Released August 25, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--At various times in the not-too-distant past, natural gas was considered a "bridge fuel" as U.S. electric generators moved away from coal and awaited the arrival of cost-effective nuclear power. For renewable energy advocates during the Obama and Biden presidencies, advocates cast gas as the fuel necessary to back up intermittent generation from renewable sources like wind and solar. But now, a growing chorus of energy industry leaders, and political officials, have deemed it the "backbone" of the U.S. energy system, today and in the future.
Chad Zamarin, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Williams Companies Incorporated (Tulsa, Oklahoma), became the latest energy company leader to proclaim gas as the backbone of the U.S. energy system in an August 19 luncheon address before a friendly audience at an oil and gas conference in Denver.
Addressing the annual EnerCom Denver energy investor conference, Zamarin repeated a theme from the company's second-quarter earnings conference call, that natural gas is "the backbone of reliable, affordable and clean energy." To those characteristics, known to some as the "energy trifecta," he added two other exigencies: "the NEED for SPEED and energy dispatchability." (Caps in original.)
It may be a coincidence, but there is a draft bill sitting in the House of Representatives called the "SPEED Act," where the acronym stands for the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development. This proposal aims to streamline environmental permitting requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Various initiatives, including some launched by President Donald Trump, have similar aims.
In any case, Zamarin, who became CEO in July, made clear his view that broader use of natural gas was the best way to achieve the goals of the energy trifecta as well as the need for faster construction of energy infrastructure that can support dispatchable electricity. "The race to power the future is underway," he told the EnerCom audience, and natural gas is "the accelerator."
Over the 2000-2023 period, the U.S. share of global manufacturing output has fallen nearly in half, to about 16%, while China's has risen to just under 30%, Zamarin said.
He said China has also overtaken the U.S. in electricity production, where China's output, fueled mainly by hydrocarbons, has surged while the U.S. has stagnated during the 21st century.
"On electricity production, we've been asleep for 25 years," he continued. "We've been on the couch eating donuts while China has been in the gym, doing steroids and bulking up."
Turning to natural gas, the Williams CEO said the U.S. "has not been keeping pace with demand." U.S. gas demand has risen about 49% since 2013 but the infrastructure to deliver that gas has increased only 26%, he said.
Click on the image at right to see a graphic on U.S. gas demand growth and infrastructure construction since 2013.
"If we don't engineer a better solution, we'll be stuck watching China and India," he asserted August 19. A Williams gas pipeline project, Constitution, has been stuck in legal and regulatory purgatory for years; he did not mention that project.
Zamarin also did not discuss legislative fixes to expedite construction of new energy infrastructure. But the company, which transmits about 33% of all U.S. natural gas, sees a brighter future for itself as the U.S. increasingly relies on gas to generate electricity, export it in liquid form and use it as an input in various industrial processes.
Another topic he didn't address in detail was one of the drivers of projected increases in electric demand growth, data centers, but he said Williams is involved in several data center projects where power would be generated onsite, bypassing lengthy interconnection queues. He cited a projection from S&P Global Commodity Insights that U.S. electric demand was expected to surge 32% by 2040, driven by electric vehicles and data centers.
The Williams chief also said global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to double over the next decade, and that the U.S. will provide up to 35% of worldwide LNG by 2040. He cited Wood Mackenzie data for the LNG projection.
Finally, Zamarin said converting coal-fired generators in the U.S. to burn gas has had significant positive environmental effects domestically and globally.
Natural gas "is the best way to balance all three" elements of the energy trifecta in a way that is timely and that supports dispatchable electricity. "It's hard to imagine winning the (economic) race without leveraging natural gas."
Critics might say Zamarin, Trump and their like-minded colleagues were fear-mongering about China, data centers, energy infrastructure and U.S. manufacturing output. But as a tactic, fear-mongering often succeeds.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Chad Zamarin, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Williams Companies Incorporated (Tulsa, Oklahoma), became the latest energy company leader to proclaim gas as the backbone of the U.S. energy system in an August 19 luncheon address before a friendly audience at an oil and gas conference in Denver.
Addressing the annual EnerCom Denver energy investor conference, Zamarin repeated a theme from the company's second-quarter earnings conference call, that natural gas is "the backbone of reliable, affordable and clean energy." To those characteristics, known to some as the "energy trifecta," he added two other exigencies: "the NEED for SPEED and energy dispatchability." (Caps in original.)
It may be a coincidence, but there is a draft bill sitting in the House of Representatives called the "SPEED Act," where the acronym stands for the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development. This proposal aims to streamline environmental permitting requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Various initiatives, including some launched by President Donald Trump, have similar aims.
In any case, Zamarin, who became CEO in July, made clear his view that broader use of natural gas was the best way to achieve the goals of the energy trifecta as well as the need for faster construction of energy infrastructure that can support dispatchable electricity. "The race to power the future is underway," he told the EnerCom audience, and natural gas is "the accelerator."
Over the 2000-2023 period, the U.S. share of global manufacturing output has fallen nearly in half, to about 16%, while China's has risen to just under 30%, Zamarin said.
He said China has also overtaken the U.S. in electricity production, where China's output, fueled mainly by hydrocarbons, has surged while the U.S. has stagnated during the 21st century.
"On electricity production, we've been asleep for 25 years," he continued. "We've been on the couch eating donuts while China has been in the gym, doing steroids and bulking up."
Turning to natural gas, the Williams CEO said the U.S. "has not been keeping pace with demand." U.S. gas demand has risen about 49% since 2013 but the infrastructure to deliver that gas has increased only 26%, he said.
Click on the image at right to see a graphic on U.S. gas demand growth and infrastructure construction since 2013. "If we don't engineer a better solution, we'll be stuck watching China and India," he asserted August 19. A Williams gas pipeline project, Constitution, has been stuck in legal and regulatory purgatory for years; he did not mention that project.
Zamarin also did not discuss legislative fixes to expedite construction of new energy infrastructure. But the company, which transmits about 33% of all U.S. natural gas, sees a brighter future for itself as the U.S. increasingly relies on gas to generate electricity, export it in liquid form and use it as an input in various industrial processes.
Another topic he didn't address in detail was one of the drivers of projected increases in electric demand growth, data centers, but he said Williams is involved in several data center projects where power would be generated onsite, bypassing lengthy interconnection queues. He cited a projection from S&P Global Commodity Insights that U.S. electric demand was expected to surge 32% by 2040, driven by electric vehicles and data centers.
The Williams chief also said global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to double over the next decade, and that the U.S. will provide up to 35% of worldwide LNG by 2040. He cited Wood Mackenzie data for the LNG projection.
Finally, Zamarin said converting coal-fired generators in the U.S. to burn gas has had significant positive environmental effects domestically and globally.
Natural gas "is the best way to balance all three" elements of the energy trifecta in a way that is timely and that supports dispatchable electricity. "It's hard to imagine winning the (economic) race without leveraging natural gas."
Critics might say Zamarin, Trump and their like-minded colleagues were fear-mongering about China, data centers, energy infrastructure and U.S. manufacturing output. But as a tactic, fear-mongering often succeeds.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
