Over the past few days, newspapers from across the region, and the world, have underscored the clear and undeniable economic and environmental benefits associated with the safe development of clean-burning natural gas. Here’s what they’re saying:

  • Bloomberg: The U.S. has almost three times as much recoverable natural gas as the government estimates, enough to place it third in the world, a Canadian analyst said. Data from more than 24,000 recently drilled wells show the U.S. has 890 trillion cubic feet equivalent of recoverable natural gas, said Manuj Nikhanj, head of energy research at brokerage ITG Investment Technology Group Inc. in Calgary. The Energy Information Administration estimated proved reserves of 317.6 trillion in 2010, a record high. “As the years go on, the U.S. will revise their numbers upward, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Nikhanj said. … In Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale, ITG calculated reserves per well at two to three times the EIA estimates, Nikhanj said. (10/8/12)
  • Associated Press: Drilling companies beginning to explore the Utica Shale [and consumers] got a piece of good news Friday when the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the rock formation in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other states holds enormous reserves of natural gas and oil. Releasing its first estimate of the Utica, the USGS calculated the shale formation holds about 38 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, recoverable natural gas, 940 million barrels of oil and 9 million barrels of natural gas liquids like ethane and propane. The Utica lies beneath the Marcellus Shale, where energy companies have drilled thousands of unconventional gas wells in Pennsylvania in recent years. The Marcellus is considered to be one of the richest natural gas reserves in the world. … “As more (Utica) wells are drilled and more production data is assessed, reserves figures will likely increase,” said Steve Forde, vice president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition. He hailed the Utica as “another game-changing opportunity.” (10/6/12)
  • Wall Street Journal column: Philadelphia…is being reinvented as an energy hub to rival Houston. Three giant local refineries, closed or slated for closure, are springing back to life thanks to the Marcellus shale that underlies much of Pennsylvania. The nearby Marcus Hook refinery, closed since February, will reopen as a processor of natural-gas liquids from the “wet” gas pouring forth thanks to Marcellus. The Sunoco refinery in South Philly will be converted to process Bakken crude from North Dakota using Marcellus gas as an energy source. … Pipelines and port terminals, creating thousands of construction jobs, are being built to move Marcellus ethane and propane to the Gulf Coast and Europe. A new rail yard is being built along the Schuylkill River. … The payoff isn’t only jobs. A giant stimulus check has landed in the pockets of the state’s utility ratepayers, who saved an average of $3,000 per household in the last three years due to the superabundance of natural gas created by the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing. When was the last time a new gas utility was formed in the crusty Northeast? Leatherstocking Gas Co. will soon begin bringing service to many residents of Susquehanna County for the first time. (10/6/12)
  • Washing Post editorial: Anti-fracking activists [in New York] who hope delay begets delay and eventually prohibition are doing the environment no favor. Burning natural gas produces only about half the carbon emissions as burning coal, which produced 42 percent of America’s electricity in 2011. With the increasingly common use of fracking, natural gas prices have plummeted, encouraging a switch from coal to gas, and the country’s emissions trajectory has improved. … Natural gas can play a big role in transitioning to cleaner energy cheaply. … Environmentalists, in other words, should hope fracking is safe — and permitted. (10/5/12)
  • Scranton Times-Tribune: Companies working in the Marcellus Shale region took a break from gas activity to show their prowess in making barbecue and raising money for a good cause. In the inaugural Marcellus Barbecue Cookoff hosted by Williams at the Nicholson Fire Carnival grounds, 19 teams squared off. All money raised will be donated to local chapters of the United Way. The companies and subcontractors took part in the day’s festivities, either as barbecue cooks or judges and taste testers. Companies donated $150 to participate, usually with teams of four members. There was also a People’s Choice voting, with more than $6,000 cast as votes from 400 participants. Once all the bills were sorted out, the winner was Don E. Bower Construction of Berwick, which garnered $3,872 in support. (10/6/12)
  • Financial Times: In 2008, with crude soaring towards $150 a barrel, the world was full with talk of peak oil and dire predictions of energy scarcity. Four years later, the rhetoric has changed. Now it is less of scarcity than abundance. The main driver has been North America’s shale gas revolution, where techniques such as hydraulic fracturing have unlocked vast resources. (10/8/12)
  • The Oklahoman:  Ross Eisenberg, vice president of energy and resources policy for the National Association of Manufacturers, said energy independence could also make the U.S. more competitive globally by lowering manufacturing costs. … “By pursuing even more domestic energy production, we can be increasing that cost advantage and making the U.S. the best place in the world to manufacture.” (10/8/12)

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