Oil Majors Moving Into Natural Gas

ExxonMobil has released it's annual energy forecast and predicts that natural gas will overtake coal as the second-most consumed fuel in the world by the year 2030. Due to (1) future oil shortages and (2) the environmentally unfriendly nature of coal, many of the largest, most successful, oil majors appear to agree with ExxonMobil and are positioning themselves to profit from the expected increased demand for natural gas.

Everywhere But New York

As the demand for 'fracking' continues to grow, oilfield services companies like Baker Hughes, Haliburton, and Schlumberger are struggling to keep up with the demand. Baker Hughes reportedly earned $335 million in the 4th quarter of 2010, a sharp rise compared to the $85 million they earned for the same period in 2009. This heightened demand for fracking is not just in the U.S. either. It's spreading internationally as more and more countries all over the world hope that their own shale formations will offer them the promise of a home-grown energy supply.

West Virginia's Marcellus Boom

Pennsylvania's not the only state that's benefitting from the Marcellus Shale. According to a study by West Virginia University's 'Bureau of Business and Economic Research', drilling operations helped pump $2.3 billion into West Viginia's economy in 2009. The report generated by the group also states that Marcellus activity helped generate 7,600 jobs, $298 million in worker pay benefits, and $14.5 million in tax revenues.

Hello? ...... Mr. Cuomo? .......