One of the biggest investment arenas in the realm of natural gas investments right now centers around shale gas. Shale gas is the term used for a lot of natural gas that was basically once considered unrecoverable. The gas tends to be deeper in the earth and is found in the shale rock formations. It tends to be more difficult to extract. Natural gas investments in this category tend to be difficult to extract as well. Natural Gas Investments Based On Usages The interesting thing is that the application for natural gas may have changed, but the intention to harvest and use it on a mass scale has not. The United States may eventually, and probably will, move to natural gas to run vehicles on a mass scale, as is the case in some other countries where the technology is being rolled out. However, at present, it seems a big push is to use natural gas for power generation and for exports. Regardless of the form, natural gas investments offer a great opportunity due both to the cleaner nature of gas, and the many uses for it. As for power generation, companies like Calpine make huge turbines that devour natural gas and spit out electricity. This is viewed as a cleaner alternative to coal. Of course, any fossil fuel will compete with more alternative energy methods such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro, which are seen as green and clean. Nevertheless, the massive abundance of natural gas in the United States lends itself to such application. Countries such as China and India do not necessarily have the luxury of such huge gas reservoirs to permit such. Accordingly, they lean more heavily on nuclear power. Natural Gas Investments And Foreign LNG Consumption On the other end of the spectrum from self-consumption in power generation, we find a move to extract, liquefy, and export natural gas. Europe is a designated customer for this LNG. Consistent with the above mention of China’s shortfall, China is also a likely mass consumer. Natural gas investments that pivot on this commerce will do well. The right companies can be some of the best stocks to buy now. While China may be ramping up nuclear power plants, even after Japan, they are keenly interested in self-sufficiency on the natural gas front. And self-sufficiency is not defined as being a primary export target of America’s liquefied natural gas. The magic stems from the new technologies that will allow countries around the world to extract natural gas, as well as oil, from places the best minds in the business figured harbored irretrievable hydrocarbon goodies. The technologies will not only allow pioneering companies to get at gas previously thought stranded, but also can turn economically unfeasible deposits into something worth pursuing. Natural Gas Investments And The New Technologies The nice thing is that there is not just one or two ways to skin this cat. There are a multitude of different technologies, and the resourcefulness and experience of the teams applying the approaches will inevitably lead to efficient mass scale use of these methods. Some of these methods include 3D seismic mapping, carbon dioxide investing, fracturing via hydraulics, and even horizontal drilling. I find the horizontal drilling particularly interesting; as it allows neighbors to mildly encroach on one another! Should prove entertaining to watch that play out. There are any number of natural gas investments out there now in this arena, but you can be all but certain only a relative few will be stellar plays over the long term.