Gregory Zuckerman on the Frackers and the Energy Revolution

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4.7 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 23 June 2014

⏱️ 62 minutes

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Summary

Gregory Zuckerman of the Wall Street Journal and author of The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his new book, the rise of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), how this technology developed, and the vibrant personalities that pioneered the energy revolution. Topics discussed along the way include the history and future of fracking, environmental concerns about the process, and how the story of fracking is the classic tale of the successes and failures of determined risk-takers. The role of market forces in driving that success and failure runs through the entire conversation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty. I'm your host, Russ Roberts,
0:07.8	of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Our website is econtalk.org, or you can subscribe,
0:14.4	comment on this podcast, and find links and other information related to today's conversation.
0:19.6	We'll also find our archives where you can listen to every episode we've ever done going
0:23.3	back to 2006. Our email address is mailadycontalk.org. We'd love to hear from you.
0:32.0	Today is May 29, 2014, and my guest is Gregory Suckerman, writer for the Wall Street Journal,
0:38.1	his latest book, and the subject of today's conversation is The Frackers, the outrageous
0:44.3	inside story of the new billionaire Wildcatters, Greg, welcome to Econ Talk.
0:48.8	Hey, great to be here. So let's talk about the technology of fracking. What is it exactly,
0:54.4	and how does it work? Sure. Fracking is just short for hydraulic fracturing. It's been
1:01.4	going on since the 40s in different parts of the country, the world, but only in the last decade or so
1:10.3	has it been really focused on shale. Shale is a type of rock. That's a key to this whole energy
1:16.8	revolution, this renaissance of energy production in the United States. Shale is deep in the surface
1:23.0	down below as much as 14,000 feet below the surface, and it's the source rock. In other words,
1:32.0	it's the source of oil and gas that historically has made its way over millions of years,
1:38.5	closer to the surface. And we've always drilled down vertically, like with a straw,
1:43.4	and looked for reservoirs of oil and gas. But we started ran out of that and hence the fear and
1:49.6	worries in this country from the early 70s on about being dependent on countries that we
1:57.7	weren't really friends with and didn't want to send all that money to. And there were issues,
2:02.3	obviously with the Arab energy oil boycott, Ram Bargo in the early 70s. And subsequently,
2:08.8	ever since we've just sort of been nervous about our dependence on others, but that's all changed
2:13.2	because we finally figured out how to get lots of oil and gas from shale. And that's only happened
	...

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