Ways

It’s a long way from New York City to Shreveport, LA, in more ways than one, but that distance was bridged recently when a Gotham-based news website gave props to the capital of the Ark-La-Tex for its hospitality to recent college graduates. In other words, there are jobs down there, the Yankees heard. And that’s thanks mainly to the Haynesville Shale.

It’s a long way from New York City to Shreveport, LA, in more ways than one, but that distance was bridged recently when a Gotham-based news website gave props to the capital of the Ark-La-Tex for its hospitality to recent college graduates. In other words, there are jobs down there, the Yankees heard. And that’s thanks mainly to the Haynesville Shale.

Natural gas experts say they believe the Marcellus Shale play can be developed in a way that benefits both industry and area residents, but they voiced concern about possible federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) that they said could be based on situations unique to Marcellus.

Despite the opposition of Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania lawmakers from both sides of the aisle continue to look for ways to generate revenue from the Marcellus Shale.

Despite the opposition of Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania lawmakers from both sides of the aisle continue to look for ways to generate revenue from the Marcellus Shale.

With its natural gas supplies more than adequate for the time being, government and industry in Pennsylvania are following a national trend by looking for ways to increase natural gas demand over the coming decade.

Looking for ways to keep demand on pace with production, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) is proposing a $200 million program to expand natural gas vehicle (NGV) infrastructure across Pennsylvania.

While unconventional energy plays require more water than their conventional counterparts, it’s the rapid growth of those new plays that is shining a spotlight on how the oil and gas industries use water, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor told attendees at CERAWeek 2011 in Houston last week.

A bill in a Texas House committee if passed would repeal a natural gas drilling tax break that benefits the vast majority of wells in the state’s shale gas plays. The bill’s sponsor says the incentive has outlived its usefulness, but an industry advocate claims its repeal would be a gas production- and job-killer.