Bayer presses for reliable natural gas supplies

Bayer Corp. wants the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration to remove obstacles to natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and the Outer Continental Shelf along with encouraging supplies from Canada. Attila Molnar, Bayer president and chief executive officer, said demand is rising and supply is diminishing, creating uncertainty, shortages and prices as high as $30 per thousand cubic feet this year. He said the combination threatens the U.S. chemical industry which uses 11 percent of all gas produced in the U.S. as feedstock.