The upcoming midterm elections may well add another level of complexity to the maze of federal, regional and state regulations guiding US shale gas development. As investor enthusiasm for the unconventional gas increases, Congressional inaction on the FRAC Act has pushed state and local agencies to move forward with individual regulatory frameworks to monitor the fast developing resource. In today’s GR Insight, Garten Rothkopf breaks down the political and regulatory barriers to development – focusing on the interplay between the EPA, Congress and state and local agencies.

The midterm elections, now less than three weeks away, have the potential to shake up the political dynamics around shale gas development and shape the future of the industry in the US; however, across the country, the story is far from consistent.  While shale has emerged as a partisan and politically charged issue in the key New York and Pennsylvania races, elections in other states are revealing strong bipartisan support for shale as a source of energy and job creation.  At the federal level, an expected shift toward the right in both chambers of Congress promises to deepen tensions in the on-going conflict between the EPA and Congress over fracking regulations. In this Brief, GR analyzes the elections in key shale gas states as well as their implications for the future of shale gas nationwide.

What's at Stake for Shale Gas

While natural gas prices have been significantly depressed, interest in shale gas has recently exploded.  The application of new techniques, including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, has opened up previously non-viable deposits of natural gas in shale formations around the United States for commercial development. These include the Marcellus shale in the Northeast; the Barnett shale in Texas; the Fayettesville shale in Arkansas; and the Haynesville shale on the Louisiana-Texas border.

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