Case Study: Natural Gas Fiasco

In 2011, the United States produced 8.5 million cubic feet of natural gas, a value of nearly $36 billion, from shale gas alone. As a result, the U.S. is now the world’s top manufacturer of natural gas. Imported gases compose merely 8 percent of total natural gas consumption in the United States. Since America does not rely on imported gas, the United States has balanced it trade as the U.S. domestic supply has grown to meet its demand. Business magnate T. Boone Pickens stated, “Natural gas is the best transportation fuel. It is better than gasoline or diesel. It is cleaner, it is cheaper, and it is domestic. Natural gas is 97% domestic fuel.”

Natural gases are the most important source of energy in the modern world of technology and electricity production, which makes the skyrocketing gas production in the U.S. due to hydraulic fracturing incredibly valuable in terms of global trade and economy. The United States has always been reliant on the Middle East and other European and Asian countries for energy, but is very quickly becoming energy independent. "By 2020, the Energy Information Administration predicts that the USA will become a net exporter of natural gas", reaching energy independence from other countries and starting to export gas to provide revenue and pay off debts (Hassett and Mathur). Even

When most people think of Texas they think of the booming oil industry that the state has. According to our textbook, “Texas accounts for almost one-third of the country’s natural gas production and holds almost almost a quarter of the country’s natural gas reserves.” Texas has greatly invested in the recourses that are found within the state which makes gives the state a huge economic advantage. When fracking is used to help turn out even larger quantities of natural gas, the economic impact is huge. If the state greatly invested in fracking sites and the use of both traditional and horizontal fracking, the economic gain in the near future could be huge. The state could be turning out twice the amount of natural gas as it is

Additionally, the natural gas business is losing money as prices continue decrease as supplies outweigh the demand and as competition continues to grow with Russia and other European producers. As a result, Greco concludes that the benefits of natural gas and fracking do not overcome the “physical, emotional, and financial distress experienced by Laura Gideon and thousands of other Southern

Officials in the Obama administration are nearly ready to unveil their unprecedented regulation of the oil and gas industries by ordering the reduction of methane emissions in the United States by 40 to 45 percent within the next ten years. Such a drastic alteration would significantly change how natural gas is produced and consumed and transform the entire electric industry in the country, potentially shifting its reliance on fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. Though methane constitutes only nine percent of emissions, far less than carbon dioxide, it has over twenty times the effect toward global warming as carbon dioxide has and is therefore important to regulate. Also, the Obama administration has initiated reductions in emission

Have you ever imagine the earth run out of resources, especially gasoline? The most significant energy we use to take for granted may be in tight supply. It would be a major inconvenience for us. That’s why I am here to discuss about it, that’s why I am here to save the earth, and that’s why I want all of you to join with me today. With fossil fuels nearing extinction, the United States has very limited options for providing the country’s millions of energy consumers with an energy source that is affordable and cost effective ; therefore, the solution is hydraulic fracking, also known as “fracking,” Natural Gas has the capabilities of fueling American cars and homes for the next hundred years, and the best part is the United States is the largest supplier of natural gas. Let’s broke it down to 3 major parts: first, how fracking natural gas affects our environment, second how it is going to boost up the economy, and third how it makes the United States becomes energy independent.

It turns out that the market for natural gas is a very competitive one and that there is in fact a shortage in supply that is causing the price to increase. Natural gas must be drilled for and there are only a certain number of active companies that drill and they all have a set amount of capital. In the short run the supply of natural gas is very inelastic because they cannot just produce more gas. They would need

Development of infrastructure and market for natural gas, a product of hydraulic fracking, has blossomed in recent years. Interestingly though, hydraulic fracturing, a process that’s been around since the early 1900s, has recently become a topic of significant controversy, especially through the expansion of large reservoirs throughout the United States, including the Barnett Shale, the Marcellus, and the Bakken. However, the unsustainable nature of hydraulic fracking demands that US attention be focused on expanding renewable infrastructure and bolstering actual sustainable development; hydraulic fracking is an economic distraction fueled by big business, and the benefits are grossly temporary. Simply stated, investment and expansion of the natural gas industry in the United States is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. First, the paper will provide an outline of exactly why investment and development of hydraulic fracturing in the US is not sustainable. This will be accomplished by looking at the economics of natural gas fracturing, as well as the environmental effects and the public health impacts. Then further evaluation will provide insight on the practicality and necessity of national investment in renewable infrastructure to catalyze the nation into a global future.

