The safe development of clean-burning American shale is generating “exponential growth in business” as well as thousands of family-sustaining jobs, local investments and revenues. These shared, broad-based economic and environmental benefits are widely supported by Pennsylvanians – according to a new Robert Morris University poll, nearly 60 percent of voters in the Commonwealth support shale development, specifically the process of hydraulic fracturing. And from a national and energy security standpoint, a new White House report underscores this important fact: “The United States has emerged as the world’s leading producer of petroleum and natural gas.”

Here is what they’re saying about the “vital competitive advantage” created by shale:

LOCAL INVESTMENTS, JOB CREATION

  • Steel Nation is “Thriving Thanks to Energy Industry”: In 2008 when Steel Nation opened, the company focused on building prep plants that wash and separate coal for coal companies. But after a friend from oil and gas company Range Resources took him to a drill site, [Mark D. Caskey, president of Steel Nation Steel Buildings] realized he could take his talents to the natural gas industry. … “We bid on a real small project, a single-compressor engine out in Indiana County,” Mr. Caskey said. That job turned out to be the breakthrough the company needed. … According to Mr. Caskey, the private company has more than doubled its earnings since it opened. … “We did less than $1 million in 2008, and will bill between $22 million, possibly $27, million this year.” Full-time staff has also doubled since 2013. … Steel Nation might not be around if not for the growing industry. “We wouldn’t be in business if it wasn’t for natural gas,” Mr. Caskey said. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5/23/14)
  • “The Shale Energy Supply Chain Sectors are Flourishing”: America’s shale energy revolution is creating and sustaining hundreds of thousands of jobs in diverse sectors of the economy that supply construction, equipment, supplies and services to shale energy operations, and it is making the U.S. manufacturing sector more competitive by reducing energy costs, the president and CEO of Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance (EEIA), Toby Mack, told Congress May 20. … Mack said the shale supply chain is booming and has created more than 450,000 jobs since the energy revolution began less than a decade ago. … By 2025, nearly 300,000 new jobs will be created, for a 64 percent increase over 2012 employment in the diverse shale supply chain industries … The shale energy supply chain sectors are flourishing and the outlook is strong for continued growth in employment and production output. The benefits are distributed widely throughout the United States and not confined to the energy-producing areas. (Fort Worth Business Press, 5/27/14)

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES DRIVING EFFICIENCIES, SAFETY

  • Universal Well Services Experiences “Exponential Growth” Thanks to Shale: Ten years ago, a Meadville company took a gamble and bet on the Marcellus Shale. … Today, the company employs 1,000 people in four states and pumps more than $50 million annually into Pennsylvania’s economy, almost exclusively from its work in the Marcellus. … In fall 2004, Universal Well Services collected a half-dozen small fracking crews, each at work on one or two small wells daily, and sent them and their equipment to Washington…That first modern Marcellus well, known as Renz No. 1, began producing gas in economically viable quantity. … At that time, Universal Well Services employed about 200 people. … An exponential growth in business on the Marcellus since 2004 has allowed the company to push the envelope in the services and skills it provides, Willis said. “The Marcellus gave us the ability to do things we could never do before. It’s been a dream come true.” … In the 10 years since it fracked the first Marcellus well, Universal Well Services has grown to 12 locations in four states and to an annual payroll of more than $50 million in Pennsylvania alone. … The Marcellus Shale has fueled Universal Well Services’ spending, too. The $50 million that the company spends in the state each year includes significant local investment. …”We try to spend as much in Pennsylvania as we can, from masking tape and welding rods to huge trucks,” Willis said. “And we’re really proud that we do it.” … The company continues to invest in facilities, employees and technologies, confident that the Marcellus and other shales will continue to provide gas for generations. (Erie Times-News, 5/28/14)
  • MSC Members Leverage Innovative Technologies: In the crook of a hill on a dirt road north of Meshoppen lies Cabot Oil & Gas’s pride and joy: the Bray, a 10-well pad that produced enough natural gas in its first month to supply the city of Philadelphia for a month. … Cabot positioned the wells to maximize the amount of surface area of the Marcellus Shale the well taps, spokesman George Stark said. … Other exploration and production companies are also refining the technology they deploy in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Chief Oil & Gas uses specialized “walking” drilling rigs that can drill multiple wells on a single pad, moving from one surface location to another without having to be disassembled, said spokeswoman Daria Fish … High-strength steel casings and specialized cement are also used to increase well bore integrity and protect fresh water zones, she said. … Some new technologies also help address air pollution while boosting revenues for drilling companies. … Before Cabot started drilling the wells on that pad, pipeline company Williams had already placed a gas line on site. Instead of diesel fuel, Cabot used gas from this line to power the drilling rig and completion equipment. (Citizen’s Voice, 5/25/14)

FUELING AN AMERICAN REVOLUTION

  • American Shipbuilding Buoyed by Shale Development: The shale boom and the Jones Act are saving shipbuilding at the 213-year-old Philadelphia Navy Yard. … “Less than three years ago, you would have seen an empty dock, empty building dock, no grand blocks lying around and practically empty production halls. … Many were starting to say that we might not make it.” Instead, the company has tripled employment, created a $978 million, four-year order backlog and seen its share price quadruple in the past year. U.S. shipyards are enjoying a surge of demand to build vessels to transport the record amounts of shale. … “Everyone that wants to build commercial product-carrying vessels is full right now, and it hasn’t been that way in a long time. … It’s increased employment all over. It’s been a boon. It’s been real good for the yards.” … Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have helped increase production by 57 percent in the past five years to the highest level since 1986. …“I’ve been in this business since I graduated from college in 1980,” Rob Grune, Crowley’s senior vice president and general manager, said. … “In terms of all forms of commercial shipbuilding, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this healthy.” (Bloomberg, 5/28/14)
  • U.S. Manufacturing is Back Thanks to Shale: For decades, Americans have witnessed the decline of U.S. manufacturing as more jobs were shipped overseas. … Thanks to the shale energy revolution, the U.S. has reversed this trend and is enjoying the prospect of re-shoring our industrial sector, which had previously moved overseas. Innovation in the processes of hydraulic fracturing, coupled with advances in horizontal drilling, have resulted in enormous increases in energy production and have given American manufacturers a vital competitive advantage. …The shale revolution has become a powerful wind that is creating new jobs and bringing our once-lost manufacturing jobs back home. States that have embraced this shale revolution boast some of the strongest economies and lowest unemployment rates in the country. Cities and counties near shale plays are seeing full occupancy in local motels as energy companies fill up rooms. Engineers and construction workers have seen a boost in business as investments are being made in pipelines and plants for shipping and processing. … A recent report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors concluded that “from 2010 to 2012, energy intensive manufacturing sectors added over 196,000 jobs and increased real sales by $124 billion in the nation’s metro areas.” (Pueblo Chieftain op-ed, 5/25/14)
  • American Shale Gas Offers Global Market “Huge Opportunities”: Chemicals giant BASF says the shale gas boom currently underway in the U.S. offers the business “an outstanding opportunity” in that market. … Wayne Smith, a member of the company’s board, said the development of shale gas was “clearly an outstanding raw material event” and would increase the entrepreneurial environment in the U.S. … While shale gas exploitation has the potential to take the U.S. economy by storm, some European governments have been slow to go down this route. (Plastics News, 5/23/14)