
GAS
FRACKING BAN IN UPSTATE
N.Y. UPHELD BY STATE COURT JUDGE
February 22,
2012 - A central New York town can block
natural-gas drilling after a state
judge, in the first test of local laws,
upheld the Town of Dryden’s ban on
hydraulic fracturing. “I think you’d
call this a pretty substantial victory,”
Mahlon Perkins, attorney for Dryden,
said yesterday. “The pertinent part of
it is, he declared that the zoning
amendment as slightly modified is not
pre-empted by state law.”
New York
placed a moratorium on the drilling
process known as hydraulic fracturing in
2010 while state regulators developed
environmental rules. Since then, about
20 towns in the state have adopted laws
to ban drilling, Karen Edelstein, a
geographic information-systems
consultant in Ithaca, said.
Story
CONTINUATION OF 2-MONTH
CONDENSATE SPILL
February 22,
2012 - A spokesman for the state
Department of Environmental Protection
said Tuesday a spill at a gas well site
in Robinson Township is likely "a
continuation" of a leak first reported
in December. Poister could not say if
there would be any notice of violation
or fine until the investigation is
completed.
John Poister,
spokesman for DEP's Southwest regional
office, said the agency first learned of
a leak from an underground line to a
condensate tank at the
Chevron-Appalachia well site Dec. 20.
Poister said at this point in the
investigation, it appears there was no
second spill but only workers cleaning
up from that December leak. The soil is
being removed and placed in Dumpsters to
be taken off-site.
Story
PIPING MARCELLUS SHALE
GAS TO NEW YORK
February 22,
2012 - Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and
Williams Partners LP will join forces on
a new pipeline to move at least 500
million cubic feet of natural gas a day
from Pennsylvania to higher-priced
markets in New York and New England.
Williams
will own 75 percent of the Constitution
pipeline system, scheduled to begin
operating in March 2015, according to a
statement Tuesday. The pipeline will
carry gas from Houston-based Cabot's
production in the Marcellus shale of
Susquehanna County to pipelines in
Schoharie County, New York.
Story
BENTONITE RELEASE FROM
KEYSTONE PIPELINE PROJECT IN PA.
February 22,
2012 - Keystone Midstream Services LLC
did have an "inadvertent surface
release" from its pipeline installation
along Crab Run Road in Lancaster on Feb.
14, said Michael Brinkmeyer, the
company's general manager. The release
contained water and the drilling clay
bentonite.
Though
bentonite is only considered a mild
pollutant, any release of mud or
sediment into streams is prohibited by
state law because it could harm stream
beds and bury aquatic creatures or their
eggs, said Tom Tarkowski, assistant
regional supervisor for the Commission
in Meadville. The baseline fine for that
type of pollution ranges from $250 to
$5,000.
Story
WYOMING COUNTY, PA. TO
APPROVE DRILLING IMPACT FEE
February 22,
2012 - The commissioners approved the
advertisement of a model ordinance
regarding the impact fee during a
commissioners meeting. The fee could be
adopted on March 20. "By the time all of
the off-the-top money is distributed, I
will be surprised if our county will
receive even 50 percent," said Solicitor
James Davis.
The Public
Utility Commission will collect the
impact fee revenue and distribute the
money, with 60 percent going to local
governments covered under an impact fee
ordinance and 40 percent for statewide
uses, including Growing Greener, acid
mine cleanup, affordable housing needs
and rail freight assistance.
Story
Shale Gas News February 21 2012
STUDY: DIRTY AIR IN ERIE,
COLORADO LINKED TO GAS DRILLING
February 21,
2012 - A study showing that Erie exceeds
Houston and Los Angeles in the levels of
certain air pollutants commonly
connected to oil and gas activity became
a point of concern for several trustees
Tuesday night during a meeting held to
formulate local rules for resource
extraction.
Steven
Brown, a NOAA scientist in Boulder, told
the trustees and a roomful of industry
experts that an air monitoring study
conducted in Erie last winter revealed
that levels of butane, ethane and
propane -- compounds associated with oil
and gas drilling and production -- were
"large." A group of residents, who have
formed under the banner Erie Rising,
have complained for months that all the
nearby gas drilling activity -- and the
emissions it produces -- is causing
people to come down with cases of
asthma, gastrointestinal illness and
worse.
Story
HIGH
SUPPLIES, WEATHER DRIVE
U.S. NATURAL GAS FUTURES LOWER
February 21,
2012 - Front-month U.S. natural gas
futures ended lower on Tuesday as mild
U.S. weather this week and record-high
supplies weighed on prices despite the
recent decline in drilling that could
finally slow record production. Planned
output cuts by several key producers and
recent declines in the gas drilling rig
count to a 28-month low helped drive gas
prices up 8 percent last week.
But
with production still running at or near
all-time highs and inventories likely to
end winter at a record high, most
traders remained skeptical of any upside
without much-colder late-winter weather
to kick up heating demand.
Story
N.Y.
JUDGE RULES TOWN
CAN BAN FRACKING
February 21,
2012 - In a victory for opponents of the
drilling process known as hydrofracking,
a New York State judge ruled on Tuesday
that the upstate town of Dryden in
Tompkins County can ban natural gas
drilling within its boundaries. A month
after the ban’s passage, Anschutz
Exploration Corporation, a Colorado
driller with 22,200 acres under lease in
the town, filed a lawsuit arguing that
the town’s authority did not extend to
regulating or prohibiting gas drilling.
In a
decision issued on Tuesday, Justice
Phillip R. Rumsey of State Supreme Court
said that state law does not preclude a
municipality from using its power to
regulate land use to ban oil and natural
gas production. The ruling is the first
in New York to affirm local powers in
the controversy over drilling in the
Marcellus Shale.
Story
FOUR
YEARS AGO: ‘DRILL BABY DRILL’
BUT NOW: ‘OH NO, WHAT DID WE DO’
February 21,
2012 - In Allegheny County, township
supervisors are waiting to join with
others to challenge the legislation.
Brian Coppola, Robinson Twp. Supervisor,
quickly points out that the township is
not opposed to the impact fee itself,
but other parts of the legislation. 500
feet setback between home and gas well:
The legislation mandates that township
supervisors cannot zone against this.
The legislation gives a mandatory
waiver. “The wells can be 50 feet away
from your house under this legislation,”
said Coppola.
Compressor
stations: There are no rules mandating
where compressor stations can now be
built. The township cannot zone where
they can be placed. Seismic testing:
Coppola said the township had an
ordinance that allowed seismic testing
but regulated who could do it, where it
could be completed and a bond that went
with it. Seismic testing is now allowed
in all areas and it has no regulation,
under the new legislation.
Story
GRAY
WATER DISCHARGE PROBED
NEAR BUTLER COUNTY, PA. WELL
February 21,
2012 - Police and a Butler County
hazardous materials team visited a gas
industry site in Lancaster on Monday
after gray, muddy water that pooled
among sandbags and hay bales along Crab
Run Road prompted at least one call to
911.
Gas drillers
are putting pipeline under the road, and
have a state permit and a system to
control water, said Michael Brinkmeyer,
general manager at Keystone Midstream
Services LLC, which owns the pipeline
system that conveys gas from many Butler
County wells. The operation has lasted
three to four weeks, with vacuum trucks
gathering water from a ditch on the east
side of the road.
Story
WASTEWATER A KEY ISSUE
IN N.Y. FRACKING DEBATE
February 21,
2012 - One of the most contentious
issues in the debate over shale gas
drilling in New York's share of the
Marcellus Shale region - how to handle
millions of gallons of contaminated
wastewater - remains unsettled. The
water that flows from active gas wells
is contaminated with traces of chemicals
used in drilling and fracking, which
breaks up the shale to release natural
gas.
Many of the
chemicals are known or probable
carcinogens. The flowback water also
brings up such naturally occurring
contaminants as barium, strontium and
radium. In Pennsylvania, researchers
have found increased levels of bromide
in rivers used for gas wastewater
disposal. Bromide, when combined with
chlorine in municipal drinking water
supplies, produces trihalomethanes,
which have been linked in some studies
to increased human cancer rates after
years of exposure.
Story
FIRST-EVER SHALE
HEALTH OFFICE OPENS
February 21,
2012 - Washington County has about 700
Marcellus Shale gas wells -- more than
any other county in S.W. Pennsylvania --
and at least a dozen compressor
stations, which pump natural gas through
pipelines. Health impacts can occur from
spills that contaminate streams or water
sources, or air pollution from drill
rigs, holding tanks, compressor stations
and diesel truck traffic.
Those
impacts can include stomachaches and
headaches, nosebleeds and cognitive
difficulties, as well as stress-related
disorders, said Dr. Leslie Walleigh. "We
would expect, based on predictable
exposures, that some individuals will
experience respiratory symptoms, with
worsening of underlying asthma and other
lung diseases, and possibly the new
onset of asthma. We also expect to see
conditions related to the emotional and
psychological stress resulting from the
personal, family and community life
disruption stemming from the shale gas
activities."
Story
SW Pennsylvania Environmental Health
Project
CALL
TO HALT FRACKING IN
ENGLAND DURING DROUGHT
February 21,
2012 – With drought officially declared
in the South East and with the prospect
of hosepipe bans looming, campaigners
say any prospect of fracking should be
halted. To highlight their opposition,
anti-fracking campaigners gathered at
Ardingly reservoir in West Sussex, one
of the region's worst affected
reservoirs, with its water levels at
around two-fifths of what it should be.
Keith
Taylor, the Green MEP for the South
East, said: "Given the announcement of
drought in the region, it's vital that
we do not put our limited water supplies
at risk. In America, the commercial use
of fracking to extract shale gas has led
to concerns about water contamination
and some people have needed to boil
their water before drinking.
Story
DEP
INVESTIGATING SPILL NEAR
WASHINGTON COUNTY, PA. WELL
February 21,
2012 - Department of Environmental
Protection crews are working to learn
more about the cause and source of a gas
spill at a well in Robinson, Washington
County. A township employee discovered
the spill along Bigger Road on Thursday,
prompting DEP to investigate. It is
unknown whether the leak of condensate,
known as "wet natural gas in the soil,"
made its way into nearby Bigger Run
Creek, said John Poister, DEP spokesman.
But a
spokesman for Chevron-Appalachia, which
owns the well, said that the gas in
question is from a Dec. 19 spill and
that it did not reach the creek. Crews
are removing soil from the area, Poister
said. "We don't know if this is another
leak or a continuation of the other
leak," he said.
Story
OIL
PROFITS SLIDE FASTEST SINCE
LEHMAN COLLAPE ON GAS: ENERGY
February 21,
2012 - Profits for the biggest U.S.
energy producers including Exxon Mobil
Corp. are poised to decline the most
since the financial meltdown of 2008-09
as the drilling technique known as
fracking collapses natural gas prices.
Exxon and
Chesapeake Energy Corp., which today
reports 2011 earnings, will see net
income in 2012 slide about 8 percent and
10 percent, respectively, according to
the mean of analyst estimates compiled
by Bloomberg. That would be the biggest
drop since 2009 for the companies, the
largest U.S. gas producers.
Story
Shale Gas News February 20 2012
PA.
FARMER BLOCKS
FRACKING TRUCKS
February 20,
2012 - Mike Bennett got fed up with the
big well drilling trucks from a nearby
well on Spring Road coming down his road
to take a shortcut. The road was not
bonded by Henderson Township supervisors
for truck traffic from this well, yet
the drilling company was using it
anyway, despite Mike having asked them
to go the way they are supposed to go.
So Mike
Bennett took his white pickup truck and
parked it in the middle of the road; and
then he called the State Troopers and
the township supervisors to come sort
things out. It caused quite a traffic
tie-up of big drilling trucks as you can
see. I hope that his action will lead
to the company being properly fined for
improper use of the road.
Story
N.Y.
PROSTITUTION LINKED
TO GAS DRILLING JOHNS
February 20,
2012 - The natural gas boom apparently
has brought an unwelcome corollary
business to the area -- prostitution.
Police over the weekend arrested three
women at motels in Horseheads and
charged them with prostitution following
an undercover investigation.
"One of the
prostitutes we interviewed said a
significant portion of her clientele
works for the gas industry," Horseheads
police Sgt. David Murray said.
Prostitution often brings with it
related crimes such as the use and sale
of drugs, robbery and assault, police
said.
Story
U.S.
IN ACCORD WITH
MEXICO ON DRILLING
February 20,
2012 - The United States and Mexico
reached agreement on Monday on
regulating oil and gas development along
their maritime border in the Gulf of
Mexico, ending years of negotiations and
potentially opening more than a million
acres to deepwater drilling.
The
agreement, if ratified by Mexican and
American lawmakers, would for the first
time provide for joint inspection of the
two countries’ rigs in the gulf. Until
now, neither was authorized to oversee
the environmental and safety practices
of the other, even though oil spills do
not respect international borders.
Story
POLITICS, RESIGNATIONS ADD WRINKLE TO
PITTSBURGH AREA DEP OFFICE
February 20,
2012 - It's been a rough six months for
attorneys at the state DEP’s regional
office in Pittsburgh. The Corbett
administration forced one longtime legal
leader to resign, and its appointment of
a replacement was thwarted by federal
conflict-of-interest rules. The DEP has
70 lawyers statewide.
Tim Potts
said the Corbett administration's
attempt to politicize the chief
counsel's job by appointing Mr. Darr is
a disservice to Pennsylvanians who
expect unbiased enforcement of public
health and environmental regulations.
"The law should be the law. When you
substitute political connections for
legal and policy expertise, you're
inviting trouble," Mr. Potts said.
Story
OHIO
RESIDENTS LOOK
TO BAN FRACKING
February 20,
2012 - Beaver Township residents
concerned about fracture drilling and
injection wells in Ohio have enlisted
the aid of a Pennsylvania-based
organization to ban the activities in
the area. The Beaver Township CELDF
Group is working with the Community
Environmental Legal Defense Fund to
develop a community rights resolution to
ban fracking and injection well deposits
in the township.
Signatures
for a petition supporting the resolution
will be collected prior to the Sierra
Club's showing of the gas drilling
documentary "Gasland" at 6 p.m.
Wednesday at the old South Range High
School, 11836 South Ave., North Lima.
The residents are responding to the
Class II injection well on state Route 7
in North Lima which will be used to
deposit potentially hazardous material
created during the fracking process at
drill sites in western Pennsylvania.
Story
NEW
ZEALAND DISTRICT COUNCIL WANTS
MORATORIUM ON FRACKING
February 20,
2012 - Kaikoura District Council has
called for an urgent moratorium on
fracking. On Wednesday the council
became the third local body to call for
an urgent moratorium on fracking. The
council also voted for an immediate stop
to offshore oil drilling and will put
its views in writing to Energy and
Resources Minister Phil Heatley. The
Christchurch City and Selwyn District
councils also want fracking halted.
However as
the pressure grows for an immediate halt
to fracking in New Zealand, the
Government says it isn't "aware of any
reason" to stop the controversial oil
exploration technique. Other councils
are also considering their response to
the practice. Gisborne district
councillor Manu Caddie wants his local
body, which is considering drilling
consents from a Canadian joint-venture,
to follow suit.
Story
DRILLERS HOPE TO END STRING
OF WEST VIRGINIA ACCIDENTS
February 20,
2012 - One explosion occurred in June
2010 when workers at an AB Resources
well site hit a "shallow pocket" of
methane gas a little more than 1,000
feet below the ground. In addition to
injuring several workers, this ignited a
large fireball that burned for days. The
other explosion took place at a site
operated by Chesapeake Energy, currently
the most active driller in northern West
Virginia and eastern Ohio. For this
fire, the West Virginia DEP cited
Chesapeake for "failing to prevent the
release of natural gas and the potential
pollution of waters of the state."
Smaller
fires and leaks throughout Marshall
County on sites operated by Gastar
Exploration and Trans Energy Inc. have
also taken place, while traffic
accidents related to drilling continue.
Other problems include allegedly
unauthorized stream fillings by
Chesapeake and alleged water pollution
by natural gas processor Caiman Energy.
Story
WAYNE NEW YORK
BANS FRACKING
February 20,
2012 - The Town of Wayne officially
enacted a moratorium on natural gas
drilling Tuesday night, becoming the
first municipality in Steuben County to
pass a temporary ban on the process
known as hydrofracturing. Wayne Town
Supervisor Steve Butchko said the Town
Board unanimously passed a one-year
moratorium on drilling – commonly known
as fracking.
Butchko said
Wayne’s location is unique in the
county, since it is located between
Keuka and Waneta lakes. The lakes are
fed by two separate sources, with Keuka
Lake’s source the St. Lawrence Seaway
and Waneta Lake in the Susquehanna River
Basin. The two lakes and other
geological differences in the town mean
drafting new land use regulations is
essential, Butchko said.
Story
COLORADO CHEF COOKING-UP OPPOSITION TO
‘BREAD BASKET’ DRILLING
February 20,
2012 - The co-owner and chef of one of
Aspen’s high-end restaurants said he is
concerned that potential gas drilling in
the Paonia area will endanger farms that
produce key items for his menu. The
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
mineral rights on about 30,000 acres in
the region and is considering auctioning
off leases on some of its property to an
energy firm for natural gas development.
Deane said
some parcels of land the BLM is offering
for gas leasing would directly affect
her family’s property, where they raise
organic, all-grass-fed beef. A company
also could set up drilling rigs along
the main irrigation ditch that serves
the North Fork Valley, which has the
nation’s highest concentration of
organic farms, she said. To drill in the
“bread basket” that produces so much
food for the Roaring Fork Valley would
be unfortunate, she said.
Story
Shale Gas News February 19 2012
AS PA.
GAS DRILLING BOOM SLOWS,
WORRY SETS IN
February 19,
2012 - Chesapeake Energy Corp.,
announced in January it would reduce its
rig count in the region, from 75 to 24,
drilling fewer new wells and reducing
the flow from existing wells. Bradford
County has already seen active rigs
decline from 27 to 20 as of Feb. 10 as
rock-bottom natural-gas prices prodded
the company to drive for more lucrative
fuels from the earth, such as "wet gas"
from western Pennsylvania or oil from
other parts of the country.
"The pace
won't return to what it was until we see
stronger natural gas prices and that's
not happening anytime soon," said Steven
Schork, of the Schork Report, an energy
markets newsletter. "We are in a
long-term structural down market that's
going to last at least two more years."
Story
CRACKER JOBS
VS. ENVIRONMENT
February 19,
2012 - If built in Allegheny County, an
Equistar plant would become the largest
source of volatile organic compounds --
carbon-based chemicals that form smog --
producing 60 percent more than U.S.
Steel's Clairton coke plant, according
to county data. It would be the
fifth-largest nitrogen oxide polluter,
ranking between U.S. Steel's Irvin steel
finishing plant in West Mifflin and the
Edgar Thomson steelmaking plant in
Braddock. That would be like adding
20,000 cars to the road, said Jim
Thompson, the county's air program
manager.
"Depending
on where these facilities locate, that
might be an area where people don't want
to go hunting and fishing anymore,
because it changes the character of it.
Or you might have people who miss more
days of work or die earlier," said Joe
Osborne, legal director of the Group
Against Smog and Pollution. "Anyone who
wants to say, 'X number of jobs is what
it brings, and that's the end of the
analysis,' well, there's a much greater
impact than that."
Story
CREWS CONTINUE CLEAN-UP PREP
AT ALASKA BLOW-OUT SITE
February 19,
2012 - Alaska environmental regulators
say cleanup preparations continue at the
site of an exploratory well blowout on
Alaska’s North Slope. The state
Department of Environmental Conservation
says crews Sunday began clearing ice and
drilling fluid from the drill floor
area.
A crew
drilling on a lease held by Repsol E&P
USA Inc. penetrated a pressurized pocket
of natural gas at 2,523 feet Wednesday.
The resulting kickback spewed out
natural gas and an estimated 42,000
gallons of freshwater-based drilling
fluid — also known as drilling mud —
onto three acres.
Story
OHIO
CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
OFFICIAL DEFENDS FRACKING LEASES
February 19,
2012 - A Muskingum watershed official
said leases that would allow hydraulic
fracturing at Clendening and Leesville
lakes will include safeguards ensuring
companies involved in oil and gas
production act responsibly. A lease
signed in June 2011 allowing Gulfport
Energy rights to drill horizontal wells
near Clendening Reservoir, south of New
Philadelphia.
The district
also has begun negotiating toward a
lease at Leesville Lake in Carroll
County. The conservancy district board
also has been contemplating supplying
water to the oil and gas exploration and
production industry. The conservancy
district runs from the Black Fork River
system in Richland County to the
Muskingum River system near Marietta,
with 12 lakes and 14 dams under its
control. It was created in 1933 with a
mission of flood reduction, recreation
and conservation.
Story
CHESAPEAKE AND PROFESSOR AT ODDS:
AIR EMISSIONS ARE QUESTIONED
February 19,
2012 - Chesapeake Energy is applying for
a permit from the West Virginia DEP to
release certain amounts of chemicals -
including formaldehyde, benzene, and
nitrogen oxides - into the air from the
Roy Ferrell drilling pad between I-70
and Dallas, W.Va. If the permit is
approved, Chesapeake would not emit the
chemicals via a visible flame, or flare.
Wheeling
Jesuit University biology professor Ben
Stout wants to "get some science
involved" in regulating the activity.
"Somebody just the other day asked me if
they should move. I told them to wait,
but we can't wait forever. We need to
get a handle on this now." The DEP's
Division of Air Quality will accept
written comments regarding the air
quality permit application until March
13 at 601 57th St., S.E.; Charleston, WV
25304. Call 304-926-0499 for more
information.
Story
FRACKING DEBATE DIVIDES
NEW YORK LANDOWNERS
February 19,
2012 - As New York prepares to lift a
moratorium on new permits for hydraulic
fracturing — which carries environmental
risks — landowners are debating whether
to lease mineral rights to extraction
companies. Jack, 61, favors leasing,
convinced that a tough contract could
protect the water while delivering
thousands of dollars in royalties to
keep the family's farms afloat in these
difficult economic times.
Pete, 67,
opposes leasing his land and the
property the brothers jointly own. He
worries that he would lose control over
his pastures to a big corporation and
that the drilling process could ruin the
water. "Once you lease the land, they
can do what they want on it. They can
drill wherever they want," he said.
"It's about the future. It's the
landscape. It's the Catskills."
Story
Shale Gas News February 18 2012
HEAD
OF O&G COMMISSION
SEEKS INQUIRY INTO MEMBER
February 18,
2012 - The business dealings of a member
of an Ohio commission that decides oil-
and gas-drilling complaints has spurred
complaints from environmental advocates
as well as a state ethics inquiry.
Robert Chase works as a consultant for
landowner groups that negotiate terms
and payments for the mineral-rights
leases. When the deals are struck, he
gets a percentage of what the companies
pay the landowners.
Jack Shaner
of the Ohio Environmental Council said
Chase is more a representative of
industry than the public. The
committee’s other members include two
oil-industry reps, a geologist and an
oil and gas attorney. “This thing sounds
way too cozy,” Shaner said.
Story
SECOND
CHEVRON GAS WELL
SPILL AT SITE IN 3 MONTHS
February 18,
2012 – An unknown amount of condensate
was released into the soil and ran down
a hill into the creek. Condensate is a
liquid byproduct of gas drilling. A
cleanup crew was on site Friday and
placing absorbent material in the creek.
This is the second spill at the site.
The first occurred in December. A
violation notice was not issued to
Chevron.
"This is the
problem with the state watching this
industry: they are not following it,"
Coppola said. Coppola and other
officials at Robinson Township have been
outspoken in their criticism of the new
state impact fee bill which stripped
municipalities of some local zoning and
oversight of the gas industry.
Story
WASHINGTON & GREENE COUNTIES LEAD PA.
MARCELLUS GAS INCREASE
February 18,
2012 - Shale gas production in
Pennsylvania continued to increase in
the second half of last year, as
drillers brought more than 500 new wells
online and boosted output more than 40
percent compared to the previous six
months.
Data
released on Friday by the Department of
Environmental Protection show the
southwestern counties of Greene and
Washington climbed to third and fourth
place in gas produced from the Marcellus
Shale, surging ahead of Tioga County in
the northeast. The northern tier county
of Bradford continued to yield the most
natural gas, followed by neighboring
Susquehanna County.
Story
PA.
TOWNSHIP RETHINKS
CODE ENFORCEMENT HIRE
February 18,
2012 - A former code enforcement officer
was rehired by the Independence Township
Board of Supervisors Wednesday night for
fear the current code enforcement and
zoning officer could have a conflict of
interest in giving out permits for the
oil and gas industry. At last month's
meeting, supervisors had voted to hire
William Touey as the township's zoning
and code enforcement officer.
However, it
was decided that Touey could have a
problem since he is employed by MarkWest,
which processes natural gas for Range
Resources. Supervisor Melinda Latynski
told the board she had contacted the
Pennsylvania State Association of
Township Supervisors about the matter
and believed it was a conflict of
interest for Touey.
Story
78
MILLION GALLONS OF DRILLING
WASTE STILL DUMPED IN RIVERS
February 18,
2012 – In last six months of 2010 shale
drillers sent about 118 million gallons
to numerous treatment plants that
discharge into rivers and streams. Those
discharges raised alarms when the plants
reported soaring levels of bromides in
rivers that year. Though not considered
a pollutant by themselves, the bromides
combine with the chlorine used in water
treatment to produce trihalomethanes,
which can cause cancer if ingested over
a long period of time.
An AP
analysis of the new state data found
that about 1.86 million barrels, or
about 78 million gallons, of drilling
wastewater from non-Marcellus shale
wells were still being sent to treatment
plants that discharge into rivers in the
second half of 2011.
Story
PRODUCTION AND WASTE REPORTS
FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2011
February 18,
2012 - The state's Marcellus wells also
produced 10 million barrels of
wastewater during the last six months of
2011, about 500,000 barrels more than
the amount produced during the first
half of the year. A barrel is equal to
42 gallons.
More than
three-quarters of the liquid waste -
which includes both fluids from the
drilling process and the salt- and
metals-laden liquid that returns from a
well after hydraulic fracturing - was
either directly reused in new wells or
taken to treatment plants that recycle
it. The rock waste, or cuttings, from
wells drilled during the last half of
2011 totaled 385,000 tons.
Story
Shale Gas News February 17 2012
TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS TRY TO CURTAIL PUBLIC
SPEECH AT MEETINGS
February 17,
2012 - Montrose Borough Council members
are apparently uncomfortable with
coverage, aided by cameras and tape
recorders as allowed by law. On February
8, after citizen reporter Vera Scoggins
came to a council meeting with a video
recorder, all the council members
abruptly got up and left, refusing to
answer questions from the press or
anybody else in attendance.
On Tuesday,
things got more bizarre. Without
opportunity for public comment, as
required by law, the council passed a
‘code of conduct’ measure to restrict
comments and the use of cameras and
recording devices during meetings.
Apparently the role of a free press in
government affairs is not something
these public officials are comfortable
with.
Story
ENCANA SLASHES
GAS DRILLING
February 17,
2012 - Canadian giant Encana said on
Friday it will immediately cut some
North American natural gas output and
slash spending on pure gas plays due to
decade-low prices, becoming the second
major producer to shutter production as
profit margins narrow.
To counter a
huge American supply glut, Canada's
largest natural gas producer will shut
in 250 million cubic feet per day of gas
production instantly, as it shears
spending on dry gas fields and focuses
drilling in more lucrative oil-based
liquids plays. The cuts are the first
part of a move to reduce production by
up to 20% by the end of the year.
Story
MOVING DRILLING ONTO MY
NEIGHBOR’S PROPERTY
February 17,
2012 - We own about 20 acres where we
plan to build a vacation/retirement
home. Fracking companies have started
drilling nearby for oil and gas. As
ardent environmentalists, we are opposed
to this activity, but that hasn’t
stopped the company, and it won’t
protect us from any resulting
environmental damage.
Now the
company has offered to pay us to remove
the gas/oil under our property without
actually drilling on our property. The
money would be a nice addition to our
building fund. But feeling as we do
about fracking, is it ethical for us to
say yes?
