BHP Billiton CEO Says Shale Gas Will be Slow to Replace Coal

Mining Weekly reported that Andrew Mackenzie, CEO of BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP,ASX:BHP,LSE:BLT), believes that although the US shale gas industry is growing quickly, coal will continue to be the most dominant source of fuel worldwide for the coming years.

As quoted in the market news:

In a speech delivered at the CERAWeek conference, in Houston, Andrew Mackenzie pointed out that cost and security of supply meant that most jurisdictions would favour the use of local resources to meet their energy requirements. Asian economies had easier access to large coal reserves, than they had to cheap gas and the cost of generating electricity from gas in Asia was more than double the cost of coal.

‘The shale gas revolution is unlikely to go global quickly. Despite what many claim, we are unlikely to see gas replace coal globally at the scale and pace [it has] here in the US,’ Mackenzie said.

Click here to read the full Mining Weekly report.