GE Purchase of Dresser Underscores Rising Role of Natural Gas

GE, with its $3 billion acquisition of Dresser Inc.yesterday, will take ownership of Waukesha, which manufactures natural-gas fired engines. Today those engines are used for generating electricity and other industrial applications. But with GE as large as it is, you have to wonder if they aren’t also thinking of pushing a version of those natural gas engines into new applications such as trucks and cars. Gas is far cheaper than gasoline per btu. And gas prices continue to plunge while oil prices climb. Natural gas is also far more widely in the U.S. Natural gas engines also tend to be far cleaner and more efficient. Paccar has gas-fueled engines on some of its trucks.

The Northwest has a particularly plentiful supply of natural gas as a result of major discoveries in British Columbia as we reported in our cover story in May. Although there have been environmental concerns in areas like Pennsylvania where some locals believe that natural gas drilling is contaminating the water supply, this issue is less relevant in British Columbia because the gas reserves are in sparsely populated areas.