Story
TIOGA LAWSUIT COULD SET
PRECEDENT ON GAS LEASES
February 17,
2012 - A federal lawsuit filed by Tioga
County landowners may set the pace in a
statewide legal scrum over the ability
of energy companies to forcibly extend
their leases. Denver-based Inflection
Energy, one of the most active energy
companies in the Southern Tier, is
facing a federal lawsuit filed by 18
landowners, representing about 1,200
acres, whose leases were forcibly
extended through "force majeure" claims.
Many of the
landowners are locked into leases that
pay as low as $2 per acre per year, but
aren't seeking monetary compensation,
according to Robert Jones, an attorney
for Binghamton-based Coughlin & Gerhart.
Force majeure clauses, included in most
oil and gas leases, allow a company to
extend the length of the lease in the
case of an unforeseen event that hinders
the terms of the contract.
Story
AS
NATURAL GAS WILD WAYS
RETURN, FUNDS FAIL TO THRIVE
February 17,
2012 - Natural gas has historically been
more volatile than many energy
commodities as it a smaller,
U.S.-confined market compared to a
global play like crude oil. Unlike oil
or gold, where big macro-funds are
active players, natural gas has tended
to attract only a handful of specialized
fund managers.
Last year,
gas was also one of the worst performing
commodities, with prices falling more
than a third while a few top funds in
the business posted some of the largest
gains across the hedge fund universe.
That decline accelerated in January,
when traders also saw a return to the
kind of gyrations that were common in
the years prior to 2008.
Story
PA.
DEP INVESTIGATING
CHEVRON APPALACHIA SPILL
February 17,
2012 - A spill of what appears to be
condensate at a gas well site owned by
Chevron-Appalachia site in Robinson
Township was being investigated Friday
by the state Department of Environmental
Protection.
Robinson
Township Supervisor Brian Coppola said
the spill at the site at 8400 Noblestown
Road was discovered Thursday by a
township employee and DEP was notified.
The material had run into Bigger Run
Creek, which Coppola said feeds into
Raccoon Creek. He expressed concern
about the number of residents who have
private water wells in that area.
Story
DRILLING WASTEWATER STILL
HITTING PITTSBURGH RIVERS
February 17,
2012 - Experts are wondering if a
loophole in disposal regulations is
still allowing significant quantities of
one of the worrisome compounds— salty
bromides— into rivers and streams, or if
shale gas drillers were only part of
the problem. The new mystery is this:
why hasn't the dramatic progress on the
wastewater recycling led to equally
clear declines in river bromide levels?
An AP
analysis of the new state data found
that about 78 million gallons of
drilling wastewater from non-Marcellus
wells were still being sent to treatment
plants that discharge into rivers in the
second half of 2011. "They ought to get
all of that out of the water. It's
obviously hazardous, it presents a
public health hazard. What's good for
the Marcellus wells should be applied to
the other wells, too," said Jan Jarrett
of PennFuture.
Story
PA.
SEN. SOLOBAY ‘SELL OUT’
SPARKS PROTEST
February 17,
2012 - Sharp chants decrying state Sen.
Tim Solobay's yes vote on gas impact fee
legislation accompanied Perry Como's
smooth croon outside the Canonsburg
Borough building Thursday. "Solobay sold
us out," about a dozen protesters
shouted.
Jacie Carter
argued lawmakers didn't do enough to
ensure that gas well-related activities
will take place at a safe distance.
"When deliberating a distance of
placement of their compressor stations
from our children's classrooms,
protecting the rights and safety of your
most humblest of constituents in
Washington and Greene counties should be
your priority, not the protection of
your Southpointe constituents' bank
accounts," she said.
Story
PA.
TOWN COUNCILS BEGIN TO DEAL
WITH BAD DRILLING LEGISLATION
Video
25
STATE TROOPERS REASSIGNED
TO N.E. PA. SHALE REGION
February 17,
2012 - Twenty-five state troopers have
been reassigned to duty in the Marcellus
Shale drilling region in Northeast
Pennsylvania over the past two years in
response to population growth and a
corresponding increase in incidents,
State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan
told a Senate panel Thursday.
The troopers
were transferred from other parts of the
state and assigned to Troop P in
Wyoming, Troop R in Dunmore and Troop F
in Montoursville, said deputy
commissioner Lt. Col. George Bivens. Mr.
Noonan plans to close two central
dispatching centers to put 100 troopers
back on patrol.
Story
FRACKING BIDS ARE
FATALLY FLAWED
February 17,
2012 - applications to explore for shale
gas in the Karoo using fracking are
“fatally flawed”, says the Treasure the
Karoo Action Group. This is because the
public participation process that each
of the companies followed was
inadequate, the anti-fracking group’s
chairman, Jonathan Deal, told Cape Town
Press Club yesterday.
“Our
government has failed in its
responsibility to ensure that the
citizens are told about fracking
truthfully and accurately… There are
hundreds of thousands of people who know
nothing about this,” he said. But it was
not the action group’s responsibility to
inform people. “A matter of this
magnitude and scale is the duty of
government – it’s their critical duty to
ensure that everyone is informed.”
Story
FLORIDA COULD ALLOW O&G
DRILLING IN STATE PARKS
February 17,
2012 - Florida could soon allow oil and
gas drilling in state parks. Sen. Greg
Evers of Baker is sponsoring a Senate
bill that passed through a committee
this week, and Rep. Clay Ford has a
similar measure in the House that is in
committee.
Ford,
however, has amended his bill to specify
the oil and gas drilling would take
place only in Northwest Florida after
concerns were raised over the
Everglades. The bills would allow the
state to enter into partnerships with
private companies to develop oil and
natural gas resources on onshore state
parks.
Story
Shale Gas News February 16 2012
NEW PA.
SHALE BILL
VIOLATES MEDICAL ETHICS
February 16,
2012 - Public health professionals say
the impact fee law signed by Governor
Corbett this week could hurt the
delivery of health services to injured
workers or residents living near gas
drilling sites. The legislation allows
drillers to withhold information on the
chemicals used to frack natural gas
wells if the company deems them
proprietary, or a trade secret. This
would include the chemical’s identity
and the concentration level.
A provision
does allow health providers access to
the information in order to treat a
patient, but requires the healthcare
worker to sign a confidentiality
agreement, that obligates the medical
professional to use the information only
to treat an individual patient. Dr.
Jerome Paulson, Professor of Pediatrics
& Public Health at George Washington
University, says the law runs counter to
medical ethics.
Story
C.A.C. FINDS THAT PA. DEP IS FAILING
TO PROPERLY REGULATE AIR POLLUTION
February 16,
2012 - Today the Clean Air Council
submitted a petition to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator Lisa Jackson asking her to
make findings that the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection
(PA DEP) is failing to implement crucial
parts of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and its
own state air plan when permitting
Marcellus Shale operations and to apply
sanctions over these failures.
The
Council’s petition explains that in 2011
alone the Council reviewed well over
twenty proposed permits and found either
no aggregation analysis or a failure to
properly aggregate. “When performed,
single source determinations for the
Marcellus Shale industry in Pennsylvania
have been incomplete and inconsistent at
best and contrary to the CAA and
Pennsylvania [State Implementation Plan]
at worst,” states the Clean Air Council
Executive Director.
Story
FEDERAL RULES TO DISCLOSE FRACKING
CHEMICALS COULD COME WITH EXCEPTIONS
February 16,
2012 – So far, Colorado is the only
state that requires such detailed
information for all chemicals; eight
other states with fracking disclosure
rules either do not require companies to
report concentrations or only require
them to report concentrations of
hazardous materials. The BLM's rules
also would compel companies to report
the total volume of fracking fluid used,
as well as how they intend to recover
and dispose of it.
Though the
BLM's proposed rules are more stringent
than most state laws, environmental and
health advocates say drillers could
circumvent some of the requirements. For
instance, the rules would only apply to
drilling on federal lands. Also,
companies could request that certain
chemicals be exempted from disclosure if
they are deemed a "trade secret."
Story
OHIO
COUNTY NEGOTIATING
WITH FRACK WATER FACILITY
February 16,
2012 - Mahoning County officials said
they are negotiating with a company that
wants to build a frack water recycling
facility in the county. They won't
release any details yet, but officials
said the facility would be a significant
investment in the area. The Mahoning
County sanitary engineer said his
department is working out a deal to sell
water to the company, which will recycle
frack water used to drill Marcellus and
Utica shale.
"One
individual frack takes in the order of
10 million gallons of water, and that
water must be supplied and treated
afterward," said Mahoning County
Sanitary Engineer Robert Lyden. "So
there is going to be a gigantic market
for this frack water to be treated.
We'll be selling water to them to blend
with the affluent from their treatment
facility so that this water could go
back to the frack process and not be
discharged anywhere," said Lyden.
Story
PA.
OFFICIALS RECOIL AT
NEW GAS LAW’S CONTENT
February 16,
2012 - We need to elect better poker
players to represent us in Harrisburg.
Pennsylvanians have been sitting on an
unbelievable hand: the largest natural
gas field outside of Iran, located a
half-continent closer to the vast East
Coast markets than the traditional
drilling states.
The industry
has boomed under the current zoning
laws. America's Largest Full-Time State
Legislature and our governor nonetheless
joined forces recently to give us a new
law that takes away local governments'
ability to restrict drilling in
residential areas. Critics say this
"industry bill'' includes language that
seems to keep drilling away from homes
and other buildings, but that a driller
could drive a truck through the
loopholes.
Story
US
MULLS WHETHER TO
OKAY LNG EXPORTS
February 16,
2012 - The U.S. Energy Department will
not make a decision on future liquefied
natural gas exports until it has weighed
the potential consequences of sending
U.S. gas abroad. Energy Secretary Steven
Chu said there was concern that
exporting the nation's surplus natural
gas could lead to higher prices, but
that had to be balanced against the
economic benefits of increasing the U.S.
exports.
The Energy
Department has approved one export
application from Cheniere Energy for its
Sabine Pass terminal, and other
companies including Southern, BG,
Dominion and Sempra have also requested
permission. The department is conducting
a study due out later in the Spring that
would analyze the economic effects of
allowing more exports. Still, Senator
Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon,
raised concerns that Chu had already
decided to approve more exports.
Story
NATURAL GAS WELLS
LEAKIER THAN BELIEVED
February 16,
2012 – Wells that pump natural gas from
the ground in Colorado have leaked about
twice as much gas into the atmosphere as
previously thought, a new study finds.
That could
tarnish gas’s image as clean source of
energy. Natural gas, made mostly of
methane, does give off less carbon
dioxide than coal when burned. But
methane itself strongly warms the
atmosphere, which means even relatively
small releases can have a big impact on
the climate.
Story
RELIANCE SHUTS SIXTH WELL
OFF EAST COAST OF INDIA
February 16,
2012 – India's Reliance Industries has
shut a sixth well at its gas fields in
the D6 block, off the country's east
coast, due to water ingress. The sixth
well was shut last week, the source with
direct knowledge of the development,
said.
Reliance had
earlier shut five of 18 producing wells
at D1 and D3 gas fields until December.
Canadian oil and gas producer Niko
Resources Ltd, which holds 10% in the
Reliance-operated D6 block and posted a
quarterly loss due to the reduced
production in the block, earlier this
month warned that output decline could
continue at the site.
Story
CANADIAN TOWN SEEKS SHALE GAS
EXPLORATION BAN NEAR WATER SOURCES
February 16,
2012 - Doaktown council has moved to ban
shale gas exploration or extraction near
the central New Brunswick village's
water sources. The village’s unanimously
decision to prohibit shale gas
exploration or extraction near its water
sources comes as SWN Resources has
informed mayors in Kent County that the
company is preparing to start seismic
testing in the area.
Doaktown
asked the provincial government to
complete a hydro-geological survey of
its aquifers. “Following determination
of the parameters of the aquifers: the
village asks the province to ban any and
all exploration for natural gas, or
extraction within or near those well
field areas,” according to a resolution
adopted at a Feb. 9 council meeting.
Story
GLOBAL ANTI-FRACKING
GROUP ON THE CARD
February 16,
2012 - An anti-fracking coalition with
the United States non-governmental
organisation Water Defense is the first
step towards a global movement, the
Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG) said
on Thursday. “We are putting a very
strong emphasis on getting this not only
to America but to other continents too,”
chairman Jonathan Deal said.
“We're
looking at capitalising on global
synergy and our ability to really focus
pressure on where it's needed at certain
times.” Deal said any lessons learned or
research discovered would be shared. If
fracking was proposed in a country, the
coalition would offer all forms of
support to fight it.
Story
Treasure Karoo Action Group
PA.
COUNTY LANDOWNERS
PUSHING DELAWARE RIVER DELAY
February 16,
2012 - A group of Wayne County
landowners eager for natural gas
drilling to begin in the Delaware River
watershed renewed its call for action in
recent weeks, pushing its case in
meetings and letters with state
lawmakers, the Corbett administration
and the interstate commission that
proposes to regulate drilling in the
basin. Other than a few false starts and
the allowance of a handful of
exploratory gas wells, drilling has been
on hold since May 2010.
An attorney
for the Northern Wayne Property Owners
Alliance sent a letter to the DRBC
arguing that the long postponement of
drilling amounts to an unconstitutional
taking of the members' property. The
lawyer suggested that the commission
either begin considering applications
for natural gas exploration projects or
allow gas extraction to proceed under
its member states' regulations.
Story
LESS MARCELLUS VISITS
FROM 'TALISMAN TERRY'
February 16,
2012 - Canada's Talisman Energy is
making even heavier cuts to its rig
count in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale
natural gas play and will not reverse
that trend until gas prices return to
$4/Mcf, CEO John Manzoni said Wednesday.
Prevailing gas prices are "unsustainable
in the medium term, but we think they
may last a year."
Along with
slashing its Marcellus Shale spending to
$600 million from $1.2 billion in 2011,
the number of rigs at work in the play
in 2012 will be cut to three from 10 in
2011 and a previously anticipated five
to seven because of a North American gas
price that clearly reflects an excess of
supply, he told a conference call.
Story
PA.
COUNTY TO SEEK
MARCELLUS FEES
February 16,
2012 - Washington County commissioners
are preparing to advertise a proposed
ordinance to allow the county and its
municipalities to receive impact fees
from the Marcellus Shale gas industry.
Following an off-the-top distribution,
host counties receive 36% distributed
pro rata based on the number of spud
wells in the county relative to the
number of spud wells statewide.
Host
municipalities receive 37% distributed
pro rata based on the number of spud
wells in the municipality relative to
the number of spud wells statewide. The
remaining 27% is distributed among all
municipalities in a host county. Half is
distributed among host municipalities
and "nonhost" municipalities that are
either contiguous with a host or are
within 5 miles of a spud well.
Story
NEW
IRISH ANTI-FRACKING
UMBRELLA GROUP ESTABLISHED
February 16,
2012 - A new cross-border umbrella
organisation to campaign against
hydraulic fracturing for shale gas in
Ireland has been established. Good
Energies Alliance Ireland includes a
number of groups already campaigning
against fracking on both sides of the
border and says it is now taking the
battle to a new level.
Spokeswoman
Dr Aedin McLoughlin said GEAI is
adopting a balanced and professional
approach to the anti-fracking campaign
and is backed by advisors in the areas
of economics, law, science, public
health and policy development.
Story
GAS
DRILLERS’
NEW WILD WEST
February 16,
2012 - Pennsylvania's long-awaited
Marcellus Shale legislation, signed by
Gov. Corbett this week, reflects an
approach to managing the state's
resources that is reminiscent of the
Wild West-style energy extraction of the
late 19th century.
The state
governments of that era sought to
minimize limits on energy extraction and
assist developers wherever possible.
Pennsylvania embodied that model in the
decades following Edwin Drake's
discovery of oil in Titusville in 1859.
In recent generations, American
governments have almost uniformly
abandoned that laissez-faire approach.
But Pennsylvania's recently passed
gas-drilling legislation represents a
blast to the past.
Story
PA.
TOWNSHIP COMMISSIONERS
EYE LEGAL ACTION ON STATE SHALE BILL
February 16,
2012 - South Fayette commissioners are
exploring legal action against the state
over provisions of the bill that
stripped them of their ability to
restrict where natural gas drilling
could occur. The new regulations on
natural gas drilling allow counties to
impose an impact fee on drillers, but
prevent municipalities from blocking
drilling from certain zoning like
residential areas.
South
Fayette had been sued last year by Range
Resources over zoning restrictions the
township passed in 2010. "The issue is
whether the Legislature has the ability
to write legislation for one specific
industry that eviscerates 150 years of
established law," Kamin said.
Story
MORE
EAGLE FORD AND ALBERTA
DRILLING, LESS MARCELLUS
February 16,
2012 - Talisman expects to more than
double production in the Eagle Ford from
a 30 million cubic feet per day exit
rate for 2011. Investment will also be
directed toward the Duvernay play in
Alberta, as well as oil targets in
Colombia and continued development in
South-east Asia, Manzoni said.
Spending
will be halved in the Marcellus shale
play, dropping to approximately $600
million US from $1.2 billion spent last
year. Rig activity in the region will
top off at three this year compared with
11 rigs in 2011. The reduction will be
similar in the Alberta Montney, where
Talisman will run four rigs, down from
11 during the fourth quarter 2011.
Story
Shale Gas News February 15 2012
ALASKAN WELL BLOWOUT
REQUIRES TEXAS-BASED SUPPORT
February 15,
2012 - A North Slope oil rig was
evacuated Wednesday after a Repsol
drilling contractor hit a pocket of gas
that triggered a methane blowout. The
venting gas sparked fears the rig could
explode, but the rig was intact and
Repsol was reported to be working toward
control of the situation. As of late
Wednesday night, a crew of specialists
was on its way from Texas to help bring
the well under control.
There were
no reports of spilled oil. Repsol
initially estimated that approximately
1,200 gallons of drilling mud had been
released to the gravel drilling pad and
surrounding snow-covered tundra. But as
of Wednesday night, that estimate grew
to 42,000 gallons of drilling mud, or
about 1,000 barrels, according to the
Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation.
Story
LEGISLATORS WANT FRACKING
BAN ON COUNTY-OWNED LAND
February 15,
2012 - Should Oneida County allow
hydraulic fracturing on county-owned
land? A pair of county legislators is
pushing for a bill that would ban the
practice, commonly known as fracking,
until all health and environmental
impacts have been identified and
addressed.
So far, no
one has approached the county to obtain
a lease. But legislators Emil Paparella,
R-Utica, and Chad Davis, D-Clinton, want
to be prepared if that happens. “We
don’t want them to do any fracking on
county property,” Paparella said. The
county owns about 11,138 acres of land.
Story
CANANDAIGUA, NY PONDERS
FRACKING MORATORIUM
February 15,
2012 - A possible moratorium on high
volume hydraulic fracturing in the city
of Canandaigua was discussed Tuesday
during an Environmental Committee
meeting. More than 20 residents were at
the meeting, and some felt a more
permanent ban should be placed to block
the controversial gas-drilling
technique.
City
Attorney Michele Smith said that before
a moratorium can be constructed,
specifics need to be put into place on
what exactly would be temporarily
banned. She added that in order to pass
a moratorium, there would need to be a
detailed analysis why one would be
needed in the first place.
Story
GASTAR LEASES BAYER PROPERTY
FOR GAS DRILLING
February 15,
2012 - Gastar Exploration plans to drill
for natural gas on 1,400 acres at Bayer
Corp.’s plant site in West Virginia’s
Northern Panhandle. Houston-based Gastar
is leasing the property near New
Martinsville from Bayer.
Gastar
signed a drilling contract with PPG
Industries last year to drill on about
3,300 acres north of Bayer’s plant.
Story
WOULD
FRACKING IN N.C.
INCLUDE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS?
February 15,
2012 - The North Carolina State Assembly
is set to consider legislation to allow
the controversial mining process known
as fracking, which is illegal in the
state. While the Legislature debates the
practice, Jordan Treakle, who
coordinates the Rural Advancement
Foundation International's Contract
Agriculture Reform Program, says some
landowners already are being approached
- and taken advantage of - by mining
companies.
"Our concern
in North Carolina is that the contracts
that companies are offering landowners
are lacking some basic protection, and
also not compensating landowners for
their resources." More than 70 land-use
leases already are signed in the state,
Treakle says, with companies paying as
little as $25 an acre for the
preliminary commitment.
Story
PA.
PUC TO HIRE PRIVATE FIRM
TO COLLECT MARCELLUS FEES
February 15,
2012 - The state Public Utility
Commission is assuming new regulatory
duties under the Marcellus Shale
drilling impact fee law and one of its
early moves will be hiring a private
firm to handle the collection and
distribution of potentially millions of
dollars.
PUC Chairman
Robert Powelson said Tuesday the agency
will seek formal bids from accounting or
consulting companies to handle the
administrative fee duties given it under
the impact fee law signed Monday by Gov.
Tom Corbett. The agency has a similar
outsourcing arrangement for fees going
to a telephone service fund that it
oversees, added Mr. Powelson.
Story
Shale Gas News February 14 2012
DRILLERS RETURN TO CONTESTED
TURF IN PENNSYLVANIA
February 14,
2012 - A Butler County gas and oil
exploration company has applied to state
regulators for a permit to drill for
natural gas in Nockamixon Township, just
south of the Lehigh Valley, reigniting a
controversy that divided neighbor
against neighbor there just a few years
ago. Michigan-based Arbor Resources
abandoned a 4-year effort to drill for
gas in 2010 in the face of local zoning
regulations that restricted drilling to
industrial sections of the township.
Residents
who inked mineral leases with the
company clashed with opponents worried
about the environmental impact. This
time, the new drilling company, Turm Oil
Inc. will have an advantage, because of
language included in the state natural
gas impact fee legislation that was
signed into law Monday night by Gov. Tom
Corbett. It restricts local
municipalities' ability to limit where
and how companies can extract gas.
Story
'FAMILIES AGAINST FRACKING'
VISIT OHIO GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
February 14,
2012 - Several Ohio families gathered in
Columbus Tuesday with Valentines in hand
to discuss how much they dislike
fracking, reported ONN's Stephanie
Mennecke. "We have to say what is in our
heart. We are unable to sleep at night
because these injection wells are close
to our lands," Erin Renee Ripple of
Amesville said.
Athens
resident Sarah Conley said that she is
worried the livelihood of local farmers
will be jeopardized. "They can stay on
their farms and grow us good food rather
than them having to sell their property
because their land is being polluted
because of the fracking practices. It's
scary to us," Conley said. The two
families have been making Valentine's
Day cards for Gov. John Kasich that said
how much they love their land and water,
and that they're against injection wells
and fracking.
Story and video
COMPANY
OUTLINES PLANS
FOR FRACKING IRELAND
February 14,
2012 - The fracking will start at least
a year earlier in Northern Ireland than
it will in the Republic if it goes ahead
at all, a group of TDs and senators were
told today. Tamboran chief executive
Richard Moorman said he had hoped that
the process of drilling for gas in
Leitrim and Fermanagh could go ahead
together, but he expected it to start
earlier in Northern Ireland because the
regulatory process was “much more tuned
up” North of the border.
However,
elected representatives reacted
sceptically to claims by the company
that the process of fracking would be
safe. Leitrim TD, Michael Colreavy, told
Tamboran: “I do not trust you guys”, and
he said the company’s primary concern
was to make money for itself. Mr
Colreavy said the burden of proof that
the process was safe rested with the
company and the go-ahead for drilling
should only be given it is proved
“beyond all doubt” that it is safe to go
ahead.
Story
NATURAL
GAS PRICES:
LOW NOW, LOWER LATER?
February 14,
2012 - Some analysts believe natural gas
could even fall below $2 per million
BTUs before it heads higher. "The
fundamentals remain bearish," said Gene
McGillian, an analyst with Tradition
Energy. He said cheap prices drew in a
lot of new speculative longs in recent
weeks.
"We've been
pivoting for the last two weeks between
a dime of $2.50," per million BTUs,
McGillian said. But if the price starts
to decline, some of those new longs
might be the first to abandon the trade,
driving prices down fast. "I don't think
a $1 handle would be sustained, but I
think there's a good chance we could see
it at some point," he said.
Story
ACTIVISTS ASSAULT NEW
KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE BILL
February 14,
2012 - With the U.S. Senate poised to
begin debate on a bill that would
greenlight the controversial Keystone XL
pipeline as early as Tuesday, activists
and other citizens have barraged the
Senate with more than 350,000 petitions
opposing the legislation in less than
five hours. Activists Bill McKibben,
Robert Redford and other celebs such as
Kyra Sedgwick and Ian Somerhalder have
joined the Natural Resources Defense
Council and other groups in coordinating
the petition effort. The goal is 500,000
messages to the Senate by Tuesday.
A rider on a
payroll tax bill passed last December
required President Obama to make a
decision about TransCanada Corp.'s
Keystone XL pipeline (offsite
map) by Feb. 21. His administration
decided well in advance of that date to
reject the Keystone environmental
approval application, saying there would
be insufficient time to complete an
environmental review, thus stopping the
project. Now there is a new effort, led
by Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) to
resuscitate the project by bypassing
the environmental review and
switching the decision-making power from
the EPA to Congress.
Story
NRDC Petition online
PA.
GOVERNOR CORBETT SIGNS
CONTROVERSIAL SHALE BILL
February 14,
2012 - The Marcellus Shale impact fee
and regulatory measure that passed the
General Assembly last week is now law,
after Republican Gov. Tom Corbett signed
it on Monday evening. He described the
measure, which will charge drillers a
per-well fee, update state environmental
regulations and subject local zoning
ordinances to state-crafted standards, a
historic overhaul of state law.
Most of the
measure goes into effect in 60 days.
However, the portion requiring each
county within the drilling region to
decide whether to impose the impact fee
is effective immediately. Those counties
have 60 days to adopt an ordinance
imposing the fee on shale wells.
Story
PA.
TOWNSHIP TO CONTEST
NEW MARCELLUS LAW
February 14,
2012 - The same day Gov. Tom Corbett
added his signature to the state's new
natural gas impact fee bill, one local
municipality took steps to challenge the
new statute. The Robinson Township Board
of Supervisors voted Monday night to
have its solicitor take action to
protect the township's zoning rights
related to House Bill 1950.
The bill
passed the House Wednesday and calls for
gas extraction companies to pay a fee
for drilling in the state, but pre-empts
local zoning ordinances that determine
where the activity can take place. Under
the new law, gas drilling would be
permitted in residential areas and
setbacks would be less than what many
local municipalities now allow. Township
Attorney John Smith, of Smith Butz of
Canonsburg, said the township is
concerned about its mandate to protect
the health, safety and welfare of its
citizens. One major provision for that
has been local zoning, he said.
Story
$67
MILLION REQUESTED
FOR PIPELINE SAFETY
February 14,
2012 - Federal pipeline safety programs
would get an extra $67 million and
nearly 120 new employees under a
proposal President Obama announced
Monday that brought cheers from safety
advocates pushing to address accidents
and growing safety concerns. The
request, part of the president's $3.8
trillion plan, would almost double the
number of enforcement agents nationwide.
The increase also would cover
improvements from research to accident
investigation to information databases,
according to an agency news release.
Pennsylvania
safety officials and advocates and the
national safety group Pipeline Safety
Trust all urged Congress to approve the
funding, though Republican leaders have
said the president's budget will be dead
on arrival there. Obama's plan doesn't
provide a comprehensive solution to
several key issues as the
state's pipeline system expands to
handle the rush of shale gas, several
officials said. Pennsylvania has 60,000
miles of pipe, and drillers could add
25,000 miles.
Story
FRACK VICTIM CONFRONTS SALAZAR,
THEN BREAKS INTO TEARS
February 14,
2012 - The Obama administration was
served with a stark reminder Tuesday
that its embrace of natural gas drilling
is being met with heartfelt resistance
from some. During an event in Ohio, a
man who said he was a “victim of federal
gas drilling” confronted Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar.
