Economics of Unconventional Shale Gas Development

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • William E. Hefley, Megan K. Kiniry, Yongsheng Wang

   Pages 1-13

3. Direct Economic Impact of the Value Chain of a Marcellus Shale Gas Well

   • William E. Hefley, Shaun M. Seydor

   Pages 15-45

4. Analysis of the Shale Gas Economy in Washington County, Pennsylvania

   • Yongsheng Wang, Diana Stares

   Pages 47-69

5. The Shale Gas Economy in the Northeast Pennsylvania Counties

   • Kirsten Hardy, Timothy W. Kelsey

   Pages 71-91

6. Marcellus Shale and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

   • Timothy W. Kelsey, Kirsten Hardy

   Pages 93-120

7. Eagle Ford and the State of Texas

   • Thomas Tunstall

   Pages 121-148

8. Communities Experiencing Shale Gas Development

   • Kathryn J. Brasier, Lisa Davis, Leland Glenna, Timothy W. Kelsey, Diane K. McLaughlin, Kai Schafft et al.

   Pages 149-178

9. Origins and Consequences of State-Level Variation in Shale Regulation: The Cases of Pennsylvania and New York

   • Ilia Murtazashvili

   Pages 179-201

10. Sector Effects of Shale Gas Development

    • Alan Krupnick, Zhongmin Wang, Yushuang Wang

    Pages 203-232

11. Achieving Balance Between Economic, Sociodemographic, Environmental, and Regulatory Concerns: A Shale Gas Perspective

    • Clifford A. Lipscomb, Sarah J. Kilpatrick, Yongsheng Wang, William E. Hefley

    Pages 233-246

This book examines the economics and related impacts of unconventional shale gas development. While focusing on the Marcellus and Utica Shales in the Mid-Atlantic region, additional insights from other regions are included to provide a broader view of these issues. Shale gas development in recent years has changed the energy discussion in the US, as existing reserves of natural gas coupled with horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing make exploitation of these reserves economically feasible. The importance of natural gas is seen as likely to continue to expand over the coming years, and is expected to increase even further with environmental considerations, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing producing natural gas from deposits such as the Marcellus Shale is making the US a net producer of natural gas. Previous studies have examined the economic impact of exploration and production in the region. Other studies have addressed legal, environmental, biodiversity, and public health impacts of unconventional shale development. This is the first volume to focus solely on the economics and related financial impacts of this development. This book not only fills the research gap, but also provides information that policy makers and the public need to better understand this pressing issue.

• Marcellus shale
• economic impact
• environmental impact
• horizontal drilling
• hydraulic fracturing
• shale gas development

• Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA

  William E. Hefley

• Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, USA

  Yongsheng Wang

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