Pennsylvania and New York are a Thousand Miles Apart on Shale Gas
Fracking
Location: New York
Date: 2013-08-20
Pennsylvania and New York State may border each other but
they are a thousand miles apart in terms of their philosophies about
hydraulic fracturing. Pennsylvania has been plowing ahead and has
become one the nation’s leading natural gas producers while New York
is still debating whether to ease its ban on fracking.
The shale gas boom, which is an unconventional form of natural
gas, is not just leading the economic recovery, it’s also
spearheading an energy revolution. That is, it is displacing coal
and by extension, reducing the level of greenhouse gas emissions.
But adversaries of shale gas production say that the process is
harmful to groundwater supplies and that it is should be stopped, or
tightly regulated.
To ply loose the shale gas from the rocks where it is embedded a
mile beneath the earth’s surface, a concoction of water, sand and
chemicals is used. The Obama administration wants more federal
regulations to promote safety standards, saying that it is the best
way to win the public’s confidence. The shale gas industry says that
the state’s are closest to the issue and that they should continue
their oversight.
With that, the states are approaching the shale gas debate in
different ways. Pennsylvania is set to become the nation’s second
leading natural gas producer this year. In 2011, it was seventh.
The papers
in Pittsburgh are reporting that the shale gas sector now
employs 46,644 people in its metropolitan area. Its drillers
produced 1.5
trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the first half of this year,
which will double by year-end and which is up 58 percent from a year
ago. The challenge now, the paper says, is getting the pipeline
infrastructure built to accommodate the number of wells.
According to Colorado-based consulting firm Bentek,
gas from the Marcellus basin -- where several states get their
shale gas, including Pennsylvania -- is displacing that found in the
Gulf of Mexico and fulfilling the needs of the Northeast. In fact,
the firm says that its excess will start to head south and to the
Midwest.
Indeed, the Potential
Gas Committee’s figures show that the Marcellus basin’s gas is
up 147 percent, with a third of the total U.S. shale gas. The
Appalachian region, which also takes into the Devonian and Utica
Shale Regions, comprises the largest volumetric and percentage
gains.
Case Studies
The gas committee, which is a research arm of the natural gas and
petroleum industries, says that this country has a natural gas
resource base of 2,384 trillion cubic feet of natural gas as of
2012. That’s a jump from previous analyses; the gains are coming
from the Rockies, the Atlantic region and the Gulf Coast.
“This assessment further demonstrates that the United States, led by
the Marcellus, is well-positioned to be a global energy leader for
literally decades to come,” says Kathryn Klaber, chief executive of
the Marcellus
Shale Coalition.
New York State, however, is a different case study. It has been
assessing the issue of whether to allow fracking for close to five
years. Until a decision is made, the moratorium on gas production
will remain in place.
Proponents of shale-gas drilling are pointing to a Yale
University review that says development would add $100 billion
to a national economy and that environmental concerns could be
protected. Opponents, however, are citing a study from the Colorado
School of Public Health that says those living near drilling sites
are exposed to unhealthy conditions.
Opponents of fracking, meanwhile, won a relatively high-profile New
York appellate court case that essentially said that community
standards are able to take precedence over state-wide laws. That is,
about 150 local towns there have either outright banned fracking or
they have temporarily halted the drilling procedure. So, if New York
would eventually come back and lift its ban, those communities with
prohibitions could continue their policies.
That atmosphere has, in part, prompted Chesapeake Energy to pull up
stakes in New York State. Moreover, the energy company had been
battling locals there over leasing rights, with the landowners
wanting more lucrative deals that would have resembled those of
their neighbors in Pennsylvania. In the scheme of Chesapeake’s
natural gas leases, the New York land is said to be a small amount.
Perhaps the best thing is to watch those Marcellus-based states that
are currently drilling, allowing them to become national case
studies as whether the shale gas boom is both environmentally and
economically beneficial. If their policies and processes work as
hoped -- not as hyped -- then Pennsylvania could motivate New York
to get off the fence.
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