A crowd of experts from the private and public sectors were on-hand this week at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia this week for SHALE INSIGHT® 2013. The industry-leading conference brought a diverse set of public officials, regulators and industry experts together to discuss the past, present and future of shale development in the United States and its far-reaching benefits on the global energy and manufacturing economies. The conference included dozens of technical breakout sessions and workshops, over 150 speakers and presenters, and featured emerging innovations and technologies as well as keynote speakers that included former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and CNN “Crossfire” host Newt Gingrich; Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley; and industry executives.

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Media outlets from around the region, state and nation reported; here’s what they’re saying:

“FAR-REACHING” REGIONAL AND NATIONAL BENEFITS

  • MSC CEO Kathryn Klaber: The Economic Impact of the Marcellus to Pa. is Real and Significant:  Close to 2,000 audience members were on hand for the opening day of the third annual conference, which is sponsored by the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC). MSC CEO Kathryn Klaber was joined on the podium by executives with the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners (TIPRO), North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) and WPX Energy Inc., who represented the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA). Their shared message: let states continue to oversee unconventional drilling, and in particular, hydraulic fracturing.  Pennsylvania has “worked hard to get the state regulations where they need to be,” said Klaber. “And that’s where they need to stay.”  … The economic impact of the Marcellus to Pennsylvania “is real and significant,” said Klaber. An estimated “240,000 can attribute their jobs to the oil and gas industry,” which has become part of the “local supply chain now.”  (Shale Daily, 9/26/13)
  • “Shale Industry Foresees Benefits for Region”: The five-year-old shale gas boom has been credited withrevitalizing two local refineries, creating thousands of jobs, and saving each American household $1,200 in energy costs last year. … “Ultimately, the true crux of the value of the Marcellus Shale might lie in its potential tohelp restart U.S. manufacturing,” Drexel University president John Fry said in opening remarks. … At a noon speech, Stephen D. Pryor, president of Exxon Mobil Chemical Co., called on the government to approve more than 20 applications to build plants to liquefy natural gas for export, as well as those to build units called ethane crackers to convert natural gas into a material used to manufacture plastic. “Permit approval times are the leading indicator of how quickly our nation is capturing the benefits of shale energy,” Pryor said. “Delays could add billions to project costs, restrain job creation, and erode America’s new competitive advantage.” (Philadelphia Inquirer,9/27/13)
  • Safe Natural Gas Production Delivers “Far-Reaching Benefits”: [The president of Drexel University John] Fry calledPhiladelphia “the economic engine” of the state, a center for the refining and chemical industries with port and rail access… The full rewards of the natural gas industry have just begun to emerge, he said. Long-term stability of energy prices, clear air from use of natural gas for electric generation and fleet transportation and a rebirth of American manufacturing are within reach.…  As it strives for popular support, the industry points to the far-reaching benefits of natural gas production to Pennsylvania residents. … More than 90 percent of graduates find work. … William desRosiers of Cabot Oil & Gas said 95 percent of its workforce is local… That’s the sort ofgrassroots impact the industry hopes is shifting popular opinion and deflating drilling opponents. “Look outside: very few people are protesting – no permits were pulled for a protest. Public perception has changed,” said Craig White, chief executive officer of Philadelphia Gas Works. “We need to keep touting ‘energy independence,’ ‘clean burning,’ and ‘jobs created.” (Scranton Times-Tribune, 9/25/13)
  • “The Benefits of Shale Gas are Undeniable”: “Other Tcfs” — natural gas liquids (NGL) — are transforming the global marketplace and provide tremendous opportunities for the U.S. marketplace, an executive with MarkWest Energy Partners LP said in Philadelphia this week. COO John Mollenkopf delivered a keynote address on Wednesday at the third annual Shale Insight conference, sponsored by the Marcellus Shale Coalition. … The operator now has 22 major projects under construction, and in the Marcellus and Utica shales alone, the company plans to invest $20 billion to build facilities. … “While we hear almost daily about the dramatic growth in shale gas production in North America, often expressed in Tcfs, what has received much less press…are what I call the other Tcfs…and the crucial role they play in revitalizing our economy,” Mollenkopf told the audience. …  In the next two years, the Mariner East pipeline and Marcus Hook terminal right here in Philadelphia will allow for export of Marcellus and Utica ethane to hungry markets in northern Europe.” The amount of NGLs that have been removed from U.S. natural gas production has increased in every year since 2005, and has been accelerating more recently. (Shale Daily, 9/27/13)
  • “The Full Rewards of the Natural Gas Industry Have Just Begun to Emerge”: The low price of local gas has prompted gas utilities to break supply contracts for higher-priced gas from elsewhere, usually the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana, to switch to cheaper natural gas, said Shelby Linton-Keddie, counsel for state Public Utility Commissioner Pamela Witmer. Equitable, a gas utility serving southwestern Pennsylvania gets 100 percent of its supplies locally – from Pennsylvania or West Virginia, said Ms. Linton-Keddie. … Shale Insights 2013 two-day conference kicked off with the president of Drexel University telling the natural gas industry its success in Pennsylvania would depend on its partnership with Philadelphia. The full rewards of the natural gas industry have just begun to emerge. Long-term stability of energy prices, clear air from use of natural gas for electric generation and fleet transportation, and a rebirth of American manufacturing are within reach, Mr. Fry said. (Scranton Times-Tribune, 9/25/13)

