US natural gas production is equivalent to 10M barrels/day of oil at a $23/barrel equivalent. The Obamie Commies don't like it any more than domestic oil production.
According to a study conducted by IHS Global Insight, a ban on hydraulic fracturing would cost the United States $374 billion in lost Gross Domestic Product by 2014, would result in the loss of about 3 million jobs and would require a sixty per cent increase in imported oil and natural gas to make up the difference. Placing restrictions on the fluids that can be used for hydraulic fracturing would be slightly less painful, but painful enough. In that scenario, IHS's study foresees a $172 billion reduction in GDP, 1.4 million jobs lost and a thirty per cent increase in energy imports. |