The safe development of abundant and clean-burning natural gas supplies here in America “really is revolutionary.” Not only is this tightly-regulated development allowing the United States to become a global energy leader, but it’s also “playing a key role in the U.S. recovery.”

Here is what they’re saying about job-creating American shale development:

  • “Shale Is Playing a Key Role in the U.S. Recovery”:The U.S. will remain the world’s biggest oil producer this year after overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia as extraction of energy from shale rock spurs the nation’s economic recovery, Bank of America Corp. said. U.S. production of crude oil, along with liquids separated from natural gas, surpassed all other countries this year with daily output exceeding 11 million barrels in the first quarter, the bank said in a report today. The country became the world’s largest natural gas producer in 2010. The International Energy Agency said in June that the U.S. was the biggest producer of oil and natural gas liquids. “The U.S. increase in supply is a very meaningful chunk of oil,” Francisco Blanch, the bank’s head of commodities research, said. “The shale boom is playing a key role in the U.S. recovery. If the U.S. didn’t have this energy supply, prices at the pump would be completely unaffordable.” … “There’s a very strong linkage between oil production growth, economic growth and wage growth across a range of U.S. states,” Blanch said. (Bloomberg, 7/4/14)
  • American Shale Production is “Truly Revolutionary”: Hydrocarbons occur naturally over large parts of the planet’s surface. But finding them in sufficient concentrations to make them worth producing is far harder. … The prospect of finding, and producing, oil and gas in areas which have not previously been put into commercial production is what makes shale technology truly revolutionary. The combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing mean that oil and gas can be produced from many more formations than before, in many more areas. … But the shale revolution has dramatically increased the range of production possibilities, and will broaden the petroleum industry to include new companies and new countries, and that’s what makes shale such a revolutionary and disruptive force. (Reuters, 7/7/14)
  • Marcellus Shale acts as Industrial Magnet $42B in Pa. Projects: Growing interest in the Marcellus Shale is driving much of the project spending in Pennsylvania, especially in its rapidly expanding Power Industry. Industrial Info is tracking 461 active and unconfirmed projects in Pennsylvania that have a total investment value (TIV) of more than $42 billion. Construction on 224 projects worth $8.81 billion is expected to kick off within the next 12 months. (Industrial Info Resources, 7/7/14)
  • Shale Impact Fee Taxes Have Generated $630M for Pa.: Officials in many municipalities say the revenue received this month from impact fees assessed natural gas companies drilling in the Marcellus shale reserves will be used on road repairs. Washington County communities will divide $6.11 million under Act 13, the law Pennsylvania passed in 2012 to cover the costs of the impact of natural gas exploration. Fayette County municipalities will share in $1.46 million in revenue countywide, while Westmoreland County municipalities will share in $1.7 million in revenue under Act 13. … The state announced in early April that the impact fee revenue totaled more than $225 million for 2013, an increase of more than 11 percent in revenue from 2012. To date, the impact fee has generated a total of $630 million in new revenue for the citizens of Pennsylvania since its enactment in February 2012. The annual fee that natural gas companies must pay is dependent on the price of gas during the year of production and is collected over a period of 15 years. … After the money is distributed to various state agencies, 60 percent of the revenue is distributed to counties and municipalities with unconventional natural gas well drilling activities. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 7/5/14)
  • Marcellus Impact Fee Taxes Support York Co. Infrastructure:York County commissioners on Wednesday approved giving $20,000 of Marcellus Shale money to North Hopewell Township to support the replacement of four bridges in and adjacent to York County’s Spring Valley Park. … “These bridges are integral not only to vehicular and emergency traffic in the area, but also for connectivity for park users, especially equestrians,” commissioners said in a letter to North Hopewell Township. The county funding comes from natural gas drilling fees collected across the state as part of Act 13 of 2012. (York Daily Record, 7/2/14)
  • Pa. Impact Fee Taxes Up 11% Since 2012: Municipalities in the region are planning to repair roads with the money they are expected to receive this month from the state’s natural gas impact fee that was levied on drilling activity in the Marcellus shale reserves last year. … Statewide, the Act 13 natural gas impact fee revenue totaled more than $225 million for 2013, an increase of more than 11 percent from 2012. Approximately $123 million will be distributed to municipalities and more than 40 counties where shale gas wells are drilled, including Westmoreland County, which will receive $1,705,434, up from the 2012 disbursement of $1,577,394. Another $82 million will be distributed through the Marcellus Shale Legacy Fund to counties for parks, recreation, greenway trail and bridge improvements, as well as competitive grants awarded to local governments and non-profit organizations for environmental improvement projects. … Sewickley Township has about $380,000 in its Act 13 fund and has spent about $25,000 for a truck and about $18,000 for equipment for the township fire companies. … West Newton probably will spend its $6,774 disbursement on road repairs, said Pamela Humenik, borough secretary. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 7/2/14)