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MDN Weekly Update – Apr 1, 2012: Waterless Fracking

over-the-topThis past week brought a surprise announcement from “stalled at the gate” New York State. A group of landowners in Tioga County, NY (which sits between Binghamton and Elmira, in what is called the Southern Tier region of New York) are signing a lease with eCorp to allow Marcellus drilling using a waterless fracking technology pioneered by the Canadian company GASFRAC (see this MDN story). By using LPG fracking technology, eCorp and the Tioga landowners can move forward with drilling now—they won’t have to wait for New York’s four-year-old moratorium on fracking to be lifted. They can frack now with this waterless technology.

In the article about the Tioga landowner deal, MDN speculated that given most or all of the stated reasons anti-drillers oppose drilling would be gone, they will invent new reasons to not like waterless fracking too. That is, this situation will show the true colors of anti-drillers—that their agenda is really one of not only opposing the recovery of, but also the use of fossil fuels because of a misguided belief/philosophy/worldview that fossil fuels are evil.

Which brings us to this week’s poll question: Will anti-drillers oppose waterless LPG fracking too? I’d like to know what you think. Will those who oppose drilling now get on board? Or is their position so hardened, so unbending, so “over the top” that they will oppose any kind of extraction of natural gas? Head on over to the right side of any page and register your vote.

Last Week’s Poll Results

poll resultsLast week MDN wanted to know if you believe that energy companies are intentionally overstating just how much recoverable gas there is in shale deposits. Here’s the results:

Are drillers overstating recoverable shale gas estimates to increase the stock price and attract investors?

No (55%, 150 Votes)
Yes (26%, 71 Votes)
Not sure (19%, 53 Votes)

Total Voters: 274

Below are the most recent “top 5” lists and the calendar of Marcellus-related events for the next two weeks.

Happy fracking,
Jim Willis, Editor

P.S. Sales of the new “Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook 2012” continue to be strong—thanks! The Databook is a 116-page comprehensive guide to drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Chock full of maps showing where permits have been issued, including details on drillers, pipelines and regulations, this new publication is indispensable if you have an interest in shale drilling in the Marcellus and Utica. For more details, including sample pages, visit: MarcellusDrilling.com/Databook.

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