The man said
hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” had
polluted his water supply and turned his
home into a “public health hazard. I
have two neighbors who have now been
diagnosed with cancer because of our
toxic water,” the man said, as he began
to cry. “It’s not being done safe; we
need help. Can you help us?” Before the
man spoke, Salazar touted fracking.
Story
HYDROFRACKING:
TWO SCIENTISTS SPLIT
February 14,
2012 - Where vertical fracking had used
tens of thousands of gallons, horizontal
uses millions. “Risk is proportional to
time on job,” said Dr. Tony Ingraffea, a
Cornell professor who specializes in
hydraulic fracturing. He says horizontal
drilling holds a risk of water
contamination.
“It is
possible that in the hydraulic
fracturing process, the fracking fluids
and any other contaminants that are
already down there that are gathered by
the fracking fluid could migrate upwards
to an underground source of drinking
water,” he said. The gas industry is
adamant this has never happened, but
Ingraffea cites a 1987 EPA report that
noted such an incident in West Virginia.
He also points to the EPA’s current
investigation into a case in Wyoming.
Story and video
N.C.
SEISMIC RESEARCH
LINKED TO FRACKING
February 14,
2012 - As concerns mount in several
states that fracking may be linked to
earthquakes, UNC-Chapel Hill geologists
plan to conduct
seismic tests in Lee and Chatham
counties to document naturally occurring
earth movements in the region. The
geologists are looking for a dozen
property owners to donate about 100
square feet of land to host a seismo
meter for at least a year, during which
the area would be fenced off and
inaccessible.
With the
state legislature likely to debate
legalizing natural gas drilling this
summer, university and government
scientists are quickly lining up private
land owners as participants in
scientific research on the region's
natural resources. In addition to
seismology measures, scientists will
also measure water quality in about 75
local wells.
Story
Shale Gas News February 13 2012
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY’S 2012
"CASH HOLE IS $6 BILLION"
February 13,
2012 – This morning Chesapeake Energy
announced a new financial plan that it
hopes will allow it to raise the
billions in cash it needs to get through
the next year or so without going
bankrupt. But with natural gas prices
already at decade-long lows and set to
go even lower in the months ahead,
there’s no telling whether even Aubrey
McClendon’s legendary financial
finagling will be able to save the day.
Desperate
times call for desperate measures.
Chesapeake Energy is in a bind. It’s the
second-biggest natural gas producer in
the country after Exxon-Mobil. But with
natgas prices having fallen to their
lowest levels in a decade ($2.40 per
thousands cubic feet), Chesapeake isn’t
generating enough cash. Over the years
he has sold JV stakes and entire acreage
chunks to the likes of Statoil, Total,
Cnooc, Plains, BP, BHP Billiton and
more.
Story
PA.
DEP UPDATING PERMITTING
IN HIGH QUALITY WATERSHEDS
February 13,
2012 - One of the first Marcellus Shale
wells to be permitted in the Delaware
River watershed was neither horizontal,
or hydraulically fracked. But
environmentalists who challenged the
permit issued by the DEP say state
regulators who approved the project took
less than 35 minutes to review it and
did not consider its impact on nearby
rivers and streams. In a settlement
announced by the Delaware Riverkeeper
Network on Monday, the organization says
those days of quick turnaround permit
reviews are over.
“The DEP
needs to do a better job of reviewing
permits, rather than just using its
rubber stamp,” said Delaware Riverkeeper
Network attorney Jordan Yeagar. “This
settlement will help make that happen.”
The Riverkeeper Network, along with
Damascus Citizens for
Sustainability, filed an appeal of the
permit to the Environmental Hearing
Board. Newfield Appalachia PA, LLC
applied to drill the “Woodlands” well in
Damascus Township, Wayne County, Pa.,
less than half a mile from the Delaware
river. The nearby Hollister Creek
watershed is also designated as a “Special
Protection High Quality” (HQ) watershed.
Story
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability
FRACKING STUDY SENDS ALERT ABOUT LEAKAGE
OF POTENT GREENHOUSE GAS
February 13,
2012 - Fracking may lead to larger
releases of methane into the air than
previously estimated, according to a new
study. Scientists are now trying to find
out if the underestimation is unique to
the gas field they examined or whether
rogue emissions from such fields are
also being underestimated in other areas
where there is hydraulic fracturing – or
"fracking" – to collect natural gas form
certain rock formations.
The study,
conducted by researchers from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's (NOAA) Earth Systems
Research Laboratory (ESRL) in Boulder,
Colo., suggests that the gas field in
Colorado's Weld County leaks roughly 4
percent of its gross annual production
into the air. Previous estimates put
the leakage at 1.6 percent.
Story
FRACKING FOR WATER
IN MINNESOTA
February 13,
2012 - While the basic fracking process
is the same for gas, oil or water, those
involved say water well fracking is much
less environmentally damaging. "Our max
pressure for fracking is roughly 3,000
pounds where oil and
gas fracking goes up to 40,000
pounds and they use thousands of gallons
a minute, where we're using a hundred to
two hundred gallons a minute," said
Kent. "And they're also injecting
different chemicals to help the flow of
oil and gas where we're just using
natural, high-chlorinated water."
Another big
difference is in most oil and gas
fracking operations they're driving
through shale which often crumbles,
potentially allowing contaminants
trapped in the shale, to escape into
ground water.
Story
SIERRA CLUB ANSWERING FOR
TAKING CHESAPEAKE CASH
February 13,
2012 - The recent disclosure of the
Sierra Club’s secret acceptance of $26
million in donations from people
associated with a natural gas company
has revived an uncomfortable debate
among environmental groups about
corporate donations and transparency.
The gifts
from the company, Chesapeake Energy,
have drawn criticism from some
environmentalists. “Sleeping with the
enemy” was a comment much forwarded on
Twitter posts about the undisclosed
arrangement. “Runners shouldn’t smoke,
priests shouldn’t touch the kids, and
environmentalists should never take
money from polluters,” John
Passacantando, a former director of
Greenpeace who is now an environmental
consultant, said in an interview.
Story
MARYLAND LAWMAKERS WRANGLE
OVER NATURAL GAS TAX
February 13,
2012 - Sharp disagreement has surfaced
in the Maryland legislature over how
much to tax natural gas production in
the event Maryland allows energy
companies to drill for shale gas deep
below the state’s westernmost counties.
Del. Maggie McIntosh and Del. Sheila
Hixson on Friday introduced a bill that
would let the state collect 15% of the
wholesale value of any natural gas
produced from Maryland’s portion of the
Marcellus Shale.
That’s six
times the rate proposed by Sen. George
C. Edwards (R-Allegany and Garrett), who
earlier introduced a bill to set the
“severance tax” rate on natural gas at
2.5%. Though the mechanisms differ, both
bills propose to use the resulting
revenue in the affected areas to address
the potential environmental and public
health impacts of gas production.
Story
MON
RIVER QUEST WINS
REGIONAL AWARD
February 13,
2012 – The Mon River QUEST, a
comprehensive water quality survey
administered at 16 locations along the
Monongahela River, received a
regional IMPACT Award from the National
Institutes for Water Resources. "We've
already had an impact, we're growing the
program, there's a large amount of
interest in the program and it's having
positive results on a major river system
in our region," said Paul Ziemkiewicz.
The
organization has also reached out to
watershed alliances around the area to
create a larger impact in patrolling
water quality for the area. "We are
working with watershed groups throughout
the Mon River basin in West Virginia,
Pennsylvania and Maryland – about 15 in
total," said Dave Saville, outreach
coordinator for Mon River QUEST.
"Because we use volunteers, TDS are
fairly easy to monitor for, so there are
citizen volunteers associated with these
groups monitoring the water."
Story
STILL A FRACKER’S FAVORITE:
PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL SANTORUM
February 13,
2012 - In an Oklahoma speech last week,
Santorum said, “I come from Pennsylvania
[where] we’re doing a little bit of [fracking]
in Pennsylvania, thank God.” He then
went on to say fracking is “the new
boogeyman” — the “new way [for
environmentalists] to try to scare you
[by] saying, ‘Look what’s going to
happen. Ooh, all this bad stuff’s going
to happen, we don’t know all these
chemicals and all this stuff.’ Let me
tell you what’s going to happen:
Nothing’s going to happen.”
Santorum is
one of the top U.S. Senate recipients of
campaign contributions from the oil and
gas industry — and what makes those
numbers so stunningly outsized is the
fact that he remains one of the top
Senate recipients even though the last
time he ran for Senate was in 2006.
Story
CHESAPEAKE FUNDING GAP
CALLS FOR DEBT SALES
February 13,
2012 - Chesapeake Energy Corp said it
will sell $10 billion to $12 billion in
assets as decade-low natural gas prices
force the company to raise cash to cover
a shortfall. The second-largest U.S.
natural gas producer has a strategy to
increase output from more profitable
wells that produce crude oil and natural
gas that is rich in liquid content.
Despite
those efforts, the Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, company faces a funding gap in
the billions for next year and it needed
to cobble together a series of deals to
raise cash. Chesapeake said it expects
the sales or joint ventures for its West
Texas Permian Basin assets and
Mississippi Lime acreage in northern
Oklahoma to yield $6 billion to $8
billion this year. The company expects
those deals to close by the end of the
third quarter.
Story
US EPA
PROBING WASHINGTON COUNTY,
PENNSYLVANIA SHALE OPERATIONS
February 13,
2012 - The U.S. EPA is investigating
whether specific Marcellus Shale
drilling and
compressor station
operations in Washington County have
caused environmental damage that
violates federal regulations. The
federal "multi-media" investigation of
air, water and hazardous materials
impacts, which the EPA has not
previously acknowledged, began in late
September when on-site testing was done.
According to
the latest accounting on the state DEP's
website, there are almost 700 drilled
Marcellus Shale gas wells in Washington
County, and as of the middle of last
year 278 of those were producing.
Although the DEP does not track
compressor stations by county or region,
there are at least 11 in Washington
County. Range Resources, which owns the
vast majority of the wells in Washington
County, and
MarkWest Energy Partners,
which owns most of the compressor
stations, could not be reached for
comment.
Story
‘O-H-I-O,
HYDRO FRACKING’S GOT TO GO’
February 13,
2012 – More than 60 foes of fracking
from as far away as Cleveland marched
along snowy Kent sidewalks Saturday
chanting: “O-H-I-O, hydro fracking’s got
to go,” “No more earthquakes” and “You
can’t drink money.” The environmental
impact of fracking is a subject of
controversy, often pitting environmental
activists, who claim the process will do
untold damage to nearby water and air,
against oil and gas companies, who claim
the process is relatively safe.
After
painting “NO FRACKING” on the KSU rock,
the protesters turned and marched back
to The Kent Stage, where Dr. Ted Voneida
and
Jaime Frederick spoke. Voneida said
fracking could damage not only the
health of an individual, but the health
of a community. Voneida said a
surprising side effect of fracking can
also be a lack of medical care. He said
in talking with others in the medical
field, he has found many medical
students will refuse to serve in
communities that had been fracked.
Story
CONSOL BUYING UP
MARCELLUS AND UTICA SHALE
February 13,
2012 – Under the CNX Gas Corp. banner
Consol drilled 78 wells in 2011,
including 19 in central Pennsylvania, 50
in
southwest Pennsylvania and nine in
northern West Virginia. The cost to
drill and frack the wells averaged $5
million each. In horizontal Marcellus
and Utica shale drilling, gas companies
drill about 1 mile deep into the earth
before turning the drill bit
horizontally in an effort drain gas from
the properties within the drilling unit.
Consol's average drilled lateral was
3,850 feet.
The company
expects to drill 99 Marcellus Shale
wells in 2012, 39 of which will target
ethane, propane, butane and pentane-rich
gas. In the Ohio
Utica Shale, Consol
officials said they would drill 22
wells, all of which would target these
natural gas liquids, in addition to the
methane portion of the natural gas
stream.
Story
RECORDERS OF PA. DEEDS MAY
NOT REJECT MULTIPLE DEEDS
February 13,
2012 - In what attorneys said is a
significant win for natural gas
drillers, the Commonwealth Court has
ruled that counties' recorders of deeds
are required by statute to record all
lease documents presented to them,
including single documents containing
multiple lease assignments.
Kevin C.
Abbott, of Reed Smith in Pittsburgh, who
represented plaintiff Chesapeake
Appalachia, said the ruling is important
for oil and gas companies in
Pennsylvania, many of which have
incurred significant additional expenses
and had to perform extra work as a
result of some county recorders' refusal
to accept multiple lease assignments in
a single document.
Story
BG
GROUP TO CUT FRACKING
80 PERCENT
February 13,
2012 - BG Group is dramatically scaling
back plans to employ the controversial
practice of "fracking" for shale gas in
the US. The oil and gas producer, which
was created by a demerger from British
Gas, will cut its shale gas drilling
activity by almost 80% because weak gas
prices in the US are making it far less
profitable.
BG's
decision to scale back its
fracking
activity comes after US gas futures
prices fell 39% in the past year, as a
result of greater gas production and a
milder winter. The group said it expects
to produce the equivalent of 80,000
barrels a day of gas from US shale
fields in 2015, well under half its
previous target of 190,000 barrels.
Story
BOOM
AND BUST:
PA. IMPACT FEE MAY BE TOO LATE
February 13,
2012 - Rural residents who decided to
fix up family farms rather than move to
smaller homes may be hard-pressed if
their gas leases aren't renewed.
Small-business owners who expanded their
operations to serve gas companies may
find they can't pay their bills. Let's
hope the Marcellus Shale Coalition's
relentless boosterism didn't exacerbate
a climate of overspeculation and make
the pain worse.
Industries
that grow too quickly and then pull back
painfully create a toxic boom-and-bust
cycle. Pennsylvania needs an energy
industry that is economically and
environmentally sustainable, guided by
academics who provide prudent advice and
careful analysis. That would do more to
safeguard our communities and natural
resources than any amount of impact
fees.
Story
NORTHEASTERN PA. COUNTIES
TO RAISE MILLIONS OR NOTHING
February 13,
2012 - Vertical exploratory wells that
have never been
hydraulically fractured
and do not produce gas, like the two
drilled in Lackawanna County and the
eight drilled in Wayne County, will not
be eligible for the fee. "Our concern
was that truly exploratory wells do not
pay the impact fee," said the chief of
staff for Senate President Scarnati. He
added that the local impact of such
wells is relatively minor and "quite
frankly, we don't want to discourage
exploratory wells."
On the other
hand, the bill presumes that horizontal
wells are not exploratory so even those
not producing gas are eligible for the
fee, he said. That means Luzerne
County's two test wells, both of which
are horizontal, will be subject to the
$50,000 per well fee if the county
adopts it, despite the fact that both
were plugged after they showed little
prospect of producing economic amounts
of gas. The bill allows fees to be
collected for three years on horizontal
wells with no production.
Story
MARCELLUS SHALE =
'LAWYER-UP'
February 13,
2012 - The same year Bill Caroselli
finished law school, Bob Dylan first
told the world that the times were a-changin'.
A half-century later, the birth of the
multibillion-dollar
Marcellus Shale
industry has transformed the region's
legal landscape, pushing lawyers like
Mr. Caroselli to practice oil and gas
law after decades of specialization in
other fields.
Firms that
already had oil and gas practices are
making them bigger. Firms that didn't
have a practice are rushing to create
one. Small firms and solo practitioners
are also catching up, hoping to
represent landowners as Big Law allies
with the gas companies. "All of us were
taught property rights and real estate
when we were in law school, but haven't
really thought about those issues for
20, 30, 40 years," Mr. Caroselli said.
"So it's a whole new mindset for what
you have to do."
Story
TAX
OR FEE? ASK PA.
GOVERNOR CORBETT
February 13,
2012 - Pennsylvania will shortly have an
impact fee for Marcellus Shale. Grover
Norquist called it a tax, but
Pennsylvania Republicans passed it
anyway. Gov. Tom Corbett, who signed
Norquist’s pledge, plans to sign the
Marcellus bill, too, according to his
spokesmen. Political reality trumps
ideology.
The
Commonwealth Foundation posted a list of
the representatives who had signed
Norquist’s no-tax pledge to the Internet
under the headline “Will These House
Members Honor Their Pledge?" "Will they or
won’t they keep their word to the
families of Pennsylvania?” it asked.
Story
Shale Gas News February 12 2012
THOUSANDS OF MILES OF
UNREGULATED PA. PIPELINES
February 13,
2012 - Pennsylvania regulators are
taking steps to begin safety checks of
some
natural gas pipelines in the
Marcellus Shale regions - hiring
inspectors and drafting new rules that
will bring the state in line with the
rest of the nation. But a dispute
continues over whether the state
oversight goes far enough. The new
safety-inspection and construction
regulations still will not apply in the
most rural areas of shale country, the
hotbed for new pipeline projects, with
up to 25,000 miles being built or
on the drawing boards.
In
Washington, U.S. officials are pushing
to close that rural loophole, but the
gas and pipeline industries are fighting
hard to keep it in place, arguing that
the hazards are remote and the cost
would far outweigh any benefits. The
industry is building
gathering pipelines in rural areas
with virtually no safety oversight.
(Gathering lines typically link wells
with interstate pipelines)
Story
REGULATING PENNSYLVANIA SHALE OPS:
P.U.C. TO GET NEW ROLE
February 12,
2012 – The Marcellus Shale legislation
awaiting Gov. Tom Corbett's signature
would introduce a quiet player into the
divided, often loud, world of gas
drilling: the Public Utility Commission,
a relatively unknown state agency
suddenly charged with determining which
communities are illegally regulating gas
extraction.
The agency
would also be asked to review the scores
of local ordinances that allow
municipalities to establish specific
setback rules or predrilling
requirements. Lawmakers allotted
$250,000 out of the general state fund
to help the PUC incorporate the
databases needed to track shale
development and are planning additional
funding to help pay for personnel. The
agency has about 500 employees.
Story
PUC Map (PDF offsite)
PA.
FIREFIGHTERS LEARN EMERGENCY
MEASURES AROUND GAS WELLS
February 12,
2012 - Westmoreland County firefighters,
as part of their battle plan, gathered
at Hempfield No. 2 VFD to get tips from
Mike Wolford, an incident management
specialist for Wild Well Control of
Houston, Texas. They learned that the
greatest dangers can come from
"blowouts," an uncontrolled flow of
natural gas erupting to the earth's
surface that can spark fires that can
burn for days.
National
statistics put the number of blowouts at
2 for every 1,000 gas wells drilled. The
most likely emergencies include workers
being crushed or suffering other
injuries. Medical emergencies, such as
heart attacks, are also a hazard at well
sites. Wolford said blowouts can result
in catastrophic situations, spreading
smoke and dangerous chemicals in all
directions. The first thing firefighters
need to know is the location of wells,
Thiel said, "We are not being notified."
Story
UTICA SHALE BRINGS BIGGER
BUCKS TO GROUPS AND HOLD-OUTS
February 12,
2012 - Sustersic said the final
financial terms of $5,900 per acre with
21% on royalties are, to his knowledge,
the highest yet paid in eastern Ohio. In
September, the Utica Landowners Group
arranged the signing of 26,000 Belmont
County acres to Exxon Mobil subsidiary
XTO Energy at a price of $4,950 per acre
with 19% royalties. Antero is joining
Chesapeake and other companies in a plan
to ship ethane to Texas.
When asked
which other companies the property
owners considered for the deal,
Sustersic said a "trade secret" would
not permit him to disclose this. Antero
has 215,000 net acres of leasehold in
northern West Virginia and SW
Pennsylvania. The operations map shows
the company is working in Wetzel County,
WV. The website notes Antero has drilled
and fracked 65 Marcellus Shale wells,
and is in the process of 19 more.
Story
OHIO
GAS PRODUCERS OPPOSE
STRICTER REGULATIONS
February 12,
2012 – Ohio petroleum producers are
pushing back against a call by the state
attorney general to increase
environmental penalties and chemical
reporting requirements on the drilling
industry. Republican Attorney General
Mike DeWine said the state has no
jurisdiction under the Consumer Sales
Practices Act to help landowners who
sell
lease rights to their property.
DeWine has
recommended three changes that he says
will bring Ohio in line with other
drilling states and allow effective
enforcement against violators. Terry
Fleming, executive director of the Ohio
Petroleum Council, opposes the idea of
pursuing stiffer regulations.
Story
PA.
FRACKING ALLIANCE SEEKS
TO EDUCATE PUBLIC
February 12,
2012 - In Lawrence County, there were
3,677 leases, with 400 to 600 more
expected the beginning of this month,
the recorder’s office said. The
Fracking Truth Alliance, a group of about 60
Lawrence County landowners in the New
Wilmington area, has organized to
educate people about potential risks.
FTA members
say they also are concerned about air
pollution, destruction of farmland and
agriculture and declining property
values because well development takes up
more land. FTA is asking people who
would like to learn more about fracking
to come to a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday
at New Wilmington High School, 350 Wood
St., New Wilmington, Pa.
Story
SOUTH DAKOTA:
COME & GET IT FRACKERS!
February 12,
2012 - Amid a push to expand South
Dakota’s fledgling oil and gas industry,
state lawmakers have a message for
energy companies that use the
controversial drilling technique of
hydraulic fracturing: Come and get it.
South Dakota has watched as neighboring
North Dakota’s economy has boomed in
recent years, fueled by big money
flowing in from that state’s oil
reserves.
That’s why
South Dakota officials are welcoming
hydraulic fracturing, or fracking,
because it could prove key to fulfilling
a state initiative to expand production
in the state’s oil patch in Harding
County. “We’ve got all the easy oil,”
said Bob Townsend, minerals and mining
administrator at the South Dakota
Department of Environment and Natural
Resources. “What’s left is the
unconventional oil” that without
fracking drillers weren’t able to get to
the surface economically.
Story
Shale Gas News February 11 2012
SHALE DRILLERS HAVE BIG THIRST
FOR SLIPPERY ROCK CREEK IN PA.
February 11,
2012 - Shell Appalachian notified
Lawrence County officials of plans to
draw water from the creek for the
purpose of fracking. The company has
applied with the state DEP for approval
to pull a maximum of 960,000 gallons
a day from the creek. That would be
enough to dry up a stretch of Slippery
Rock Creek roughly 10 feet deep, 110
feet wide and 110 feet long.
But barring
a drought of historic proportions, draws
that large probably wouldn't even
noticeably affect water flow or drinking
water service to the Ellwood City area,
said Gary Lobaugh, a spokesman for
Pennsylvania-American Water Co.'s
western Pennsylvania office. He said
PAWC recently became aware of the Shell
request and hasn't taken a position on
it yet, but the company would contest
any permit request that its officials
think might compromise the supply or
quality of its water sources.
Story
FRACKING OF 1 OHIO NATURAL GAS
WELL USED 484 TONS OF CHEMICALS
February 11,
2012 –One vertical-horizontal well in
Carroll County required nearly 1 million
pounds of liquid chemical additives.
That well, southeast of Canton near
Carrollton, used 969,024 pounds —
484.5 tons — of chemical additives.
It also required 10.5 million gallons
of water and 5,066 tons of sand.
The chemical
additives are used as iron-control
agents, corrosion inhibitors, clay
stabilizers, breakers, gelling agents,
friction reducers, bactericides, scale
inhibitors, pH adjusting agents,
cross-linking agents, solvents and
surfactants. “There’s no doubt that
there are some nasty chemicals going
into Ohio wells, and no one disputes
that,” said Dr. Jeffrey C. Dick,
chairman of the geology department at
Youngstown State University.
Story
PA. MAN
PLEADS GUILTY TO
ILLEGAL WASTEWATER DUMPING
February 11,
2012 - A Greene County businessman
pleaded guilty on Thursday to 13 of 98
charges of illegally dumping millions of
gallons of waste across Western
Pennsylvania counties for more than six
years. Robert Allan Shipman entered the
plea before Greene County Judge Toothman
to one count each of theft by deception,
receiving stolen property, tampering
with public records or information and
criminal conspiracy; five counts of
unlawful conduct; and four counts of
pollution of waters.
The state
attorney general's office said Shipman,
through his company, Allan's Waste Water
Services Inc., orchestrated a scheme to
dump
gas drilling wastewater and sewage
sludge into streams, mine shafts and
business properties in Allegheny,
Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Washington
and Westmoreland counties between 2003
and 2009. Drivers were told to leave
their water valves open at gas wells to
allow production water to flow onto the
ground and into nearby waterways.
Story
Videos:
Dunkard Movie
Remember Dunkard Creek
MULTIPLE LEAKS DISCOVERED AT
MARKWEST’S HOUSTON PLANT
February 11,
2012 - Among the EPA's list of potential
issues were: at least 3 flaring events
since September 2011; more than 1,800
instances in which valves were not
remonitored within 120 days of a
problem; shipping unsampled liquid
wastewater offsite and is not aware of
possible volatile organic compounds or
hazardous air pollutants associated with
it; 5 leaks were discovered in 123
valves, one of four pumps was found to
be leaking; and the company is not
conducting daily visible emission
monitoring of the facility.
The report
notes MarkWest is redesigning a flare
tip after the
September flaring
incident, which occurred when a new
fractionation tower and heater were
brought online. The company has a
third-party contractor that conducts its
leak-detection and repair program. That
company monitors affected valves
quarterly, pumps monthly and compressors
annually.
Story
Gas Processing Plant in Houston, Pa
PENNSYLVANIA’S PURPLE SQUIRREL
RELATED TO NEARBY FRACKING?
February 11,
2012 - A Pennsylvania couple trapped, of
all things, a purple squirrel on Sunday.
Percy and Connie Emert, of Jersey Shore,
Pa. caught the unusual animal when
trying to keep birds safe from the
rodents. The Emerts do not know why the
squirrel is purple. "We have no idea
whatsoever. It's really purple. People
think we dyed it, but honestly, we just
found it and it was purple."
Krish Pillai,
a professor at Lock Haven University of
Pennsylvania, commented that "This is
not good at all. That color looks very
much like Tyrian purple. It is a natural
organobromide compound seen in molluscs
and rarely found in land animals. The
squirrel (possibly) has too much
bromide
in its system." Local squirrel
enthusiast Erik Stewart said, "If it has
white hair on it at all, it's probably
not dyed. I've had multiple squirrels as
pets, though, and I've certainly never
seen a purple one. I've tried to dye my
dog before, and trust me it didn't look
like this.”
Story, video & photos
SHIPMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO
ILLEGAL WASTEWATER DUMPING
February 11,
2012 - State prosecutors charged Mr.
Shipman with illegal dumping in March
after a grand jury report indicated he
was earning up to $7 million a year
while he and his company, Allan's Waste
Water Service, dumped waste materials in
Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence,
Washington and Westmoreland counties
between 2003 and 2009. According to the
grand jury report, the waste materials
were dumped in holes, mine shafts and
waterways, often at night or during
heavy rains.
"He was
pouring the stuff in any hole he could
find," a spokesman for the attorney
general's office said in March. The
nine-page grand jury presentment
recommended 98 criminal charges against
Mr. Shipman and 77 counts against
Allan's Waste Water Service. Among the
charges in the presentment was that Mr.
Shipman's company emptied tanker trucks
of drilling waste into a floor drain
that led to Tom's Run, which empties
into
Dunkard Creek.
Story
Dunkard Creek Watershed Association
PA
DEP HALTS CARRIZO FRACKING
AFTER GAS WELL FAILURE
February 11,
2012 – An out-of-control Susquehanna
County natural gas well released waste
fluids to a Forest Lake Twp. well pad
early last week, leading state
regulators to halt all activity at the
site. Two valves failed during fracking
at Carrizo Marcellus' Baker 4H well
during the afternoon of Jan. 30. Carrizo
has drilled 67 wells in Pennsylvania,
most of them in Wyoming and Susquehanna
counties.
Regulators
noted that the fluid coming out of the
well was "relatively clear."
Radiological tests and measurements of
methane in the atmosphere showed nothing
higher than normal background levels at
the well pad. The department did not
release an estimate of how much fluid
escaped from the well, but Ms. Connolly
said the fluid was flowing out at a rate
of about 300 to 400 gallons a minute for
less than half an hour.
