North Carolina is looking at a regulatory framework that would ensure the safe and efficient extraction of shale oil deposits in the state. With fracking will come jobs sorely needed in a state suffering the fifth highest unemployment rate in the country. Gov. Perdue vetoed the bill to pursue fracking, but the Republican-led legislature overrode her veto. This piece gives some background on the job producing record of fracking in other states.
One of those formations is the Marcellus Shale stretching from New York State across northeastern and western Pennsylvania, through eastern Ohio, and southeast into West Virginia. Development of this formation and others like it support thousands of jobs right now, and more are expected to be created in the future. In Ohio, the Utica Shale, supports 38,830 jobs, and according to a study sponsored by the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, that could rise to over 266,000 by 2035. Neighboring West Virginia is also benefiting with 11,884 jobs supported by shale energy today and over 58,000 expected by 2035. These are jobs on natural gas wells, supplying and supporting them, building infrastructure, or caused by shale energy’s ripple effects on local economies.
Let’s get to it.
