Caterpillar 2013 Annual Report Download - page 25

CATERPILLAR INC. 2013 YEAR IN REVIEW
23
ENERGY & POWER SYSTEMS
Expanding Solutions
for a Growing Resource
Global energy consumption is rising rapidly, driven by worldwide population
growth, developing economies, improving living standards and the use
of ever more energy-dependent technologies. More than 1 billion of the
world’s 7 billion residents are without access to electricity. Natural gas
is playing a rapidly expanding role to meet this need. Natural gas is also
much more abundant and recoverable than it was just a few years ago.
From exploration and production to transmission, from electric genera-
tion to advanced engine technologies, Caterpillar solutions are major
contributors to this growth story.
Enabling a New Energy Paradigm
The development of new extraction techniques such as well stimulation
and horizontal drilling has meant that shale gas, which was previ-
ously uneconomical to produce, can be brought to market. In 2013,
surging energy output made headlines as the U.S. Energy Information
Administration announced the nation was on a path to be the world’s
largest producer of oil and gas within a year. This remarkable turn of
events unfolded in just a decade as the exploration of shale-rock
formations grew in nearly every region of the U.S., from Texas and
North Dakota to the Midwest and Northeast.
This rapid increase in production, made possible by improved techniques,
has resulted in historically low natural gas prices in the U.S. Because of
plentiful, low-cost natural gas and the existing infrastructure of pipelines,
compressor stations and other equipment, it is expected that natural
gas will power the vast majority of new electric generation capacity to
be installed in the U.S. during the next 25 years.
Caterpillar’s natural gas solutions range across the entire value chain,
and our product offering continues to grow. Caterpillar is the market
leader for supplying power for land drilling and for providing both
engines and transmissions for use on hydraulic well stimulation rigs.
Caterpillar recently created a joint venture with Ariel Corporation called
Black Horse LLC to provide well-service pressure-pumping products.
These pumps are being sold and serviced through the Cat ® dealer net-
work. Black Horse brings our energy production customers a complete
pressure-pumping solution, backed by the global parts and service
support of our Cat dealers.
For gas production, compression and transmission, Caterpillar
manufactures Solar® gas turbines and compressors, and Cat® recipro-
cating engines. There are thousands of Cat reciprocating engine
generator sets and Solar gas turbine generator sets converting natural
gas into electricity around the world.
Combining Performance with Effi ciency
Caterpillar has been a supplier of natural gas-fi red reciprocating engines
since 1947. Today, more customers are moving from diesel to gas, and
many of our customers require a gas option for their engines. In the oil
and gas, rail, mining and marine markets, the performance of the gas-
powered engine is paramount. It must match the reliability, torque
response and power density of the diesel engine, while delivering the
fuel cost savings and reduced emissions of natural gas. The technology
to deliver these capabilities is dual fuel – engines that burn both diesel
and natural gas simultaneously.