Cracking the Code: Energy reality and opportunity
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This week Shale Crescent USA President Nathan Lord and I did the opening keynote presentation at the Marcellus Power Conference in Pittsburgh. Our goal was to create an awareness of the Shale Crescent USA region for power producers and manufacturers.
We told them about the permanent competitive advantages of locating in SCUSA. Like coal before it, when natural gas leaves the region, we only get energy jobs. Other states get the manufacturing and power jobs. When natural gas produces power here, we get energy jobs and power plant jobs.
Manufacturing needs dependable, economical electricity so we can attract high-wage manufacturing jobs. The power plant and manufacturing jobs created are far greater than energy jobs alone. Numerous indirect jobs are created for suppliers, banking, insurance, retail, restaurant, healthcare and services of all types like hairdressers. No one is coming if they don't know about the SCUSA and the benefits of expanding here.
Our presentation messages summarized:
* Shale Crescent USA has the most natural gas production in the U.S. Internationally, only the entire country of Russia produces more natural gas.
* Shale Crescent USA has the lowest priced natural gas in the industrialized world. Our gas sells for about $0.75 per MCF below Henry Hub on the Gulf Coast, which was $3.10 as of this writing.
* Power plants need fuel. Building on top of the energy in the Shale Crescent USA gives companies a permanent competitive advantage. Companies locating anywhere east of the Mississippi River will be using SCUSA power and natural gas. Companies locating in the SCUSA will get cheaper natural gas and electricity due to lower transportation cost. Fiber-optic cable is easier and cheaper to run for data centers compared to natural gas pipelines and electric transmission lines.
Since the Shale Revolution, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania have become energy exporting states. In the 1970s, our region produced less than 2% of U.S. natural gas. Almost all the natural gas we used came from the Gulf Coast in pipelines during the summer. Natural gas was put into underground storage fields in our region during the summer for withdrawal in winter. During cold winters, storage gas got low in March.
Lynnda and I lived in Ohio for five years. We recall winter curtailments of industry so residential customers could have gas. Lynnda, me, our three children and her mother moved to West Virginia in 1984. The house we found and could afford was all electric with a heat pump. Our subdivision was built in the early 1980s. The U.S. was in an energy crisis. Natural gas in short supply couldn't be used in new construction.
Our first winter in West Virginia was cold and snowy. When the red light on the heat pump was on, "emergency resistance" equaled expensive heat. Our January electric bill was the highest of my life. We lived through some Michigan winters before moving to Ohio. Lynnda opened the bill and scared me when she screamed. Electric resistance heat is inefficient and expensive. Growing up in Pittsburgh, we always had natural gas heat.
Today, we still can't get natural gas because of the expense to extend lines to our neighborhood. In winter, our power bill is three times higher than my son in Maryland's gas and electric bills combined. He has a similar house and a family of six.
I am sensitive to increasing electric rates. Some politicians are blaming data centers for political gain. The Chinese must love this. These politicians don't talk about the four years when coal power plants were shut down to reduce carbon and replaced with intermittent renewables that can't contribute to the grid when needed most, in weather extremes. Then they ADDED EVs. Increasing power demand and decreasing base load coal meant power rates had to rise. I can't trust those politicians.
The U.S. and our region are adding power plants. We are still way behind China in electricity production. In 2025, China produced 10,580 TWh (terrawatt-hours); followed by the USA at 4,520 TWh; EU, 2,809 TWh; India, 2,082 TWh; and Russia, 1,194 TWh. While much of the rest of the world was focused on carbon, China was building coal power plants. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin warned us about this while still in office. Coal generates 55% of China's electricity. (AND 18% of global emissions in 2024). Its hydro is 13%, solar 11%, wind 11%, nuclear 5%, natural gas 3% and others 2%. Much of China's electricity is for manufacturing. China is also investing in new power generation and grid capacity near major computing hubs.
We told our Pittsburgh audience, oil prices have skyrocketed, causing gasoline and diesel prices to increase. Natural gas has been stable. Our trash pickup company runs their trucks on natural gas. Their fuel cost is $2.79 per equivalent gallon of natural gas. Their price hasn't changed in over three years. Natural gas is the fuel of industry and today is fueling our power grid.
Today, natural gas from the Shale Crescent is shipped out of the region in four directions: north to Canada; west to the Midwest where states like Wisconsin and Indiana are building power plants; south for power plants, Gulf Coast industry and LNG for export; and east to Maryland, Virginia and other states. The governor of Massachusetts has asked the Trump administration to speed up federal reviews and permits for expansion of a natural gas pipeline for her state. The pipeline will supply about 600,000 customers, lowering annual gas bills and decreasing reliance on expensive imported LNG. SCUSA gas also goes to Cove Point, Maryland, where it is shipped to Japan and India, making their air cleaner and healthier.
Shale Crescent recently graphed U.S. energy consumption for all uses by source. We discovered there is an energy transition, but not what we expected. The U.S. energy transition is from petroleum to natural gas. Oil is currently 37% and natural gas is 36%. Coal, nuclear and renewables each are about 9% of the mix. Natural gas use is growing; our region has it in abundance. We can seize the opportunity to bring back jobs and prosperity.
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Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a master's in environmental engineering and more than 40 years of experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker and author of four books and many published articles.