On top of the cleaner air and fuel, the oil and gas industry in America employ 9.8million people or 5.6% of the countries’ employment (study from 2012). These jobs generated almost $600 billion in direct income which, in essence, is circulated back into the economy. Recently, fracking has hovered around 50% of the oil and natural gas output in the industry. As the field grows, the production number will also.

In 2000, there were approximately 276,000 natural gas wells in the United States (Lallanilla). By 2010, that number had almost doubled to 510,000, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (Lallanilla). Each year 13,000 new wells are drilled and according to a study done in 2014, at least 15.3 million Americans have lived within a mile of a fracking well that has been drilled since 2000 (Lallanilla). This boom in the industry within the United States was prompted by the development of horizontal drilling which combined with fracking unlocked many new oil and gas deposits. Coupled with concerns over energy security and the costs associated with imported oil and other fossil fuels. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration it estimates that as of January 1, 2013 there was approximately 2,276 trillion cubic feet of recoverable dry natural gas in the United States (“US…”). At the rate of U.S. dry natural gas consumption in 2013 of about 27 Trillion cubic feet per year, the United States has enough natural gas to last about 84 years (“US…”). The general thinking about the industry is that with these natural gas deposits within the U.S. the country can use this fuel to ease its reliance on foreign energy supplies. In addition, provide a cleaner burning source of energy compared to coal and oil, buying the nation time and acting as a reliable bridge to future

In the U.S., the advanced hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling lead to a revolution of natural gas and oil, brining about the dynamic job opportunities and economic growth which affects other industries apart from natural gas and oil field. As a superpower of energy, the United States can make good use of its rich resources with the correct policies and build a bright future for Americans and reduce energy-caused risks globally (Mark Green, 2014).

California has one of the highest gas prices in the United States (Laskoski, usnews.com). However, compared to many developed nations, United States has one of the cheapest gas prices (Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com). Discussion of the reasons gas prices fluctuate is a detailed matter which requires an overview, starting from the extraction of crude oil, chemical processes, regulations, taxes, and gas retail market. The factors that can affect the price at gas station can be categorized into three main categorize including crude commodity prices, technology regulation and taxes, and retail market. As crude oil is the base resource for the production of gasoline (also known as Gas or Petrol, not be confused with Petroleum) its price plays an important

With having 400,000 natural gas wells across the United States this creates thousands of jobs for people. In 1980 fracking companies supported 267,000 employees according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (Hassett, Kevin A.) In 2011 alone the United States produced 850,983 cubic feet of natural gas from shale gas wells (The Numbers.) Per thousand cubic feet of natural gas costs about 4.24 dollars, this comes out to a profit around 36 billion dollars (Hassett, Kevin A.) Not only does it have large profits but it has a huge direct effect on trade balance with the US and other countries. Between 2007 and 2011 natural gas imports decreased by 25 percent, with this four year decrease Energy Information Administration predicts that the USA will become a net exporter of natural gas by 2020 (Hassett, Kevin A.) Though “The word in the world of independents is that the shale plays are just giant Ponzi schemes and the economics just do not work,” says a spokesperson from IHS Drilling Data, an energy research company (The Numbers.) Shocking news that the economics just do not work with the gas companies many are finding out that it’s not as cheap to extract from the shale as the they intended it to be (Hunt, Spencer.) According to hundreds of industry emails and internal documents, and an

“The boom in domestic natural gas productions is an example of American innovation changing the game,” states Hillary Clinton. Today the United States is producing more natural gas from fracking than anybody else. Fracking is used on a daily basis by most people. Fracking helps our lives daily. Without fracking our lives wouldn’t be the same today. Fracking is beneficial because it increases the reliance on natural gas than coal, it opens up more job opportunities, and it lowers energy cost although it has a great chance of increasing

The importance of natural gas is to replace the role of oil in the economy. Natural gas is good for the US because it can produce natural gas domestically. It has plenty of energy for use in people’s homes and in industry. It will help the US economy cope with the depletion of peak oil production. Crude oil is nearly three times as expensive as Natural gas. (Pipeline, 2009-2013)