Executive Summary The first hydraulically fractured shale wells were drilled in Pennsylvania and West Virginia nearly a decade ago. Drawing on existing experiences in these states, and the rapid advance of hydrofracking in Ohio, we can begin to assess the effect of shale development on the most active drilling communities. As pressure mounts to increase…
Energy & Environment
The West Virginia Senate has unanimously passed SB 461 that creates the West Virginia Future Fund and an accompanying resolution (SJR 14) to make the natural gas and oil severance tax fund constitutionally protected (inviolate). As most readers know, the WVCBP has championed the idea for several years and we are excited the state is…
Nothing highlights the shift in Appalachian coal production more than Boone and Marshall County, West Virginia. For as long as I can remember, Boone County was always #1 in coal production. Today, Marshall County, which is located in the north-west part of the state, is the state's biggest coal producer at 17.2 million tons (compared…
Over the last five years, firms with an economic interest in the expansion of drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations — and their allies, supporters, and trade associations — have used a variety of tools and techniques to exaggerate the employment impacts of shale drilling. These strategies have ranged from the use of…
The Charleston Gazette had another timely editorial on Monday (I've been out of town all week) urging West Virginians to embrace the state's changing energy economy by creating solutions for the ongoing transition. As the chart below highlights, coal production has declined markedly over the last decade while natural gas is at unprecedented levels. As…
On September 4, 2013, Executive Director Ted Boettner presented on the West Virginia Future Fund at the Brighter Economic Future conference in Charleston. His presentation is available here.
Last year, using projections from the Energy Information Agency's Annual Energy Outlook report, we showed that coal production in Central Appalachia was heading for a steep decline, with or without new environmental regulations. This year's report tells the same story. Under the EIA's baseline model, Central Appalachian coal production is projected to decline from 186.4…
According to the WV Geological & Economic Survey, natural gas production doubled in West Virginia, from 265.2 billion cubic feet in 2010 to 538.7 billion cubic feet in 2012. As the chart below shows, this is the most natural gas West Virginia has ever produced. While there are no facts about the future, it…
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics establishment survey, mining jobs are at a two-decade high in in the Mountain State. The chart below finds that the number of jobs in "Mining & Logging" in West Virginia was 36,200 in May 2013. This was higher than at any time over the last 23 years.…
Last Wednesday, Jared Hunt with the Daily Mail reported that a new study by IHS Global Insight projects that West Virginia will see a huge boom in economic growth from unconventional oil and gas activity over the coming decades. According to an IHS Global Insight study, West Virginia's oil and natural gas industry accounted for…