NATIONAL
U.S. Department of Energy prepares to take the floor in the nation's 'fracking' debate. E&E News/NY Times. When talking about his department's role in steering U.S. energy policy, Energy Secretary Steven Chu likes to recall its role in last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. "It's true that we had no jurisdictional or regulatory authority in the deepwater spill," Chu said in an interview with ClimateWire late last week. "We played a different role. We helped stop the leak." Chu's behind-the-scenes war room is widely credited with bringing order to chaos in the aftermath of the BP PLC Macondo blowout in April 2010.
We must take advantage of energy wealth in US. Houston Chronicle, NRPA’s Drevna. For years, environmentalists and some politicians have been saying that America is energy-poor. That's a myth. America is energy-rich. We have more oil, natural gas and other energy resources under our feet and off our shores than just about any country on Earth. … Examples include new technology for extracting oil from oil sands and oil and natural gas from shale. … From the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico to our nation's Pacific Coast, from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and neighboring states to the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas, from untapped oil and natural gas fields in the lower 48 states to Alaska, our nation is blessed with immense and untold energy riches.
Report: World Gains From US Natural Gas Abundance. Voice of America. The development of new drilling operations in shale rock has led to a dramatic increase in U.S. natural gas reserves. While there are some environmental concerns about the practice of fracturing rock deep underground to release gas, drilling operations have expanded from Texas to Pennsylvania, keeping gas prices low as demand increases. A new study says the U.S. natural gas boom also may help ease energy problems in other parts of the world.
Doubling Down on Failure. Huffington Post, Carl Pope. To understand what's at stake in the battle over the federal budget, it helps to look back a decade and ask ourselves, "How are Americans doing today, and how were they doing on January 1, 2001?" There are, indeed, a small number of Americans who would say they are doing better today. North Dakota, because of new oil wealth, is booming.
Pennslyvania fracking report raises questions. Politico. Don’t expect any quick resolution to fracking controversies in Pennsylvania, even though the state finally has a clearer idea of what it needs to do to better regulate the natural gas industry. The state’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission released a set of recommendations Friday, but most of its suggestions require changes to state law — and the Legislature is in recess until September. “So what Pennsylvania eventually adopts isn’t clear yet because it’s subject to a whole other process,” said Christine Tezak, senior energy and environmental policy analyst at the investment firm Robert W. Baird & Co.
INTERNATIONAL
Gas giant BG gets into Cooper Basin shale. Sydney Morning Herald. Global gas giant the BG Group has joined up with local junior Drillsearch Energy to develop shale gas resources in Australia's Cooper Basin. The $130 million five-year deal will include Drillsearch first confirming over three years that a significant and economical shale gas resource exists, before BG come in to develop it on a commercial scale.
ARKANSAS
Disposal well could cause damaging quake, commission told. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission has begun hearing testimony before deciding on whether to shut down a disposal well in central Arkansas that staff of the commission contend is linked to earthquakes in the region. Commissioners heard more than 3 hours of discussion on the topic, but recessed for the night around 6 p.m. before a vote. Testimony continues beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
NORTHEAST
Some Chenango County residents say they're seeing benefits of hydrofracking. WKTV. Some Central New Yorkers oppose hydrofracking as a means of extracting natural gas from beneath the earth's surface, citing concerns about radioactive wastewater, contaminated drinking water and torn up roadways. However, there are 125,000 acres of land in rural Chenango County whose owners are interested in doing business with gas companies who hydrofrack.
NJ’s energy-plan debate heats up. MyCentralJersey.com. The formal debate over Gov. Chris Christie’s push to rely more on natural gas as part of New Jersey’s future energy policy was launched Tuesday at a public hearing attended by hundreds of environmentalists, power company officials and members of the public. Administration officials said New Jersey’s energy pricing stands to improve from the state’s proximity to abundant Marcellus Shale gas reserves in northern and western Pennsylvania. But the drilling process has raised safety and environmental concerns. NOTE: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Star-Ledger, and others report.
Advisors on Fracking Unsure of Cuomo Administration's Expectations. WNYC. A panel appointed by the Cuomo Administration earlier this month has been tasked with giving advice on some of the most sensitive issues related to the controversial gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. But weeks after it was created, the group’s role is still unclear to some of its members, and there are questions about balance.
Discussion on Benefits of Natural Gas Drilling. WENY-TV. A community discussion was held last night in the Northern Tier to educate people on the benefits of hydro-fracking. The event -- called “What's Next: Seizing the Natural Gas Opportunity” -- was hosted by Friends of Natural Gas at Troy High School. The discussion focused on economic development, jobs, and safety within a community that permits drilling. The Southern Tier of New York was a hot topic. Experts feel the state of New York could see a extremely dramatic economic boost if hydro-fracking is permitted.
Officials work to contain gas drilling before it begins. Courier Times. Officials want to hit the brakes before the first gas drilling rig rolls into Springfield. At their meeting Tuesday night, Springfield supervisors agreed to move forward on a new ordinance that would restrict natural gas drilling in the rural, Upper Bucks community. According to Pennsylvania’s Oil and Gas Act, and recent state Supreme Court rulings, municipalities do not have the authority to ban gas drilling companies or regulate drilling operations.
CNG fueling stations open. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Soon, it'll be much easier in Pennsylvania to buy a car that runs on compressed natural gas. And if local companies and officials in Harrisburg have anything to say about it, you might even be able to find a place to fuel it. A nonexistent CNG market in the Pittsburgh region went into turbo drive this past month, with EQT Corp. opening a compressed natural gas fueling site on Smallman Street in the Strip District and Giant Eagle unveiling a location at a processing facility in Crafton.