Story
Fracking
MARCELLUS SHALE VOTE IN
PA. DIVIDES LAWMAKERS
February 11,
2012 - Five of the nine state leaders
that represent most of the Alle-Kiski
Valley voted against a set of rules
regulating the
Marcellus shale natural
gas drilling industry. At least some
local officials are upset that they've
lost any say in controlling the
industry, with one saying that bill
sponsor Rep. Brian Ellis has "sold out"
the people he represents.
State Sen.
Jim Ferlo called the legislation
"outrageous." "I'm very fearful of what
the impact will be now that millions of
acres are open; not only forest and game
lands, but residential communities that
will be victimized by drilling," he
said. "It's going to haunt us for
decades to come." The House approved the
bill, known as HB 1950, by a vote of
101-90 on Wednesday, and the Senate
approved it Tuesday, 31-19.
Story
Shale Gas News February 10 2012
CANCER
CLUSTERS FOUND
NEAR WASTEWATER PIPELINES
February 10,
2012 - The Germans are finding cancer
clusters near pipelines that carry
flowback and produced water. For those
who can’t watch videos on their
computers, here are a few of the Cliff
Notes.
-
In the
middle of the largest area of
drilling and fracking in Germany,
there is a cancer cluster.
-
Small
town, with cancer in one-third of
homes – 27 homes with 10 cancer
cases in 9 homes.
-
They’ve
been fracking since the nineties.
(Sound familiar?)
-
They
pipe the flowback and produced water
for disposal through pipelines.
(Sound familiar?)
-
Testing
the soil around these pipelines
found 4000 micrograms of benzene.
Five micrograms is hazardous to
health.
-
Toxicologist says benzene is among
the most “alarming chemicals we can
imagine.”
Video & story
DRILLING WASTEWATER
DUMPED IN PA. CREEKS
February 10,
2012 - Authorities said that from 2003
to 2009 Shipman failed to comply with
DEP regulations and permitted gas well
production water to be discharged into
Rush Run, Toms Run, Morris Run and
tributaries of Dunkard Creek in Greene
County, and Pigeon Run in Washington
County.
Agents from
the state attorney general's office also
said Shipman directed his drivers to
falsify manifests so his company could
bill customers for the full capacity of
their trucks, regardless of the amount
of waste actually being disposed, the
paper reported.
Story
Dunkard Creek Fish Kill
NUCLEAR POWER VS.
NATURAL GAS
February 10,
2012 - When critics say nuclear power is
risky, they often mean the risk of an
accident. The big issue has always been
the price of electricity from competing
sources. And generally, that comes down
to a prediction about the future cost of
natural gas, which usually sets the
price of electricity on the grid in much
of the US.
The nuclear
industry must also reckon with the
prospect that in the 2020’s or 2030’s,
that the United States will get more
serious about limiting carbon dioxide
emissions, which would be a plus for
nuclear operators. Substituting gas for
coal does reduce emissions, but there is
still far too much carbon in natural gas
to allow its widespread use if the
electric system is to reduce its
emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
Story
CHESAPEAKE FINED $565,000 FOR
3 RELEASES INTO PA. WATERWAYS
February 10,
2012 - State environmental regulators
have fined Chesapeake Appalachia
$565,000 for three incidents at Northern
Tier natural gas well sites, including
an April 2011 wellhead failure in
Bradford County that released thousands
of gallons of wastewater into a nearby
stream.
Environmental regulators found elevated
levels of salts and barium at the
confluence of a nearby stream and
Towanda Creek on the day after the
Bradford County spill but saw the
contaminants decline to background
levels over several days, DEP said.
Chesapeake was fined a record $1.1
million by state regulators in May for a
series of water contamination incidents
and a well-site fire that injured three
workers in 2010 and 2011.
Story
U.S.
ENERGY CZAR TOUTS NATURAL
GAS DURING PITTSBURGH VISIT
February 10,
2012 - Describing the drilling process
as environmentally sound, U.S. Energy
Secretary Steven Chu on Thursday
championed natural gas production in a
city that banned the practice more than
a year ago. Mr. Chu, the nation's top
energy official since 2009, toured the
National Energy Technology Laboratory in
South Park and then stopped in
Pittsburgh to laud Mayor Ravenstahl's
use of a $3.4 million Energy Department
grant.
During a
news conference in the mayor's office,
Mr. Chu raised the issue of natural gas
production, saying the resource must be
developed for economic and national
security reasons. He spoke just steps
from where city council, concerned about
the environmental and health impacts of
gas drilling, adopted a citywide ban on
production in 2010. "The long story
short is, we believe it can be done in
an environmentally responsible way," Mr.
Chu said.
Story
SPRING BROOK LAWMAKERS
PASS BILL TO BAN DRILLING
February 10,
2012 - Lawmakers approved a revision of
township zoning rules Thursday night to
prohibit natural gas drilling in a large
swath of the community while setting
aside designated areas for commercial
wind farms. Under the change, about half
the township is off-limits to gas
drilling, while in the other half gas
drillers would be subjected to
restrictions on noise and lighting and
regulations governing which roads could
be used to access wells.
At the same
time, local lawmakers acknowledged they
don't know how their changes would fare
under a state bill that seeks to
establish a county-option Marcellus
Shale drilling impact fee and state
review of local drilling ordinances.
Story
Shale Gas News February 9 2012
PENNSYLVANIA 'SELLS OUT'
WITH COMPROMISE SHALE BILL
February 9,
2012 - Yesterday in the Senate and today
in the House, the Pennsylvania
legislature voted in favor of HB1950, a
compromise gas development bill that was
hammered out behind closed doors under
the heavy hand of Governor Tom Corbett.
Under the guise of providing “impact
fees” to municipalities where gas
operations occur, the legislature
effectively supported a takeover of
municipalities by the State and the gas
industry by gutting established and
effective local planning and zoning
rights.
Through
provisions contained in the bill,
municipalities will no longer be able to
play a central, critical role in
protecting the health, safety, and
welfare of residents and determining
which uses of land are most beneficial.
The bill requires that all types of oil
and gas operations (except for natural
gas processing plants)—unlike any other
commercial or industrial business—be
allowed in all zoning districts, even in
residential neighborhoods and near
schools, parks, hospitals, and sensitive
natural and cultural resource protection
areas. As a result, people could be
forced to live only 300 feet away from a
gas well, open frack waste pit, or
pipeline, despite growing evidence that
such development causes pollution,
damages health, and lowers property
values.
Press Release
Pa. House vote
Pa. Senate vote
GAS
DRILLING MAY BE LEAKING TWICE
AS MUCH GAS AS PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT
February 9,
2012 - New research says gas drilling
may be emitting far more methane and
other pollutants into the atmosphere
than current estimates suggest. The
work, performed by scientists with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, focused on Weld County,
Colo., home to more than 20,000 gas
wells. After years of monitoring and
study, the researchers estimated that
about 4 percent of the methane produced
by these wells is lost to the
atmosphere.
That's about
twice as much as current estimates would
suggest, and twice what the EPA assumes
is lost nationally during gas drilling
and production. Methane accounts for
about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions
nationwide. Leaks during the drilling,
production and transmission of natural
gas are the largest source, accounting
for about a third of all man-made
methane emissions. In addition to
methane, the researchers also found
surprisingly high emissions of benzene,
a carcinogen, and other pollutants.
Story
WYOMING TOWN FEARS FRACKING
POISONED THEIR WATER
February 9,
2012 - The driver stacks up pyramids of
five-gallon bottles at 19 stops. Encana
Corporation, an energy company, provides
the water. It's the only way disabled
veteran Louis Meeks can stay on the land
he bought back in the 1970's, when his
water wells pumped sweet life into the
place. No more. It gives off a pungent,
petroleum smell.
His
neighbor, Jeff Locker, says doctors as
far away as Denver have been unable
diagnose his wife's strange illness. "My
wife got really sick six years ago,"
Locker said. "Extreme neuropathy. She
describes it as someone sticking knives
through her shin bones." "They got
problems out here," said Meeks, who has
also worked in the oil fields. "Big
problems, because everything is
intermingled."
Story
WHO
IS PROTECTING OHIOANS
IN THE FRACKING DEBATE?
February 9,
2012 - The watchdog group, Common Cause,
has studied the lobbying and campaign
contributions made by the gas and oil
industry. It found in the last ten
years, the industry has spent $747
million lobbying lawmakers and making
campaign gifts. House Speaker John
Boehner got almost $187,000. Former
Congressman and now-Governor John Kasich
got about $214,000. Ohio House Speaker
William Batchelder got more than
$71,000.
James
Browning of Common Cause says the
donations are made to get access,
influence and to minimize regulations.
"There's a very strong incentive to get
the wells in the ground and get the
money out....the biggest thing the
fracking industry wants is to frack
first and ask questions later," he said.
Innovation Ohio claims Ohio's tax on
natural gas and oil is "laughably low,
the second lowest in the country,"
according to Butland.
Story
PA.
SHALE GAS RULE BILL
HEADS TO GOVERNOR
February 9,
2012 - "When you remove zoning and land
use at the local level, there's really
nothing else for a municipal government
to do," said Brian Coppola, a supervisor
in Robinson in Washington County, one of
the municipalities considering legal
action. "You've turned a whole system
upside down, not just the drilling. ...
It's gutting our entire system. It's a
big deal."
State courts
have affirmed that municipalities have
some control over where and when
drilling can occur. But this bill would
largely strip that, allowing the right
to drill everywhere, including
residential areas, as long as drill pads
are at least 300 feet from a house and
wellheads are 500 feet away. In four
years of drilling from the beginning of
2008 to the end of 2011, drillers had
about three state environmental
violations for every four wells.
Story
Political contributions in Pennsylvania
All Hail
Marcellus Shale
Enter the darkness, in the
ground,
Frack it, attack it, damn
that sound!
Gas to be drilled, big money
found,
Spewing their chemicals, all
around.
Steal the water, from the
fish,
Pump it, pipe it, spot the
dish.
Secret formula? Aw tish-tish,
Resolve it later, don’t we
wish!
Will it all, to your kids’
grandkids,
Don’t drink the water, or
eat the squids.
We got ours, now you got
yours,
Fracking ground, pumped full
of horrors!
Marcellus money, came and
went,
Our mad gas rush, screamed 'Hellbent!'
Royalty checks gone, can’t
pay rent,
Environment scarred, beyond
Repent.
We still live here, sick
descendants say,
What were you thinking, damn
that play!
Your seeps and pollution,
taint our hay,
You stole from us, to claim
your day.
All Hail, Marcellus Shale!
Big business won, without
fail.
Descendants looking, in the
mail,
Royalty checks gone, water
frail. |
FIRST ‘FRACKY AWARD’
HANDED OUT AT N.J. STATEHOUSE
February 9,
2012 – Anti-natural gas drilling
activists handed out the first “Fracky”
award to the American Petroleum
Institute for what they charge is its
role in endangering the environment. The
oil and gas industry association won,
the activists declared, for “spinning
the benefits of fracking (natural gas
drilling) so hard that some people
actually believe that gas is a bridge
fuel to renewable.”
"Today the
fossil fuel industry wins the Fracky at
great cost to our air, water and
forests," David Pringle, campaign
director of the New Jersey Environmental
Federation, said. "However the real
awards ceremony is across the street at
the Statehouse beginning tomorrow. Will
the winner be dirty air and
well-financed special interests or clean
water and the state of New Jersey?
Story
COAL, OIL AND GAS ALL
WANT THE SAME TURF
February 9,
2012 – Belmont and Monroe County
landowners, as well as natural gas and
oil companies, hope the Ohio Department
of Natural Resources will allow drilling
in the liquids-rich Utica Shale
formation to proceed.
However, a
dispute regarding plans to conduct coal
mining operations in these same areas
may delay the drilling plans of
companies like Chesapeake Energy, XTO
Energy and Hess Corp. to drill on land
they paid as much as $5,200 per acre to
lease. Robert Edward Murray of Murray
Energy, said in December, "Our coal
ownership is superior to any oil and gas
leases," adding that the company seeks
to protect the "jobs we provide from
indiscriminate drilling for oil and
gas."
Story
SHALE BILL HEADS
TO PA. GOVERNOR
February 9,
2012 - It's not the severance tax sought
by Democrats and opposed by the
Republican governor. Nor will the impact
fee strictly benefit the counties where
drilling occurs, as some Republicans
preferred. Instead the final plan is a
hybrid of several approaches, under
which counties decide whether to impose
the fee, a state agency collects the
dollars, and a bevy of agencies and
programs benefits from the revenue.
The
legislation passed the House on
Wednesday, 101-90, after having passed
the Senate on Tuesday, following a
conference committee meeting -- where
the negotiated bill got its first public
viewing -- the day before. The largest
ripples from the bill will be felt by
local officials, who will be forced to
rewrite strict drilling ordinances or
find themselves locked in costly legal
battles.
Story
PA.
DRILLERS CITED FOR 3,300
VIOLATIONS IN FOUR YEARS
February 9,
2012 - Marcellus Shale drillers in
Pennsylvania were cited for more than
3,300 violations of state environmental
laws in the past four years, according
to a tally released Wednesday by the
environmental organization
PennEnvironment. The data, compiled from
state records, revealed a wide array of
violations committed by 64 different
companies.
More than
two-thirds of the violations were for
problems likely to have an environmental
impact. Erosion and sedimentation
problems were the most common source of
environmental violations, with 625
citations, followed by faulty pollution
prevention controls (550), improper
waste management (340), and pollution
discharges (307).
Story
PA.
HOUSE APPROVES
MARCELLUS SHALE IMPACT FEE
February 9,
2012 – Pennsylvania is a signature away
from imposing a fee on natural gas
extraction in the Marcellus Shale. After
three years of debate and false starts,
the House voted, 101-90, Wednesday to
approve a compromise plan for a "local
impact fee" on natural gas drillers.
With the Senate's approval in hand, the
measure goes to Gov. Corbett, who said
he would sign it. "This is the largest
corporate giveaway in Pennsylvania
history," House Minority Leader Frank
Dermody said Wednesday.
The
compromise was months in the making and
for several hours yesterday appeared
headed towards defeat as Republicans who
control the House hustled to garner
votes. In the end, they mustered a slim
majority, showcasing again the
difficulties of reaching consensus on
how best to deal with a burgeoning
industry. Pennsylvania is the only major
gas-producing state that does not tax
natural gas production.
Story
OHIO
ATTORNEY GENERAL
WANTS $10K DAILY FINES
February 9,
2012 - Ohio's top law enforcer is
advocating increased environmental
sanctions on polluters in the oil and
gas industry and required disclosures of
the chemicals used in the drilling
technique called fracking that would be
among the toughest in the nation.
Republican
Attorney General Mike DeWine on
Wednesday called for hiking civil
penalties to $10,000 a day from the
current maximum of $20,000 per incident.
That would bring fines in line with
states such as Pennsylvania, Colorado
and Texas.
Story
IMPACT FEE BILL
WINS FINAL APPROVAL
February 9,
2012 - Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski spoke
against the bill in floor debate saying
it offers only crumbs to the public and
a smorgasboard to the drillers. The bill
lacks provisions requiring the posting
of higher bonds by drillers and
base-line studies of water quality, he
added. House Minority Leader Frank
Dermody said the bill won't prevent a
repeat of the anthracite mining legacy
of culm dumps, mine fires and acid mine
drainage.
While the
House spent hours debating the bill
during two days, there was intense
behind-the-scenes efforts to round up
the necessary votes to pass the bill.
Gov. Tom Corbett and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley
were personally involved in the effort
Tuesday night.
Story
Shale Gas News February 8 2012
PA.
HOUSE SENDS FLAWED
BILL TO GOVERNOR FOR OK
February 8,
2012 -After more than 3 hours of debate
today and months of wrangling over the
legislation's details, a Marcellus Shale
regulatory and impact fee measure is
headed to Gov. Corbett. That legislation
passed the state House of
Representatives this afternoon on a vote
of 101-90. It passed the state
Senate yesterday, following a Monday
evening conference committee meeting to
move forward on the
Republican-negotiated proposal.
"It does not
raise the revenues necessary to make
sure the taxpayers are not left holding
the bag," said House Minority Leader
Frank Dermody. It now awaits the
signature of Mr. Corbett, who urged
lawmakers during his budget address
yesterday to give their speedy approval.
The measure makes the first sweeping
changes to the state's Oil and Gas Act
since Marcellus drilling began eight
years ago.
Story
GAS
DRILLING DESTROYING
PENNSYLVANIA FORESTS
February 8,
2012 - This past weekend, a friend and I
took a trip up to Waterville, a small
town in Lycoming County, to see this
truth first hand. I had heard from other
hikers that the miles of trails near
Waterville are some of the most
depressing around because they’re
located right on top of the Marcellus
Shale formation and are a hot spot for
gas drilling. They were right.
We hiked
about three miles, and afterward drove
another 10 miles on public forest roads
in the area. Over this short distance,
we saw three well sites on the
mountaintops and two pipelines cutting
directly back into the valley. From the
moment we stepped out of our car at the
base of the mountain, we could already
hear what we would see at the top —
engines revving, pipes being laid and
beeps emanating from machines being put
into reverse. It sounded like a highway
was being constructed on the mountain
top.
Story
PA.
HOUSE STILL ARGUING
SHALE WELL FEE PROPOSAL
February 8,
2012 - State representatives today will
continue debating a measure to overhaul
Pennsylvania's gas-drilling regulations
and impose a fee on those shale wells,
in an effort to send the bill to Gov.
Tom Corbett's desk. The legislation,
which was the result of years of debate
in Harrisburg and months of furious
activity, passed the state Senate on
Tuesday morning on a vote of 31-19.
The measure
was poised for passage late Tuesday,
though Democratic lawmakers took their
final opportunity to protest against not
being included in recent negotiations,
as well as note their disapproval that
the bill did not have a larger
assessment and broader regulations.
Story
HB 1950 Pa. Legislation
Pa. Representatives contact information
HOUSE DEMS CITE LAX OVERSIGHT OF
OIL, GAS DRILLING ON PUBLIC LAND
February 8,
2012 - Federal policing of oil and
natural gas on public lands is lax and
inconsistent, with only 6 percent of
violations resulting in monetary fines
over 13 years, House Democrats said in a
report Wednesday. Fines over that time
totaled less than $275,000, an amount
that the Democratic staff of the House
Natural Resources Committee
characterized as little more than
"pocket change" for oil and gas
companies.
The report
said federal regulators issued no fines
in the period studied, February 1998 to
February 2011, in eight of the drilling
states. The report, obtained by The
Associated Press before its public
release later Wednesday, said the
government does little to ensure
accountability or protect the
environment, even as drilling on federal
land has increased in recent years.
Story
DEBUNKING THE MYTH THAT AMERICA
HAS 100 YEARS OF NATURAL GAS
February 8,
2012 – The advent of shale plays
provided an important new source of gas.
Yet this new supply is characterized by
high decline rates which means that
wells must be continuously drilled to
maintain supply. In 2001, the U.S.
natural gas decline rate was about 23%
and the annual replacement requirement
was 12 Bcf/d when total consumption was
54 Bcf/d. Today, the decline rate is
estimated to be 32% and increased
consumption of gas means that
approximately 22 Bcf/d must be replaced
each year.
According to
ARC Financial Research, $22 billion per
quarter is needed to maintain domestic
gas supply based on analysis of the 34
top U.S. publicly traded producers. Cash
flow for those companies is $12 billion
per quarter so there is a $10 billion
quarterly cash flow deficit. The
important factor here is that on a whole
there are no retained earnings, and
historically growth stems from retained
earnings. Without retained earnings,
companies must borrow money or sell
assets into joint venture agreements to
raise cash in order to drill.
Story
GREEN GROUPS SPLIT ON
PROTECTIONS IN PA. DRILLING BILL
February 8,
2012 - Environmental protections built
into natural gas drilling legislation
that passed the state Senate on Tuesday
convinced some environmental groups to
endorse the bill with reservations even
as others rejected it wholesale as a
giveaway to the gas industry.
The
environmental rules were often
overshadowed in recent months by
sparring over the bill's more
controversial impact fee and local
zoning provisions. But even lukewarm
supporters say the bill, which has yet
to be approved by the House and the
governor, combined the best
environmental standards included in
earlier House and Senate drafts and then
added more.
Story
SIERRA CLUB OBJECTS
TO LNG FROM SHALE
February 8,
2012 - The Sierra Club filed a complaint
with the U.S. Department of Energy
claiming exports of liquefied natural
gas from Marcellus shale deposits
through the Cove Point LNG terminal in
Maryland are bad for the environment.
Deb Nardone,
director of the Sierra Club's gas reform
campaign, claims LNG isn't only the
dirtiest type of natural gas but could
result in an increase in hydraulic
fracturing of shale gas deposits in the
region. "The industry is pushing forward
with these export facilities with their
profits in mind, not the families who
will bear the burden of increased
fracking," she said in a statement.
Story
COLORADO FRACKING
REGULATIONS COULD TIGHTEN
February 8,
2012 - As oil and gas development
increases throughout Northern Colorado,
an Aurora lawmaker wants to require
energy companies to provide more
information to the state about how much
water is used for hydraulic fracturing
and prevent possible groundwater
contamination from the practice,
particularly in areas where radioactive
and explosive material can be found.
State Sen.
Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, is sponsoring
the "Water Rights Protection Act,"
which, if passed, could affect future
oil and gas drilling and hydraulic
fracturing in eastern Larimer County
where there are underground uranium
deposits.
Story
FRACKING’S TOLL ON PETS, LIVESTOCK
CHILLS PA. FARMERS
February 8,
2012 - Smelling gas one morning, a
southern Pennsylvania farmer almost
passed out when he went outside to check
on his bellowing cows. One of the
animals did keel over, kicking its feet
in spasms. A couple of days later, a
calf was fighting for its life, the
farmer said. It died.
Something
awful is happening over the Marcellus
Shale, the vast geological formation in
eastern North America where energy
companies are looking for natural gas.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a
process for extracting gas by injecting
high volumes of water and chemicals into
deep wells, has sparked complaints about
ruined landscapes and fouled
groundwater. Increasingly there is
evidence, mostly anecdotal, that animals
are suffering.
Story
Terry Greenwood story
OHIO
GOVERNOR DEFENDS
FRACKERS AND GAS PROCESSORS
February 8,
2012 - Gov. John Kasich didn't flinch
when natural gas opponents disrupted his
State of the State address Tuesday - he
just kept talking about the jobs
MarkWest Energy's processing plants are
expected to bring to the area. While
Kasich did not speak much of the
multibillion-dollar Royal Dutch Shell
ethane cracker, officials in his
administration said after the speech
they remain confident the state is in a
prime position to land the planned
cracker.
More than
100 anti-fracking protesters greeted the
Ohio State legislators and invited
guests entering the Steubenville High
School/Wells Academy Elementary School
complex Tuesday. Though the governor
spoke for nearly an hour on a variety of
topics with no interruptions, as soon as
Kasich began speaking about natural gas
topics, the protesters took action.
Kasich said that major gas drillers are
responsible, noting he would not allow
an irresponsible "yayhoo" to ruin the
industry's reputation.
Story
No permits at all (6:18 video)
MarkWest flaring
(3:50 video)
UTICA SHALE DEALS LEAPT
TO $6.7 BILLION IN 2011
February 8,
2012 - Seven deals involving the Ohio
oil and gas formation totaled $6.7
billion in 2011 -- a huge increase from
the single transaction worth $178
million in 2010. The liquids-rich
formation that overlaps and borders the
Marcellus Shale benefited from increased
interest in oil-rich regions, which
become more lucrative when natural gas
prices fall as they have in the past
year.
Still, oil
and gas activity in the United States in
2011 jumped nearly $50 billion, with 191
deals accounting for $186.5 billion
spent. There was a similar trend among
foreign investors in American oil and
gas. In 2011, foreign buyers completed
40 transactions worth $56.4 billion.
That's five fewer than in 2010, but a 55
percent increase in deal value.
Story
Marcellus Air - Panhandle of West
Virginia
NY
OFFICIAL:
FRACKING REGS NEED WORK
February 8,
2012 - The industry and landowners with
gas leases have been urging DEC to wrap
up its review and start granting
permits, while environmental groups have
called for a more extensive review and
more rigorous protections to prevent
problems seen in other states, such as
water contamination. Some groups are
calling for an outright ban, saying
accidents in other states show
regulation is ineffective.
Sweeney, a
Long Island Democrat, has sponsored a
bill calling for a moratorium on
fracking until June 2013 to allow more
time for study. Another bill in the
Senate and Assembly would ban the
practice.
Story
Shale Gas News February 7 2012
CHARTING THE US GOVERNMENT’S
MOVES ON FRACKING
February 7,
2012 - Fracking has only recently become
a household word, but government
involvement with the drilling technique
goes back decades. President Obama has
championed the potential of natural gas
drilling combined with more regulation.
While there
has been mounting evidence of water
contamination, few regulations have been
implemented. The graphic below traces
officials' moves -- and levels of
caution -- over time.
Story
PA
SENATE PASSES
MARCELLUS LEGISLATION
February 7,
2012 - The state Senate passed a
Marcellus Shale regulatory and impact
fee measure this morning, sending the
plan for a final vote in the state House
of Representatives. Among other changes,
it would boost penalties and setbacks
from waterways, require more disclosure
of hydraulic fracturing chemicals, and
mandate more comprehensive containment
procedures for spills.
It also
would prohibit municipalities from
regulating drilling activities more
stringently than other industrial
activities if they want to remain
eligible for the fee revenues. The state
Public Utility Commission would review
those local ordinances upon request, and
rule whether they are reasonable based
on state-proscribed guidelines.
Localities may ban drilling in
residential areas if they are so densely
populated that no well site can be
placed where the wellhead would be 500
feet away from a building.
Story
PA.
SENATE PASSES COMPROMISE
BILL ON GAS DRILLING
February 7,
2012 - “It is a dark day for all
Pennsylvanians,” said Todd Miller, a
town councilman from South Fayette
Township, who has opposed the
legislation. “We have been sold out to
the gas industry, plain and simple.” The
bill was a compromise of previous
versions produced by the House and
Senate last year. Nine Senate
Republicans had raised concerns in a
letter last month about the lack of
local control. All but one ended up
voting for the bill, though critics
maintain that the compromise did not
restore much in terms of local land
control.
Myron
Arnowitt, the state director for Clean
Water Action, an environmental group.
called the bill “a huge step backwards.”
He estimated that 100 to 200
municipalities with zoning laws already
in place would now be open to question.
“Overriding local zoning is a very bad
trade,” Mr. Arnowitt said.
Story
SEISMIC TESTING BEGINS AT
HEART OF ELK POPULATION IN PA.
February 7,
2012 - Seismic testing has begun to
determine the potential for Marcellus
Shale drilling in north-central
Pennsylvania's Elk State Forest. An oil
and gas forester for the state says the
DCNR owns less than 25 percent of the
land being surveyed.
The Bradford
Era reports Tuesday that the testing
began Saturday and is being performed in
an 11-square-mile area including Hicks
Run, which contains the core of the
state's elk population.
Story
FINAL PA. IMPACT FEE BILL
CLEARS FIRST HURDLE
February 7,
2012 - A bill that establishes a
county-option Marcellus Shale drilling
impact fee and provides some revenue for
statewide environmental programs cleared
a hurdle Monday with approval from a
special legislative committee. The
Senate plans to vote on the bill this
morning, and a House vote could come
later today.
A drilling
operator could ask the state Public
Utility Commission to determine whether
a zoning ordinance is reasonable or not.
If the PUC or state courts reject an
ordinance, a municipality couldn't
collect impact fee revenue unless they
changed it. "It (bill) is turning 300
years of local zoning rights upside
down," said Mr. Yudichak.
Story
Pa. Senators contact info
Pa. Representatives contact info
PA.
SHALE DRILLING BOOM
HURTS
HOMELESS VETERANS
February 7,
2012 - The ranks of homeless veterans
are growing, and a state Senate
committee Monday heard testimony that
the Marcellus Shale industry is making
the problem worse. Several witnesses
testified one major reason for the
increase in homelessness lies with the
gas drilling industry, which drives up
rents and makes affordable housing more
scarce. More veterans seeking shelter
are young – men and women in their 30s.
