A fracking rig at sunset. iStock
Manhattan Institute: Issues 2020: A Fracking Ban Would Trigger Global Recession
The Narrative
| "I will ban fracking—everywhere."[1] — Elizabeth Warren "Any proposal to avert the climate crisis must include a full fracking ban on public and private lands."[2] — Bernie Sanders "I favor a ban on new fracking and a rapid end to existing fracking."[3] — Pete Buttigieg |
Reality
The extraction of oil and gas through the techniques of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (colloquially, “fracking”) has catapulted the United States into leadership of the world’s energy markets. Since 2007, fracking has doubled U.S. oil production and increased gas production by 60%. Instead of a major importer, America is rapidly becoming the largest exporter of oil and is expected to supply the majority of net new energy traded on global markets over the next two decades.
If the U.S. imposed a fracking ban, the supply disruption would trigger the biggest oil and natural gas price spikes in history—almost certainly by more than 200%—which would, in turn, tip the world into recession. Even the expectation that a ban could be enacted would destabilize markets. U.S. imports and the trade imbalance would soar, as would consumers’ spending on energy. To keep the lights on, America would have to nearly double the quantity of coal burned, as well as import up to 1 million barrels of oil per day for dual-fueled power plants that would lose access to natural gas.
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WNU Editor: And the pundits wonder why President Trump has the support that he does.
