New York bans fracking

New York has recently made the decision to ban fracking. Experts suggest that the step has not had a significant effect on the nation’s production of natural gas. The reason suggested for this is New York has a minimal production in contrast with the available reserve of national gas in other states such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Penn State University Geologist, Terry Engelder said:

"Even if the ban were lifted right now, I doubt you would see very much activity. The industry has committed so much capital in other states that they want to see that those investments are made good first."

Engelder estimates 127 trillion cubic feet of commercially viable natural gas in Marcellus Shale. New York has only approximately 16 trillion cubic feet. Engelder’s figures are widely adopted by the New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

Bob Ineson, Natural Gas expert for IHS analysis group said:

“New York’s portion of the resource is a small fraction of the total. There is plenty of resource without the New York gas.” Reasons cited behind the decision include a plummeting wholesale price of natural gas from $8 to below $4 per million BTU since 2008. Potential health risks such as air and water contamination were also said to outweigh the benefits.

The process of fracking, uses chemically treated water into rock to extract a gas from horizontally drilled wells. New York remains a main consumer of the quantity of natural gas but does not itself produce a great deal.

There are a number of projects underway to make more cost effective shale gas alternatives available. New York and New England are high-demand markets. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last month approved a $700 million Constitution Pipeline, which will run 124 miles from Pennsylvania's Susquehanna County to New York's Schoharie County. Shorter pipeline expansions completed in 2013 in the New Jersey/New York City area have already increased the flow of Marcellus gas into that market and helped ease winter price spikes. However as a result of pipeline constraints, winter spikes in demand and other external factors, New York and New England consumers pay some of the highest rates in the country for natural gas supply.