The Oil Drum

This past week Exxon Mobil announced the closure of their operating coal mine in Illinois, and their departure from the coal business. For those who worry most about greenhouse gas emissions this might seem to be a step forward, and, while I will likely write about that issue some other time, I would rather express a different concern today. Electric power is a fundamental part of our everyday life. Outside of the impact of the occasional storm, we expect that when we flip a light switch, the light will go on. Yet few give much thought to the power station that is generating that power. In recent years the new power stations that have been built have largely got their power from natural gas. But if the world oil is within that zone that we will, in future years, refer to as the peak plateau, the state of US Natural Gas is in a much more perilous position.