of several industry leaders who met last week with the U. S. energy secretary, Steven Chu, a champion of renewable energy. They explained that shale gas, while still a fossil fuel, is an extraordinary new source of clean energy in a carbon conscious world.

The change is so new and so sweeping few have caught on, he said in an interview.

"People are very quickly coming to the same conclusion that we have come
to: That natural gas is going to be abundant for a very, very, very long time, and it should be now part of the overall debate for both energy security purposes and for the benefits you get because of the lower environmental footprint," he said.