The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters (48 page)

Tom Ward, cofounder of Chesapeake Energy and founder of SandRidge Energy.

Courtesy of Staplegun, Oklahoma City

Harold Hamm in front of his childhood home in Lexington, Oklahoma.

Washington Post/Getty Images

Harold Hamm and his wife, Sue Ann, at a 2012 event honoring
Time
magazine’s one hundred most influential people.

Fernando Leon/Getty Images North America

Charif Souki at his company’s Louisiana LNG terminal.

Polaris Images

Hydraulic fracturing creates pathways for oil and gas to flow from shale and other types of compressed rock.

Courtesy of Nicolle Fuller

Liz Irish (far right) and an oil-drilling crew in North Dakota’s Bakken region.

Courtesy of Liz Irish

A drilling rig near the Badlands of North Dakota.

Vern Whitten Photography

Left to right: Buck Butler, the author, and Butler’s son Rodney.

A drilling site in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation.

Doug Duncan, USGS

Geologist Terry Engelder, who shocked the world by determining how much gas was in the Marcellus Shale, in front of the home of a fracking fan in the region.

Wall Street Journal
/ Joe Shoulak

Significant oil-and-gas shale formations in the United States.

Courtesy of USRA (usrigactivity.com)

I
had the privilege of spending over one hundred hours with George Mitchell, Harold Hamm, Mark Papa, and other architects of the shale revolution, and for that I’m appreciative. Nicholas Steinsberger, Kent Bowker, Dan Steward, Ken Bowdon, Terry Engelder, Michael Johnson, James Kochick, James Henry and others who laid the groundwork for the remarkable changes to the country were patient and helpful.

Critics of the industry, who play a crucial watchdog role, also were generous with their time. I’m just as thankful to the countless individuals I met as I crisscrossed the nation—those who work in the energy industry and others impacted by it. They took the time to lend their perspective, explain the difference between shale oil and oil shale, or just point a lost reporter to a local motel.

My publisher, Adrian Zackheim, had boundless enthusiasm for this book, while my editor, Maria Gagliano, lent expert insight and judgment. Bruce Giffords, Roland Ottewell, and Ingrid Sterner provided ace editorial production, copyediting, and fact checking assistance, respectively.

Deep appreciation and thanks go to Moshe Glick, who had the original idea for this book, well before most had heard of fracking, and encouraged me to stay with it. I could not have completed this project without Scobe and Hal Lux, who patiently answered questions and scrutinized sections of the manuscript at all hours of the day. Industry experts, including Ed Morse and Scott Anderson, lent crucial perspective.

I’m indebted to Doni Bloomfield, a truly remarkable and indefatigable research assistant, as well as Rachel Louise Ensign, who gave crucial and appreciated research assistance. I’m also grateful for the invaluable counsel and critiques of colleagues, former colleagues, friends, and family members, including Ezra Zuckerman Sivan, Vanessa O’Connell, Brad Reagan, Ron Pollack, Erik Mielke, Karen Richardson, Liam Pleven, Craig Karmin, Doni and Eric Landy, Josh Marcus, Susie Nussbaum, Harold Simansky, Adam Brauer, Robin Sidel, and John Phillips.

I’d also like to thank the
Wall Street Journal
’s managing editor, Gerard Baker, and Rebecca Blumenstein and Matt Murray, deputy editors in chief of the paper, for giving their blessings for this project. Heartfelt thanks to Francesco Guerrera, the editor of the paper’s Money and Investing section, who was especially supportive.

Thanks go to Miles Davis, Paul Kelley, Liam Finn, Neil Young, Kathleen Edwards, Simon and Garfunkel, and Yaz for keeping me company very, very late at night.

My mother, Roberta Zuckerman, and late father, Alan Zuckerman, were the best parents a young man could hope for. Their lessons and love guide and propel me.

Last but not least, I thank my wife, Michelle, for showing me so much patience, understanding, and extraordinary support during the course of this project. Readers also owe her some gratitude for somehow convincing me to keep the book under five hundred pages. My love and appreciation go to the best fracking boys in the world, Gabriel Benjamin and Elijah Shane. You kept me company as I wrote, played catch with me when I needed a break, and rejuvenated me when I lagged. You’ll never know how much joy and happiness you bring me, every single day.