On this episode of Newt’s World, Newt Gingrich sits down with the president of Reliance Well Services and Arena Resources, Dan Doyle, to discuss one of the most consequential energy innovations of the last half-century: hydraulic fracturing. Doyle shares his firsthand experience building a company amid the post 2008 financial crisis and participating in the technological revolution that helped transform the United States from an energy-dependent nation into one of the world’s leading energy producers.
Their conversation explores the entrepreneurial spirit behind the fracking boom, the economic opportunities created by affordable domestic energy, and the ongoing debate surrounding America’s energy future. Drawing on decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, Doyle explains how advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing unlocked vast reserves of oil and natural gas, reshaping both the American economy and the global energy landscape.
Listen to their conversation below, or scroll down for an edited transcript.
Edited Transcript
This conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Newt Gingrich: You launched your company in 2009, just as the country was emerging from the financial crisis. Most people were looking for stability. What made you willing to take such a significant risk?
Dan Doyle: Looking back, it may have been more optimism than wisdom. Oil prices had been extraordinarily high before the crash, and I believed there was an opportunity to return to an industry I loved. The early years were filled with mistakes, setbacks, and hard lessons, but we managed to build something that ultimately succeeded.
Newt Gingrich: Did your interest in the energy industry begin early?
Dan Doyle: It did. My father and a friend drilled a small well in Pennsylvania when I was in college. I spent weekends helping at the well site and became fascinated by the business. It felt like a legal version of treasure hunting. That experience led me to change my major to geology and eventually begin raising money for drilling projects.
Newt Gingrich: Pennsylvania has a remarkable energy history. What was it like getting started there?
Dan Doyle: Pennsylvania’s oil fields are some of the oldest in America. We would occasionally encounter wells that had been drilled more than a century earlier. It gave me an appreciation for how deeply energy development is woven into the history of the country.
Newt Gingrich: The industry often seems to have a frontier mentality.
Dan Doyle: There’s definitely a strong entrepreneurial culture. Energy development attracts people who are willing to take risks. Even today, when we operate in remote areas of Wyoming, there’s still a sense of independence and self-reliance that reminds you of the industry’s roots.
Newt Gingrich: You also spent time in Texas before returning to the industry later in your career.
Dan Doyle: I did. As a young man, I moved to Texas to work on larger drilling projects. The industry went through a prolonged downturn, and eventually I moved into an entirely different career path. I attended film school at New York University, worked in production, and later built an equipment rental company. After selling that business, I finally had the opportunity to return to oil and gas.
Newt Gingrich: Many Americans have forgotten that there was a time when experts warned we were running out of oil. Then hydraulic fracturing changed everything.
Dan Doyle: Fracturing itself had existed for decades, but the breakthrough came when it was combined with horizontal drilling. Traditionally, you drilled straight down and only accessed a relatively small section of a reservoir. With horizontal drilling, you can extend the well for miles through productive rock formations.
That dramatically increases the amount of oil and gas that can be recovered. It also allowed producers to tap source rock directly rather than relying only on traditional reservoirs. The result was one of the most significant energy breakthroughs in modern history.
Newt Gingrich: Why do you think fracking became such a politically divisive issue?
Dan Doyle: In many cases, public perception was shaped by documentaries and advocacy campaigns that focused on worst-case scenarios while ignoring the broader economic and environmental realities. Over time, the issue became highly politicized.
What often gets lost is the enormous impact affordable energy has on families, businesses, and local communities. The benefits are real and measurable.
Newt Gingrich: You’ve been particularly critical of New York’s decision to prohibit large-scale fracking.
Dan Doyle: When you compare counties in northern Pennsylvania with neighboring communities across the New York border, the economic differences are striking. Pennsylvania benefited from jobs, royalties, investment, and tax revenue. Many New York communities missed those opportunities.
I believe energy policy should be based on practical outcomes and sound science rather than ideology.
Newt Gingrich: Some advocates argue that renewable energy can fully replace fossil fuels.
Dan Doyle: I’m an advocate for an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Where solar, wind, nuclear, or other technologies make sense, we should use them. But energy systems need to be reliable, affordable, and scalable.
The reality is that modern economies require enormous amounts of dependable power. As technologies such as artificial intelligence and data centers continue to expand, that demand is only going to increase.
Newt Gingrich: You’ve built successful companies and accumulated decades of experience. Why write a book?
Dan Doyle: Because the story itself was unbelievable. The startup years were filled with larger-than-life characters, unexpected setbacks, and situations that seemed too outrageous to be true.
At some point I realized those experiences captured a unique moment in American energy history. I started keeping notes and eventually turned them into Roughnecks & Riches. It’s part business story, part adventure, and part account of how the fracking boom changed the country.
Newt Gingrich: Your new book, Roughnecks & Riches: A Startup in the Great American Fracking Boom, is available now. Dan, thank you for joining me.
Dan Doyle: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was an honor to be here.
About the Guest
Dan Doyle studied geology at the University of Pittsburgh and filmmaking at NYU Grad Film School. He is the president of Reliance Well Services, a hydraulic frack company with operations in the Appalachian and Illinois Basins, and is president of Arena Resources, an oil and gas company drilling in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. Dan lives in Erie, Pennsylvania with his wife and two daughters.
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