The paper seeks to outline the probable pattern of development over the decade and first looks at progress made so far, projects approaching maturity and published plans.
In section 2 attention is given to the international energy market and to its need for natural gas; to possible sources and future capital needs.
Section 3 pinpoints Canadas position and potential participation in these developments.
Papers on this subject delivered in Chicago, Paris, London and elsewhere have paid homage to the inventive spirit of the pioneers in the field, starting with Faraday and ending with yesterday's development of new technologies. This section contents itself with pointing to the 1ng schemes in existence at the time of writing or due to come on stream within the next 12 months. They are few and relatively small. Initial thinking was directed towards providing a high cost source of energy in small quantities for limited markets that could afford to pay premium prices. These are the schemes in existence.
Subsequent thought hoped to provide base load gas in large quantities at a price competitive with C grade fuel oil for under boiler burning. These schemes are not in existence.
Lastly – or most lately – the schemes to provide energy for base load demand in competition with premium fuels in areas where clean air and clean fuel concepts were paramount and where the public was prepared to pay the piper. These are the schemes in preparation to supply the East and West coasts of North America, the energy short islands of Japan and probably selected zones of high industrial concentration in North Wes t Europe and in South America.
The last two to three years have been characterised by increasing discussion of the adequacy of energy reserves in the medium term as well as in the long term and these discussions have led particularly in the US and Japan to an investigation of supplementary supply. It is within this framework that the new baseload proposals have been elaborated. Gas sources have been investigated to allow the transport of distant gas to the N. American and Japanese markets and among the sources evaluated have been;-
MEDIterranean area Egypt, Libya and Algeria
Europe North Sea and USSR
W. Africa Nigeria
S. America Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile
Australasia Australia, Timor, N. Zealand
Indonesia Java Sea, Sarawak, Brunei and of course nearer home Trinidad, Alaska and the Arctic. Of the projects thus evaluated the frontrunners are the major schemes launched by E1 Paso (1500 mmcfd at the time of writing) based on the Hassi-Er-R' Mel gas field in Algeria and the Shell schemes to move additional quantities of Brunei or Sarawak gas to Japan. These are front runners in that the first has assured quantities of unassociated gas in a developed field and the second has well advanced plant construction already under way.