“PIONEERS OF THE FUTURE” PRESENT “EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES”  

  • Marcellus Shale Companies “Can Partner with Conservationists for Great Conservation”: Walking the exhibition hall at Shale Gas Insight 2013 in Philadelphia, you see the usual booths — large encampments from sponsors with flat screens, slick decor and glossy brochures. … What I didn’t expect to see plunked down in the front of the hall was a conservation group. John Geissler, chairman of the board of the Keystone Elk Country Alliance, was manning the booth his organization was sharing with the National Wild Turkey Federation. … The group is working with industry to reseed areas near pipelines and well pads with grass that will create a natural corridor for wildlife. “We want to let people know that drilling and Marcellus Shale (companies) can partner with conservationists for great conservation,” Geissler said. Geissler said he has been to other energy conferences and finds industry members are happy to partner with groups to do this kind of work. (Pittsburgh Business Times,9/25/13)
  • Philadelphia “Must Play a Bigger Role” in Natural Gas Development: Shale Insight 2013 kicked off Wednesday with a call for Philadelphia to play a bigger role in Pennsylvania’s discussion and development of the commonwealth’s natural resources… John Fry, president of Drexel University, opened the show with a welcome to Philadelphia and told the crowd that the city must play a bigger role in the state’s natural gas development. He said the city has the civic leadership, infrastructure, and academic resources to drive the discussion as the industry develops. For any entrepreneurs in the audience, the kick-off highlighted places where new businesses and new technology can thrive. Solutions for water, both treatment and transport, are needed in all the shale plays, according to the trade group representatives. (Pittsburgh Business Times, 9/25/13)

