BEWARE 'FRACKOPHOBIA' PENNSYLVANIA COULD PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THE LARGEST GAS FIELD EVER
Bernard L Weinstein
623 words
26 January 2011
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PPGZ
SOONER
B-7
English
© 2011 Post Gazette Publishing Company. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights
reserved.
Last year, America imported almost 4.4 billion barrels of oil, much of it from countries that don't
particularly like us. The tab totaled $260 billion and accounted for roughly half of our trade
deficit.
With the economy recovering and oil prices forecast to exceed $100 a barrel this year, imports will
grow further and the cost in 2011 could easily exceed $300 billion. This growing dependence on
imported oil is good neither for our economy nor our national security.
We could significantly reduce our oil imports by developing our indigenous energy resources, in
particular natural gas that's locked in shale formations. Several weeks ago, the U.S. Department of
Energy more than doubled its estimates of recoverable shale gas to 827 trillion cubic feet. These
reserves are equivalent to 140 billion barrels of oil, more than the proven oil reserves of Iran.
Twenty years ago, the Barnett Shale in North Texas was unknown. Today it's the largest producing
natural gas field in the United States with output exceeding 4 billion cubic feet a day. What's
more, the Barnett Shale has added a new dimension to the North Texas economy, supporting thousands
of jobs and generating millions in tax revenue for local governments and school districts.
In terms of potential output and economic impact, the Barnett is dwarfed by the Marcellus Shale
formation that stretches across large swaths of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York.
Pennsylvania is already benefiting mightily from shale gas production, and several studies have
recently documented the huge economic boost to the state in term of jobs, income and tax revenue.
Indeed, one can point to drilling and production in the Marcellus as the main reason Pennsylvania
added more jobs last year than any state except Texas. By contrast, New York, with an effective
moratorium on shale gas drilling, continued to lose jobs in 2010.
Unfortunately, the anti-drilling crowd in Pennsylvania is raising unfounded concerns about the
safety of the hydraulic fracturing process that is used to release the trapped gas. In particular,
some environmental groups are claiming that the chemicals used in "fracking" are contaminating local
water supplies.
Yes, there have been a few cases where improper disposal of used fracking fluids has polluted
surface water. But Pennsylvanians shouldn't succumb to "frackophobia" simply because of these
isolated incidents. Careful studies by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ground Water
Protection Council haven't revealed a single case of drinking water contamination from shale gas
drilling itself.
The decision by Philadelphia officials to avoid purchases of Marcellus gas and by Pittsburgh
officials to ban hydraulic fracturing in the city will be good for us in North Texas as we sell more
Barnett gas to the Northeast. But it will be harmful to the nascent drilling industry in the state
of Pennsylvania.
Is producing, gathering, processing and delivering natural gas from shale formations completely risk
free? Of course not. But these minimal risks must be weighed against the huge economic and national
security benefits that can be realized by fully developing our domestic natural gas resources.
Pennsylvania has a unique opportunity to become the administrative center for all drilling
operations in the Marcellus Shale, potentially the biggest gas play ever. At the same time, this
growing industry can support tens of thousands of well-paid jobs for Pennsylvanians while generating
millions of new tax revenue for the state and its local governments.
Bernard L. Weinstein is associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute and an adjunct professor
of business economics at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business in Dallas
(bweinstein@cox.smu.edu).