Beetaloo or bust: the route to commercial success for an Australian shale play, page-279

Why Natural Gas Still Matters (and Will for Decades)

1. Fertilizer = Food = Gas

• >70% of global ammonia fertilizer is made using the Haber-Bosch process, which consumes vast quantities of natural gas.
• No gas → no fertilizer → massive yield drops → global famine.
• You can’t solar-panel your way to nitrogen fixation at scale—yet.

2. Firming Capacity for Renewables

• Wind and solar are intermittent.
• Batteries are improving, but the world still needs dispatchable, on-demand power—this is where gas peaker plants shine.
• Texas’ looming 100GW demand surge (AI, data centers) will lean heavily on fast-start gas.

3. Geopolitical Weapon and Lifeline

• Europe’s dependence on Russian gas exposed energy as a national security vulnerability.
• LNG is now a strategic export and diplomatic tool—Australia, Qatar, U.S., and (emerging) East Africa hold the cards.

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4. Cleaner Than Coal, Scalable Faster Than Nuclear

• Per kWh: ~50% less CO₂ than coal.
• Gas infrastructure (pipelines, LNG terminals, turbines) is fast to deploy relative to nuclear or hydro.
• It can buy us time—if used wisely.

Not exactly Top Secret but yet for many Gas is anathema, especially in Australia.