Natural Gas
According to energy economist Philip Verleger, “The U.S. is going to be the low-cost industrialized country for energy” (October 2012). Since 2008, U.S. oil production has increased by 20%. Natural gas prices peaked at $12 per million BTUs during the middle of 2008 and was $3.50 by the middle of October 2012. The U.S. government estimates that natural gas prices will stay below $5 for another decade. Natural gas now represents 31% of the total U.S. electric power generation (vs. 37% for coal).
German, French, and Japanese companies pay three times as much for natural gas as U.S. corporations. Domestic manufacturers are now seeing gas bills that are 60–70% lower than what they were paying in 2008. Major users of natural gas are fertilizer, aluminum, chemical, metal (up to 20% of their overall costs), and glass manufacturers.