The Dayton Daily News reports that natural gas trapped in two shale formations beneath Ohio could mean thousands of new jobs, if activity in other states is any indication.
Pennsylvania,which sits on one of the same shale formations as Ohio, saw gas and oil industries hire 72,000 new people from the fourth quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2011.
The newspaper reports that a series of announcements in the last week, including $750 million in land leasing by the Hess Corp. for possible drilling, shows that Ohio is on the cusp of an oil and gas boom.
Environmental groups oppose the drilling process, claiming the use of the chemical-laced water to extract gas could permanently harm the environment.