A couple of positive news items from shale energy country. In Pennsylvania, data from the Energy Information Administration confirms that drillers are doing more with less. In Texas, shale’s benefits are extending beyond the drilling pads in the Eagle Ford play.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that advances in horizontal drilling in the Marcellus Shale play have dramatically increased natural gas production using fewer wells:

“Even as the amount of natural gas produced in the Keystone State quadrupled between 2009 and 2011, the number of actual wells fell as drillers used new technology to extract more gas from a single rig. … The development of more efficient horizontal drilling technology severely slowed the number of vertical wells drilled between 2009 and 2011, a period that... more »

The International Energy Agency’s new report on natural gas makes a number of important points, especially about unconventional gas produced through hydraulic fracturing or fracking. IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol summed up the report for Reuters:

“Unconventional gas will fracture the status quo and will be a complete game changer with major geopolitical implications.”

But … While IEA’s “Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas” talks glowingly of natural gas’ potential, it links that potential to allaying “social and environmental concerns associated with its extraction.” IEA:

“Governments need to devise appropriate regulatory regimes, based on sound science and high-quality data, with sufficient compliance staff and guaranteed public access to information. Although there is a... more »

More evidence that shale energy in Ohio is looming as an economic dynamo.

First, an op-ed from the Coshocton Tribune discusses ways southeast Ohio can prepare for economic growth stemming from shale energy development. Consultant Jim Evans:

“With current interest in the area's Utica shale resources, there once again is hope for jobs and economic prosperity. Estimates of the numbers of jobs that could be generated vary based on who is making the prediction, but even the most conservative estimates offer promise. If oil and gas development comes to fruition, companies who supply the oil and gas industry will obviously have opportunities to prosper. However, good fortune won't only be reserved for direct suppliers. Most area businesses will have an unparalleled opportunity to capital... more »

We talked recently about increasing access to domestic oil and natural gas as key to a made-in-America energy plan. Here’s another essential piece: common-sense regulation. Without a reasonable regulatory structure that’s transparent and accessible, red tape could tie up America’s ample energy resources.

In its recent report to the platform committees of the two political parties, API outlined what America’s energy regulatory structure needs:

• Transparency – We need a system that operates in a way that’s clear and unambiguous, with input from all stakeholders, and that bases rules on sound science.
• Sound analysis – We need regulatory processes that are based on legitimate cost-benefit analysis, with implementation timelines that consider economic impacts and resource availabili... more »

To pretty much no one’s surprise, EPA announced Friday that it is denying a petition that it reconsider its 2011 advanced cellulosic mandate. The petition was filed by API and the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (now American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers).

The reason it’s not surprising is that the decision came more than a year after the petition was filed and five months after the end of 2011. Refiners really had no recourse even if EPA had granted the petition.

The rejection is symptomatic of a larger problem: EPA’s continued improper use of its waiver authority.  We now know that no cellulosic biofuels were produced in 2010, 2011 or in the first three months of 2012 (see API’s chart, based on EPA data, below). Yet EPA continues to assert that aggressive mandat... more »