This morning I had the opportunity to speak at the 3rd Marcellus Shale Gas Environmental Summit in Pittsburgh, where much of the discussion centered around shale gas development and job creation.
The event offered yet another reminder of an unmistakable fact that many state lawmakers have grasped but some in the U.S. Congress and the media have yet to admit: The innovative combination of hydraulic fracturing and other drilling technologies pioneered by the U.S. oil and gas industry now enables us to tap an enormous domestic energy resource in a safe and environmentally responsible way – creating enormous economic opportunities in the process. As the Keystone State has shown, shale gas development is one of the keys to creating jobs and restoring growth.
Don’t take it from me – take it from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s own Department of Labor & Industry. A report issued just this month shows that in the main Marcellus Shale-producing regions, core industry employment grew by an impressive 114 percent between 2008 and 2011.
The chart below shows how these figures break down by six different regions. Each area saw significant job creation during this period, with the Northern Tier topping the list with a more than 2000 percent gain. The Tri-County area leads the state in total Marcellus-related core employment, now at more than 2,800 jobs. If you include ancillary jobs created by Marcellus-related activities, the job-creation totals climb nearly four times higher.
The Department of Labor & Industry also reports that the average wage for Marcellus industries core jobs is about $29,000 more than the average across all industries. And considered in the context of the entire state’s economy, Marcellus Shale drilling activity has reduced Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate by 0.2 percent – at a time when unemployment rates nationwide have held at relatively high levels.
Pennsylvania is extraordinary – the Marcellus Shale covers about 75 percent of the state, and this formation overall encompasses an area of about 95,000 square miles. According to a 2009 Penn State study, the Marcellus Shale – if fully developed – has the potential to be the second-largest natural gas field in the world.
But the United States’ shale gas resources extend beyond Pennsylvania, to include New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and others. These states can also benefit from this shale gas development and create jobs if policymakers enable access and uphold sound, stable and sensible regulatory frameworks – conditions our industry needs to invest.
As I mentioned at the summit in Pittsburgh today, shale gas development holds one of the keys to jumpstarting the U.S. economy and creating jobs. Just look at the Keystone State.
