Energy Today – April 8, 2013

Mary Schaper
Posted April 8, 2013

Wall Street Journal – The 1 Percent Keystone Confusion “The 1%-ers writing checks to Mr. Obama loathe the pipeline. The folks who need and want it are the 99%. They're the working stiffs who are ‘struggling to get by’ in this economy.” –Editorial Fort-Worth Star-Telegram – Once Unprofitable West Texas Oil Play Now Booming Thanks to innovations in hydraulic fracturing and natural gas development, the Spraberry/Wolfcamp shale play in West Texas has roughly quadrupled its oil production since 2003 – producing more than 220,000 barrels a day.

The Times-Reporter – Sales Tax from Oil and Natural Gas Boom Boosts Economies Thanks to increased energy development, shale-producing counties in Ohio not only reversed a three-year downward sales trend, but also outperformed non-shale counties last year, the newspaper reports. This was a more than 21 percent increase in total sales activity and a total of $14.9 billion.

The Washington Times – Fracking Support Becomes Bipartisan Hydraulic fracturing not only has strong support from the public, but Republicans and Democrats are beginning to agree on the economic benefits of “fracking,” that would help jump-start struggling economies, the Times reports. NBC News – U.S., Russia Vie for largest Natural Gas Reserves As the U.S. continues to debate allowing natural gas exports, other countries like Russia, Qatar and Canada “harbor little compunction about exporting the fuel to other resource-hungry nations.” This could put the U.S. at a disadvantage globally, NBC News reports.