BP's accident in the Gulf of Mexico could lead to tighter restrictions for onshore producers as lawmakers continue to weight the safety procedures for drilling.
At greatest risk are the nation's burgeoning shale plays, where hydraulic fracturing has been placed under the microscope by environmentalists and elected officials alike.
From CNNMoney.com:
But the incident has heightened concerns over other forms of oil and gas drilling -- specifically in the prolific but controversial shale formations.
The shale areas, so-named due to the type of rock they contain, are relatively new areas for natural gas production in the United States. They are thought to hold vast amounts of the fuel used mostly to generate electricity and a cleaner alternative to coal.
But the shale is often located near major population centers, and concerns have arisen that drilling will contaminate drinking water.
Many residents that live in or near the shale areas have formed groups calling for tougher regulations. But so far they've enjoyed little support from the Obama administration or other powerful politicians.
That may be shifting.
"The perception of risk has changed, and the reason for it can be summed up in one word - Macondo," said Kevin Book, a managing director at Clear View Energy Partners, referring to BP's leaking well.
Book is among the analysts that believe tighter federal regulations on shale drilling are coming, perhaps sometime in 2011.
As evidence of the shift, he cited recent comments from Sen. Mike Doyle, D-Penn. Doyle hails from a shale gas state, and as recently as this spring was declaring the United States the Saudi Arabia of natural gas.
Yet in a recent congressional hearing, Doyle told Exxon Mobil chief executive Rex Tillerson that the gas will stay in the ground until the industry can get it out safely.
| 
