Natural Gas Update: Challenges Persist

Almost $1.5 trillion (1998 dollars) will be needed to fund the industry through 2015. This includes operating costs

Almost $800 billion of the above number will be for Capital Expenditures with over $650 billion in the E&P sector and over $120 billion for T&D. This equates to a 35% increase in annual Capital expenditures from $34 billion over the last decade [1990 to 1998] to $46 billion over the next 15 years.

Many of these expenditures will involve higher risk and longer lead time projects, such as large deepwater projects or pipelines to new frontiers, any one of which could easily exceed a half a billion dollars.