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A BAN WOULD HARM AMERICA’S ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT, AND SECURITY

Proposals to ban hydraulic fracturing within the oil and gas industry (i.e., “fracking”) have re-entered the public conversation. Unfortunately, pro-ban advocates either ignore or are ignorant of the economic, environmental, and national security benefits associated with fracking technology.

Banning fracking would raise consumer energy prices.

• In recent years, fracking has saved American consumers $203 billion each year through lower energy prices.
• This is equivalent to $2,500 each year for a family of four.
• Fracking provides cheap and abundant energy for household heating that saves 11,000 lives each winter.
• During the winter of 2022, The Economist estimates that 68,000 Europeans perished due to high energy costs.

Banning fracking would kill jobs.

• Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created where fracking is used to reach oil and natural gas reserves.
• In 2023, the average annual wage for oil and gas workers ranged from $52,470 to $163,170.
• Fracking also provides economic benefits for nearby communities.
• Each million dollars worth of energy production creates additional wages worth between $257,000 and $277,420 within a 100-mile radius.

Banning fracking would increase the human impact on the environment.

• Horizontal drilling technology allows for greater oil and gas production with a lower impact on the surface environment.
• Underground, horizontal wells routinely reach 3 miles in length without disrupting the environment above them.
• A shift toward natural gas has been the primary driver of reducing American greenhouse gas emissions within the electricity industry over the past two decades.
• While America’s emissions have fallen, emissions from the People’s Republic of China have skyrocketed.

Banning fracking would hinder American national security.

• Since 2007, American annual natural gas production has increased by 85%, making the Nation less reliant on foreign energy.
• Since their peak in 2007, American imports of natural gas have fallen 36%.
• America’s annual LNG exports have grown 153-fold since 2015.
• American LNG exports have helped to blunt Russia’s weaponization of its natural gas supplies to American allies in Europe.

Banning fracking would impose costs on American consumers, workers, the environment, and America’s national security.