“On the first day of Marcellus, natural gas gave to me” …
With the holiday season upon us, the MSC is proud to present the 12 Days of Marcellus, full of fast facts about the benefits of abundant American natural gas. An essential fuel, natural gas is foundational to everyday life and provides for us in ways that often go unnoticed.
Until the 25th, we’ll be highlighting the opportunities made possible by natural gas and the industry leaders who have unlocked these resources in our region and the world.
“On the first day of Marcellus, natural gas gave to me…”
- World-Leading Emission Reductions
The Appalachian Basin continues to be the premier natural gas producing region in terms of environmental performance, independent benchmarking by Clean Air Task Force and Ceres shows.
America’s largest natural gas producing region and third largest in the world, development across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia increased 13% between 2018-2020, while greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity declined 20%, the report cites.
In the last year, Appalachia’s GHG emissions intensity dropped 22%. Specific to methane, the Basin reduced its intensity by 11%, according to the researchers.
That’s in lock-step with the efforts and commitment of Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry, where operators prioritize implementing environmental controls designed to limit methane and other greenhouse gas emissions across the entire supply chain.
Read more: Independent Report: Appalachia Drives America’s Energy & Environmental Progress
Appalachia Natural Gas Production, Use Drives Climate Progress – U.S. EPA
- More Affordable Energy
Technological advancements that kickstarted the shale revolution unlocked a massive supply of domestic energy, primarily in Appalachia, that’s significantly reduced energy costs for Pennsylvania consumers. In the last 15 years, Pa. wholesale electricity prices have declined 41%, while natural gas end use prices dropped ~56-76% compared to 2008. For everyday consumers, that’s meant annual energy savings anywhere from $1,200-$2,2000 per household.
While prices for all energy sources have risen in today’s inflationary market, Pennsylvanians are much more insulated from the extreme natural gas price spikes being felt globally because of the strategic resources located under our feet.
Moreover, it’s worth noting the significant gap between what U.S. consumers pay for natural gas and users overseas. As the Wall Street Journal reported, European and Asian consumers pay 43.7% and 36.3%, respectively, higher than Americans for natural gas.
Read more: Winter is Coming – Natural Gas Keeps Pennsylvanians Warm
- Family Sustaining Careers
Natural gas is a winner for our economy, particularly the region’s skilled laborers. In fact, a North American Building Trades Union (NABTU) survey found “tradespeople working in energy construction report that they consider projects in oil and natural gas industries to have better wages, benefits, and opportunities than renewables projects.”
Not only do these energy jobs offer a vital pathway to middle class careers for Americans without a college education, but they also last longer, are more consistent, and are more complex compared to solar or wind installations. Companies in the industry have some of the highest paid median workers with the average non-supervisory role making over $75,000 a year.
Read more: Pa. natural gas and labor, forging a reliable, sustainable energy future
- A Manufacturing Renaissance
Abundant, affordable natural gas gives America’s manufacturers a competitive advantage that’s driving a ‘Made in America’ revival of the products, jobs, and investment outsourced for far too long.
Since 2010, just as the Shale Revolution was taking off, natural gas-driven manufacturing investments in the chemical industry topped $200 billion, the American Chemistry Council announced, citing the low-cost, low-carbon characteristics and availability of the resource.
In the U.S., natural gas is used as both a fuel source and feedstock to industrial processes and is often the only adequate fuel source available for heat and power-intense manufacturing such as steel, glass, paper products, pharmaceuticals and other essential needs. Additionally, hydrocarbons that comprise natural gas liquids (NGLs) are the chemical building blocks that create the products we use every day.
Shell’s new petrochemical facility that was recently brought online is a primary example of what can happen when we invest in U.S. manufacturing. Natural gas will be used to manufacture ~1.6 million tons of polyethylene that will preserve food, save lives, and extend the range on EVs, among many items.
Read more: “Historic Day For Pennsylvania”: Shell Polymers Monaca Now Operational
U.S. Chemical, Mfg. Growth Propelled by Pa. Nat Gas
- Community-Focused Revenue Streams
In addition to paying the same taxes that every other business pays in the state, Pennsylvania operators pay the natural gas impact tax. This additional tax is expected to generate $275 million next year on the heels on a near-record breaking $234 million this year. Since inception a little more than 10 years ago, this unique natural gas tax has generated more than $2.5 billion for local community and statewide environmental conservation programs.
This June, for example, $800,000 in funding from the impact fee was used in Greene County to go towards multiple housing improvement projects. “Having somewhere to live is a basic need that must be met before families can achieve security and success, so I am grateful that these grants will help more district residents attain stable housing. Then, they can focus on becoming financially independent and realizing their other goals,” said Sen. Bartolotta.
Read more: IFO Projects $275M in Impact Fee Revenue, New Annual Record
Natural Gas Impact Fee Generates $234 Million for Pennsylvania Communities
- Job-Creating Investments
When Nacero Inc. chose the former site of a coal mine in northeastern Pennsylvania to build a $6 billion manufacturing facility, it showcased Pennsylvania’s ability to drive capital investment in the region. Utilizing natural gas for transportation fuel, the plant will avoid more than 25 million tons/year of carbon dioxide emissions and create more than 3,000 construction and 300-plus operations jobs.
“The plant’s affordable low- and zero-carbon footprint gasoline will reduce carbon emissions nationally, improve local air quality and reduce our reliance on foreign oil by producing a fuel that Americans can use in the cars they drive today with half the carbon footprint of existing fuels using Pennsylvania natural gas,” said Congressman Dan Mueser.
