Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Number of Women Landing Jobs in Oil, Natural Gas Industry Growing

Good news from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Of 3,900 positions added in the oil and natural gas industry nationwide in the first quarter of 2013, almost half or 1,800 were filled by women.

AEI Ideas Carpe Diem Blog – The Most Economically Successful Metropolitan Area in the Country

As a direct result of all the shale oil and natural gas activity in the Permian Basin area of West Texas, the economy of Midland is booming, writes Mark J. Perry. There is also an unprecedented construction surge taking place in the town – building permits in March skyrocketed to 347, which was a 580 percent increase from  a year ago.

Zanesville Times Recorder – Free Trade Should Include Natural Gas

A... more »

Free Enterprise – Keystone XL: Real Benefits for the U.S.

Sean Hackbarth notes  Keystone XL pipeline developments this week: The House Transportation Committee advanced  a bill that would allow construction of the full pipeline – the third congressional committee to do so; Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in New York City touting  the project’s benefits  for both the U.S. and Canada; and a small business owner in Maryland told the president that businesses like his  would get a boost from the project.

The Hill – DOE Approves Natural Gas Export Project

A Texas LNG  facility has the green light from DOE  for exports to non-free trade nations. DOE noted that project opponents “have not demonstrated that the requested authorization would be inconsistent with the public int... more »

There’s no evidence of groundwater contamination from shale natural gas production in Arkansas’ Fayetteville play. So says a new study by a team of Duke University-U.S. Geological Survey scientists. Their key conclusions:

"Our results show no discernible impairment of groundwater quality in areas associated with natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing. … Only a fraction of the groundwater samples we collected contained dissolved methane, mostly in low concentrations, and the isotopic fingerprint of the carbon in the methane in our samples was different from the carbon in deep shale gas in all but two cases.” – Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment

"These findings demonstrate that shale gas development, at... more »

Lots to like in President Obama’s remarks earlier this week from New York:

“When it comes to energy, not only have we been able to double our production of clean energy, but even in terms of traditional energy, we will probably be a net exporter of natural gas in somewhere between five and ten years.  And so the idea of the United States being energy independent – which seemed far-fetched as recently as 10 years ago – now is actually a possibility.”

As well as those from Texas earlier this month, where he talked about job creation and driving economic momentum:

“… we've got to make America a magnet for good jobs. … And even as we’re working to reverse the trend of communities that have been hard hit with old manufacturing leaving, we’ve got to propose partnerships with local... more »

Energy Biz – Shale Gas Shifting Global Energy Map

The global development of shale gas  has the potential to boost worldwide natural gas supplies and help reduce market costs, writes Siemens Financial Services President Kirk Edelman. “For the U.S., the shale gas boom is still perhaps only a potential game changer, however, if realized, the economic benefits will be significant.”

Breaking Energy – The Science Behind the Keystone XL Pipeline Decision

Breaking Energy recaps the congressional Energy and Environmental Subcommittees’ joint hearing on the Keystone XL pipeline last week. Rep. Chris Stewart noted  that Keystone XL has been under review for more than four years, which is how long  it took to fight World War II, build most of the transcontinental railroad and the typical lengt... more »