03/29/06 A call for action on natural gas supplies

Farm and Ranch March 29, 2006 Some of the nation's largest industrial natural gas consumers and independent natural gas producers yesterday called on Congress and the Administration to take immediate action to address the dwindling U.S. natural gas supply. Among them was Stephen Wilson, Chairman and CEO of CF Industries, a major producer and distributor of nitrogen fertilizer for which natural gas is the main ingredient. Wilson said that since the year 2000 the U.S. fertilizer industry has watched natural gas prices rise from $2.50 per million BTUs to a high of $15 this past December. Wilson: "Without question American farmers have felt this blow. Since 2002 the price of ammonia has almost doubled to almost $400 per ton." James T. Hackett, Chairman, President and CEO of Anadarko Petroleum, said there is no shortage of natural gas resources in the United States just government policy that prevents development of those supplies. Hackett: "We call on Congress to speed up the processing and clear the backlog on onshore permitting on federal non-park, non-monument lands. A simple solution that can have dramatic results. We need Congress to open the remaining sale 181 Area in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and push to lift the moratoria on the East, West and Alaskan coasts as soon as possible." I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.