The United States is entering an age of plenty for natural gas, according to a survey of more than 50 oil and gas professionals conducted by the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions.

“The survey numbers are striking,” said Gary Adams, vice chairman and leader of Deloitte’s oil and gas practice. “The overwhelming majority of survey respondents, 84 percent, say the best days for the natural gas industry are still ahead of us, despite today’s low prices.”

The surveyed executives also expressed a strong concern about U.S. dependence on foreign oil with three out of four confident that the U.S. can achieve energy independence. Natural gas, along with cellulosic ethanol, solar, and wind energy, will play a vital role in this scenario.

Here are some other key elements of the report:

• While oil is expected to remain the single most widely used energy source in the United States for some time, its usage is expected to decline over time. The number of respondents that expect oil to remain the most widely used overall energy source in the United States drops 16 points over the next five years – sinking to 41 percent who believe oil will dominate in 2015 from 57 percent who currently think oil is the most widely used overall energy source.

• In contrast, expectations that natural gas will be the most widely used fuel source by 2015 double over the next five years, rising to almost one quarter (24 percent) who believe it will dominate in 2015 from one in 10 respondents who see natural gas as the currently dominant fuel source. Current industry thinking would indicate that much of the rising demand for natural gas will be for power generation.

• Additionally, almost one in 10 respondents expects unconventional natural gas to be the main source of energy in five years – as well as an additional 4 percent who think it will be liquid natural gas (LNG) — further elevating the status of natural gas in respondents’ views as a critical energy source.

• When it comes to fossil fuel production, 85 percent of respondents believe the domestic production of natural gas will increase in the next five years, compared to only 45 percent who think American oil production will increase during the same time period.

• A higher percentage of survey respondents believe oil prices will increase versus respondents that think natural gas prices will increase. More than half (51 percent) believe the price of oil will greatly increase over the next five years. In contrast, only 32 percent of respondents foresee the price of natural gas greatly increasing in the same time period, probably due to the abundant supply of natural gas versus increasingly constrained oil supplies.

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