Jane Barrow, CEO of Caprica Energy, must recommend to the board which of three potential “unconventional ” natural-gas development sites in different parts of the United States the company should pursue. The case takes place in January 2011, when the “low-hanging fruit ” of natural-gas production in the United States had essentially been picked. All three of the potential sites (shale, coalbed methane, and tight sands) would require hydraulic fracturing, a process of removing gas that was formerly considered inaccessible by injecting water and chemicals into the ground. Because of emerging concerns about the potential harm “fracking ” can do to drinking water, Barrow must not only analyze which site might be most profitable but also what the potential risks to the environment and area residents might be.
Caprica Energy and Its Choices
This case was prepared by Jared D. Harris, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Darden School of Business; Samuel E. Bodily, John Tyler Professor of Business Administration, Darden School of Business; Jenny Mead, Senior Researcher, Darden School of Business; Donald Adolphson, Professor of Public Management, Brigham Young University; and Brad Carmack, 2011 JD/MPA Candidate, Brigham Young University. James Rogers (U. Va. '11) provided some information about hydraulic fracturing and accidents in the Marcellus Shale play. John Malek (MBA '12) provided additional research assistance. This case was funded and supported by the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics at the Darden School of Business. Some conversations and situations are hypothetical. It was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.
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Harris JD, Bodily SE, Mead J, Adolphson D, Carmack B, Rogers J (2017;), "Caprica Energy and Its Choices". Darden Business Publishing Cases, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/case.darden.2016.000057
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