Gov. calls for emergency fracking rules. Daily Athenaeum. Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has announced that West Virginia environmental regulators need to create emergency rules for drilling natural gas. The West Virginia DEP will form temporary rules, while lawmakers look into more permanent regulations for natural gas removal in the Marcellus Shale deposit in the state. "This executive order is the first step in my long-term plan to ensure responsible development of Marcellus Shale," Tomblin said.
Drilling waste raises concerns at landfill meeting. Scranton Times-Tribune. Local officials aired concerns about the disposal and use of Marcellus Shale drilling waste at Keystone Sanitary Landfill at a meeting Tuesday night with state environmental regulators and landfill representatives. The Department of Environmental Protection hosted the informational meeting for municipal and county officials in communities impacted by the landfill, but Throop officials and a representative from state Sen. John Blake's office made up the bulk of the audience.
Document estimates fracking's toll on NY roads. Press & Sun-Bulletin. A leaked internal New York State Department of Transportation document suggests that the state is not ready for an estimated increase of up to 1.5 million heavy truck trips per year that could result from natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale. The cost of the increased heavy traffic could result in the need for repairs and reconstruction ranging from $211 million to $378 million annually, the document states.
Governor's Office won't disclose gas industry correspondence. Charleston Gazette. The Governor's Office is refusing to make public correspondence between it and the oil and gas industry regarding potential new regulations on Marcellus Shale drilling operations. Lawyers for Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, acting as governor, this week denied a Freedom of Information Act request from The Charleston Gazette for the records.
Gas firms harmed by blowing hot air. Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, Editorial. Certain Back Mountain residents in Luzerne County oppose the construction of a natural gas metering station near the Dallas schools, fearing for the safety of students and others who frequent the campus. Though the actual risk of explosion or other catastrophe is minimal, perhaps even infinitesimal, can you blame people in Northeastern Pennsylvania for being skeptical of what the natural gas industry’s spokespeople say?
Plain Township residents want total ban on fracking. Canton Repository. About 70 residents urged Plain trustees to declare a complete ban on horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing within the township. Ohio legislators are forcing residents to accept heavy industry in their backyards, said Susan Garver, who lives in the Sherwood Village allotment. “I think this is the right time to act. We can’t drag our feet anymore,” Garver said, urging trustees to ban horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
Macedon Library hosting free screening of "Gasland". Wayne Post. The Macedon Public Library will host a free screening of the 2011 Academy Award-nominated documentary "Gasland," at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 17 in the Community Room. The film by Josh Fox is about the drilling technology of hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic-fracturing, or "fracking," is a controversial drilling process being used to recover natural gas deposits in the Marcellus Shale under large parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma frac case actually involves above-ground handling. Oil & Gas Journal. A crew supervisor for a Houston well service company pleaded guilty on July 20 to violating federal water quality regulations during a hydraulic fracturing operation in Atoka County, Okla., in 2007. Gabriel Henson faces a possible prison term of up to a year and a $100,000 criminal fine if the court accepts his plea, the US Department of Justice said. It said Henson was working at the time as a crew chief for Integrated Production Services Inc. at the Pettigrew 18-13H well site on May 14, 2007.
TEXAS
Perry's Texas has jobs, also good luck. Associated Press. Since June 2009, when the U.S. emerged from the recession, Texas had 45 percent of the nation's job growth, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. According to employment data, a major source of the state's new jobs has been its perennial economic mainstay, oil and gas. Record oil prices that surged to $145 a barrel in 2008 propped up the Texas economy while the rest of the country was sagging, said Mine Yucel, vice president of the Dallas Fed. Texas oil and gas employment grew by nearly 60 percent since January 2001.
It's a big week for Texas air quality. Fort Worth Star Telegram, Editorial. The EPA is expected to make a different announcement Thursday: new regulations for air pollution from oil and natural gas activities. That will hit home in North Texas' Barnett Shale, site of a natural gas drilling boom. Gov. Rick Perry, who thrives on complaining about the EPA and calling it an example of the federal government sticking its nose into Texas business, should be having a field day. First things first: The EPA said last year it was reclassifying Dallas-Fort Worth as a "serious nonattainment" area because of its continued high ozone levels.
Official seeks to fill gaps in gas drilling regulations. Dallas Morning News. Dallas Gas Drilling Task Force chairman Lois Finkelman wants to identify areas of natural gas production that aren’t properly regulated by the various agencies, places where the city of Dallas can jump in. Task force members heard nearly three hours of presentations Tuesday on which state or federal agency oversees what bit of natural gas production. To a layman, trying to understand natural gas regulations is like trying to untangle the contents of grandma’s old knitting basket.
Mineral, surface developer still trying to find agreement. Midland Reporter-Telegram. The balance between surface and mineral development is one business owners still are working to strike on one north Midland property. Midland Energy Inc. came before the city council on Tuesday seeking a variance from its original drilling permit. Instead of installing the originally required 8-foot masonry fence at its plot north of Loop 250 and east of Lamesa Road, the company hoped to put in a slated chain link fence like is required under the current oil and gas drilling ordinance, said Rick Davis, vice president for the company.
WYOMING
Wyoming's jobless rate falls below 6 percent. Associated Press. Between June 2010 and June 2011, the largest decreases in unemployment rates occurred in counties tied to energy industries. The jobless rate in Uinta County fell from 7.0 percent to 5.3 percent, while Campbell County’s rate fell from 5.9 percent to 4.4 percent and Sweetwater County from 6.5 percent to 5.1 percent. Over the year, employment in mining and logging, including oil and gas, increased from 25,000 to 27,900, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.