Culture

Decades of oil and gas drilling, and the jobs and benefits it provides, are engrained in Texas culture, and it’s a way of life that Pennsylvanians now are attempting to assimilate, but residents of both states continue to reconcile the advent of shale gas drilling, according to a survey of 1,600 adults.

Exporters that aim to enter Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets have to break modern North American habits and relearn an old business culture: strict secrecy, Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) is being told.

Natural gas enthusiasts can be forgiven for thinking the shale revolution is unstoppable. North America now has more gas underfoot than anyone could have imagined a few short years ago. But that doesn’t mean shale gas and its fans are without challenges.

An economic development unit, or “economic conscience” has been added to the California Public Utilities Commission, pushed by anxious state officials who are wrestling with a $35 billion budget deficit and a stagnated economy. Regulation in the energy, water and telecommunications sectors is viewed as a key to economic recovery by both California’s governor and the former utility executive/economist he picked to head the CPUC this year.