The shale gas revolution — A US perspective
David S. NeslinDavis Graham & Stubbs LLP
The APPEA Journal 53(3) - https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ12129
Published: 30 June 2013
Abstract
Many experts believe that new supplies of natural gas and oil from shale and other unconventional formations have the potential to decrease our energy costs, boost our economies, enhance our national security, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. These new natural gas and oil supplies are being unlocked through the application of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, which are dramatically increasing energy production across the United States and creating opportunities for similar development in other countries like Australia. But expanding oil and gas production is also stimulating global concerns about potential adverse impacts to water, air, and other resources, which are the subject of proliferating study and regulatory attention. This presentation will summarise the wide range of benefits and concerns associated with shale development in the United States. It will suggest emerging regulatory trends at the state and national levels, which may help to shape the approach of other countries, such as seeking incremental improvement, better balancing prescription and performance, and improving interagency coordination. It will describe the experience of states like Colorado, which are producing more of the energy we need while doing a better job of protecting the environment we treasure. And it will explore how responsible regulation can help us bridge the widening gap between the pivotal promise and the perceived peril of unconventional oil and gas development.
David Neslin is a partner in the Denver, Colorado, law firm of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP. From November 2007 through February 2012, he served as Director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. During his tenure, the Commission worked to balance energy production with environmental protection by undertaking the first comprehensive updating of its regulations in more than a decade, implementing new environmental requirements, significantly reducing administrative review times, working collaboratively with local governments, and adopting hydraulic fracturing regulations that are considered a national model. During his State tenure, David served as the Chair of State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations, Inc., which conducts peer reviews of state environmental programs, and as Colorado’s representative on the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, which provides leadership on US oil and gas issues. He also helped develop and promote the hydraulic fracturing website www.FracFocus.org. He has testified before Congress and frequently speaks on hydraulic fracturing and other energy-related topics to local, national and international audiences. Before joining the State, David spent 24 years with the law firm of Arnold & Porter LLP, where he handled precedent-setting litigation under the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Nuclear Waste Policy Act. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and the University of Washington law school. |
