SANTA BARBARA COUNTY - The oil and gas industry has been a major part of the Central Coast economy for decades.
Domestic energy industry insiders say the region sits atop a vast supply of Monterey shale which has huge economic potential through hydraulic fracturing or "fracking".
"Underneath the Central Coast which some people estimate could contain as much as 15 billion barrels of oil", says Dave Quast with energy industry advocacy group Energy In Depth, "so there is potential for more development even more then what we have, we're the fourth largest energy producing state."
Quast says there are popular misconceptions that hydraulic fracturing is a threat to public health and the environment.
"There's this myth that this is something that is new and somehow controversial", Quast says, "this is a well proven technique that has been used safely for more than 60 years for wells that were fractured back in the 1940's."
The industry hopes as the public becomes more knowledgeable about fracking and its safe track record that the business will continue to grow and create more good paying jobs locally.
"This could really spark an economic renaissance like they have in other places where they are exploring shale gas resources", Quast says, "tens of thousands of jobs have been created and that's something that could certainly happen here in California."
To read more about fracking and the exploration of Monterey shale on the Central Coast go to: http://www.energyindepth.org/
