Everywhere we go these days, people are discussing energy costs and security. A divisive national debate and international conflicts aside, it's important to consider the impact on Arkansas. This is a great opportunity to reflect on how our state has contributed to energy security and its local impact.

Long before the Fayetteville Shale Play put natural gas at the center of the state's economy, Arkansas was producing oil in the southern part of the state and natural gas in the Arkoma Basin. The state's first commercial oil well was drilled near El Dorado in 1921, launching an industry that would help transform south Arkansas. Natural gas production in the Arkoma Basin has an even longer history, with wells producing in the western Arkansas for generations.

From the oil fields of south Arkansas to the natural gas fields of the Arkoma Basin and, more recently, the Fayetteville Shale, the story has been remarkably consistent: Arkansas has resources beneath its land, and when technology, investment and opportunity come together, those resources can create jobs, tax revenue and economic activity far beyond the wellhead.

The Fayetteville Shale was simply the next chapter.

Between 2001 and 2010, nine counties in north-central Arkansas lost 9,558 manufacturing jobs. They were among the most economically challenged counties in the state and were watching their economic........

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