Various Presidential hopefuls have recently pledged to ban hydraulic fracturing (HF) if elected. This raises an important question: what would happen to American jobs and the economy if hydraulic fracturing was banned? A report released today by the Global Energy Institute calculates the benefits of hydraulic fracturing in the U.S.
The technological innovation of fracking has dramatically changed the energy balance of not only the U.S., but the entire world. Ending or curtailing this technology could threaten 19 million American jobs by 2025 and potentially cost the U.S. economy up to $7.1 trillion.
The United States now exports more crude oil and fuel then it imports, reversing a decades-long trend thanks to the end of a four-decade old ban on crude oil exports in 2015. Fracking in the Permian basin and other areas of the U.S. now allows for exports of over 3.2 million bpd per week.
The implications of this paradigm shift in the global oil supply are dramatic. Some of the top destinations of U.S. crude oil exports are countries like Brazil, Japan and China. Crude oil exports help reverse the U.S. trade deficit with these countries and provide alternatives to reliance on Middle Eastern or Russian supplies. In addition to lost economic benefits, a ban on fracking and its implications on our export ability will leave U.S. allies around the world without a stable source of energy.
“These findings support what we already knew: the application of hydraulic fracturing technology has helped position the U.S. as an energy super power, shifted the geopolitical balance between nations, created thousands of jobs and billions in economic growth here at home in an environmentally-responsible manner. We must recognize these achievements and ensure they are not reversed,” said PESA President Leslie Beyer.
