Shale Gas and Oil Development: A Review of the Local Environmental, Fiscal, and Social Impacts

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology became commercially viable in the early 2000s, leading to a veritable boom in the development of natural gas and oil from shale plays. In 2018, about 63 percent of natural gas and 61 percent of crude oil production in the US was from shale resources. The effects of this rapid expansion of shale oil and natural gas extraction may include lease and royalty payments to land and mineral rights owners; increased demand for labor, land, housing, and infrastructure; increased truck traffic, air pollution, surface-level ecological disturbances; and the risk of soil or water contamination. Development is also associated with new sources of tax revenue for States and local governments, as well as strains on government resources to improve and maintain public infrastructure and services.