Monsignor
Joseph Kelly testified the VA estimates
there are nearly 68,000 homeless
veterans nationwide, with more than
5,000 of them women. “The need is
extraordinary,” Kelly said. “The
Scranton area homeless population has
risen due to the Marcellus Shale housing
crisis. Shale (area) residents no longer
are able to afford living in the region.
Recent estimates put the number of
homeless veterans in Pennsylvania at
around 1,400.
Story
TEXAS PANEL WANTS FRAC
WATER RECYCLED
February 7,
2012 - Denton’s official gas drilling
task force voted Monday to require some
drillers to recycle water used in
hydraulic fracturing but narrowly
rejected new regulations for well casing
and cementing. Chesapeake Energy has
said it uses an average of 4.5 million
gallons to fracture a typical horizontal
deep shale gas well.
The action
followed the task force’s votes last
week endorsing a ban on open waste pits
at drilling sites, baseline testing of
nearby water wells, and an expansion of
a city ban on wastewater disposal wells
into areas of the city’s
extraterritorial jurisdiction. “There is
no peace of mind where there is fracking,”
said Ricardo Correa, a University of
North Texas student pursuing a doctorate
in physics. “The political system may be
rigged, but there is still a way for us
to influence it.”
Story
LOUISIANA OFFICIALS CANCEL
WATERSHED HEARING
February 7,
2012 - This Total Maximum Daily Load
report is part of the Clean Water Act
which requires states to assess water
bodies and watersheds to determine the
maximum amount of pollution that water
body can take and still meet water
quality standards.
Originally,
DEQ was developing a plan for Bayou
Manchac that included Bayou Fountain,
Ward Creek, Ward Creek Diversion Canal,
Welsh Gully, Cotton Bayou and Muddy
Creek in an area of southern East Baton
Rouge Parish and northern Ascension
Parish.
Story
OHIO
REP. OUTRAGED BY TAX
SYSTEM FOR DRILLING INDUSTRY
February 7,
2012 - State Rep. Robert F. Hagan of
Youngstown, D-60th, expressed outrage
Monday with a news report that Ohio’s
oil and gas companies are paying taxes
on the extraction of the natural
resources based on an honor system.
“This is a real failure of government,”
Hagan
likened the system to allowing the
general public to decide how much they
should pay in taxes. “Let’s put Ohio
taxpayers on the same playing field as
the oil and gas companies,” he said. “We
will take Ohioans for their word on what
kind of money they make, just as we
currently do with oil and gas drillers.”
Story
GAS
DRILLING FEE MOVES
FORWARD IN PA.
February 7,
2012 - Pennsylvania's lawmakers could
vote as early as today on a bill calling
for an impact fee on the natural gas
industry. State Sen. Jim Ferlo,
D-Highland Park, said the bill produces
a "laughable" amount of revenue and
lambasted Republicans for moving the
bill too quickly. "This will be a battle
royal that will be continued," Ferlo
said. "I hope and pray some folks will
come to their senses about what we`re
shoving down people`s throats."
The bill has
also drawn criticism for superseding oil
and gas laws municipalities passed to
regulate where and when companies can
drill. The bill would allow drilling
even in residential zones, as long as
wellheads are at least 500 feet from
residential buildings. Dozens of Western
Pennsylvania municipalities have said
they oppose the measure and some have
threatened to sue if the rule goes
through.
Story
IRISH COUNCIL GETS
FRACKING RESPONSE
February 7,
2012 - ‘No applications have been
received to carry out hydraulic
fracturing for shale gas in Northern
Ireland, nor is any petroleum lincensee
likely to be in a position to submit
such an application for at least 18
months, so it is premature to draw any
conclusions about the regulatory control
of such activities.
‘The two
companies, who hold petroleum licences
in Moyle District Council area, are
focussing their exploration on
conventional oil and gas targets in
Permo-Traissic sandstones similar to
those that form the reservoirs in the
long-established East Irish Sea and
Southern North Sea gas basins.
Story
Shale Gas News February 6 2012
INDUSTRY SLAMS FEDERAL PLAN
TO LIST FRACKING CHEMICALS
February 6,
2012 - The oil and gas industry is
attacking a leaked draft of government
rules that would require companies to
disclose the chemicals they use in
hydraulic fracturing on federal lands.
Adam Fetcher, an Interior spokesman,
defended the impetus for the rules. "It
is essential that the public have full
confidence that the right safety and
environmental protections are in place,"
he said in a statement.
The Interior
Department’s Bureau of Land Management
has drafted a rule that would require
companies to reveal the trade names and
purposes of fracturing fluid additives
and to name the specific chemicals
involved and the volumes they plan to
use. The rule also contains a
trade-secret exemption if companies can
show state or federal regulations
protect the information from
public disclosure.
Story
COLORADO 1,000-FOOT DRILLING
SETBACK MEASURE DIES
February 6,
2012 - A bill requiring oil and gas
wells to be drilled at least 1,000 feet
from nearby schools or homes in Colorado
died Monday when the state House
Judiciary Committee voted 8-3 to
postpone indefinitely further hearings
on it. Supporters of the bill said the
1,000-foot setback requirement was
needed to protect the public’s health
and safety. They also criticized the
state for allowing minimum requirements
to be 350 feet in urban areas.
The
three-hour hearing on House Bill 1176,
sponsored by Rep. Su Ryden, offered the
first glimpse of the broad outlines of
the Legislature’s 2012 fight over oil
and gas operations in Colorado, and how
the state’s new Niobrara oil boom has
stirred concerns along the populous
Front Range.
Story
TENTATIVE DEAL ON
PA. SHALE GAS FEE
February 6,
2012 - After months of wrangling behind
closed doors, Gov. Corbett and
Republicans who hold the majority in
both legislative chambers have reached a
tentative agreement to impose a fee on
the extraction of natural gas from the
Marcellus Shale.
The
so-called "local impact fee," which
could be voted on as early as this week,
would fluctuate depending on the price
of natural gas and, starting in 2013, on
the rate of inflation, according to a
summary circulated to Republican
senators during the weekend.
Story
‘CORBETT TAX’ FOR PA. CITIZENS,
BUT NOT FOR GAS DRILLERS?
February 6,
2012 – The state is suddenly insisting
that taxpayers report their online
purchases and pay the 6% sales tax
on those items. The basic idea of the
“use tax,” which includes paying for
items bought online or anywhere else
outside the state, is a good one. It
levels the playing field between online
retailers and physical stores in
Pennsylvania.
This from
the governor and Legislature that
refuse to tax Marcellus Shale — a
move that could bring the state hundreds
of millions a year — or even smokeless
tobacco products. Pennsylvania is the
only state that doesn’t tax smokeless
tobacco. Doing so could generate about
$40 million.
Story
DISCREPANCIES RUN DEEP
WITH OHIO WELL TAXES
February 6,
2012 - As Ohio prepares to usher in a
multibillion-dollar gas-drilling
industry, the state relies on an honor
system to collect taxes and fees from
well owners — and the numbers don’t add
up. Well owners are required to report
the amount of natural gas they “sever”
from the earth and file severance-tax
returns each quarter.
No one has
an explanation for the disparities in
what represented a $2 million revenue
stream in 2010. The variations were
wide, with ODNR’s annual production
numbers 3 percent to 15 percent below
those of the association. In 2010, it
was the opposite: ODNR reported more
production than did the association. The
oil-and-gas industry said it expects to
drill nearly 4,000 wells in Ohio in the
next four years.
Story
DEAL
AT HAND ON SHALE
FEES AND CONTROLS
February 6,
2012 – A deal between Republican
lawmakers and Gov. Tom Corbett on a
Marcellus Shale regulatory and impact
fee measure is nearly complete, with
summaries of the expected compromise
plan circulating among lawmakers over
the weekend. Top legislative and
administration aides said action on that
final plan could begin as soon as
today.
A bipartisan
General Assembly conference committee
still must be formed to approve the
plan, followed by final votes in both
chambers, before it can reach the
governor's desk. Staffers were in the
Capitol on Sunday afternoon and evening
for some final revisions. The bulk of
the framework detailed to rank-and-file
lawmakers is expected to remain the
same, though local zoning rights is
one issue that remains in flux.
Story
MOST
CANADIANS WANT MORATORIUM
ON FRACKING
February 6,
2012 - The majority of Canadians oppose
hydraulic fracturing and would support a
moratorium on the natural gas
extraction method, according to a
new poll. The Environics Research poll,
commissioned by the Council of
Canadians, found that 62% of the
Canadians polled supported a
moratorium on all fracking for natural
gas until all federal environmental
reviews are complete.
British
Columbia residents were most likely to
support a fracking moratorium, at 67 per
cent. B.C. was followed by Atlantic
Canada, where 66 per of those polled
supported a moratorium, and then Ontario
(65 per cent), Manitoba/ Saskatchewan
(64 per cent), Alberta (57 per cent) and
Quebec (55 per cent). "The poll results
send a strong message that Canadians are
really wanting the federal government to
put in place a moratorium until the
reviews are complete.
Story
EXXON LIKES UTICA SHALE
IN BELMONT COUNTY, OHIO
February 6,
2012 - The world's largest publicly
traded oil company has leased more than
26,000 acres for drilling in Belmont
County. In fact, the acreage - which
is in the name of Exxon's natural gas
producing subsidiary, XTO Energy - came
to Exxon in the form of 1,216 separate
lease agreements on file in Belmont
County Recorder Mary Katherine Nixon's
office.
Unlike the
December deal that saw Exxon acquire
about 13,200 previously leased acres in
Monroe County from Ohio-based Beck
Energy Corp., the 26,000 acres in
Belmont County are all brand new leases
for acreage that had never been leased.
Many of the Belmont County property
owners signing with Exxon/XTO agreed to
receive lease payments of $4,950 per
acre with 19% payments on production
royalties.
Story
HECTOR, NY RESIDENTS TELL
BOARD: BAN FRACKING
February 6,
2012 - Scores of Hector residents
pleaded to their reluctant town board to
ban or place a moratorium on
hydraulic fracturing at a public
hearing Saturday morning, and they were
encouraged by more than 200 of their
neighbors, who cheered the speakers.
Most spoke
of their aversion to the practice's
potential to contaminate groundwater
with toxins, or the heavy
industrialization that can accompany
drilling. "I do not want to have my
community forever changed by the
inevitable ravages of hydrofracking,"
said resident Denise Teeter. "I do not
want to contend with the heavy truck
traffic, the health risks, and the
impact of noise."
Story
THROOP, PA. LANDFILL PLANS
TO MILL MARCELLUS WASTE
February 6,
2012 - Keystone does not expect the
cuttings to change the chemistry of the
landfill's wastewater, called leachate,
which is treated then discharged
through sewer lines to the
Scranton Sewer Authority. "Given
that this process is the first of its
kind in Pennsylvania, there is not data
on the exact makeup of the wash water
that will be collected, stored and
disposed of as a result of Keystone's
drill cuttings processing facility," the
landfill wrote in its application.
Marcellus
cuttings can contain elevated levels of
naturally occurring metals and
radioactive material, including
radium-226. The radiation monitor
that screens all incoming waste loads at
the landfill was triggered at least 19
times between July and November, but
none of those incidents involved drill
cuttings, a DEP spokeswoman said.
Story
Scranton Sewer Authority
Radioactive shale
PA.
LAWMAKERS NEAR VOTE
ON GAS WELL FEES
February 6,
2012 - One key provision would provide a
share of the statewide revenue to the
Department of Community and Economic
Development through 2013 that could be
used to encourage the building of an
ethane processing plant in Western
Pennsylvania or help investment in
Eastern Pennsylvania refineries.
The proposal
calls for providing 60 percent of the
revenue raised from the fee to local
governments impacted by drilling. Of
that share, 37 percent would go to host
municipalities, 36 percent to host
counties and 27 percent to other
municipalities in host counties.
According to the draft language, the
remaining 40 percent of the revenue
would go to statewide projects.
Story
Propane trains
OGLEBAY PARK, WV NEIGHBORS
CONCERNED ABOUT DRILLING
February 6,
2012 - A number of factors are involved
in piecing together a drilling unit such
as the "Timmy Minch" unit in Ohio
County, Chesapeake Energy officials
said. The unit consists primarily of
acreage from Oglebay Park, along with 26
other property owners.
Some
residents have expressed concern that
once drilling begins later this year,
there will be a risk of methane or other
chemicals being released into the
environment near or in Oglebay Park.
Others worry that Chesapeake may drain
the gas from their property - even if
they do not have a lease with the energy
company.
Story
Timmy Minch Northwest Unit (PDF
offsite)
Shale Gas News February 5 2012
N.J.
TAKES SECOND SHOT
AT FRACKING BAN
February 5,
2012 - New Jersey Democrats will try for
a second time to prohibit fracking for
natural gas in the most densely
populated U.S. state, after Governor
Chris Christie vetoed a ban in August
and lodged a one-year moratorium.
While New
Jersey produces no natural gas, the
Utica Shale formation, a largely
unexplored deposit running from Ontario,
Canada, to Tennessee, runs under Warren
and Sussex counties in the state's
northwest. A ban would head off future
fracking in an area that provides almost
half of New Jersey with drinking water.
Story
OHIO
UNIVERSITY REVIEWS LAND
HOLDINGS FOR POSSIBLE DRILLING
February 5,
2012 - Ohio University is currently
looking at all the land it owns, to let
the state know which of it may be
available for oil-and-gas drilling. It
is doing so in response to a new state
law passed last year that opened up most
lands owned by state entities, including
state universities, to such drilling,
and created a new state board to oversee
and facilitate such leasing.
An OU
environmental organization, meanwhile,
has been sending the message to the
university that it would like to see a
policy of no drilling on any of its
land, as well as a commitment to avoid
the use of any fuel extracted with the
horizontal hydro-fracking method. OU
senior Tyler Barton, a member of OU
Students Against Fracking, said the
group has set itself three main goals.
Story
PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS OF MARCELLUS
SHALE DRILLING STILL UNKNOWN
February 5,
2012 - Uncertainty prompts me to write
that as a doctor I do not know what to
tell Pennsylvania patients when they ask
me if fracking in their neighborhood or
region might affect their health. I’ve
seen anecdotal stories in the media.
I’ve read as much as I could find about
how the hydraulic fracturing process
works. But I’m still uncertain because
we lack data and research on the
matter.
The basic
question for physicians is not which
side to pick for or against fracking,
but rather to ask are we doing a good
enough job being watchdogs for public
health in these regions? As physicians,
we also are scientists. We highly value
evidence-based research as the basic
tool we need to better assess and treat
our patients and to be better advocates
for protecting the community’s health.
Story
NY
COUNTY HEALTH DEPT. WANTS TO EDUCATE
RESIDENTS ABOUT WATER TESTING
February 5,
2012 - The state Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) hasn’t
started issuing oil and gas drilling
permits for the Marcellus Shale area.
Still, the Allegany County Board of
Health wants to take a “pre-emptive”
measure to help public and private well
owners who may be worried about their
water quality if drilling goes forward,
said county Environmental Health
Director Thomas Hull.
Hull said
the Board of Health will vote at its
meeting Monday on some testing
recommendations for public and private
wells. The meeting is scheduled for
7 p.m. in the health department
conference room. He said at this point,
the well owners would be responsible for
the testing costs.
Story
VIRGINIA COUNTY SAYS ‘NO’ TO MORE
GAS DRILLING, THANKS TO 1 MAN
February 5,
2012 - Carrizo Oil and Gas had every
reason to believe this rustic town in
the foothills of the Blue Ridge
Mountains was an ideal place to build
Virginia’s first well to explore for
natural gas in the state’s Marcellus
Shale. All it needed to start the job
was a special land-use permit from the
four Republicans and one Democrat on
Rockingham County’s Board of
Supervisors. Carrizo didn’t even come
close.
Concerned
about controversial drilling methods,
the supervisors never voted on the
permit, and recently the company shelved
its application following a two-year
pursuit, ending its immediate hopes of
exploring for gas. The rejection in
Rockingham County was yet another
hard knock against companies trying to
extract natural gas from the Marcellus
Shale closest to Washington, DC.
Negative publicity about water
contamination at drilling sites is
raising concern even among those who
support gas exploration.
Story
OUTDOOR
GROUPS URGE PA.
GOV. TO UPHOLD MORATORIUM
February 5,
2012 - Pennsylvania's 20 state forests
encompass more than 2.2 million acres,
giving residents year-round access for
pursuits such as hiking, snowmobiling,
boating, hunting and fishing. But with a
budget shortfall looming in Harrisburg
and the Marcellus Shale industry
expanding in the region, sportsmen say
they are worried. Their concern:
balancing the books at the expense of
shrinking state forest areas.
In a letter
addressed to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom
Corbett ahead of Tuesday's state budget
address, advocates from organizations
including Trout Unlimited, National
Wildlife Federation, Pennsylvania Forest
Coalition and United Bowhunters of
Pennsylvania are asking him to honor the
moratorium then-Gov. Ed Rendell placed
on new drilling operations in October
2010.
Story
ACTION ON GAS IMPACT
BILLS ON HORIZON IN PA.
February 5,
2012 - "It will be disastrous if they
pass them they way they are," said Andy
Schrader, a Cecil Township supervisor.
Schrader has been joined by Robinson
Township Supervisor Brian Coppola and
officials from such communities as
Peters Township in Washington County and
Upper Burrell and South Fayette
townships and Jefferson Hills in
Allegheny County.
In the state
legislative contingent from Washington
and Greene counties, state Sens. Tim
Solobay, D-Canonsburg, and John Pippy,
R-Moon, supported the Senate bill when
it came up for a vote in November, and
state Sen. Richard Kasunic, D-Dunbar,
voted against. In the House, state Reps.
Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, Jesse White,
D-Cecil, Brandon Neuman, D-North
Strabane, and John Maher, R-Peters,
voted against it. State Rep. Pete Daley,
D-California, didn't vote.
Story
Pa. HB 1950 Text
Pa. HB 1950 Senate Amendments
Pa. Municipal officials oppose Senate Bill 1100 & House Bill 1950
(YouTube 30:00)
DOMINION PLANT CONSTRUCTION
IN MARSHALL COUNTY, WV
February 5,
2012 - In addition to the 70-acre
Natrium plant, Farrell said the
Appalachian Gateway pipeline project,
designed to transport natural gas from
West Virginia and Pennsylvania to
markets across the eastern U.S., should
be in service later this year.
The pipeline
facilities - starting near the Ohio
River in southern Marshall County and
traveling eastward toward the Pittsburgh
area - will include construction of
about 110 miles of 20-inch, 24-inch and
30-inch diameter pipeline between West
Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as
four new gas compressor stations to add
about 17,000 horsepower.
Story
Marcellus Air - West Virginia
Compressor stations
Shale Gas News February 4 2012
PENNSYLVANIA BULLETIN
February 4, 2012 Issue
(PDF-offsite)
O&G
WORKERS: CANADIAN WELL
TOO CLOSE TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
February 4,
2012 - A lot of people in Calgary's
Rocky Ridge neighbourhood work in oil
and gas, but many say a planned well for
the northwest suburb is too close to
home – literally. Based on a letter to
the Rocky Ridge-Royal Oak Community
Association, it looks as if Alberta
Premier Alison Redford won't intervene.
Redford said the proposed oil well has
passed, or is passing, all regulatory
hurdles.
“Having
an oil well out in the country is
different from having an oil well inside
your bedroom,” Durrani said. The
well will be about 500 metres from the
nearest house and closer to a shopping
centre. Homeowners are worried about
health and safety, as well as a drop in
property values. Kaiser Exploration
Ltd.'s general manager, Ned Beattie,
said the installation will meet or
exceed all safety requirements.
Story
COLORADO MAY RESTRICT DRILLING
AT FORMER BOMBING RANGE
February 4,
2012 - Proposed drilling on a former
bombing range that contains unexploded
munitions and a landfill prompted
Colorado lawmakers this week to
introduce a bill that would require
rules for fracking near toxic-waste
sites. The Niobrara Shale formation
extends from southeastern Wyoming
through northeastern Colorado and
underneath the range, which includes the
Aurora Reservoir, which provides
recreation and drinking water for nearby
residents.
The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers is working to
clean up potentially hazardous military
munitions on the 92-square-mile range.
Carroll’s bill would require Colorado’s
Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to
establish rules for hydraulic fracturing
near radioactive materials and Superfund
sites. It joins a second bill introduced
in the Colorado House that would require
the conservation commission to adopt
rules mandating that oil wells that are
hydraulically fractured be set back at
least 1,000 feet from a school or
residence.
Story
IRISH
ANTI-FRACKING
DEMONSTRATION IN ENNISKILLEN
February 4,
2012 - About 100 people have gathered in
Enniskillen to demonstrate against the
use of fracking to extract gas from
shale rock in County Fermanagh. Earlier
this week an exploration company said
there could be enough gas to guarantee
natural gas supply for Northern Ireland
over 50 years. However, the process has
proved controversial elsewhere. In
Lancashire, it has caused small
earthquakes and in America, water has
been polluted.
Last
December, Northern Ireland Assembly
members called for a stop to fracking.
They backed a call for a moratorium on
onshore and offshore exploration and the
withdrawal of licences by 49 votes to
30. It is not clear if the vote will
have any effect on how the executive
decides to proceed.
Story
2 HUGE
PA. GAS PLANTS EXPAND IN
WASHINGTON AND GREENE COUNTY
February 4,
2012 – MarkWest leaders believe building
these plants will allow them to claim
the two largest fractionation complexes
in the northeastern U.S. MarkWest Energy
will more than double the capacity of
its Majorsville processing plant in
eastern Marshall County by the end of
next year. The Denver, Colo.-based
company will also build totally new
processing plants on the western side of
the Ohio River in Monroe and Harrison
counties.
The project
at Majorsville calls for MarkWest to
increase processing capacity from 270
million cubic feet of gas per day to 670
million cubic feet per day next year.
Consol Energy, Noble Energy and Range
Resources have agreed to supply gas to
the Majorsville complex. Ethane, butane,
propane and pentane recovered by
MarkWest go to the company's Houston,
Pa., marketing and storage complex.
Story
MarkWest Houston Plant
Video of Majorsville plant
SEN.
CASEY PLANS BILL TO PROMOTE
NATURAL GAS AS VEHICLE FUEL
February 4,
2012 – U.S. Sen. Bob Casey announced
plans Friday to introduce a new bill to
create and extend incentives for using
natural gas as a vehicle fuel. The NGEAR
Act would create a rebate of up to
$15,000 for buying public transit or
school buses that run on alternative
fuels and extend tax credits for using
alternative fuels or building refueling
stations through 2016.
The
incentives would apply to alternative
transportation fuels other than natural
gas, but Mr. Casey emphasized the bill
as a way to create new uses for natural
gas pulled from Pennsylvania.
Story
CABOT ADMITS ITS DIMOCK WATER
ARSENIC CLAIM WAS A MISTAKE
February 4,
2012 - Cabot said the arsenic reading
didn’t come from the Dimock water, but
rather from the Montrose public water
system in water delivered to Dimock
residents. Pennsylvania American Water,
which owns the Montrose public water
system, said that was bunk. Their water
doesn’t contain any arsenic, they said.
Cabot stood
by its claim. Then it didn’t. On Friday,
Cabot announced, “Our review found a
transcription error revealing that the
values for arsenic and barium were
transposed in the report. There was no
arsenic found in this sample from the
Montrose public water supply. We
apologize for this error.”
Story
BILL
WOULD SET LIMITS ON
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA WELL SITES
February 4,
2012 - Two Allegheny County councilmen
will introduce legislation on Tuesday
that would create a registry of permits
issued for Marcellus shale gas well
sites and set restrictions on where
drilling operations can be situated on
county-owned property.
The bill
creating the registry is designed to
make sure "people are informed as
quickly as possible when a permit has
been issued for a well," said Councilman
John Palmiere, D-Baldwin Township, the
measure's sponsor. "All I want to do is
make sure that the county provides the
information about where wells will be
located so residents aren't running
around in the dark trying to find out
whether there will be a gas well in
their neighborhood," Palmiere said.
Story
Shale Gas News February 3 2012
CHESAPEAKE-RELATED DONATIONS
TO SIERRA CLUB RAISE IRE
February 3,
2012 – The Sierra Club’s president has
acknowledged in a blog post that
beginning five years ago, the club
accepted $26 million from people
connected with Chesapeake Energy, the
country’s second-largest natural gas
producer. He added that the club had
turned down $30 million pledged by those
donors since August 2010.
Some club
members reacted to the news with outrage
— one response to Mr. Brune’s post
called the club “as corrupt as the worst
politicians” — but many praised him for
banning further donations. The donations
were first reported by Time and the blog
Corporate Crime Reporter.
Story
TEXAS FIRE CHIEF TO REQUEST
FEE ON GAS WELLS
February 3,
2012 - Fire Chief Don Crowson plans to
ask the City Council to impose an annual
fee of $2,400 per gas well to help pay
for additional firefighters, specialized
training and equipment that he said is
needed to prevent and better respond to
incidents at well sites. If approved,
the city-run program would be the first
of its kind in the Barnett Shale,
Crowson said.
The number
of permitted gas wells in Arlington has
grown from just a handful in 2007 to
more than 300. "Natural gas wells are
24/7 issue for us. If something does
happen, we are the ones that get the
call," Crowson said. "We want to be in a
better position to deal with these
issues than we are currently are."
Story
‘GASLAND’ DIRECTOR JOSH FOX
VS. THE REPUBLICAN OIL LOBBY
February 3,
2012 – The battle between "Gasland"
director Joshua Fox and Republicans in
the House who support fracking has now
turned into a tussle over the First
Amendment. Fox was arrested by Capitol
police on Wednesday and charged with
unlawful entry when he walked into a
congressional hearing on the
controversial practice of hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking, a method of
extracting deposits of natural gas which
Fox criticized in his Oscar-nominated
film.
“This is
part of a pattern of obstruction of us
and documentary filmmakers in general in
Congress that should not continue,” said
Fox. “We have permission [to take
video],” Fox continued. “We have
permission granted to us by the Bill of
Rights. Just because we’re not a typical
Hill reporting outfit, they should not
be allowed to obstruct us.” Ironically,
much of this episode was captured on
cellphone video made by other observers
or possibly even congressional staffers.
Story
YouTube of Josh Fox on the Ed Show
2-3-12
CUYAHOGA COUNTY TOPS OHIO
IN NEW GAS WELLS DRILLED
February 3,
2012 - Figures aren’t compiled yet for
last year, but Cuyahoga County led the
state in the number of natural gas and
petroleum wells drilled in 2010. This
“Gold Rush atmosphere” also precipitated
a record turnout of more than 150 Jan.
29 for the latest in the Forums that
Matter series.
Representatives from the oil and gas
industry were invited to participate in
the forum, but declined to attend, said
Unitarian Church spokeswoman Susan
Alcorn, of Cleveland Heights. Zeng said
he has also encountered difficulties
interacting with local scientists on
research. When he asked things like,
“What kind of fluid is being injected?,”
he learned it was a trade secret. “The
data is also very hard to find on
accidents,” Zeng added.
Story
OHIO
EPA ISSUES FINAL
PERMIT FOR GAS WELLS
February 3,
2012 - Ohio EPA has issued a final air
general permit to cover production
operations at shale gas well sites. The
general permit will ensure the air
around production sites are safe while
providing business with the most
efficient option to get operations up
and running. Applicants who meet the
qualifying criteria, terms and
conditions of the general permit can
expect to receive Ohio EPA's approval
within weeks of applying.
The general
permit covers a variety of emissions
sources found at most shale gas well
sites, including internal combustion
engines, generators, dehydration
systems, storage tanks and flares. It
contains emissions limits, operating
restrictions and monitoring, testing and
reporting requirements.
