Half of United States Fracked Wells Already Meet EPA Pollution Standards

In response to a court-ordered deadline, the Environmental Protection Agency has finalized new regulations aimed at reducing toxic air pollution from the natural-gas drilling practice known as fracking. These regulations, which will also target emissions from compressors, oil storage tanks and other oil-and-gas sector equipment, are expected to cut 95 percent of smog-forming and toxic emissions from wells developed with fracking. Fracking, along with advances in horizontal drilling technology, has enabled major growth in natural-gas production from shale in recent years. In fact, the federal Energy Information Administration estimates that shale gas will grow from 23 percent of U.S. gas production in 2010 to 49 percent in 2035. Furthermore, a December 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers study reveals that this shale boom could create over one million manufacturing jobs by 2025. The EPA acknowledges that the required processes and technologies being enforced by these new regulations are already in use at about half of the fractured natural gas wells in the United States. Additionally, the EPA is providing the industry a three-year transition period to install the technology required to capture potential pollutants. This determined grace period will help ensure that the supply and demand expectations for natural gas will be maintained during the transition. TAP Management Austin TX has contributed to the increase of oil and gas production in the South Texas, Gulf Coast, Rocky Mountain and Mid-Continent regions. Since its founding in 2005, TAP Management Austin TX reviews oil and gas prospects in fields that meet the criteria of the company. We are dedicated to decreasing our nations dependence on foreign oil and gas while operating in accordance with environmental industry regulations.