WELCOME TO THE REBIRTH OF U.S. MANUFACTURING

  • Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett: We are Witnessing a Second Industrial Revolution: Speeches of support for the natural gas industry from Pennsylvania political figures dominated the second day of the Shale Insight conference in Philadelphia. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich encouraged industry members to continue their work in the state, in spite of “entire institutions dedicated to slowing you down.”  … “More energy from America means less military involvement in the Middle East,” he said. Gov. Tom Corbett also praised the industry… He recognized Pennsylvania’s long history as an energy-producing state and congratulated the industry for creating new energy jobs. “We are witnessing a second industrial revolution,” Mr. Corbett said. Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley attended the event and spent much of his speech discussing the “national security that energy independencebrings…The Saudis are now worried that we’re becoming the world’s energy powerhouse,” he said. … Mr. Cawley made two promises to the industry and public on behalf of Mr. Corbett’s administration: “We are not going to destroy energy industry jobs,” Mr. Cawley said. “We are not going to destroy our environment.” (Scranton Times-Tribune, 9/27/13)
  • Liquefied Natural Gas Exports are a “Bright Spot” for the United States: For ExxonMobil Chemical Co. President Stephen Pryor two key markets that can’t be forgotten in the natural gas discussion are chemicals and liquefied natural gas (LNG). … “Since most of this (LNG) demand growth is outside the US this presents an outstanding opportunity to boost America’s exports. If U.S. producers and the nation as a whole will make the most of shale resources investments in petrochemicals and LNG must be allowed to move ahead,” he said. The chemical industry, he noted, accounts for 30 percent of natural gas demand in the U.S. and the growing use of natural gas as a chemical feedstock gives those companies price advantage over foreign competition that mainly use oil-based, more expensive feedstock. Exxon isn’t alone, there are 125 new chemical projects that have been announced in the U.S., he said citing American Chemistry Council information. Those projects are an estimated$84 billion total investment. “This is good news for US natural gas producers. Petrochemical investment creates demand for ethane and other NGLs.” (Pittsburgh Business Times, 9/25/13)
  • ExxonMobil President Stephen D. Pryor: It’s Time to get Behind Shale Gas: In the past 50 years, however, the U.S. oil and gas industry “has fractured more than one million wells,” Pryor claimed. “As ExxonMobil Chairman Rex Tillerson said recently, if hydraulic fracturing were a new drug treatment undergoing clinical trial, it would have been cleared decades ago.” Another “endless debate” revolves around LNG permitting to allow global exports by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). There are about 20 proposals on the table. … For years the United States was on the import side of the LNG equation, but shale gas is turning that equation around. … America’s free market system should allow gas exports to compete and help to build a stronger domestic petrochemical industry, Stephen Pryor told an audience of producers and operators said at the Shale Insight 2013 conference in Philadelphia.  … “this is just the beginning. Global demand for chemicals is expected to rise by 50% over the next decade…While history tells us that regional cost differences fluctuate over time with energy prices, the United States is back in the game. Exports can be the springboard for a new era of American chemical growth.” … “The United States needs tens of billions of dollars of investments”… Given all that the U.S. bounty can provide, Pryor said it was time for the country to unite behind shale gas. (Shale Daily, 9/27/13)
  • Cheap, Plentiful Marcellus Shale Gas “Primary Driver” for Reindustrialization: Attendees [at Shale Insight] said the marked lack of demonstrators showed the Marcellus Shale, with more than 8 Bcf/d of current production, has made its own case for the public, even in politically liberal Philadelphia, by bringing jobs and providing gas to refuel a rejuvenation of the city’s petrochemical and manufacturing complex. … But conference attendees and speakers think news of plant reopenings and the possibility of more manufacturing jobs has sold much of the public. … “Philadelphia hasn’t leaned into the conversation” about the Marcellus, Drexel University President John Fry said to open the conference. Fry said Philadelphia is “the economic engine of Pennsylvania” and is ready to become a demand center for the gas flowing from southwestern and northeastern Pennsylvania. … Last July, private equity firm The Carlyle Group struck a deal with Sunoco to jointly operate a 300,000-BPD refinery Sunoco had been trying to sell. The deal saved 850 jobs that would have been lost had Sunoco shuttered the plant as planned. Carlyle and Sunoco executives pointed to plentiful, cheap natural gas from the nearby Marcellus as a primary driver of the decision to keep the refinery open, as the joint venture will use that gas to help power the facility. (Platts, 9/26/13)
  • Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley: We Must Bring Jobs to Pennsylvania, Protect the Environment: Regulators need to keep up with industry, not the other way around, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told a packed ballroom Thursday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. … “It’s a very interesting moment in American history and I think one in which we’ll see almost inevitably the weight of technological and scientific progress grind down the regulators,” he said. … [Pa.] Gov. Tom Corbett credited Marcellus Shale development with inspiring a second industrial revolution. … Lt. Gov Jim Cawley says the Corbett administration wants to bring jobs to Pennsylvania and protect the environment. In his introduction to Gingrich, Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley echoed the governor, noting the Department of Environmental Protection has doubled its oversight over Marcellus Shale drilling and strengthened standards for water treatment without sacrificing jobs for Pennsylvania residents. (State Impact, 9/25/13)

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