The lagging natural gas pipeline business is poised for a boom in the next two years that will continue well into the next decade, say industry analysts.
Construction expenditures could double from a recent low of $1.3 billion in 2005 to $2.7 billion in 2006 and further climb to $3.1 billion in 2007, according to a report released last month by the Energy Information Administration. The liquefied-natural-gas market will drive the surge. "The development of new LNG plants will have a major impact on short-range pipeline development," says James Tobin, an EIA gas industry analyst.