Story
CORBETT
SIGNS MARCELLUS
SHALE EMERGENCY RESPONSE BILL
February 3,
2012 – Corbett this week approved Senate
Bill 995, which requires the
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency
and the Department of Environmental
Protection to adopt emergency
regulations that direct Marcellus Shale
site operators to establish and register
a GPS coordinate for each unconventional
well.
It also
requires them to develop emergency
response plans and post signs to assist
emergency responders.
Story
BOCOR
GAS WELL FIRE
IN MERCER COUNTY, PA
Febuary 3,
2012 - A small shed housing a natural
gas compressor at a Mercer County well
caught fire this morning, burning for
more than two hours before firefighters
extinguished it. The Jamestown Fire
Department was dispatched shortly before
4 a.m. to a Bocor Holdings natural gas
well in Greene Township.
One nearby
resident was forced to evacuate. Damage
from the blaze has forced the company to
shut down 11 of its wells wells and a
collection line.
Story
PA
SENATE PANEL SETS MONDAY
HEARING ON REFINERY CLOSINGS
February 3,
2012 - The notion of closing three key
refineries - two of them in Delaware
County - is raising eyebrows in the
state capital. The Senate Majority
Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted
Erickson (R-26), will hold a public
hearing Monday on the impact that three
planned oil refinery closures will have
on statewide fuel supplies.
The hearing
will be held Monday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m.
in the Senate Majority Caucus Room of
the Capitol. The impact could be
especially serious in the Pittsburgh
region, where federal regulations
require use of a specific blend of
gasoline provided by the refineries. If
a sale is not completed, Sunoco and
ConocoPhillips have indicated that the
facilities could be dismantled.
Story
WASHINGTON CO. PA. COMMISSIONERS
EXTEND DRILLING INSIDE PARK
February 3,
2012 - Paul Parker, a 36-year resident
of Hopewell Township, was a planning
commission member in the 1970s with a
vision for recreation, but he said Cross
Creek has strayed, turning into an
industrial park. "We have lost complete
control of our local government. We
don't have a voice anymore. Range
Resources speaks louder than the
citizens," Parker said before his
remarks were met with applause.
The county's
oil and gas royalty, formerly 14.5%, has
been increased to 16%. The commissioners
were not required to hold specific
meetings on the topic to seek public
comment. "It's representative
government," Fergus said. "Do you pick
one topic that's more important than
another and decide to wait on it?"
Congressional hopeful Larry Maggi asked
rhetorically after the meeting. The vote
to amend the county's lease with Range
Resources was unanimous. [All three
commissioners have accepted
political contributions from Range
Resources]
Story
Video of meeting
Video of park clearcutting
DRILLING, DRILLING EVERYWHERE
IS LOCAL OFFICIALS' FEAR
February 3,
2012 - During the last drilling boom a
century ago, some Pennsylvania
neighborhoods wound up with oil derricks
poking up nearly everywhere. If
Harrisburg passes drilling reform bills
as proposed, the state might end up with
similar problems from today's gas
drilling boom, said two municipal
officials who are campaigning to stop
the bills. Suburban neighborhoods, major
office park projects, and public parks
all could wind up with drill rigs if
municipalities are prevented from
blocking them, they claim.
"That's a
scary thought," said Andy Schrader,
supervisor in Cecil. "What's scary about
this bill is that they can just come in
and drill where they want, when they
want." Instead of simply "wiping out
rules," state leaders should set aside
about 40% of fees from drillers to pay
for regional planning, Coppola said.
That planning could dictate the most
efficient places for drilling and for
installing the massive network of
pipelines and compressor stations
without hurting suburban development.
Story
Video: Township councilman warns of
pending legislation (21:09)
HB 1950 Text
HB 1950 Senate Amendments
WATER UTILITY REBUTS
CABOT ARSENIC CLAIMS
February 3,
2012 - Pennsylvania American Water
released six years of test results
showing no evidence of arsenic at its
Montrose public water supply on Thursday
after a natural gas driller said this
week that a Dimock Twp. water sample
showing high levels of the chemical
originated from the Montrose system.
Annual
samples taken at the Lake Montrose
treatment plant between Feb. 6, 2006,
and June 1, 2011, all show no detection
of arsenic, which is known to cause
cancer in humans. The water utility
brought attention to the clean results
Thursday to counter a claim by Cabot Oil
and Gas Corp. this week that a water
sample cited by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency in its investigation
of gas drilling's impact on water
supplies was trucked to Dimock from
Montrose.
Story
Arsenic in well water
OHIO
RESIDENTS WANT ANSWERS
ON GAS DRILLING
February 3,
2012 - The Ohio Department of Natural
Resources is expected to release a
report sometime in February on injection
wells after recent earthquake activity
in Youngstown. Residents concerned with
oil and natural gas drilling and
injection wells met Thursday night at
the First Unitarian Universalist Church
in Youngstown. Their goal is to
put pressure on state leaders and
government regulators to make sure the
drilling process is safe.
Columbiana
County resident Karen Bertolasio fears
what oil and natural gas drilling may
soon do to her community. She lives next
to Beaver Creek State Park. "A lot of my
neighbors are already talking about
signing up," said Bertolasio. "There's
nothing I would rather see happen in our
state than for us to pick up and become
very prosperous again, but not because
people are going to be unsafe."
Story and video
OHIO
LEGISLATOR PLANS BILL
ON FRACKING PROTECTIONS
February 3,
2012 - State Rep. Robert F. Hagan said
Thursday night he plans to introduce
legislation that contains the ideas of
an Innovation Ohio study on oil and gas
production. Speaking at a fracking-related
meeting, Hagan of Youngstown said those
advocating a slower pace to oil and gas
exploration in Ohio need to “fire away
at every angle we can,” a reason he
feels strongly about Innovation Ohio’s
study.
The study
says Ohio should increase tax rates on
oil and gas production and use the
proceeds to help schools and local
governments with their budget crunches.
It also says that Gov. John Kasich and
the Ohio Legislature should pass a
“landowner bill of rights” to protect
unsuspecting Ohioans from unscrupulous
energy companies and create incentives
to ensure oil- and gas-production jobs
go to Ohioans and not workers from other
states.
Story
Innovation Ohio report (PDF)
‘Landman Handbook’ (authentic?)
RUSSIAN-KOREAN NATURAL GAS
PIPELINE IN WORKS
February 3,
2012 – North Korea’s deputy oil industry
minister visited Moscow at the end of
November to hold the first meeting of
the so-called joint working group with
Gazprom charged with the project. Russia
wants to construct a pipeline that would
carry as much as 10 billion cubic meters
of gas a year to South Korea via the
North, which would earn transit
revenues. Russia may also build a power
grid along the route.
Korea Gas
Corp., the world’s biggest importer of
liquefied natural gas, and Gazprom have
been trying to identify a supply route
since at least 2003, when they signed a
cooperation accord. Russia has also
proposed a railway project that would
connect the Trans-Siberian Railway to
South Korea via North Korea, opening up
an “Iron Silk Road” that would cut
shipping costs of South Korean companies
to Europe.
Story
Shale Gas News February 2 2012
PA
DEP INVESTIGATING THREE
GAS WELL SPILLS BY P.G.E.
February 2,
2012 - State environmental officials are
investigating three separate spills at a
gas well pad in Lycoming County. It is
not the first time the company
Pennsylvania General Energy has been in
the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection's crosshairs.
Last spring residents along Pine Creek
north of Jersey Shore were outraged when
high waters washed away a temporary
stone dam.
The dam was
put in the creek by PGE, but did not
have proper approval from the state. Now
some of those same residents are
concerned after three spills at the same
PGE natural gas well pad near the creek.
Mark Givler lives where Ramsey Run
empties into Pine Creek along Route 44
north of Jersey Shore. "There had been a
spill of some kind at a well pad located
on the ridge line above my house
probably 3,000 to 4,000 feet from my
house," said Givler.
Story and video
FRACKING RULES ON U.S. LANDS
SEEN AS POSSIBLE MODEL
Feburary 2,
2012 - Federal rules for fracking on
public lands, set to be released in a
few weeks, may serve as a model for
states to get companies to disclose the
chemicals used in the drilling process,
an Obama administration official said.
The proposed
federal standards will be compatible
with rules already in place in states
such as Wyoming and Texas, and will
allow limited exemptions for “legitimate
trade secrets,” David Hayes, the deputy
Interior secretary, said today.
Story
WYOMING BOARD APPROVES NEW
NATURAL GAS FLARING POLICY
February 2,
2012 - Wyoming’s top elected officials
on Thursday unanimously agreed oil and
gas operators need an additional state
sign-off before flaring, or burning off,
natural gas vented from industry wells
on state-owned land. Between six and
eight gas wells are currently venting
gas, with an estimated total value of
about $250,000 in lost royalties over a
two-year period, according to state
estimates.
The number
of wells and the volume of flared gas is
expected to increase with the heightened
drilling activity in the Niobrara Shale
oil play in southeastern Wyoming. The
area has little of the infrastructure
and pipelines needed to capture and
market the gas. Industry representatives
had objected to having to file
applications to the Wyoming Oil and Gas
Conservation Commission and to the
Office of State Lands and Investments
for permission to vent natural gas.
Story
MORE
DRILLING IN
CROSS CREEK PARK?
February 2,
2012 - Washington County, Pa
commissioners are expected to vote today on
proposed modifications to the county's
agreement with Range Resources for
natural gas drilling at Cross Creek
County Park. Under the proposal, Range
would be limited to eight years to
complete natural gas extraction in the
park, and the number of well pads,
rather than wells, would be limited.
Permits
would be limited to "no more than seven
active drilling sites or well pads."
During a candidates' forum last fall,
Harlan Shober was the only one of four
running for commissioner who personally
had leased drilling rights. He declined
to reveal how he might vote but said
Wednesday, "I really don't feel there's
a conflict here from a personal
standpoint. I don't feel that I'm
gaining personally on this." He has
leased 2-1/2 acres under his home to
Range Resources.
Story
Cross Creek Park drilling
GOV.
CORBETT PROMOTES DRILLING
IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES
February 2,
2012 - The state has a long-standing
tradition of local land-use rights, and
the drilling industry shouldn't receive
special exemptions from that, said
Jonathan Kamin, the solicitor for South
Fayette in a court case challenging its
drilling rules. Though the state's
current oil and gas law puts the state
in charge of most aspects of drilling,
state courts have affirmed that
municipalities do have some control over
where and when drill work can happen.
Under the
new proposal, given preliminary approval
this fall by the state House and Senate,
it would be allowed everywhere
statewide, including residential zones,
except within 300 feet of a house.
Coppola and his allies have met with
several state lawmakers to push an
alternate proposal, he said. They
support the governor's call for
consistency, but oppose what they see as
a push to strip nearly all local
power over drilling.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/specialreports/marcellusshale/s_779437.html
BOULDER COUNTY, CO. IMPOSES
MORATORIUM ON DRILLING
February 2,
2012 - Boulder County commissioners on
Thursday imposed a temporary moratorium
on accepting and processing new
applications for oil and gas drilling
operations in any unincorporated areas
of the county. The six-month moratorium,
which took effect immediately and is to
remain in place until Aug. 2, is
intended to give the county staff time
to study the adequacy of Boulder
County's current land use regulations as
they apply to oil and gas development,
and to propose possible amendments to
those existing local rules.
"I think we
all agree that we have some sense of
urgency around this," said Commissioner
Deb Gardner, who said the time-out on
processing new drilling applications is
needed to make sure Boulder County is
doing everything a local government
legally can do, in "protecting the
people and the environment."
Story
IRISH FRACTIVISTS
COME TOGETHER
February 2,
2012 - Environmentalists from Munster
will travel to Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh,
to join protestors dealing with the most
advanced fracking exploration effort in
the country. This week Tamboran
Resources said with an investment of
more than €6 billion, it can disrupt and
harvest "tremendous" natural reserves in
north Leitrim.
Tamboran is
at the vanguard of an exploration wave
that has been focused on perceived
pockets of natural gas in Leitrim,
Fermanagh, Roscommon, Cavan, Sligo,
Clare, Kerry, Limerick, and Cork.
However, Leah Doherty of No Fracking
Ireland said the headline figures for
3,000 jobs and 40 years of gas were part
of a propaganda campaign seeking to take
advantage of people’s financial
concerns.
Story
PA.
GOV. CORBETT REASSERTS
‘FAST LANE’ POSITION ON FRACKING
February 2,
2012 - Gov. Tom Corbett is reinforcing
his position that local rules for
natural-gas drillers need to be more
uniform across the state, and now is
speaking favorably of the proposal to do
so that passed the House and Senate late
last year. With lawmakers aiming to vote
on a compromise Marcellus bill as soon
as next week, the governor penned a
letter to all 253 members, calling it
"paramount" that the measure address
variations in local zoning ordinances.
Both
chambers have approved provisions that
would allow the state attorney general
to determine whether a town's ordinance
is reasonable, based on certain
statewide guidelines. "It seeks to
balance the state's prerogative to
establish and enforce environmental
standards with the proper function of
local zoning, ensuring that one industry
is not given special -- or unfair --
treatment," Mr. Corbett wrote.
Story
Shale Gas News February 1 2012
HINCHEY: ARREST OF
FILMMAKER SHAMEFUL
February 1,
2012 - Congressman Maurice Hinchey
(D-NY) today released the following
statement upon learning that Gasland
Director Josh Fox was arrested for
attempting to film a public
congressional hearing on hydraulic
fracturing. The Chairman of the Energy
and Environment Subcommittee of the U.S.
House Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology ordered Fox arrested when he
attempted to film the hearing on the
Environmental Protection Agency's
approach to studying ground water
contamination that resulted from
hydraulic fracturing in Pavilion,
Wyoming.
"It is
beyond unacceptable that acclaimed
documentary director Josh Fox was
arrested for trying to film a public
hearing on groundwater contamination
caused by hydraulic fracturing in
Pavilion, Wyoming. This was a public
hearing, there was plenty of room for
cameras, and a credentialed camera crew
was told they would be denied access
because they were working for a
documentary filmmaker. This is blatant
censorship and a shameful stain on this
Congress. I stand by Josh's right to
record this hearing. His arrest was a
huge mistake."
Story
VERMONT HOUSE TO VOTE ON
GAS DRILLING MORATORIUM
February 1,
2012 - The Vermont House is expected to
give final approval to a bill calling
for a three-year moratorium on hydraulic
fracturing in oil and natural gas wells.
No such
wells exist in Vermont, but lawmakers
were told a geologic shale formation
that could contain oil and gas extends
under parts of the northwestern part of
the state.
Story
‘GASLAND’ FILMMAKER ARRESTED
AT CAPITOL HEARING
February 1,
2012 - Mr. Fox said that Wednesday’s
hearing was scheduled on short notice
and he tried to contact committee staff
to get clearance to videotape it. He
never got an answer, he said, so he and
a videographer showed up at the hearing
room in the Rayburn House Office
Building, where they were told they
could watch the hearing but could not
tape it.
“We have
followed this case for three years, and
it seemed as if this hearing was an
attack on the E.P.A. and we wanted to be
there,” Mr. Fox said. “We wanted this to
be transparent to the American people.
This is emblematic of what is happening
across the world.”
Story
JAPAN PROTESTS CHINESE GAS
DRILLING IN EAST CHINA SEA
February 1,
2012 - Japan on Wednesday accused China
of unilaterally exploring gas deposits
in the East China Sea, in violation of
an agreement to jointly develop disputed
areas. Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu
Fujimura told reporters Japan protested
to China after a flare was seen Tuesday
at a Chinese structure at an undersea
gas deposit. Japan has made similar
complaints several times in the past.
Japan and
China agreed in 2008 to suspend
unilateral digging in that field while
continuing talks, but talks stalled
since 2010 following a diplomatic spat
stemming from a maritime collision near
disputed southern islands claimed by
both countries, as well as Taiwan.
Fujimura said China’s activity around
the disputed field violates the
agreement.
Story
JOSH
FOX ARRESTED TRYING
TO FILM CAPITOL HEARING
February 1,
2012 - Oscar-nominated documentary
filmmaker Josh Fox was arrested
Wednesday morning after attempting to
film a House Science Committee hearing
on hydraulic fracturing. Fox was led out
in handcuffs by the Capitol police
shortly after 10 a.m., before the
hearing could be gaveled into order. The
committee recessed after Rep. Brad
Miller (D-N.C.) called a motion to
suspend the committee rules and allow
for Fox and the ABC crew to film the
hearing.
"... it's
clear we have space in this room to film
this hearing," Miller said. "If you
claim that rule does not allow them to
film, or allows you the discretion to
turn them away, I move the rules be
suspended so the fella who wanted to
film for HBO be allowed to film this
hearing and that ABC be allowed to film
this hearing and all God's children be
allowed to film this hearing until the
room is too full for us to conduct our
business." The hearing resumed nearly 30
minutes later, after Republicans voted
to table both Miller's motion to allow
the filming, and a second motion to
recess the hearing.
Story
COLORADO FRACKING PROTESTORS BOOTED FROM
WINTER ‘X’ GAMES
February 1,
2012 - A revolt against hydraulic
fracturing in Colorado went worldwide
Sunday night as a group of
self-described “fractivists” flashed
anti-drilling signs along the superpipe
of the Winter X Games. About a dozen
local twenty-somethings waved signs
reading “Keep Our Water Pure,” “Rig Free
For You And Me” and “Stop Frac’ing Colo”
that television cameras carried live
when Shaun White twisted and tumbled
through the air on his way to his
fifth-consecutive men’s snowboard
superpipe victory.
The ESPN
Winter X Games provided an ideal venue,
the activists said, to educate an
extremely large and youthful crowd about
fracking — a method of extracting
natural gas and oil by breaking rocks
with a pressurized mixture of fluids.
The mission went off without a hitch
until about 15 minutes before the
superpipe finals came to an end. That’s
when private security tried to shut the
demonstration down.
Story
MINIMIZE DRILLING’S THREAT
TO CLEAN AIR IN PA.
Feburary 1,
2012 - Marcellus Shale natural-gas
drilling is a significant source of air
pollution, and as drilling expands, so
will the risk to human health and the
environment. The drilling, processing,
and transportation of Marcellus Shale
gas require many pieces of equipment and
activities that release harmful
pollutants into the air. In fact, gas
transmission and production engines are
the second-largest emitters of nitrogen
oxides in Pennsylvania.
As many as
60,000 wells may be drilled in
Pennsylvania by 2030; right now, there
are only about 4,500. Gas-drilling air
pollutants - nitrogen oxides, sulfur
dioxide, volatile organic compounds,
carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide,
particulate matter, and methane - can
cause or exacerbate a variety of
respiratory and other health-related
conditions. These pollutants can also
damage the environment. Nitrogen oxides
and sulfur dioxide together are the
major precursors to acid rain. Methane
is a powerful greenhouse gas.
Story
Children's Environmental Health
OHIO
TRIES TO ESCAPE FATE AS DUMPING GROUND
FOR FRACK FLUID
February 1,
2012 - The millions of gallons of
chemical- laced wastewater that fracking
produces must flow somewhere, and Ohio
is trying not to be that place. “We have
become in Ohio the dumping ground for
contaminated brine,” said state Rep.
Armond Budish. “We didn’t prepare
adequately for the potential for
earthquakes and other environmental
problems.”
The oil and
natural-gas drilling boom spurred more
permits for disposal wells there during
the past two years than during the
previous decade combined. The volume
injected into them was on a near-record
pace last year, and more than half was
from out of state. That included 92.6
percent of the water sent to a
Youngstown well closed last year after
11 nearby earthquakes. The well owners
pay a disposal fee to the state of 5
cents per barrel for brine originating
in the state and 20 cents for
out-of-state wastewater.
Story
OHIO
COMPANIES FIGHTING
NEW TDS LIMIT
February 1,
2012 – Recently, the state came up with
new guidelines for acceptable levels of
"total dissolved solids" or TDS, in
wastewater coming from businesses. In
Warren, the new levels would be 622
milligrams of dissolved solids per 1,000
liters of water the city could put into
the Mahoning River.
The
regulation wouldn't take effect until
May 1, 2013, which Warren's Water
Pollution Control Department Director
Tom Angelo has said isn't a lot of time
if companies are forced to invest
millions of dollars into pretreatment
plants. Angelo has said the level would
force companies to invest millions of
dollars to build their own water
pretreatment plants before sending the
water to Warren to be discharged into
the Mahoning River.
Story
EPA Letter (PDF)
Effluent discharge (PDF)
Water alert (PDF)
PIPELINE FIRM TAKES
AN UNPOPULAR ROUTE
February 1,
2012 - The dispute could foreshadow
eminent domain battles to come as more
pipelines are approved and built to
carry shale gas to market in states like
Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.
Some of the
complaining landowners say the company
steamrolled them by refusing to
negotiate in good faith on either
monetary compensation or the pipeline's
route. Their attorneys say the company
has skirted Pennsylvania's eminent
domain rules governing compensation.
Residents are fighting the pipeline on
two fronts: challenging the eminent
domain proceedings in court and
appealing the approval by FERC.
Story
JUDGE DENIES ACCESS TO
MARCELLUS SHALE SETTLEMENT
February 1,
2012 - A Washington County judge has
denied a request by the
Observer-Reporter and Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette to allow the newspapers to
intervene in the case between Range
Resources, Mark West Energy Partners and
Williams Gas/Laurel Mountain Midstream
and a Mt. Pleasant Township family.
The
newspapers claimed that a P-G reporter
had openly objected to the sealing of
the settlement at the Aug. 23 meeting
and therefore immediate intervention was
implied. The newspapers claim sealing of
the record is in violation of the common
law rights of the media. The newspapers
also believed the judge would need to
hear testimony before rendering a
decision.
Story
Archive
CABOT FIRES BACK
AT E.P.A.
February 1,
2012 - A natural gas company on Tuesday
alleged that federal regulators had
cherry-picked old test data to distort
the amount of contamination in
drinking-water wells. Cabot Oil & Gas
Co., whose drilling was blamed for the
pollution, said that the drinking-water
tests the Environmental Protection
Agency used to justify its Jan. 19 order
to deliver fresh water supplies to four
Dimock houses "do not accurately
represent the water quality" and are
inconsistent with the body of data
collected at the residences.
Cabot
disputed the EPA's finding that the
water well of one house had excessive
levels of arsenic, a naturally occurring
carcinogen. Cabot said none of the four
houses had high levels of arsenic. It
said the data that EPA cited apparently
came from a test of a public water
system, unrelated to well-drilling.
Story
BID
TO KEEP VEIL OVER FRACKING
TASK TEAM IN THE KAROO
February 1,
2012 – The Mineral Resources Minister
has argued the Promotion of Access to
Information Act does not allow public
access to the minutes or research
documents of a task team she set up to
investigate the controversial gas
extraction technique hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking.
Fracking
would be used to extract gas from SA’s
large untapped shale gas resources — the
world’s fifth-largest, estimated by the
International Energy Agency at
485-trillion cubic feet — under the
ecologically sensitive Karoo. The
reserves became the subject of intense
debate last year after it was revealed
petrochemical companies were keen to
exploit them.
Story
INDUSTRY ATTEMPTS TO SWAY
FRENCH FRACKING BAN
February 1,
2012 - France, which last year banned
oil and natural-gas extraction from
shale rock, should keep experimenting
with the technology if it wants to curb
reliance on imports, the nation’s oil
industry lobby said. The ban, the first
of the technology by any country, has
suspended shale exploration at permits
around Paris and in southern France. Oil
companies including Total, the nation’s
largest, and Toreador Resources Corp.
held licenses for shale exploration.
The country
should use “all means” to cut purchases
of energy supplies from abroad, the
Paris-based Union Francaise des
Industries Petrolieres said today in a
statement. UFIP also urged France to
revise its mining code so that the
public and local government are more
“closely associated” with projects.
Story
Shale Gas News January 31 2012
PA.
TAXPAYERS LOSERS AS DRILLERS
PROFIT, $300 MILLION LOST SO FAR
January 31,
2012 - Legislative inaction on a natural
gas drilling tax has cost Pennsylvania
$300 million in lost revenue, according
to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy
Center. State cuts announced in January
to services ranging from help for
victims of domestic violence to hospital
trauma centers to prekindergarten could
have been avoided if the Legislature had
enacted a drilling tax.
Pennsylvania
is the largest mineral-rich state in the
nation without a drilling tax or fee of
any kind. All 11 states with more gas
production than Pennsylvania have a tax
or fee. Unlike those states,
Pennsylvania is giving away a one-time
resource. A new estimate says the
proposed Pa. Marcellus impact fee could
leave billions more on the table over
the next 2 decades.
Story
Pennsylvania Budget & Policy Center
COLORADO COUNTY APPROVES TONED-DOWN O&G
DRILLING RULES
January 31,
2012 - El Paso Co. Commissioners
finalized rules and regulations for gas
and oil drilling on Tuesday, narrowly
voting to adopt new safety and
environmental regulations. Commissioners
voted 3-2 in favor of lifting the
suspension on drilling. Production had
been on hold temporarily as several new
proposals were weighed.
The new set
of safety rules adopted Tuesday is much
less stringent than the original set
commissioners had hoped to adopt. Much
of the language was toned down after
concerns that the County might be
overstepping its regulatory authority.
Commissioners presented a nearly
finalized draft of the proposed
regulations to the public during their
meeting.
Story
Draft of El Paso County, Colorado
Drilling Regulations (PDF-offsite)
PA.
JUDGE DENIES NEWSPAPERS ACCESS TO
RANGE'S GAS
DRILLING SETTLEMENT
January 31,
2012 - A Washington County judge has
denied a request by the Washington
Observer-Reporter and Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette to allow the newspapers to
intervene in the case between a group of
gas drilling corporations and a Mt.
Pleasant Township family.
The
newspapers made their request last year
with Judge Paul Pozonsky, first arguing
why they should be allowed to be
involved in the case between Stephanie
and Chris Hallowich and Range Resources,
Mark West Energy Partners and Williams
Gas/Laurel Mountain Midstream. The
newspapers are seeking to have the
settlement agreement between the
Hallowiches and the corporations made
public. O-R Editor Liz Rogers said the
newspaper will appeal the judge’s
decision to a higher court.
Story
Hallowich story
RANGE RESOURCES’ ONGOING
LEGAL BATTLE IN TEXAS
January 31,
2012 – Range’s Pitzarella claims Lipsky
“deliberately falsified an internet
video of his garden hose flaming.”
“Their theory is that the Lipskys have
fooled the federal government,” Stewart
said in July about Range’s counterclaim.
After Lipsky spoke to a reporter about
the ruling over the weekend, Range added
Lipsky’s published statements to the
multi-million dollar countersuit against
the couple.
The petition
alleges the Lipskys have made “unfounded
and disparaging statements” about the
company. “The Lipskys published
defamatory and disparaging words
regarding Range, directly and/or by
innuendo, including statements made by
Mr. Lipsky [to a reporter on Jan. 28],”
court documents filed Monday by Range
read. In July, Stewart called the
counterclaim an attempt to bully the
Lipskys into not talking.
Story
Video
History of the case
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: NO NEED
FOR FRACKING LEGISLATION
January 31,
2012 - A European Commission consultancy
study on licensing hydraulic fracturing
or "fracking" for shale gas in EU member
states says there is no need for
specific new legislation governing the
controversial activity.
However, the
study notes that public participation in
authorising mineral exploration projects
is "often rather limited". The study by
Brussels-based legal firm Philippe and
Partners analysed the legal situation
governing "fracking" in four EU member
states - Sweden, Poland, France and
Germany.
Story
EXXON-MOBIL 4TH QTR PROFITS
UP 16 PERCENT
January 31,
2012 - The world’s largest publicly
traded oil company reported net income
of $9.4 billion for the quarter, up from
$9.25 billion the year before. The
company posted revenue of $121.6
billion, up 16 percent.
Exxon Mobil
became the largest gas producer in the
United States when it bought XTO Energy
for $25 billion in 2010, a deal that was
questioned by many energy analysts as
expensive.
