On April 3, 2013, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources announced it will hold three forums on natural gas issues. According to the committee, the forums are designed to build on a February 2013 hearing and are scheduled to explore opportunities and challenges within the natural gas industry. Specifically, the topics and dates for the forums are:
- May 16, 2013: “Infrastructure, Transportation, Research and Innovation.” What are the next applications for natural gas and how this new demand will be met? Pipeline infrastructure and increased use of natural gas in the transportation sector will be specific points of interest.
- May 21, 2013: “Domestic Supply and Exports.” This forum will examine estimates of domestic supply and the potential benefits or unintended consequences caused by expansion of natural gas exports.
- May 23, 2013: “Shale Development: Best Practices and Environmental Concerns.” The final forum will focus on the extraction of gas from shale. Particular topics of interest will be current best practices within the industry and environmental concerns to be addressed.
The forums, scheduled for May 16, 21 and 23, are full-committee hearings that are open to the public and will implement a roundtable discussion format. The Committee has not released a witness list. A copy of the Committee’s press release is available here.