Answer to oil catastrophe could lie beneath our feet

The volatile price of oil has renewed interest in natural gas. Photo / Thinkstock

General Motors is to develop its first natural gas-powered engine in a bid to cut US reliance on imported oil.

Carmakers are scrambling to use the cleaner-burning fossil fuel since learning that the US has more than 100 years' supply of natural gas, thanks to a new drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing which releases huge reserves of natural gas trapped in shale rock.

Vancouver-based company Westport is working with GM on the multimillion-dollar project to develop a natural gas vehicle.

There is only one passenger car in the US that runs on natural gas and that is the Honda Civic GX. But heavy freight companies like Mack Trucks have seen a 50-100 per cent rise in sales of natural gas vehicles.

Mack Trucks was heavily involved in natural gas vehicles in the 1990s, but falling fuel prices dented demand enough that they were discontinued.

But the volatile price of oil has renewed interest in natural gas. Even if oil prices retreat again, the energy industry says natural gas will remain attractive due to its long-term abundance.

Former GM Holden engineer and safety campaigner Dr Laurie Sparke three years ago called for Australians to convert their cars and trucks to LPG and natural gas to avert what he said would be a catastrophe for the country - a shortfall of transport fuels.

Dr Sparke has said that oil depletion was arguably the most serious crisis ever to face Australian society.

He warned the Australian Government that oil production in most of the nations supplying Australia was falling and that as many of these nations were developing their economies they would keep more oil for themselves.

Dr Sparke said the truck industry was especially vulnerable because of its reliance on imported diesel fuel.

John Mellor, the publisher of automotive website goauto.com.au, supports Sparke. Mellor has said: "The solution to the price of fuel is under our nose. It's gas. Australia has been paying billions of dollars a year to import fuel and we have about 100 years of gas reserves in our backyard."