Los Angeles, California, August 14, 2012 – “On a net basis, the US will be energy independent in natural gas no later than 2018.” So says Dr. Robert Brooks, Founder of RBAC, Inc., and developer of the GPCM^® Natural Gas Market Forecasting System. “Earlier this year, we were predicting that the US would become a net exporter of gas by 2020, but more recent data has led us to move this estimate forward by another two years.”

To the surprise of analysts and producers alike, much lower levels of drilling for natural gas have not yet begun to decrease production. EIA forecasts lower but still positive growth this year and next, even with prices in the sub-$3 range. RBAC agrees. “Drilling has been focusing on higher-priced liquids for quite a while now, but this still results in a lot of by-product gas which has to find a home. A 25-30% year-on-year increase in gas-fired generation has helped absorb a lot of excess production, but in the long run, newer markets must be found or created.“

RBAC Inc. is a leader in the development of energy market models, most notably the GPCM Natural Gas Forecasting System. Dr. Brooks has over 30 years of experience in modeling energy markets, specializing in natural gas and LNG.

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