ACT Reading Practice Test 10

PASSAGE II

SOCIAL SCIENCE:

This passage discusses some social and economic issues regarding liquid natural gas as an energy source.

Although oil and gasoline remain important energy sources, it is natural gas that currently supplies around 25 percent of America’s energy needs. A recent study shows that natural gas use was roughly 22 trillion

Line 5 cubic feet (TCF) annually. Natural gas demand is increasing at phenomenal rates because of its ability to create cleaner fuel for electrical power. Experts predict that annual demand is likely to increase to almost 32 TCF in less than a decade. At a consumption rate

10 of 32 TCF per year, the United States would only have about a five-year supply of natural gas. Known natural gas reserves in North America are quickly becoming exhausted. In fact, in the past thirty years, known supplies have dwindled from almost 300 TCF to around

15 150 TCF. It is no wonder that natural gas has become a controversial and critical topic of discussion among politicians, business leaders, and consumers. It is apparent that the United States will need to drastically increase

20 imports of natural gas to relieve shortages. One way that economists believe this can be done is by importing liquid natural gas. Experts predict that liquid natural gas imports will increase by almost 500 percent in a few short years. Currently, the country imports very little

25 liquid natural gas. The process of transporting liquid natural gas is complicated and expensive. This is the most obvious reason why America has been reluctant to choose liquid natural gas over other energy sources. Converting natural gas into liquid natural gas involves

30 cooling natural gas as it is collected to −260◦F. This transforms the gas into a liquid, which is then injected into a specially designed vessel for transport. When the liquid natural gas reaches its destination, the liquid is reheated into its original gaseous state and allowed

35 to flow into a pipeline. Even though new technology has considerably decreased transportation costs for liquid natural gas, it is still often uneconomical. This is especially true for nations with other energy sources. One of the largest misconceptions about liquid

40 natural gas is that it is an abundant source of natural gas. While liquid natural gas imports continue to increase, the public demand for natural gas increases at an even higher rate. Even though the United States has several facilities that can process liquid natural gas,

45 these facilities are consistently unable to obtain enough liquid natural gas to operate at their fullest capacity. Even when liquid natural gas is obtainable, there is a fear that low natural gas prices in the United States will make liquid natural gas uneconomical. Most business

50 leaders and politicians are reluctant to create new facilities to process liquid natural gas because these facilities are expensive and risky. This limits the capacity to process liquid natural gas even if it becomes more readily available.

55 The United States also faces competition from Asia in securing liquid natural gas. Competition for liquid natural gas will most likely become even more ferocious as other populous countries like Japan and China become more desperate for fuel sources. Some

60 of the more daring politicians and business leaders believe that building new liquid natural gas facilities will help companies and consumers take advantage of future increased liquid natural gas imports. Currently, Canada is the largest liquid natural gas supplier for

65 the United States. However, liquid natural gas imports from Canada will decrease considerably in the next decade as Canadian consumption increases and supplies of natural gas dwindle. Therefore, consumers and business leaders should not rely on liquid natural gas

70 to solve America’s energy needs and consumers should continue to expect high prices as demand grows and supplies decline.