Election 2016: What is at Stake for Fracking?

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A hot button issue at the best of times, hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," has been a campaign issue for the 2016 presidential election. With presumptive Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton stating that she would increase regulation on fracking to the point that it would no longer be a viable practice, and her opponent Donald Trump professing his support for fracking as a path to energy independence, the lines are clearly drawn. However cutting through the rhetoric, what is at stake? How much spending, specifically in natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines could be affected, positively or negatively, by the election of one candidate or the other? According to Industrial Info, there is $40.9 billion in active project spending on natural gas and NGL transmission infrastructure in the U.S. Is it all on the chopping block, or will the results of the election result in business as usual?

Fracking has primarily been a contentious topic in the Marcellus shale gas play, which covers Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Industrial Info is tracking $11.1 billion in spending in the region on natural gas and NGL pipeline infrastructure, with roughly $9 billion of that currently in the early planning or regulator permitting phases. While projects already approved or under construction projects, such as the Mariner East Phase II project by Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (NYSE SXL) (Newton Square, Pennsylvania), may be immune from changes to regulation, it is those that are still going through or about to go through permitting that are at stake.

While social license and environmental regulation for building pipelines have been sources of headaches for midstream companies for years, it is an environment to which these companies have become accustomed and have indeed learned to eke out profits in. In the event of a fracking-unfriendly candidate being elected, there would still be significant barriers to passing increased regulation on pipelines, namely an adversarial legislative branch which could water down any potential legislation or outright refuse it. Conversely, if a fracking-friendly candidate were elected, making things easier for midstream companies could prove difficult as there are a multitude of other issues in this and other sectors that would require attention, potentially leaving the playing field much the same as it has been. As such, the future may be only slightly harder or much the same for midstream companies servicing producers utilizing fracking methods, due to the gas industry's demonstrated resilience in its continuing low-price environment and the realities of changing or undoing legislation.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.