Story
700
LBS. OF SEISMIC GEAR CRASHES
ONTO
HOMEOWNER’S DECK
January 31,
2012 - Kathy Kaminsky had just come
inside Sunday after playing in the yard
of her Susquehanna County home with her
10-year-old granddaughter when she heard
what she said sounded like a tornado
passing over the roof. Ms. Kaminsky and
her granddaughter dived for cover, and
later discovered a bright orange bag on
the back deck of the house.
The bag
contained gear used in the seismic
process. After several telephone calls,
she learned she needed to contact the
Federal Aviation Administration. She
also contacted Cougar Land Services, a
seismic testing company operating in the
area. Ms. Kaminsky said Cougar told her
they were aiming for a stake in her yard
about 35 yards from where the bag
landed. It is still not known why the
bag was dropped so near the home.
Story
LANDOWNERS FIGHT EMINENT
DOMAIN IN PA. GAS FIELD
January 31,
2012 - When federal regulators approved
a 39-mile natural gas pipeline through
northern Pennsylvania's pristine Endless
Mountains, they cited the operator's
assurances that it would make sparing
use of eminent domain as it negotiated
with more than 150 property owners along
the pipeline's route.
Yet a few
days after winning approval for its $250
million MARC 1 pipeline in the heart of
the giant Marcellus Shale gas field, the
company began condemnation proceedings
against nearly half of the landowners —
undercutting part of the FERC’s approval
rationale and angering landowners. The
company, a subsidiary of Inergy LP of
Kansas City, Mo., insists it's trying to
reach a "fair settlement" with all
property owners and wants to be a good
neighbor.
Story
MARCELLUS OPERATORS TO
PROVIDE AIR DATA FOR 1ST TIME
January 31,
2012 - Operators of Marcellus wells,
drilling rigs and compressor stations
are being notified by state officials to
provide air emissions data by March 1,
highlighting an issue activists want
more attention given in pending impact
fee legislation. A notice by the DEP in
the Pennsylvania Bulletin calls for
operators to provide emission source
reports covering 2011 for facilities
involved in different phases of the
Marcellus production process.
The agency
notified 99 firms about the requirement
last month. The March 1 deadline is set
because DEP has to provide a
comprehensive inventory of air emissions
to the federal EPA by year's end. This
inventory is updated every 3 years. This
will be the first time emissions data
for Marcellus production and processing
operations is included in the inventory,
providing information on emissions like
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides,
particulates and sulfur dioxide.
Story
Operators left off list
CANADIAN FIRMS WELCOME
NEW FRACKING STANDARDS
January 31,
2012 - New industry operating standards
for "fracking" natural gas wells will
add to development costs, but the
spending is necessary, say Canadian
producers. On Monday, the Canadian
Association of Petroleum Producers
recommended six operating practices for
companies that employ common but
controversial hydraulic fracturing to
complete gas wells.
The list
includes a provision to do baseline
groundwater sampling of residential
wells within 250 metres of shale or
tight gas development before drilling
begins, as well as ongoing testing and
monitoring of groundwater on a regional
basis in conjunction with government.
Neither is a common practice now.
Story
W.V.
GOVERNOR SUPPORTS
KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE
January 31,
2012 - Forty-four senators introduced
"bipartisan" legislation Monday to
approve construction of the Keystone XL
pipeline, and West Virginia's Joe
Manchin was the only Democrat joining 43
Republicans to sponsor the measure.
President
Barack Obama this month rejected a call
for immediate approval of the Keystone
XL project. The pipeline would transport
oil from Alberta, Canada, through
Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas
and Oklahoma before ending in Nederland,
Texas. Obama is expected to delay a
final decision on the matter until after
the 2012 election.
Story
Shale Gas News January 30 2012
ERIN
BROCKOVICH’S TIPS FOR TAKING CHARGE OF
YOUR INJUSTICE
January 30,
2012 – Erin Brockovich came on Anderson
Cooper's show to help a couple whose
house was allegedly destroyed by a gas
company. Erin knows a thing or two about
consumer injustice, having served as a
legal clerk, environmental activist and
famous consumer advocate.
Erin's three
tips:
+ Be your own hero.
+ Make yourself heard.
+ Rally your community.
Video
NATURAL GAS FLUCTUATES
ON WARMER FORECAST
January 30,
2012 - Gas, the worst-performing
commodity on the Standard & poor’s GSCI
Spot Index this year, is heading for its
third straight monthly decline.
Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda,
Maryland, predicted normal or
above-normal temperatures in the U.S.
through Feb. 13. Previous forecasts
showed colder-than-average weather on
the East Coast from Feb. 8 through Feb.
12.
Gas
inventories totaled 3.098 trillion in
the week ended Jan. 20th, 20.7% above
year-earlier supplies. Stockpiles were
21.4% above the five-year average, the
most since June 19, 2009. Korea Gas
Corp. has agreed to buy 3.5 million tons
of liquefied natural gas per year from
Cheniere Energy Partners’ proposed
Sabine Pass export terminal. Cheniere
has now completed commercial contracts
for four trains at Sabine Pass.
Story
HOW
CLOSE IS TOO CLOSE?
1,000 FT. SETBACK ENOUGH?
January 30,
2012 - Colorado Democrats have
introduced a bill in the State
Legislature that would require
hydraulically fractured oil and gas
wells to be set back at least 1,000 feet
from any school or residence.
“The COGCC
must require setbacks of at least 1,000
feet from any school or residence but
allow a surface owner who is not located
in an urban area to request a shorter
setback than would otherwise apply,”
reads the bill’s summary. Current rules
call for setbacks of 150 feet in rural
areas and 350 feet in urban areas.
Story
FORMER MLA BLASTS
HYDRO-FRACKING
January 30,
2012 - Former Progressive Conservative
MLA and cabinet minister Tony Huntjens
is blasting the Alward government for
its position on hydro-fracking and
threatening to withdraw his support in
the next election.
In a letter
to the editor, published in the St.
Croix Courier in St. Stephen on Jan. 27,
Huntjens said the "practice of
extracting resources from our earth is
dangerous" and that the "toxic"
chemicals used in the process will
"without doubt, end up in our drinking
water. "I simply cannot understand this
same person who is now responsible, not
only to his constituents, but to all New
Brunswickers for the supply of their
drinking water, standing up in the
legislature to support a far more
dangerous procedure known as fracking,"
wrote Huntjens.
Story
IS
ANYONE STILL DRILLING
FOR NATURAL GAS?
January 30,
2012 - While the price of natural gas is
low in North America due to a vast
abundance of supply, the same is not
true in the rest of the world. That
dynamic has been captured by the rig
counts all over the world. When prices
are good, companies drill oil and gas to
earn what they believe to be a solid
rate of return. When prices for oil and
gas fall too far, they no longer provide
sufficient returns to justify drilling
for them.
One company
I love following to get a pulse on oil
and gas capital spending worldwide is
Baker Hughes, since it publishes very
helpful rig count information that helps
track the trend of oil and gas drilling
worldwide. In the North American market,
Baker Hughes continues to see the shift
in rigs from gas to oil. In the fourth
quarter, gas rigs comprised 42% of the
total North American rig count, down
from 54% a year earlier. Further, the
company expects gas rigs to decline by
218 rigs by the end of 2012, which
contrasts sharply with the expected
increase in oil rigs by 220 rigs.
Story
FRACKING BANNED FOR 2 YEARS IN
BINGHAMTOM, NY
January 30,
2012 - After years of debating the
environmental impact and future of
natural gas drilling in Binghamton, the
Binghamton City Council voted in favor
of a two-year ban on fracking. Mayor
Matt Ryan signed the bill into law on
Dec. 22, making Binghamton the first
city in the Southern Tier to ban the
process.
The ban
preserves all land within city limits
from fracking and prohibits the natural
gas industry from exploring and
developing in the area over the two-year
period. The law is meant to protect the
city from the potentially harmful
effects of fracking, including the risk
of contaminated drinking water due to
the discharge of toxic material or
chemical spills, according to Andrew
Block, executive assistant to the mayor.
Story
City of Binghamton New York
PA.
GAS BOOM CREATES HOUSING
PROBLEMS FOR POOR FAMILIES
January 30,
2012 – In some areas, low-income
permanent residents no longer can afford
rents. "Our caseworkers have to really
stretch to find places for folks to go,"
said Jeff Fondelier, V.P. of operations
for Community Action Southwest, which
provides rental and utility assistance
in Washington and Greene counties. Rents
doubled and even tripled in northern
counties as shale workers moved in, said
Bonita Kolb, an associate professor of
business at Lycoming College.
The shale
gas industry's growth is bringing the
sting of high rents and housing
shortages — previously felt in northern
counties — into Greene and Washington
counties, experts say. In some areas,
pickups line parking lots of hotels and
motels, which have no vacancies.
Story
Community
Action Southwest
Shale Gas News January 29 2012
RETREAT FROM NATURAL GAS
GROWS AS PRICES SHRINK
January 29,
2012 - A precipitous plunge in natural
gas prices has turned the national shale
gas rush into a retreat. Oil and gas
companies released a stream of
announcements last week of plans to
close off natural gas wells, pull out
gas rigs and curtail spending in gas
fields from Texas to Pennsylvania. There
are 780 natural gas drilling rigs
operating in North America, down from
906 a year ago.
“This
situation has been a long time coming,”
said Robert Ineson, head of the North
American gas research group for IHS CERA.
“As it got below $4, you heard some
grumbling,” Ineson said. “But when it
got below $3, you saw things change
pretty quickly.” Shale rock fields
holding dry natural gas, or methane, are
experiencing an exodus. Companies are
chopping operations in the Barnett Shale
in North Texas, the Marcellus Shale in
the Northeast and the Haynesville Shale
on the Louisiana-Texas border.
Story
IHS
ONE
YEAR MORATORIUM
PROPOSED IN CAROLINE, NY
January 29,
2012 – The proposed law, introduced by
the board on Jan. 10, sets a one-year
moratorium on any exploration,
extraction or support activities for
natural gas or petroleum. Support
activities, as described in the draft
law, include facilities for compression,
processing or storage of natural gas;
production wastes dumping; and
non-regulated pipelines, such as
production and gathering lines, used in
gas drilling.
A similar
moratorium in Lansing will be reviewed
on Wednesday during a working session of
that town's board. The board will
consider a recommendation made by Larry
Beck, chairman of the Lansing Drilling
Committee, that a one-year moratorium
would enable the town to revise its
comprehensive plan, tweak local
ordinances and take the time to devise a
plan of action when it comes to
hydrofracking.
Story
Town of Caroline, NY
NATURAL GAS SECTOR SET-UP TO BE
SABOTAGED BY OBAMA?
January 29,
2012 – President Obama spoke of the role
natural gas must play in America’s
energy future during his State of the
Union address last week, but industry
insiders fear it’s merely lip service
designed to distract from what they
consider the administration’s
behind-the-scenes plan to sabotage the
sector.
At the same
time the president boasts of the
nation’s vast shale gas deposits, his
EPA is poised to make extracting that
fuel much more difficult. The agency
will this year release a widely
anticipated study on hydraulic
fracturing. Many in the gas industry
fear that the upcoming EPA study will
call for harsh new regulations on the
process, and many environmental groups -
a key constituency for Mr. Obama during
this year’s re-election bid - are
publicly pushing the administration to
outlaw fracking entirely.
Story
EPA - Hydraulic Fracturing
PRE-EMPTION OF LOCAL RIGHTS
IN IDAHO BECOMES A CONCERN
January 29,
2012 - Idaho officials have been
scrambling to develop new rules after
natural gas discoveries in 2010 in an
ancient lake bed a mile beneath the
surface of Payette County, to Washington
County's south. Natural gas wildcatters
have been concerned about cities and
counties passing laws that could halt
development of Idaho's emerging oil and
natural gas fields. A main concern is
hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
"It strikes
me from this press release that the
counties can't veto anything," Justin
Hayes of the Idaho Conservation League
told The Associated Press on Sunday.
"Which leads me to believe that the oil
and gas industry can get whatever they
want, and the counties will just have to
take it. Setting all the rhetoric aside,
it still sounds like, in the end,
counties cannot object to proposals that
they don't like." Snake River Oil & Gas
helped develop the legislation.
Story
Contact the Idaho Governor
COME
FRACK
SOUTH DAKOTA!
January 29,
2012 - State lawmakers want energy
developers to know that hydraulic
fracturing, a controversial method of
recovering oil and gas from subsurface
shale, is welcome in South Dakota. A
single-paragraph bill introduced
Wednesday in the House of
Representatives would provide that
fracking, as the practice is known, “is
deemed an acceptable recovery process in
this state.”
Rep. Lora
Hubbel, R-Sioux Falls, characterized the
bill as a “starting point for people who
want to go down that avenue. A lot of
times, bills are brought to get
information out there, to get people
talking,” said Hubbel, who is one of 68
cosponsors on the measure.
Story
Contact the South Dakota Governor
FRACKING WILL POISON
‘DELICATE’ KAROO
January 29,
2012 – The authorities have lobbied
every Tom, Dick and Harry to give their
opinion about how good it will be for
South Africa to allow firms like Shell
to poison the delicate fauna and flora
of the Karoo. What is it that people
don’t understand?
Just Google
“fracking” and that will be enough to
put the fear of God into every South
African. You don’t have to be a
scientist like Prof Maarten De Wit to
understand that this will be the point
of no return. I always wonder how much
people are being paid to even suggest
that fracking for gas is good for the
people of the country when it means that
the earth will be poisoned by toxins
that will seep into the water table for
hundreds of kilometres in all
directions.
Story
BP
TO START JORDAN
GAS EXPLORATION
January 29,
2012 – BP Plc (BP\) will start drilling
exploratory wells at the Risha natural
gas deposit in Jordan, near the border
with Iraq, to assess reserves in the
next few weeks, an Energy Ministry
spokesman said.
“If it is
proven that the volume of gas in the
field is feasible for commercial
purposes, the development of the gas
field will begin immediately,” Fayez Abu
Gaoud said in a telephone interview from
the capital, Amman, today.
Story
WATER
POLLUTION SUIT AGAINST
RANGE RESOURCES IS REJECTED
January 29,
2012 - Steve Lipsky said he declined to
participate in the commission hearing in
2011 "because I didn't have a chance."
"The gas companies own the Railroad
Commission," Lipsky said in reference to
Range and other natural gas producers.
"They own the system ... they know they
got away with it, and they're laughing
about it. ... God help us all."
The Lipskys
contend that their water well was
infiltrated by methane because Range
improperly cemented and cased its gas
wells, causing gas from geological
formations above the Barnett to seep
into their water supply. Range denies
that claim, contending that the well was
properly constructed. The Lipskys'
attorneys also said that the
commission's ruling "cannot provide a
basis for rejection of the Lipskys'
lawsuit when that ruling is pre-empted
by a contrary order by the [EPA]," a
reference to the federal agency's
emergency order against Range.
Story
History of the case
SPORTSMEN: DRILLING MUST BE
LIMITED IN PA. STATE FORESTS
January 29,
2012 – As Gov. Tom Corbett prepares the
state budget, there is concern that he
may allow additional leasing of state
forest land for natural gas drilling.
Approximately 700,000 of the 2.2 million
acres of state forest land has already
been leased. On Thursday, more than
40 sportsmen’s groups representing
100,000-plus hunters, anglers and
outdoor enthusiasts sent a letter to
Corbett asking that he not allow any
more state forest land to be leased for
oil and gas development.
The
Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources (DCNR), which manages the
state forest system, highlighted the
risk in a 2010 study that found leasing
additional acreage would significantly
impact the character and egological
integrity of state forests. That finding
led to former Gov. Ed Rendell placing a
ban on additional leasing of state
forest land.
Story
Sportsmens' Letter (PDF-572KB)
Pa. DCNR gas drilling webpage
Contact Gov. Corbett
PLAN
NOW FOR 'UPS AND DOWNS'
OF GAS DRILLING
January 29,
2012 - Get ready for the roller coaster
ride. Chesapeake Energy’s announcement
that it would reduce natural gas
drilling in Northeastern Pennsylvania by
30 percent is the first of what likely
will be many zigs and zags for the local
economy, as energy producers gear up or
down depending on prices.
For
Pennsylvanians, there’s no such
opportunity. Gov. Tom Corbett’s stubborn
insistence that the industry get a free
pass from paying a tax on the gas it
removes means an absence of funds to
fight the deleterious effects of
drilling and its associated activities,
or to help communities ride out the
inevitable economic ups and downs in an
energy producing area.
Story
CHEMICAL CO. WANTS MULTIPLE 'CRACKERS’
IN MARCELLUS REGION
January 29,
2012 - Aither and its Pittsburgh-based
partner have identified several suitable
commercial plant locations in western
Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern
West Virginia, including one in Beaver
County. Aither and RMG have not
announced a short list of possible
sites, but Stein said, “The (former) LTV
site (in Aliquippa) definitely is a
possibility.” The former steel mill site
along the Ohio River also reportedly is
under consideration by Royal Dutch Shell
for an ethane steam cracker plant.
Dolhert said
his company’s process, using variations
on methods developed by Union Carbide
Corp. decades ago but never used in
commercial operation, is cheaper and
cleaner than the steam cracker system.
He said it consumes 80% less energy and
produces 60% less carbon dioxide output.
Noting the large amount of untapped
ethane resources in the region, and the
huge market for the process of
petrochemicals, which Stein said is the
No. 1 chemical industry in the world,
Dolhert said there could be many cracker
plants in the future here.
Story
OBAMA’S BACKING OF SHALE GAS
AIMED AT MARCELLUS VOTERS
January 29,
2012 - President Barack Obama's early
valentine to the natural gas industry in
his State of the Union address Tuesday
spurred activist anxiety and industry
infatuation, but the lengthy section
dedicated to domestic energy was also an
appeal to the millions of voters living
above the Marcellus Shale formation.
"There's no chance he wins the
presidency without Pennsylvania," said
Christopher Borick, a political
scientist. "And he needs those
middle-of-the-road voters who might be
optimistic about shale gas."
It's
unlikely the environmentalist base that
helped to send Mr. Obama to Washington
with high hopes would jump party and
vote for a Republican because of the
president's overall support for
drilling, Mr. Borick said, but dampened
enthusiasm could keep some at home on
Nov. 6. "And not only are they voters,
but they tend to mobilize," he said.
Story
Contact the White House
Shale Gas News January 28 2012
PENN
STATE PROF. DEFENDS HIS
‘PIE IN THE SKY’ PROJECTIONS
January 28,
2012 – Some of the earliest and most
optimistic estimates of gas resources
have come from academia. In 2009, Terry
Engelder, a geosciences professor at
Penn State, helped accelerate the rush
to drill for natural gas in Pennsylvania
and surrounding states by projecting
that more than 500 trillion cubic feet
of natural gas could be produced from
the Marcellus. This estimate is more
than 3-times as high as the estimate for
the Marcellus region from the US Energy
Information Administration, and it is
higher than what federal energy
officials now say can be found in the
entire country.
In private
discussions, some federal energy
officials have raised questions about
the way oil and gas companies may be
inflating estimates of the amount of
recoverable gas. "Companies highlight
their highly productive and profitable
wells," Mr. Budzik wrote, "while
ignoring their 'dogs,' thereby giving
the public the impression that every
well is a 'gold mine.' "
Story
US Energy
Info. Admin.
Contact Prof. Engelder
CBS
NEWS: PENNA. TOWN BLAMES CONTAMINATED
WATER ON FRACKING
January 28,
2012 - Residents of Dimock, Penn., have
lived with contaminated water wells for
more than three years, and they blame
the contamination on fracking for
natural gas.
Tony Guida
of CBS News reports on the tiny town's
struggle to get clean water.
CBS Evening News Video
Story
Dimock Day Trip Video
STARK COUNTY OHIO HOME TO
16 BRINE INJECTION WELLS
January 28,
2012 - Brine is a salt water that comes
to the surface when oil and gas wells
are drilled. It contains more salt than
sea water. During the early years of oil
and gas drilling, brine would be pumped
into pits. That practice was banned when
brine began contaminating drinking water
supplies. The oil industry then began
flushing brine into porous underground
rock formations. Some companies began
injecting brine to improve well
production by pushing oil and gas to the
surface.
Wells can
produce brine throughout the production
process. In addition to large amounts of
chloride, brine can contain other
metals, radium and other radioactive
materials. If the well is new, hydraulic
fracturing fluids sometimes can be mixed
in the brine. Ohio has issued permits
for 194 injection wells, with 177
operating injection wells.
Story
Contact the Ohio Governor
IN
DIMOCK, EPA TESTING
DRAWS MIXED REACTION
January 28,
2012 - Two teams of scientists sampling
well water from four homes a day are
producing a picture of the aquifer under
this Susquehanna County town that will
help define the impact of natural gas
drilling on drinking water. The water
captured in vials and packed in coolers
by scientists and contractors for the
Environmental Protection Agency since
Jan. 23 is the heart of an investigation
spurred by concerns that Cabot Oil & Gas
Corp.'s Marcellus Shale drilling and
hydraulic fracturing tainted water
wells.
In a divided
village where gas drilling is as
earnestly embraced as it is criticized,
the controversy over the EPA's fieldwork
started before the sampling did. Test
results are at least five weeks away.
The study has provoked strong criticism
from the industry and its local
supporters who accuse the EPA of
meddling in what they consider a settled
matter or a spectacle conjured by
lawyers.
Story
DRIP
GAS, CONDENSATE
SPILL INTO W.V. LAKE
January 28,
2012 - A Petroleum Development
Corporation tank filled with drip gas
spilled a large number of materials,
some of which flowed into Laurel Lake. A
valve on a tank that holds fifteen
42-gallon barrels (630 gallons) of drip
gas, a liquid condensate, was opened and
the gas flowed out into a containment
area, designed to capture gas in such an
emergency.
According to
Cathy Cosco, spokesperson for WV DEP,
not all of the gas was contained and the
overflow emptied into Paw Paw Branch
Creek, Laurel Creek and eventually
Laurel Lake. It has not been determined
how much of the gas spilled into the
creek and the lake. “We don’t know of
any fish killed,” Cosco said. “But there
is a strong diesel odor.”
Story
Contact the West Virginia Governor
KANSAS REGULATORS UNDERSTAFFED
FOR FRACKING BOOM
January 28,
2012 - The Kansas Corporation
Commission, the agency that regulates
the oil and gas industry in the state,
says it doesn't have the necessary staff
to inspect the growing number of oil and
gas drilling sites involving horizontal
fracturing, or fracking. While most of
the recent fracking activity has been in
south-central and western Kansas, the
KCC also said the drilling has been
moving northward and includes counties
"as far north as McPherson County."
The KCC said
that since 2009 when the first
horizontal wells were drilled in Kansas,
the state has seen a 300 percent
increase in permits for such wells. The
number of permits the state has issued
for horizontally fracked wells has gone
from eight in 2010, to 250 estimated for
fiscal year 2012 and 500 estimated for
fiscal year 2013, according to the KCC.
Story
Contact the Kansas Governor
BEWARE
FRACKING PITFALLS,
TEXAS EX-MAYOR WARNS
January 28,
2012 - “Even at best, you have an
industrialized area and you have ... the
truck traffic and the heavy equipment
and the noise and odors and the dust and
things like that. At worst, you have
people who have contaminated water wells
and you have air pollution from these
treatment facilities and these
compression stations and condensate
tanks that leak and things like that.”
He added, “The question would be, do you
want what has happened to us to happen
to you? And if not, then what are you
going to do to prevent that?”
Tillman said
horizontal hydraulic fracturing has been
in use in and around Dish for more than
a decade, with 20 or so production wells
within the community and 50-60 within a
half-mile of its borders. With those
wells have come pipelines, compression
stations and gas-treatment facilities.
Story
ENERGY FIRMS SET SIGHTS
ON ‘SUPER FRACKING’
January 28,
2012 - As regulators and
environmentalists study whether
hydraulic fracturing can damage the
environment, industry scientists are
studying ways to create longer, deeper
cracks in the earth to release more oil
and natural gas. Energy companies are
focused on boosting production and
lowering costs associated with so-called
fracking.
More
aggressive fracking may heighten
concerns about the risks associated with
shale development, said Kirk Sherr,
president of Register Larkin Energy
North America, an industry consultant.
"If critics already think fracking is
bad, theoretically, super fracking would
be super bad," Sherr said.
Story
NEW
PA. WEBSITE DEBUTS
FOR DRILLING DATA
January 28,
2012 - A redesigned website for the
state's Office of Oil and Gas Management
features new data tools that simplify
the public's access to permit records,
drilling dates, inspections and
enforcement actions for the state's
multiplying natural gas wells. At the
heart of the new site are several data
tools that will be updated automatically
and nearly immediately rather than
manually by a DEP staff member every
month or so.
For the
first time, visitors to the new
compliance database will find details
for every inspection, not just those
that uncover a violation at a well site.
As new industry-reported data come
online - as a huge amount of it will in
February when six-month oil and gas
waste and production reports are posted
- the goal is to "tether" the databases
together to present more uniform,
accurate information.
Story
Pa. Office of Oil & Gas Management
Marcellus data
Public Resources
Interactive Oil & Gas Reports
W.V
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
TO PLAY DRILLING ROLE
January 28,
2012 - Ronda Francis, Marshall County
Health Department administrator, said
her health department has not yet had to
permit water wells for drilling sites in
her county. But the process would be the
same as for a resident's drinking water.
Also, work sites that have 10 or more
people working and living at a site must
apply for a labor camp permit. Neither
Gamble nor Francis said such a permit
has been issued in their counties.
Francis
noted the Marshall County Fairgrounds
feature a campground where many people
park and stay year-round, including many
gas drilling workers. But since it is a
campground and not a work site, it is
not necessary to issue any permits
there. The campground has hook-ups for
sewage, water and electricity.
Story
January 27 2012 Shale Gas News
NEW
YORK’S FRACKING
DELIBERATIONS INCH ALONG
January 27,
2012 - In yet another sign that New York
has slowed efforts to green-light
fracking of natural gas, officials at
the state Department of Environmental
Conservation canceled a meeting of a
drilling advisory panel this week for a
second time.
Officials
said they were delaying the meeting,
which had been scheduled for Thursday,
because the department’s staff was
concentrating on sorting through more
than 40,000 comments received on
proposed state regulations and an
environmental impact statement on
high-volume hydraulic fracturing, a
controversial gas extraction process. A
public comment period closed this month
after a round of contentious public
hearings in November dominated by
fracking opponents.
Story
Contact the New York Governor
FRACKING LEGISLATION
INTRODUCED IN MARYLAND
January 27,
2012 - Legislation has been introduced
in MD that would ban the treatment of
wastewater generated by hydraulic
fracking that comes from other states.
Maryland officials are still looking at
the possibility of allowing fracking in
the state – but consumer advocacy groups
and some concerned residents are looking
at the possible negative effects that
Maryland could be exposed to – even if
fracking isn’t allowed.
Officials
with “Food & Water Watch” say the
chemicals used in fracking are toxic and
often radioactive – and the waste is
shipped around the country to be treated
in municipal plats that don’t have the
proper resources to handle this sort of
wastewater and they want to keep the
wastewater out of Maryland treatment
facilities.
Story
Contact the Maryland Governor
CARBON DIOXIDE FOAM
FRAC USED IN OHIO
January 27,
2012 - Chesapeake Energy Corp. has
fractured a natural gas well in Portage
County using about one-tenth of the
water typical in the “fracking” process.
The company used a carbon dioxide foam,
not high volumes of water, to create the
fissures in the rock deep underground
and free the natural gas at the site in
Suffield Township.
“We have
tried a foam fracture, using [carbon
dioxide], on two wells in Ohio,” Keith
Fuller, director of corporate
development for Chesapeake, said in a
four-sentence statement the company
issued to the Beacon Journal when asked
about the well. The company had not
publicized what it was doing in Suffield
and did not disclose the other Ohio
location. The fracking method only
showed up in data on an online well
registry.
Story
$520
MILLION OHIO PIPELINE
PROJECT IN DOUBT
January 27,
2012 - The Ohio Power Siting Board, the
body that regulates major utility
projects in Ohio, rejected the
application for the Marcellus Lateral
Pipeline more than a year ago. Kinder
Morgan, a pipeline developer, owner and
operator out of Houston, has made no
official moves on the project since it
submitted that application in November
2010.
