Comment by Email Sent 11 30 05

Comment by Sent by Email Sent 1/05/06 Betty Anthony 1220 L Street, Northwest January 5, 2006 Group Director - Upstream, Washington, DC 20005-4070 Marine, Pipeline and Tel: 202-682-8116 Membership Fax: 202-682-8426 U.S. Department of Energy E-mail: anthonyb@api.org Office of Fossil Energy (FE-30) 1000 Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC 20585 Attention: Nancy Johnson and Trudy Transtrum The American Petroleum Institute (API) is pleased to offer comments in response to your request for input on natural gas supply and demand as you develop DOE’s response to Section 1818 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. We also very much appreciate the opportunity we had to participate in the December 19-20 natural gas meeting. That meeting underscored the urgency of addressing the causes of today’s tight natural gas market and the need to take action to develop much-needed supplies for the future. This is not a new issue. As the 2003 National Petroleum Council (NPC) natural gas report indicated, “Current higher gas prices are the result of a fundamental shift in the supply and demand balance.” And, in October 2004, the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) evaluated the pressures on natural gas prices and concluded that “…a combination of policies and circumstances that simultaneously encourages demand while constraining supply is a recipe for problems.” [Emphasis added] The JEC also succinctly outlined the challenges ...