PORTLAND (AP) — Natural gas prices in Alberta, Canada, where Oregon gets much of its supply, have dropped 40 percent since July 4, and industry specialists say the United States soon will be awash in the stuff as new technology opens up hard-to-reach reserves.

Billionaire T. Boone Pickens is suggesting using it instead of gasoline in cars.

But Northwest Natural Gas Co. says it still expects to ask regulators for up to a 40 percent rate hike beginning in November, and backers of liquefied natural gas import terminals in Oregon likely will keep pushing for approval.

But some experts say the high cost of extracting natural gas from shale could restrict price declines.

Avista Corp. and Cascade Natural Gas Corp., who also sell in Oregon, want hikes of 10 to 20 percent.

Declining market prices should partially reduce increase requests, said Randy Friedman, director of gas supply at NW Natural, but not by nearly as much as the spot market price has declined.

“It’s still evolving,” Friedman said. “I can’t tell you what our new number is going to be. We’ll file it two weeks from now.”

NW Natural locks in about three-quarters of its gas supply in advance of the winter heating season in contracts and by storing gas in depleted gas wells in northwest Oregon.

As of July, it had about 30 percent of its gas supply locked up.

So far Friedman says lower prices could mean a rate hike closer to 25 percent. But he said a big hurricane could push prices even higher than the original estimate, and that an active storm season is expected.

Even a 25 percent increase will hurt customers facing other rising prices. And customers likely will blame the utility if it has been turning in strong profits, as NW Natural has.

Northwest Natural is paid to deliver the gas. Friedman said it doesn’t profit from the gas itself and tries to smooth out market volatility.

“We don’t want them to hedge all their gas supplies now,” said Bonnie Tatom, a manager in the Oregon Public Utility Commission’s market analysis section. “We expect prices to fall further.”

An industry study in July concluded that the country may have far larger gas reserves than previously estimated.

New drilling technologies are letting producers tap gas trapped in previously impermeable shale. The group estimated current reserves would last 118 years at current production rates.

Tatom said the PUC, which has endorsed the need for new supplies, is exploring the implications of increasing domestic production.

Many who predict big supplies are big investors in natural gas and wind production.