By Roger Bezdek, Real Clear Energy–

All of the presumptive Democrat Presidential candidates and the two remaining – Joseph Biden and Bernie Sanders — would essentially ban fracking in the U.S., as would many other politicians and activists. However, fracking is the major reason the U.S. is the world’s leading natural gas and oil producer, and over 90% of U.S. natural gas and oil wells are currently developed via fracking. So, what would a ban mean for U.S. energy markets, the economy, and consumers? Three recent studies indicate the implications of such a ban: Reports from the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (CoC), and the American Petroleum Institute (API). All three reports indicate that a fracking ban would be disastrous.

CEA notes that over the past decade, increased shale production brought an 8X increase in natural gas extraction productivity and a 19X increase for oil. These gains have reduced costs and increased production to record-breaking levels: The U.S. has become the world’s largest producer of both commodities, surpassing Russia in 2011 (for natural gas) and Saudi Arabia and Russia in 2018 (for oil). CEA estimates that shale production has reduced the domestic price of natural gas by 63%, led to a 45% decrease in the price of electricity, and reduced the global price of oil by 10%.