DEAR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:
SHALE HAS BEEN A GAME-CHANGER IN THE APPALACHIAN BASIN NICOLE JACOBS | EnergyInDepth.com While President Trump and former Vice President Biden have visited the Appalachian Basin numerous times this election cycle, the debate in Cleveland, OH did mark the first time the pair shares the stage to talk about the biggest issues facing our country today. The Shale Revolution has been a game-changer for the region where the first presidential debate will take place. If the Appalachian Basin – Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia – were a country, it would be the third largest natural gas producing country in the world. Not only has this prolific development been a boon for these states’ economies over the last decade in the form of family-sustaining jobs, investments and tax revenue, but it has also helped expand accessibility to natural gas in the region, deliver energy savings and cleaner, healthier air. The Basics • The Appalachian Basin comprises the Marcellus and Utica/Point Pleasant shales. • Led by production in Pennsylvania (19.1 billion cubic feet per day), the Appalachian Basin produced 1 bcf/d in 2019 – or 11.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That’s about 29 percent of total U.S. natural gas production in 2019, and more than every natural gas producing country in the world except the United States and Russia. • That’s enough natural gas produced in the Appalachian Basin – every, single day – to power 780,511 houses – or two homes for every person living in Cleveland – for a year. • While there is steady oil production in the region – combined production for the three states was about 136,000 barrels per day in June 2020 – it is predominantly a natural gas play. • The Appalachian Basin was responsible for 85 percent of total U.S. natural gas production growth from 2008 to 2018. Economic Prosperity • Shale development has brought good-paying jobs to the region, and these jobs go far beyond the well head. In Ohio, for instance, the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the natural gas and oil industry supports more than 200,000 jobs, which have an average annual salary of $83,000 ($32,000+ higher than aver-
OCTOBER 2020
age U.S. salaries across all industries), according to a recent Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services analysis.
• Shale development has also brought significant investments to the region. Direct upstream, midstream and downstream investment in Ohio is estimated to be around $83 billion since 2011. • An abundance of natural gas is fueling new and continued manufacturing investments, as well Shale continued on page 4
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