The 16-inch
pipeline was to snake 240 miles under
Ohio, from the border with the West
Virginia panhandle to a connection with
larger pipeline just west of Toledo. It
was designed to carry natural gas
liquids from the Marcellus Shale
formation, a layer of rock rich in oil
and gas that sits underneath much of
western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and
the border counties of Ohio. Its path
would have crossed 15 Ohio counties,
including Muskingum, Coshocton, Knox,
Morrow, Marion, Crawford and Sandusky.
Story
WHY
NATURAL GAS IS NOT AN ENVIRONMENTALLY
FRIENDLY FUEL
January 27,
2012 – Fracking is believed to have
caused an Alberta oil well blowout last
week, and the U.S. EPA recently found
fracking chemicals in underground water
out in Wyoming. There, predictably, the
oil industry is blaming the study, not
its activity (a response that recalls
tobacco company denials of links between
smoking and lung cancer).
The process
also consumes vast amounts of water. It
also lets methane, an extremely potent
greenhouse gas, escape into the
atmosphere. Fracking is banned in France
and Bulgaria, on hold in Quebec and
under review in Nova Scotia. The Council
of Canadians estimates there are 175,000
fracked wells in Canada, mainly in
Alberta. If natural gas replaces
gasoline, it will simply boost demand
for fracking. Canada and the U.S. might
become self-sufficient in transportation
fuel, but at too high a cost to health
and the environment. So, no natural gas
vehicle can be the Green Car of this or
any year.
Story
BOOM
IN SHALE DRILLING
SLOWS PA. OIL INDUSTRY
January 27,
2012 - The deep gas play may be ramping
up Pennsylvania's historic oil and gas
patch, but it is putting a big hit on
the traditional shallow oil drilling and
production sprinkled profusely
throughout the northwestern counties.
"The Marcellus and Utica shale drilling
is affecting shallow oil operators,"
said Ray Stiglitz, owner of Allegheny
Well Services Inc. and a longtime
oilman. "The question is: why not more
oil drilling when PennGrade is nearly at
$100 a barrel."
Repercussions from the shift to deep gas
recovery are threatening the state's
crude oil industry. In 2007, there were
1,733 oil drilling permits issued for
the four leading oil production counties
-- Venango, Warren, Forest and McKean.
While that total spurted to 1,817 in
2008 when oil hit record high prices at
$138-plus a barrel, it fell to 1,092 for
2011. Overall, the northern DEP office
issued 4,221 oil and gas drilling
permits for 27 northern counties in
2011, down considerably from the 4,683
in 2010.
Story
SPEECH BRINGS NEW MONIKER:
‘BAFRACK’
OBAMA
January 27,
2012 – Brian Uhlmer, head of equity
research at Global Hunter Securities
LLC, said in a report yesterday that
“Bafrack” Obama buoyed energy stocks a
day before his speech as word of his
embrace of gas circulated among traders.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Oil and Gas
Exploration and Production Index of 16
companies climbed 5.1 percent this week
through yesterday.
“We’re
disappointed in his enthusiasm for shale
gas,” said Iris Marie Bloom, director of
Protecting Our Waters. Obama “spoke
about gas as if it’s better for the
environment, which it’s not.” Bloom’s
group is seeking a moratorium on
fracking in Pennsylvania. ”President
Obama showed he is misreading local
sentiment from communities overwhelmed
in their David versus Goliath battle
against large drilling companies,” said
Dusty Horwitt of the Environmental
Working Group. Drillers “under-regulated
activities have jeopardized property
values and contaminated water supplies
across the country.”
Story
IRISH FRACKING MEETING
IN NORTH ANTRIM
January 27,
2012 – A free screening of the
award-winning documentary film ‘GASLAND’,
followed by a public meeting, will be
held in Ballycastle at 7pm on Tuesday
February 7 in the Ferry Terminal to
discuss the controversial issue of ‘fracking’.
Fracking is a process that could be used
all across the North Coast region from
Ballycastle to Limavady, inland as far
as Ballymoney and Garvagh. The prospect
of fracking being carried out in North
Antrim has galvanised opponents of the
process hence the public meeting.
Guest
speakers on the night will include
Steven Agnew MLA, Leader of the Green
Party, who brought a motion to the
Northern Ireland Assembly proposing a
moratorium on fracking; Moyle Councillor
Donal Cunningham (SLDP) who last year
successfully brought a motion to Moyle
Council to oppose fracking; Niall
Bakewell, spokesperson for Friends of
the Earth Northern Ireland; and Jim
Donaghy, from North Coast anti-fracking
group ‘No To Fracking’.
Story
Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
No Fracking Ireland
INDUSTRY HATES
THE WORD ‘FRACKING’
January 27,
2012 - A different kind of F-word is
stirring a linguistic and political
debate as controversial as what it
defines. The word is "fracking" - as in
hydraulic fracturing, a technique long
used by the oil and gas industry to free
oil and gas from rock. It's not in the
dictionary, the industry hates it, and
President Barack Obama didn't use it in
his State of the Union speech - even as
he praised federal subsidies for it.
The word
sounds nasty, and environmental
advocates have been able to use it to
generate opposition - and revulsion - to
what they say is a nasty process that
threatens water supplies. "It obviously
calls to mind other less socially polite
terms, and folks have been able to take
advantage of that," said Kate Sinding, a
senior attorney at the Natural Resources
Defense Council who works on drilling
issues. One of the chants at an
anti-drilling rally in Albany earlier
this month was "No fracking way!"
Story
DECLINING GAS PRICES
SLOW SHALE DRILLERS
January 27,
2012 - Two of the region's most
prominent energy firms Thursday reported
their profits and revenues rose last
year, but the record-low price of
natural gas is forcing both to cut back
on rapid-fire drilling. Consol Energy
became the latest company involved in
tapping the Marcellus Shale to scale
back that development.
The reason:
natural gas prices that can make it
tough to turn any profit at all on a
well that cost $7 million to build. In
Consol's case, the company's per-well
net income dips into the red once
natural gas starts trading at $2.74 per
thousand cubic feet. Gas prices closed
at $2.60 per thousand cubic feet
Thursday. Downtown-based EQT Corp.,
Calgary-based Talisman Energy Corp. and
Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy
have announced similar reductions in
recent weeks.
Story
January 26 2012 Shale Gas News
OBAMA TOUTS NATURAL
GAS IN COLORADO
January 26,
2012 – Calling America “the Saudi Arabia
of natural gas,” President Barack Obama
made a brief stop in Colorado on
Thursday to promote his new emphasis on
domestic energy. His 2-hour visit to
Buckley Air Force base was his third
Colorado stop in four months, and it
came during a tour of swing states after
his Tuesday night State of the Union
address.
U.S. oil
production is at an eight-year high, and
the country’s reliance on foreign oil is
at a 16-year low, he said. But he said
the government should end “taxpayer
giveaways” to oil companies and instead
help the natural-gas and
renewable-energy industries. Earlier
Thursday in Nevada, Obama announced new
incentives to get large trucks to run on
natural gas, plus help for cities to
convert their bus fleets to natural gas.
Story
Contact the Colorado Governor
OHIO
COUPLE CONVINCED DRILLING
RUINED THEIR WATER WELL
January 26,
2012 - A Medina County couple has some
advice for homeowners living near
drilling sites as energy companies look
to cash in on Ohio's reserves of natural
gas. Mark and Sandy Mangan built their
dream house on a wooded hillside in
Medina County. But since 2008, they say
the dream has gone out of the home.
That's when they say natural gas tainted
their water well and turned their house
into a virtual bomb.
When gas
wells were drilled near the home, the
couple's well initially went dry. Five
days later the water returned. But the
well water they had always depended on
instead was now salt water mixed with
natural gas and cement. The gas would
fill the home whenever a faucet was
used.
Story
More Ohio water well contamination
Contact the Ohio Governor
PA.
SHOULD PROTECT ITS REMAINING
STATE LANDS FROM DRILLING
January 26,
2012 - When Gov. Tom Corbett presents
his state budget in February, it is
imperative that he doesn’t sacrifice
Pennsylvania’s remaining state forest
lands to oil and gas companies for
drilling. To do so would be
short-sighted. More than 700,000 acres,
almost half of Pennsylvania’s state
forest lands, have been leased for oil
and gas drilling.
As the state
looks for new revenue sources,
Pennsylvanians should be reminded that
the state receives significant income
from recreational use of its natural
resources. In fact, according to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more
than $4.3 billion in revenue is
generated in Pennsylvania each year from
fishing, hunting and wildlife-related
recreation — and state forests and parks
serve as the cornerstone for these
activities.
Story
Contact Gov. Tom Corbett
NORTH DAKOTA PIPELINE
SYSTEM ADEQUATE?
January 26,
2012 - North Dakota's natural gas
production, which has been rising in
step with its booming oil output, may
require more pipeline capacity to carry
the fuel to markets, a state official
says. "Is the existing infrastructure in
the ground going to be adequate? If it's
not, let's start taking the steps now to
make sure that different pipeline
options are being planned and developed
for production," said Justin Kringstad,
director of the state Pipeline
Authority.
The agency
is contracting for a study of oil and
natural gas production trends as wells
drilled in western North Dakota's Bakken
and Three Forks oil shale rock
formations get older and less
productive.
Story
MARYLAND GOVERNOR’S PANEL
DIVING INTO SHALE DEBATE
January 26,
2012 - The governor’s Marcellus Shale
Advisory Committee will begin another
year of work by delving into the crux of
the debate over drilling for natural gas
in Marcellus shale. The question of best
practices for the industry is also a
matter of whether that drilling can be
done safely, commission members have
said. A report on best practices for all
aspects of natural gas exploration is
due Aug.1.
“MDE
(Maryland Department of the Environment)
will contract with the University of
Maryland Center for Environmental
Studies — Appalachian Laboratory for a
survey of best practices and a
recommendation of a suite of best
practices suitable for Maryland,”
according to the commission’s draft work
plan. The laboratory is located in
Frostburg.
Story
Contact the Maryland Governor
OHIO
AG: OHIO DRILLING LAWS
NOT ADEQUATE
January 26,
2012 - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine
thinks Ohio’s natural-gas and oil
drilling laws are “not adequate”
compared with other states. “I think
Gov. [John] Kasich has made the point
very correctly that fracking can be very
good for our economy,” DeWine told The
Vindicator on Tuesday. “We want to
encourage growth and jobs, but at the
same time, we have to assure the public
that the protections are in place.”
DeWine said
through investigation and research, he
has come to three conclusions regarding
Ohio’s laws: The state is not stringent
enough on penalizing violations, the
attorney general’s office has no
jurisdiction to help landowners who may
have been swindled by landmen, and there
is a need for stronger chemical
disclosure regulations.
Story
Contact the Ohio Governor
OBAMA
SEEKS TAX BREAK
FOR NATURAL GAS TRUCKS
January 26,
2012 - President Barack Obama said tax
breaks for natural-gas powered trucks
will help the U.S. cut its dependence on
imported oil. Obama, in his second day
promoting policies laid out in his State
of the Union address on Jan. 24,
proposes a credit equivalent of 50
percent of the extra cost of purchasing
a natural gas-powered truck compared
with one that runs on diesel or
gasoline.
Billionaire
investor Boone Pickens said the
president’s initiatives on energy mirror
the proposals he outlined almost four
years ago. Legislation to spur greater
gas use has been introduced in the House
and Senate. Pickens, founder and
chairman of Dallas-based BP Capital LLC,
is the largest shareholder of Clean
Energy Fuels, a natural-gas supplier for
bus and truck fleets.
Story
CONSOL, CNX TO CUT WELLS,
SPENDING IN MARCELLUS SHALE
January 26,
2012 - CONSOL said it’s cutting about
$200 million from its previously
announced 2012 capital budget. For the
Marcellus, that means 23 fewer wells and
$130 million less in spending.
The revised
Marcellus target for 2012 — CONSOL and
Noble Energy are developing this
together — is 99 wells.
Story
IN
FRACKING BOOM, O&G
COMPANIES BOXED IN BY SAND
January 26,
2012 - The subject of fracking sand as
an environmental issue was recently
explored by the Associated Press, but it
wasn't until recent earnings in the oil
and gas sector that sand became a
primary financial issue across all
companies involved in the fracking
process. More than 6.5 million metric
tons of sand worth $319 million was sold
or used in 2009, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey, and that likely
doubled in 2010, the USGS told the AP.
In
particular, two reports this week from
the only publicly traded sand miner,
Carbo Ceramics, and from oil service
company RPC, show the two increasingly
important sides of the sand equation.
Carbo Ceramics was one of the market's
biggest losers on Thursday, down 20%
after it reported earnings that missed
Wall Street's consensus view.
Story
CABOT GRIPES ABOUT DIMOCK,
IN LIGHT OF NEW SUPPORT
January 26,
2012 - Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. fired off a
complaint to the Environmental
Protection Agency, saying a probe of
water in Dimock, Pennsylvania,
undermines President Barack Obama’s
embrace of natural gas in his State of
the Union speech.
“EPA’s
actions in Dimock appear to undercut the
president’s stated commitment to this
important resource,” Chief Executive
Officer Dan Dinges wrote today in a
letter to EPA Administrator Lisa
Jackson. “EPA’s approach has caused
confusion that undermines important
policy goals of the United States to
ensure safe, reliable, secure and clean
energy sources from domestic natural
gas.”
Story
VERMONT LAWMAKERS EYE FRACKING
MORATORIUM
January 26,
2012 - With northwestern Vermont's Lake
Champlain Islands seen as a possible
site for natural gas exploration, state
lawmakers appear likely to pass a
three-year moratorium on the use of a
hotly debated gas extraction technique
called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Environmentalists say the chemicals are
a threat to the environment and public
health. They also complain that drilling
companies haven't disclosed what
chemicals are being used. And wastewater
from the process is injected into the
ground, a practice that has been tied to
earthquakes, including one near
Youngstown, Ohio, on Dec. 31.
Vermont
Natural Resources Council cites a series
of studies showing the tendency of
hydraulic fracturing to result in
contamination of groundwater, the source
of drinking waters for two-thirds of
Vermont residents. It supports an
outright ban, rather than a moratorium,
spokesman Jake Brown said.
Story
LABOUR CALLS FOR NEW
ZEALAND FRACKING REVIEW
January 26,
2012 - Labour has called for a review
into the controversial oil and gas
industry technique of horizontal
hydraulic fracturing, increasingly being
used to penetrate deep underground rock
to release natural gas. L&M Energy has
identified large gas reserves trapped in
shale (clay) deposits in the Waiau
basin; to the west of Ohai and Otautau.
Labour had
flagged the possibility of an inquiry
before the election, and yesterday,
environment spokesman Grant Robertson
said the implications of fracking in New
Zealand should be a priority when
Parliament resumes. "There is
international evidence to suggest that
the process of fracking can contaminate
groundwater, which could have serious
consequences for rural communities,
dairy farmers and milk processors if it
goes unmonitored in New Zealand," Mr
Robertson said in a statement.
Story
AMERICANS PROTEST FRACKING
AS OBAMA CHEERS FOR IT
January 26,
2012 – It took years, but opponents of
fracking, the controversial process of
hydraulic fracturing for the extraction
of natural gas, are finally getting
their point across. President Barack
Obama, however, still isn’t convinced of
the cons. What began as a grass roots
campaign to examine the dangers of
high-volume horizontal hydraulic
fracturing has over the last few years
spawned a massive movement of critics
who are committing countless hours
towards find a way to abolish fracking.
In the
Empire State, Ithaca College biologist
Sandra Steingraber tells Mother Jones
that the movement is "the biggest since
abolition and women's rights in New
York." Ten miles west, Ann Furman of
Concerned Citizens of Ulysses (CCU) in
Ulysses, New York says that they got
1,500 of 3,000 registered voters to sign
off against fracking in the town last
year. At Tuesday’s State of the Union
address, however, US President Barack
Obama did not seem to see a problem with
fracking.
Story
Concerned Citizens of Ulysses
PA.
SENATE BLOC CONCERNED ABOUT
PRE-EMPTION
OF TWP. RULES
January 26,
2012 - As state negotiators inch closer
to finalizing a comprehensive Marcellus
Shale regulatory measure, some
opposition against overruling local
zoning rules has reignited within the
General Assembly. Nine Republican state
senators sent a letter to their caucus
leaders on Wednesday, signaling their
concerns with a current provision to
restrict the ability of local
governments to regulate gas drilling.
Eliminating
the variations in local drilling rules
has been a priority for Gov. Tom
Corbett, as well as a provision sought
by natural gas companies. The governor
has called for state rules to supersede
local ordinances, while Senate leaders
have pushed a less-strict provision. The
senators listed on the letter, who
mainly represent southeastern
Pennsylvania, said they do support the
approach from the Senate legislation,
which would allow the state attorney
general to determine whether a town's
ordinance is reasonable.
Story
NEW
MEXICO GAS PRODUCERS
SKEPTICAL OF OBAMA’S SUPPORT
January 26,
2012 – President Obama expressed support
for domestic natural gas production
during his State of the Union speech,
but local drillers reacted skeptically
to the administration's backing. "He's
really not encouraging the development
of gas on federal lands," said Tom
Dugan, founder of Dugan Production, a
small independent Farmington-based
company. Dugan pointed to the $6,500
necessary to file an application for a
permit to drill on U.S. Bureau of Land
Management land, and delays in getting
permits approved.
Obama will
follow up today on his State of the
Union remarks with a speech in Las Vegas
on liquid natural gas's use in vehicles.
He is set to announce a grant for liquid
natural gas corridors to provide
infrastructure for vehicles, senior
administration officials said Wednesday.
Also, the Department of Interior today
will announce a major offshore lease
sale in the Gulf of Mexico totaling 38
million acres, the officials said.
Story
ATLAS ENERGY ENDS FREE
WATER FOR PA. FAMILY
January 26,
2012 - For more than 3 years, Walter
Sowa says a natural gas company told him
not to drink his well water after it
drilled near his Westmoreland County
home. "The water was so bad, they said
not to wash my hands in it or use it for
anything," recalled Sowa. Now, according
to Sowa, Atlas Energy LP is telling him
the water is OK to use again -- and
stopped trucking clean water to his home
for free more than 2 weeks ago.
A Pa. DEP
official told the Tribune-Review that
the agency is backing Sowa because the
company set a precedent in supplying him
with water and promised a permanent
solution, and because the agency's own
testing was inconclusive. Chevron
purchased Atlas Energy last year but did
not buy all of the company's assets. The
gas well near Sowa's home is among 8,500
wells that the newly formed Atlas Energy
LP owns.
Story
OHIO
BELIEVES IT HAS
EDGE FOR ‘CRACKER’
January 26,
2012 - When West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray
Tomblin gets to Houston today to make
his pitch for a Mountain State ethane
cracker, he'll likely find that Ohio
Gov. John Kasich left his business card
at the same office two months ago.
Officials in
Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are
all working to attract the
multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker to
their states, citing the facility's
potential to create thousands of
temporary and related jobs.
Story
2
WORKERS SUE FOR INJURIES
FROM PA. GAS WELL FIRE
January 26,
2012 - Two welders claim the negligence
of workers for Helmerich & Payne
International Drilling Co. of Tulsa,
Oklahoma resulted in their severe burns
and other injuries during a fire at a
Derry Township work site nearly two
years ago.
According to
the lawsuit, the welders were injured on
May 20, 2010, when a fire erupted as
company workers drilled a gas well. The
welders claim company workers caused
flammable gas to escape the well and
engulf the work site in flames. The
welders, who were suspended in a lift
about 17 feet above the ground, were
consumed by the fire, the lawsuit
alleges.
Story
January 25 2012 Shale Gas News
COLORADO COUNTY CONSIDERS
DRILLING MORATORIUM
January 25,
2012 - Boulder County commissioners have
asked their staff to review the county's
current land-use regulations about oil
and gas drilling operations. "We are
concerned that there may be a
significant increase in the amount of
drilling that may take place in Boulder
County," said Will Toor, vice chairman
of the Board of County Commissioners.
"We want to make sure that we have the
right regulations in place," Toor said.
He said one
of the questions the commissioners will
be considering is whether it would be
appropriate to impose a temporary
moratorium on new drilling in
unincorporated Boulder County, to give
the county's Land Use Department and
legal staff time to complete its
research and to craft proposals for
revisions to present county regulations.
Story
FRACKING COMPLICATES
THE CLIMATE DEBATE
January 25,
2012 – Obama did not mention either
carbon or emissions at all, and climate
only once. But the word clean or cleaner
got eleven mentions, and the president
made sure that the first was twinned
with cheaper, promising "a strategy
that's cleaner, cheaper and full of new
jobs". The same rebranding is
widespread. In an information paper on
"Policy considerations for deploying
renewables," published Nov. 23, the
International Energy Agency (IEA) put
protecting climate and other
environmental issues third after energy
security.
Just as
hydraulic fracturing is transforming the
outlook for oil and gas supplies in
coming decades, it is also
revolutionising the context for
emissions control policies and climate
change. In the mid-2000s, policymakers
could draw on the prospect of shrinking
oil reserves, medium term shortages, and
rising prices to make the case for
aggressive action to promote efficiency,
clean energy and behavioural changes to
cut energy consumption.
Story
PUSH
FOR FRACKING BAN
ADVANCES IN VESTAL, NY
January 25,
2012 - After sweeping through the outer
limits of New York's Marcellus Shale
area, the movement to implement local
bans on natural gas drilling is
beginning to target the state's
potential sweet spot: the Southern Tier.
A nascent push to prevent drilling in
the 52.5-square-mile Town of Vestal
through local legislation has put town
politicians on notice and angered
landowners, heightening tensions in the
already divided municipality.
Members of
the anti-drilling group Vestal Residents
for Safe Energy say their petition to
ban industrial drilling in the town is
nearing 1,000 signatures, and the effort
gained increased clout when an
influential environmental attorney
advocated for a ban in a presentation
this week to the Vestal Town Board. "The
gas companies don't have the town's best
interests at heart," said Sue Rapp, a
member of Vestal Residents for Safe
Energy. "But the town board has to."
Story
HINTS FROM HELOISE: SAFELY
DEALING WITH NATURAL GAS
January 25,
2012 – Natural gas is used for a variety
of things, such as to heat water, cook
and, of course, as a source of heat.
Natural gas is odorless and highly
flammable. Gas companies add a
“rotten-egg” smell as a safety
precaution and warning because leaks,
although rare, can occur.
Here are
some safety hints if you suspect that
there is a natural-gas leak in your
home…
Story
PRESIDENT’S SPEECH MISSES
CONCERNS OVER FRACKING
January 25,
2012 – During last night’s State of the
Union address, President Obama appeared
ready to throw the full support of his
administration behind the expansion of
natural gas drilling operations
throughout the country, largely ignoring
the outrage and worry expressed by those
in affected communities.
“We’re
alarmed that President Obama cited the
industry’s inflated job numbers and
natural gas supply numbers and that he
used fracking as an example of a
government success story when his
administration has launched at least two
studies into the safety of the gas
drilling and hydraulic fracturing.”
Story
What is fracking?
9
PA. STATE SENATORS OPPOSE
LOCAL PRE-EMPTION
January 25,
2012 - Nine Republican state senators
said they oppose a provision in
Marcellus Shale regulatory bills that
would restrict the ability of local
governments to enact rules regarding gas
drilling. That opposition, noted in a
letter to two top Senate Republicans
from a group of mostly southeastern
Pennsylvania lawmakers, puts another
obstacle in front of finalizing a shale
impact fee and regulatory measure in the
coming weeks.
The nine are
senators Richard Alloway of Franklin
County, Edwin Erickson of Delaware
County, John Rafferty, Stewart Greenleaf
and Bob Mensch of Montgomery County,
Patricia Vance of Cumberland County,
Mike Folmer of Lebanon County, and
Charles McIlhinney and Robert Tomlinson
of Bucks County.
Story
FEDERAL
SUIT SETTLED OVER
MCKEESPORT BRINE DUMPING
January 25,
2012 – Two environmental groups and
McKeesport's municipal authority have
settled a federal lawsuit that claimed
the city was violating state and federal
environmental laws by treating
wastewater from Marcellus shale drilling
operations. Attorneys for both sides and
representatives for the city, Clean
Water Action and Three Rivers
Waterkeeper couldn't immediately be
reached for comment. U.S. District Judge
Nora Barry Fischer ordered the case
closed Monday after the attorneys said
they reached a settlement.
The two
groups claimed that McKeesport's sewage
treatment plant was accepting drilling
wastewater even though its permit
doesn't provide for the treatment of
industrial waste. The Pennsylvania DEP
in April asked drillers to stop sending
wastewater to municipal sewage treatment
plants and asked plants to stop
accepting it.
Story
Municipal Authority of McKeesport
3
OHIO AGENCIES SEEK TO SINK
BRINE-TREATMENT PLANT
January 25,
2012 – The state has since tried many
legal avenues to revoke or to not renew
a brine-disposal permit for Warren.
Under Ohio law, a water-related permit
can be revoked or not renewed if water
does not meet quality standards of a
nearby state. Tom Stewart, executive
vice president of the Ohio Oil and Gas
Association, said he believes there will
be a time when a facility such as
Patriot can properly treat brine, but
does not believe that technology
currently exists.
In money
terms, Patriot has cost the state —
specifically ODNR — about $100,000.
Patriot does not pay ODNR’s brine-tax,
which is levied on injection wells at a
cost of 20 cents per barrel for
out-of-state brine and 5 cents per
barrel for in-state brine. ODNR made $1
million off the brine tax during the
first nine months of 2011.
Story
Pennsylvania wastewater facilities
Contact the Ohio Governor
OBAMA TALKS SHALE GAS,
ENDING SUBSIDIES FOR BIG OIL
January 25,
2012 - Over the last three years, we've
opened millions of new acres for oil and
gas exploration, and tonight, I'm
directing my Administration to open more
than 75% of our potential offshore oil
and gas resources. Right now, American
oil production is the highest that it's
been in eight years. We have a supply of
natural gas that can last America nearly
one hundred years, and my Administration
will take every possible action to
safely develop this energy.
I'm
requiring all companies that drill for
gas on public lands to disclose the
chemicals they use. America will develop
this resource without putting the health
and safety of our citizens at risk. The
development of natural gas will create
jobs and power trucks and factories that
are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we
don't have to choose between our
environment and our economy. We have
subsidized oil companies for a century.
That's long enough. It's time to end the
taxpayer giveaways to an industry that's
rarely been more profitable, and
double-down on a clean energy industry
that's never been more promising.
Story
DRILLING RESUMES IN
ALLEGHENY NATIONAL FOREST
January 25,
2012 - The oil and gas industry has
resumed drilling in the 512,000-acre
Allegheny National Forest while several
court challenges against the practice
work their way through the federal
courts, an industry lawyer said on
Tuesday. Matthew Wolford, an attorney
representing the Pennsylvania
Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA)
and the Allegheny Forest Alliance, said
an Erie federal judge's December 2009
order made it clear that companies don't
need the U.S. Forest Service's
permission to drill.
The 3rd U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in September
upheld McLaughlin's ruling, which
allowed other legal challenges to move
forward. Industry and environmental
groups have filed seven federal lawsuits
since 2007 challenging how drilling is
conducted in the national forest. The
groups that Wolford represents filed a
lawsuit in 2008 to throw out the Forest
Service's 2007 management plan for the
forest, which governs land and resource
use. The agency imposed new requirements
and restrictions on drilling operations.
Story
PA.
DEP WEIGHS MINE
WATER FOR FRACKING
January 25,
2012 - State environmental officials
want to give Marcellus Shale drillers an
incentive to use mine water in drilling
operations by offering a quick response
to proposals within 15 days. The policy
outlined at a public meeting Tuesday
would couple the natural gas industry's
need for massive amounts of water in
hydrofracking and the longstanding
problem of cleaning up 5,000 miles of
waterway in Pennsylvania impaired by
acid mine drainage.
DEP is
delving into a number of issues raised
by the pros