As policymakers consider who will be the primary driver of America’s future energy development and innovation – Washington or the private sector – consider:

• Oil and natural gas supplied 62 percent of the energy America needed in 2011 – and is projected by government to supply nearly 60 percent of U.S. energy demand in 2040.
• The oil and natural gas industry provided $545 billion to the U.S. economy in 2011.
• In just unconventional resources (shale and other tight rock), industry is expected to invest more than $5.1 trillion in cumulative capital expenditures by 2035. The industry could add 1.3 million new jobs in this sector by 2020 for a total of 3 million jobs supported – growing to 3.5 million jobs by 2035.
• Since 2000, the oil and natural gas industry has invested nearl... more »

One of the factors involved in pulling energy from shale through hydraulic fracturing is how much water is needed – typically 2 to 4 million gallons per well. Though that’s not as much water as it sounds (electrical generation for the Susquehanna River Basin requires nearly 150 million gallons per day), it’s a public concern. More on water usage at the FracFocus website.

Water also is an industry concern. It isn’t free, and once the well has been stimulated with fracking, there’s waste water that has to be disposed of or recycled. Enter innovation. A number of companies are tackling the issue.

Schlumberger’s HiWAY flow-channel technology claims to use less water, with greater effectiveness:

“HiWAY technology fundamentally changes the way proppant fractures generate conductivity.... more »