Interesting report in the Boston Globe about how a ripple of economic benefits from shale natural gas development is reaching a non-energy state, Massachusetts.

Clean Harbors, Inc., a Norwell, Mass., company that delivers environmental services, estimates that demand for its know-how from shale-rich Pennsylvania generated 25 percent of its $2 billion in revenues last year – a number it expects to grow this year. “We just see a tremendous market that needs all of the services we provide,” says Chief Executive Alan McKim, who figures his company’s shale-related business is growing about 25 percent a year. “In the U.S., there’s huge potential,’’ McKim says. The Globe adds:

“Clean Harbors is just one example of how the unlocking of natural gas reserves hundreds of miles away promises... more »

During a recent conference call with reporters API Chief Economist John Felmy said the country is at a “crossroads of energy and economic policy.” That’s quite a crossroads. Chad Moutray, chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers, pointed out that manufacturing has added 462,000 net new jobs since 2010, and that continued growth hinges on energy and regulatory policy. So, where do we stand?

The administration’s energy policy is a muddle, as IPAA President and CEO Barry Russell argues in this Roll Call piece:

“Obama calls to expedite infrastructure projects, but in the wake of rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline. Obama claims increased oil and natural gas production on his watch, but then follows up with accusations that oil companies are profiting at the expense... more »

A follow-up to our follow-up on a Washington Post article that dismissed the effects of increased U.S. oil production on global crude oil markets. The story also took shots at the oil and natural gas industry’s ability to create jobs, as well as industry assertions about the potential effect of a new gasoline standard on refineries.

Let’s start with jobs. A Wood Mackenzie study released last fall said that with the right policies the oil and natural gas industry could create 1.4 million new jobs by 2030. Here’s what the job-creation growth looks like in a chart from that study:

As it has done in previous articles, the Post suggested the projection isn’t valid because it includes direct, indirect and “induced” jobs – “everything from day-care workers to valets to rocket scientists.... more »

A year ago this week the FracFocus.org online chemical disclosure registry was created, and what a year it has been: 130 companies logging in the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing of more than 15,000 wells. More than that, the site is information rich on fracking, groundwater protection, state regulatory efforts and more.

The registry was developed by the Groundwater Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.  Most importantly, it has been embraced by the oil and natural gas industry as a useful response to legitimate questions about the pressurized fluids – 99.5 percent water and sand, 0.5 percent chemicals – used to fracture subterranean shale formations, freeing natural gas and oil.

According to a report in The Oklahoman, the site has become... more »

Local businessman Tim Osborn says that when he was a schoolboy growing up in North Texas, his hometown probably didn’t have more than 250 people. Today the area is vibrant, with 10 times that number living there. Work is plentiful, housing is booming and there’s room to grow – thanks to the oil and natural gas industry and the energy-rich Barnett Shale.

The area about 30 miles north of Dallas is thriving with oil and natural gas development in the Barnett Shale providing the magnet for other kinds businesses and industries. “The reason it has grown is the oil and gas business,” says Osborn, president of CBA Automation, an electrical and instrumentation contractor. “We have other industries moving here because this is a prospering area.”

Others are doing well, too. Check out this vide... more »