Natural gas is the fastest-growing U.S. energy source. Even with substantial gains in conservation and efficiency, demand will likely be about 30 percent higher by 2030 than it is today.
Meeting demand
As demand outstrips maturing North American supplies, the U.S. will need more sources of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. A 2007 U.S. Department of Energy study projects that by 2030, imports of LNG will increase to more than 16 percent of supply, versus about 3 percent today.
With respect to today's demand, the BlueOcean Energy project will be able to meet about 40 percent of New Jersey's and downstate New York's current annual average natural gas needs.
Aid to reliability
New Jersey produces no natural gas and New York produces very little. Most of the natural gas that fuels the region flows through long-distance, underground pipelines from producing fields in the Gulf of Mexico and Canada. Backup options are limited should any incident curtail an existing pipeline's capacity or cause demand to spike above capacity.
Access to global natural gas reduces the potential effects of a supply disruption by diversifying supply sources. BlueOcean Energy will provide the region with large supplies of natural gas, complementing existing pipelines when supply security and reliability are paramount.
