A Decade of Drilling

The Barnett Shale in the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin is the first place hydraulic fracturing technology was used to extract natural gas from shale, making it a historic North American drilling site.

A recent study by The Perryman Group (TPG) in Waco, Texas, (“A Decade of Drilling,” released Sept. 27, 2011), confirms it has also become a major source for tremendous economic gain for the area. The report, commissioned by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, is a detailed, 146-page document that shows actual, realized monetary figures—not projections—on income for schools, municipalities and the state generated from Barnett Shale-related activity.

The report shows that the Barnett Shale’s economic impact is greater than DFW Dallas Love Field and Fort Worth Alliance Airport combined. It produces 10 percent more jobs than air transportation and 5 percent more than aircraft manufacturing and is recognized as comprising 8.5 percent of the total business activity in the region. Regionally, Barnett Shale-related activity has created 100,268 jobs, TPG found. For the state, more than 119,200 jobs have been created. Wage and salary employment in the region is about 8.7 percent higher than it would be without the play. Personal income in the region is almost 8.5 percent higher than it would be in the absence of this activity.

The shale has produced billions for schools and municipalities. In 2010, independent school districts in the Barnett Shale area received approximately $2.7 million in royalty payments, $2.5 million in bonuses and $45.8 million in tax revenue from natural gas and mineral rights. Indirect revenues from collateral development are even higher. At the University of Texas at Arlington, $5 million in royalties has been paid since wells on campus began production in 2008.

The impact extends to revenue-challenged area charities, which have received more than $9 million in donations from oil and gas companies, TPG found. This year, the Barnett Shale and related activity will generate around $730 million in additional revenues for counties, cities and school districts in the region. The state will likely receive another $911.8 million, for a total gain in local and state taxes of an estimated $1.6 billion, according to the report.