Moreover, the increased availability of clean-burning natural gas significantly transformed Pennsylvania’s electric generation portfolio over the past two decades. Over $12.6 billion in private capital investment in today’s deregulated market has led to nearly twenty new or converted natural gas plants in Pennsylvania, bolstering grid reliability and ensuring a balanced mix of electric generation.
Shell Polymers Monaca is another example of the job-creating investments generated by natural gas, with more than six thousand construction positions and now 600 full time positions with the plant in operation. It’s official opening in November was “a historic day for Pennsylvania and an important case study of how competitive, pro-energy job policies can create sustained economic growth for the Commonwealth and our nation,” Marcellus Shale Coalition president David Callahan said.
Read more: “Historic Day For Pennsylvania”: Shell Polymers Monaca Now Operational
- Community Giving
Natural gas producers and midstream companies are committed to giving back to the communities in which they operate and live year-round. Activities include Earth Day conservation activities, partnering with first responders, revitalizing community programs, partnering with school districts, supporting low-income energy assistance programs, providing holiday gifts for children and families in need.
These partnerships and donations are critical to supporting the communities in which they operate. “Our industry provides much more than clean and abundant natural gas, good-paying jobs, economic prosperity, and sustained community investment programs are all made possible through responsible Pennsylvania natural gas development,” MSC’s Callahan said.
Read more: MSC Members Volunteer, Host Community Clean-Ups to Celebrate Earth Day 2022
- Workforce Development
“We know firsthand the power of natural gas. We see it every day in the jobs it provides for our neighbors, the downstream business opportunities that have been created to support the industry and the community projects that have been funded via the impact fee,” Diana Irey Vaughan, Chair of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, wrote in the local Observer-Reporter.
Indeed, natural gas production and the operators based in Appalachia are reviving local communities across the Commonwealth and preparing Pennsylvania’s next generation of workers. Whether providing career opportunities to Western Pennsylvania’s underserved students through CNX Resources’ Mentorship Academy, or the specific job training skills found in Lackawanna College’s School of Petroleum and Natural Gas (sponsored by members Coterra, Southwestern Energy, Chesapeake Energy and Williams), Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry is finding unique ways to enhance the region’s workforce.
“These are really good jobs — really good blue-collar union jobs,” Shawn Steffee, business manager of the Boilermakers Local 154 in Pittsburgh, told the Washington Examiner about his members’ lines of work. “Gas is vital for us and for the economy.”
“Jobs in our industry require everything from a GED to a Ph.D. Employers will train up people; the construction trades are providing free apprenticeships,” said Callahan.
Read more: G.E.D. to Ph.D.: Energy Sector Jobs A Gamechanger for PA
Local natural gas industry booming, needs workers
Regional Leaders: Natural Gas Fuels Pittsburgh’s Future
- American Energy Security
Fueled in part by Appalachia’s shale energy revolution over the past decade, America is now the world’s largest natural gas producer and LNG exporter. Sharing our natural gas abundance with the world helps allies break energy dependence while boosting global climate progress and our economy here at home. And because of the abundance of natural gas under our feet, we can aid the world and meet our needs domestically.
We have seen Europe’s struggle this year with energy security due to an overreliance on Russian natural gas and a speedy transition to renewable energy sources. In Pennsylvania, we have the resources to provide energy security across Appalachia, as well as assist our allies globally through the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity construction.
Read more: U.S. LNG Breaks Russian Energy Dependence
How Pennsylvania’s Natural Gas Producers Are Aiding Global Energy Security
Pa. Nat Gas “best defense against tyranny”; But Policy Action Needed
- Breakthrough Technological Advancements
An industry born from innovation and a commitment to continuous improvement, Pennsylvania natural gas developers are behind America’s cutting-edge technological advancements in the energy space. Exploring blue hydrogen and carbon capture feasibility, finding alternative uses for natural gas derivatives, to deploying tools like plunger lifts and continuous emissions monitors to maximize production efficiencies and reduce emissions – these are just a few of the breakthrough energy advancements driven by the natural gas industry.
Such is the case for southwestern Pa.-based Olympus Energy’s successful execution of the Midas 6M well, which set the industry record for lateral well length at 20,060 feet. Longer lateral well bores unleash more energy without additional surface disturbance.
“This accomplishment epitomizes our team’s commitment to push the technological limits of our industry,” Olympus President and CEO Tim Dugan said.
Read more: Industry Collaboration, Innovation Key to Sustained U.S. Climate Leadership
“Jam Packed with Headliners”: 5 Can’t-Miss Opportunities at Shale Insight 2022
- Safe, Reliable Infrastructure
Thanks to critical pipeline infrastructure, natural gas is transported through the safest and most efficient conduits possible (carrying a 99.7% safe delivery rate) – and they’re constructed overwhelmingly by the skilled building trades laborers. Moreover, pipelines are essential to connecting more consumers with affordable and reliable energy. Regions lacking this critical infrastructure, such as New England, find themselves facing higher energy costs and using alternative energy sources that are costly and lack the environmental benefits of natural gas.
Projects like the Constitution Pipeline or the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project would have bridged the gap between Appalachia’s abundant supply and New England’s high demand, yet too many elected officials continuously thumb their nose at any large infrastructure project to score easy political points.
Read more: Natural Gas Pipelines Would Ease New England’s Chronic Energy Woes
- Modern Quality of Life
The bottom line is natural gas is essential to supporting and advancing today’s modern life. Every time we plug in our phones, get in our cars, play sports, or buy groceries, natural gas makes it happen. Let’s also not forget that natural gas makes it possible to save and extend lives through modern health care every day. As we’re rounding out 2022 and preparing for what’s to come in 2023, Pennsylvania’s abundant energy resources will be a critical component in delivering modern lifestyles.
