oil and gas development

New York Times Devotes Front Page Stories to Various Skeptical Remarks Made About Shale Gas Resources from over the Past Few Years

Michael Giberson The New York Times has prominently published two articles highlighting skeptical views about the amount of natural gas that will be produced from shale. On Sunday’s front page industry is featured: “Insiders Sound an Alarm Amid a Natural Gas Rush.” On Monday’s front page, skepticism in the U.S. Department of Energy is revealed: …

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Recommended in the Comments: Ten Fracking Things Everyone Should Know

Michael Giberson Commenter “Fat Man” recommends Peter C. Glover’s essay in the Energy Tribune: “Ten Fracking Things Everyone Should Know.”  Number one on the list of things to know is “Hydraulic fracking has been around for 60 years. Developments made by U.S. engineers around 2008-9 have simply made the process much more commercially viable.” Relatedly, …

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Science, Law, and Regulation of Fracking for Natural Gas in the Marcellus Shale

Michael Giberson The current issue of the Energy Law Journal includes an article examining the public policy history surrounding the use of hydraulic fracturing to develop natural gas in Pennsylvania and New York. The article, “Science and the Reasonable Development of Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Resources in Pennsylvania and New York,” is by attorneys Lynn Kerr McKay, Ralph …

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Environmental Benefits from the Keystone Xl Pipeline

Michael Giberson The National Wildlife Federation and other environmental groups have been lobbying against the Keystone XL pipeline proposal as a sort of proxy battle against production of crude oil from Canadian tar sands. Robert Hahn and Peter Passell suggest that, as the tar sands will be developed whether or not the pipeline is built, …

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Keystone Pipeline Leaks Boost Case for New Keystone Xl Pipeline and Other Energy Stories in the News

Michael Giberson Mostly oil and natural gas stories from around the web: The Hill’s E2-Wire, Oil industry: Response to leaks boosts case for pipeline – “The Obama administration’s swift response to leaks at the TransCanada pipeline boosts the case for approving an extension of the line, the oil industry argued Monday.” Logic is: sure the …

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Doe Shale Gas Hearings, Day 1: Companies Want State, Not Fed Regulation; Environmentalists Suspicious of Panel Bias

Michael Giberson FuelFix has the run down on the first day of the U.S. Department of Energy’s hearings on shale gas fracking regulation. The title above offers captures much of the tone: Company execs urged regulation of fracking at the state level, rather than federal level; Environmental groups saw significant pro-energy industry bias among the advisory panel …

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Another Data Point on Oil and Gas Shale Fracking Profitability

Michael Giberson Marathon Oil has agreed to pay $3.5 billion to acquire the Eagle Ford holdings of privately-owned Hilcorp Resources, about $25,000 per acre. The Eagle Ford is primarily a oil shale resource. Among other things, the purchase provides another public data point about the production promise of fracked shale resources. Much of the public …

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Texas Legislature Passes Fracking Disclosure Bill

Michael Giberson The Texas legislature has passed the nation’s first hydraulic fracturing fluids disclosure bill. The governor is expected to sign the bill into law. The text of the bill is available from the Texas Legislature Online website. In summary, a oil or gas well operator performing hydraulic fracturing will have to disclose the volume …

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Eagle Ford Shale Providing Oil Production Boost

Michael Giberson Much of the talk about hydraulic fracturing of shale has been about natural gas, but the method is being used to develop oil shale as well. The New York Times is bringing the news to the east coast, “Shale Boom in Texas Could Increase U.S. Oil Output,” and Texas newspapers have been covering the …

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Cheap Natural Gas Upsetting Wind Development Plans, and Other Energy Stories

Michael Giberson Energy stories from around the web. Financial Times, Gas threat to wind farm growth – “Construction of new wind farms in the US is set to decline next year because of competition from cheap natural gas for power generation, the country’s largest developer of new wind power projects has said.” Greentech grid, California …

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