Perception can be a tricky thing. Motivational speaker Wayne Dyer noted, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” Simple, but true.
Americans, to include state and national policy leaders, must understand that the thousands upon thousands of natural gas wells across this country are vital to our wellbeing, national energy security and independence. The wells are, indeed, critical infrastructure.
When asked to describe what is considered “critical” infrastructure, most people will respond with commonsense items like bridges, roads, power plants, transmission lines, pipelines, internet access and water systems. They are absolutely correct, and these items allow us to enjoy the quality of life that we do in the United States.
But given natural gas is responsible for generating nearly 40% of America’s electricity needs, provides the fuel to heat more than half of all U.S. homes and is a critical component of many everyday items (think personal protective equipment, lifesaving medicines, clothing and cleaning products, just to name a few), I believe there must be greater recognition of the role producing natural gas wells play in our everyday lives.
In Pennsylvania, energy development is responsible for supporting 300,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes over $40 billion to the Commonwealth’s economy. The state has also collected close to $2 billion from the Impact Fee (a type of production tax paid when natural gas is produced from certain wells), which benefits every county in the state.
There are nearly 500,000 active gas production wells across the U.S. These wells are connected to storage areas and customers through nearly 3 million miles of pipeline. And gas is processed at more than 500 processing facilities.
All of these infrastructure components — pipelines, processing plants, storage facilities, etc. — are no doubt “critical,” but they would not be necessary without the gas well that ushers this vital resource from beneath the earth.
Our company, Diversified Gas & Oil Corporation, supports the American economy in a significant way. We produce a large amount of the natural gas coming out of the Appalachian basin, the largest natural gas producing region in the U.S., and directly employ over 1,200 people, including 203 in Pennsylvania, and operate in 25 Pennsylvania counties.
Our business model focuses on improving production from active wells, restoring production from inactive wells, enhancing the safety of onsite well equipment and achieving compliance with environmental requirements. We do so with a constant eye towards safety, sustainability, being a good and valued corporate citizen in our communities and compliance with all environmental regulations.
Maximizing and maintaining the life of gas and oil wells assures jobs for Pennsylvanians, higher royalty payments to land and mineral owners, positive economic benefit and impact for the state, and a critical supply of natural gas to support the American economy.
Operating in an environmentally responsible fashion is paramount. By focusing our acquisition strategy on existing, long-life wells, compared to a portfolio developed solely by drilling new wells, we reduce the introduction of new sources of emissions into the environment, use of water and impact on existing infrastructure.
And, in fact, the continued growth in the use of natural gas nationally has led total energy-related CO2 emissions to drop to 30-year lows. In the Commonwealth, emissions have decreased 30% since 2005.
We, as a company and an industry, are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and improving the safety of our operations while increasing well productivity.
Policies that encourage the sustainability and maintenance of older, existing natural gas assets save resources for future generations, better protect the environment, and help keep our economy thriving.
Without producing wells, there is no need for pipelines, power plants and other industry-specific infrastructure.
Changing our perception to a paradigm that places greater value on the importance of producing natural gas wells will help drive more effective public policy and result in continued energy independence and energy security for America.
(Bob Cayton is senior vice president of Northern operations for Diversified Gas and Oil Corporation.)
