Gas Fracking Spurs Oil Rush

By Jeff McMahon

Hydraulic fracturing has made natural gas so plentiful and cheap in the United States that rig operators are opting to drill for oil, a BP economist said in Chicago last night.

In 2011 the United States passed Russia as the world’s largest producer of natural gas, said Mark Finley, BP’s general manager for global energy markets. But because the U.S. lacks sufficient facilities to liquefy and ship natural gas, most of that gas enters the domestic market....

Oil well, Ranger, Texas (Photo credit: SMU Central University Libraries)