A slide from a presentation by James Richenderfer, of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, showing the number of "high value" trout streams in the Marcellus Shale.
Academics, consultants, and executives from Shell agreed at a government-sponsored energy conference last week that fracking has transformed the global energy market. At the same conference, another panel dedicated to the effect of energy production on watersheds featured a talk about gas drilling's proximity to Pennsylvania trout streams in the Susquehana River basin.
But the big news is that North American fracking has become an economic jauggernaut, according to coverage of the conference by the Oil and Gas Journal. At a session about natural-gas, industry experts said that in the past three years, the ballooning ability to extract natural gas from shale domestically has turned "US supply assumptions upside down:"
Potential natural gas production from shale formations has dramatically improved North America’s supply outlook, three panelists agreed during a Washington energy conference. The technology behind it also could change gas supply patterns overseas and influence domestic demand for other fuels, they added.
At the risk of stating the obvious, this is why fracking is such a force in upstate New York. The panelists noted that gas drilling development in the US is efficient, and the credit is due to the "risk-taking independent producers" and the mostly-private landowners who lease to them.
Then they talked about the future. As the fracking industry grows, they said, its relationships with landowners and regulators will have to change:
Foss said, “There may be more long-term contracts. I think conversations are taking place already.” Schlesinger said, “Moving regulators to accept long-term contracts will be a hard sell, particularly since short-term markets are so transparent.” Foss said, “There’s been a critical wave of risk-taking independent producers who have got things going in this country, but the majors will need to provide sustainability. It’s the usual story.” Domestic shale gas formations also are largely on private instead of public land, she added. “This makes it possible to reach decisions in a few months instead of several years. It’s been a big factor in the rate of shale gas development,” she said.
