Natural Gas Exploration Focus of Joint Legislative Committee

Members of a joint legislative and private sector committee held a foundational meeting today to begin the process of understanding how the use of natural gas can positively impact the future of South Carolina and the growing need for additional energy sources.

“We want to understand what the exploration and potential development of natural gas resources can mean to South Carolina, both the pros and the cons,” says Senator Paul Campbell, co-chair of the study committee. “This is an education process. We need to know how offshore drilling will increase revenue, if any, and how that same activity may or may not impact tourism. At the end of the process we want the General Assembly and all South Carolinians to know what natural gas can do for the state.”

Renee Orr, with the U.S. Mineral Management Service reported that the possibility exists for at least 14 million barrels of oil and 3.86 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to be found off the coast of South Carolina.

Currently, 25 percent of homes in South Carolina use natural gas as the primary heating source. Although prices for natural gas continue to rise, the supply of natural gas is also on the rise. South Carolina pays approximately 35 percent more for natural gas than the rest of the country, due to a lack of infrastructure and current availability of the resource. Since the first quarter of 2007, the supply of natural gas in the U.S. has increased at least 9 percent. Over the next 20 years demand for natural gas in the U.S. is expected to grow approximately 10 percent, while global demand for natural gas is expected to rise 60 percent during the same time period.

Senator Frank Wagner, Virginia State Senator and sponsor of the Virginia Energy Plan, is expected to share the details of Virginia’s effort to manage their energy needs during the committee’s next
meeting which is scheduled for Tuesday, October 28. The committee is working to deliver a preliminary report to the General Assembly by early November.