Malin Stephanie A, Mayer Adam, Hazboun Shawn
Department of Sociology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Resour Policy. 2023 Oct;86(Pt A). doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.104197. Epub 2023 Sep 28.
Since the 'shale revolution' of the late 2000s, unconventional oil and gas extraction (UOGE) has been hailed by many as a boon for local and regional economies, workers, and property owners. While energy social science has documented many realities that counter this narrative - natural resource dependent economies, 'boom and bust' cycles of the energy industry, and 'resource curse'- there is less research examining economic impacts of UOGE for small-scale property owners. While some large-scale property owners lease their land, minerals, or water rights to oil and gas companies in exchange for royalties, other property owners are not able or do not wish to do so. Yet, nearby UOGE may negatively impact property values and thus threaten people's sense of economic stability. Several legal mechanisms - forced pooling, split estate, and rule of capture - significantly restrict the rights of many property owners while privileging other property rights. While property ownership represents a privileged status, it is the largest investment many Americans will make and is relied upon for retirement planning, financial stability, and transfer of generational wealth. Yet, despite the importance of property ownership, particularly home ownership, little is known about how proximity to oil and gas development impacts small-scale property owners. This paper analyzes how UOGE impacts property owners' sense of economic precarity. We conducted surveys of hundreds of affected households and interviews with 66 property owners in two Colorado towns that have experienced heavy UOGE. We find that the current regulatory regimes disempower small-scale property owners, create economic vulnerability, and ultimately privilege property rights of mineral owners and operators over others - creating uncompensated for small-scale property owners. We explore important implications, including the need for more responsive and community-based governance processes.
自21世纪末的“页岩革命”以来，非常规油气开采（UOGE）被许多人誉为地方和区域经济、工人及业主的福音。尽管能源社会科学记录了许多与这种说法相悖的现实——依赖自然资源的经济、能源行业的“繁荣与萧条”周期以及“资源诅咒”，但针对非常规油气开采对小规模业主经济影响的研究较少。一些大规模业主将其土地、矿产或水权出租给油气公司以换取特许权使用费，而其他业主则无法或不愿这样做。然而，附近的非常规油气开采可能会对房产价值产生负面影响，从而威胁人们的经济稳定感。一些法律机制——强制集合、分割地产和捕获规则——在赋予其他产权特权的同时，极大地限制了许多业主的权利。虽然产权代表着一种特权地位，但它是许多美国人将进行的最大投资，并且是退休规划、金融稳定和代际财富转移所依赖的。然而，尽管产权，尤其是房屋所有权很重要，但对于靠近油气开发如何影响小规模业主却知之甚少。本文分析了非常规油气开采如何影响业主的经济不稳定感。我们对数百户受影响家庭进行了调查，并对科罗拉多州两个经历了大量非常规油气开采的城镇的66位业主进行了访谈。我们发现，当前的监管制度剥夺了小规模业主的权力，造成了经济脆弱性，并最终使矿产所有者和经营者的产权优先于其他产权——给小规模业主造成了未得到补偿的损失。我们探讨了重要影响，包括需要更具响应性和基于社区的治理过程。
