The Fracking Revolution: Finding Energy Stories Everywhere by Marilyn Geewax

Title Slide The Fracking Revolution: Finding Energy Stories

Everywhere Marilyn Geewax

NPR Senior Business Editor mgeewax@npr.org

@geewaxnpr

What is Fracking?

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/americans-uninformed-about-

fracking-says-new-study-16762

Most Americans – and journalists – aren’t

entirely sure…

Oil and Gas Drilling Are Booming

Production Has Shot Up as Fracking Has Grown U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data

U.S Output Is Growing as Consumption and Imports Decline

EIA Data

“Saudi America” Is Becoming an Exporter of Energy

EIA Data

How many stories have you produced about fracking?

•  More than five •  Between two and five

•  One story •  None

Poll Question #1

The Change Has Come

Quickly EIA data

•  What's Happening in Texas

The Permian Basin in Texas

The Permian Basin May Change the Oil Game

•  EIA says it’s the U.S.’s largest oil producer •  Production has increased by 93,000 barrels

per day year-over-year •  Growing consensus that potential is huge •  It may hold more than 1 billion barrels •  That may be worth $5 trillion

Companies Use “Hydraulic Fracturing” For Releasing Both

Oil and Natural Gas •  The technique has been used since 1947. •  Fracking is now very common – some

estimate it has been used to stimulate a million oil and gas wells around the world.

So How Does Fracking Work For Natural Gas?

1) You need a lot of water 2) And you need a lot of steel pipe to drill down

as far as 10,000 feet. Let this ProPublica illustration explain… http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-

fracturing-national

In your community, what local stories have taken shape related to the new energy

industry?

Poll Question #2:

Natural Gas Consumption By End Users

EIA Data

Electric power Industrial Residential Commercial Lease and plant fuel Transportation (pipeline & vehicle fuel) & other

36% 28% 16% 11% 5 % 3%

Impact on Manufacturers Will Be Huge

•  Dramatically lower energy bills. •  Cheaper “feed stock” for making fertilizers

and bulk chemicals (ethylene). •  Cheaper transportation options.

Switch From Coal to Natural Gas Will Help Energy-Hungry Industries

Makers Of Steel And Other Metals Will Benefit

Dow Chemical Expands in Texas

Trucking Fleets and Railroads Are Switching To Natural Gas

Jobs Are Growing BLS says energy-production workers average $35.15 an hour

Fair To Say the Energy Sector is Creating A Lot Of Jobs

•  North Dakota is looking great, with 3 percent unemployment.

Oil rig in Williston, N.D., by Flickr user lindsey gee

Booming Oil Industry Struggling to Fill Job Openings

What Could Go Right? •  Air quality keeps improving as fracking

increases. Emissions off 12% since 2007. •  http://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/

carbon/

What Could Go Wrong?

•  Environmental Impact Is Just Too Negative •  Not As Much Gas And Oil As We Thought •  People Just Don’t Want It •  Other Countries Produce So Much, It Gets

Too Cheap •  Fracking produces so much oil and gas

that prices plunge, and the energy sector goes from boom to bust.

Many Worry That Fracking May Release Methane, Harm Ground Water and Trigger

Earthquakes

Some Skeptics Say Industry Is Over-Estimating the Potential

People In Many States Just Don't Want to Live Next to Fracking

Easy-to-Find Local Angles in TX, OH, PA,

ND, LA http://www.npr.org/2013/03/28/175483517/cheap-natural-gas-pumping-new-life-into-u-s-factories

But Stories Can Be Found Almost Everywhere, Even Maine

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=178651276&m=178651245

Additional Resources

http://www.propublica.org/series/fracking

http://www.cfr.org/energy-and-environment/hydraulic-fracturing-

fracking/p31559

Stories to Look for in Your Community

•  Are any manufacturers expanding?

•  Are young people considering energy jobs?

•  Are colleges making adjustments in courses?

Oil rig in Williston, N.D., by Flickr user Lindsey Gira

Stories to look for in your community

•  Are workers getting injured or killed in these jobs?

•  What’s happening to water and land around you?

Photo by Flickr user Ben Schumin

Questions? mgeewax@npr.org

@geewaxnpr