PA.'s Fracking Boom Goes Bust (Phila. Daily News Article)

[JPZenger]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130911_Pa__fracking_boom_goes_bust.html

The article describes how landowners that relied on monthly royalty checks have suddenly seen them shrink or disappear because the frackers added tons of new "deductions" for expenses.

Natural gas prices have fallen so much that few new wells are being drilled.

Leases affecting tens of thousands of acres of land have been allowed to expire.

Some of the drilling companies have moved their rigs to Ohio, where the natural gas is easier to extract.

[Pat Riot]

1. OMG

Surprise, surprise, the money and job creation promised in exchange for free range over the Quaker State is turning out to be less than promised. At least the carcinogens in our drinking water will linger on.

[packman]

2. My home state

Poor Pennsylvania-squeezed like a sponge. Well known for its hard and soft coal and then the first oil boom, which may surprise some, which was in the Keystone state. I still have an old Quaker State oil can in the garage. Then gas and its Frankenstein monster cousin fracking is being wrung out of the state- sort of like pumping the last gasps out of a old, weary person. Penn's woods doesn't have much more it can give it would seem.

[femmocrat]

3. Good to hear...

but they are still raping and pillaging our county.

[JPZenger]

4. Boom is about to restart

The feds just provided a license that offers greater flexibility to Dominion Resources to export natural gas from its newly expanded facilities along the Chesapeake Bay. Many other export ports are under construction in the US.

There used to be limits on which countries could receive natural gas exports, but those regulations are being loosened, thereby expanding the market.

That could result in new boom in fracking in PA. The prices for natural gas are much higher overseas. A number of pipelines are being built across PA. to promote the export market.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. This is another reason why the boom is a bust.

We have been told that our heating prices will be affordable because of all the gas being pulled from the earth here. And now it will go out of the country, as if we didn't know this would happen already. After all the municipalities and businesses convert vehicles to natural gas, the prices will skyrocket. Good call.

And all those promised jobs are not materializing. They are still shipping workers here and hiring few Pennsylvanians. I was at a fast food restaurant, and there were about a dozen gas workers eating there and talking....and I lived in the south long enough to know that there was not one PA resident in the bunch. Now, a house that was sold up the street from me by owner has 4 vehicles parked there....all with North Dakota plates. I am curious about this, and wonder if it is possible that one family has so many vehicles, or if this house will be used for housing for imported gas workers. I have to keep an eye open to see what is up there.