Hydraulic Fracturing

Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Regulation

Obama State of the Union: Safe Fracking will Create 600K Jobs
January 25, 2012January 25, 2012

Last night, President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address to Congress. Energy and natural gas played a big role in the speech. In particular, Obama acknowledges the jobs-generating power of natural gas drilling, saying it can generate 600,000 jobs by the end of this decade. He also mandated a requirement that gas drillers on public lands disclose the chemicals they use. (Disclosing fracking chemicals is already the law in five states and mostly enforced in a sixth—see this MDN story).

Obama said the U.S. has enough natural gas to last us 100 years and that he’s going to “take every possible action” to develop it. He also reaffirmed his belief in global warming.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA DEP Wants to Use Acid Mine Drainage for Fracking Water
January 25, 2012January 25, 2012

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is floating the idea of using a portion of the 300 million gallons of acid mine drainage that flows each and every day from abandoned coal mines in that state as a source of water for Marcellus Shale gas fracking.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

NY Post Article: Cornell Prof Howarth’s Farcical Science
January 24, 2012January 24, 2012

An article in the New York Post lays bare the motivation of Cornell professor Robert Howarth and his conclusions about natural gas. Howarth, you may recall, along with two other Cornell professors—Renee Santoro and Tony Ingraffea—published a study in the journal Climatic Change last year making the assertion that natural gas is actually worse for the environment than coal (see this MDN story). It’s laugh-out-loud funny, except many people (excepting most scientists) take him seriously. The study has been roundly refuted by both the U.S. Department of Energy and Carnegie Mellon University.

Last week a new study was published in the same journal by a second set of Cornell professors that refutes Howarth et al.’s conclusions as “seriously flawed” (see this MDN story).

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Albany County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion

Enviro Groups Demand Fracking Ban in Albany Protest
January 24, 2012January 24, 2012

Environmentalists opposed to natural gas drilling were out in force in Albany, NY yesterday, demanding a ban on hydraulic fracturing. (MDN wonders if they know that vertical fracking has been going on in New York State for the last 40 years with no environmental apocalypse?!)

The rally, organized by Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Earthworks, Shaleshock and other anti-drilling organizations, was designed to bring pressure on elected representatives in Albany.

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Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation

Expert Says Binghamton Fracking Ban is “Legally Dubious”
January 24, 2012January 24, 2012

Robert Alt, a Fellow in Legal and International Affairs at The John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University (Ohio) has written an op-ed article in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin on the topic of “legally dubious” moratoriums like the one recently passed by the City of Binghamton. Given that according to forthcoming new drilling regulations from the state Department of Environmental Conservation there would be no drilling in Binghamton anyway, Alt asks the question, just what “message” did City Council send?

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Accidents | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

EPA Starts Water Deliveries in Dimock, PA
January 23, 2012January 23, 2012

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is getting itself involved in the ongoing situation in Dimock, PA by delivering water to four households that were affected by methane migration (see MDN’s recent Weekly Update for our view on EPA sticking its nose in). After the EPA told these same families two months ago their water was safe, they reversed course and now say they want to run some water tests themselves, and in the meantime they’ll deliver water to four of eleven families who have refused the Pennsylvania DEP’s settlement of the matter.

The EPA promised water to these same families a few weeks ago and reneged within 24 hours. This time they kept their promise.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Meetings | Regulation

Five States Require Drillers to Use FracFocus.org Registry
January 23, 2012January 23, 2012

FracFocus.org, the national hydraulic fracturing chemical registry where the public can look up information about the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing on a well-by-well basis, is co-sponsoring a “Let’s Talk About It” meeting in Williamsport, PA this Wednesday (see this page for more details). The meeting runs from 5-7:30 pm and will provide details on how hydraulic fracturing works. Note: FracFocus.org via Energy in Depth is currently a sponsor advertising on MDN.

Many drilling companies voluntarily use FracFocus.org to disclose the volumes of chemicals and water they use in the process of fracking, and do so for each well they drill. Four states already require drillers within their borders to use FracFocus.org. You can now add Texas as the fifth state to that list.

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Baker Hughes | Economic Impact | Frac Tech | Halliburton | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Schlumberger

Record-Breaking 19K New Wells to be Fracked in 2012
January 23, 2012January 23, 2012

Hydraulic fracturing, the process used to break apart shale rock deep below the earth’s surface to allow natural gas and oil to flow, will increase in 2012 some 19 percent from last year according to Spears & Associates, a research and consulting company for the worldwide petroleum industry. Almost 19,000 new wells will be fracked in 2012, compared with 16,000 in 2011. Halliburton is the largest U.S. fracking services provider with 18 percent of the market.

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Accidents | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

EPA to Start Water Deliveries in Dimock, PA – Pinky Swear
January 20, 2012January 20, 2012

The flakey federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues its interference in Dimock, PA. Yesterday they announced (once again) they would start water deliveries to homes in the Dimock area—this time the commitment is to four homes. Recall that they made the same promise two weeks ago, then rescinded their promise within 24 hours (see this MDN story for their broken promise and a Dimock backgrounder). This time they’re going to do it, pinky swear promise. That is…unless they decide not to do it.

PA Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer has warned the EPA to not try and pull a “Pavillion” in Dimock, referring to the sloppy research the EPA has done in Pavillion, Wyoming and their cheeky attempt to try and tie fracking to groundwater contamination, even though the drilling in Pavillion is not shale drilling (see this MDN story).

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Landowner Coalitions Push Back Against Home Rule Bill
January 20, 2012January 20, 2012

The fight to allow safe natural gas drilling to commence in New York State is being fought on multiple fronts. One of the most prominent groups standing up for landowner rights in New York is the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY). The group is in essence a “coalition of coalitions,” representing 38 landowner coalitions with an aggregate 800,000 acres of land in the Marcellus Shale.

The JLCNY issued the email below, outlining their opposition to yet another attack on drilling in the state—new legislation proposed by State Senator James Seward (Republican) that would tie up drilling in the state by allowing local municipalities to ban and regulate drilling within their borders.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

New Cornell Study Says Coal is Not Cleaner than Natural Gas
January 19, 2012January 19, 2012

In March 2011, Cornell professors Robert Howarth, Renee Santoro and Tony Ingraffea published a peer-reviewed study in the journal Climatic Change titled, “Methane and the greenhouse-gas footprint of natural gas from shale formations” (see this MDN story). The study makes the claim that shale gas extraction is actually worse for the environment than burning coal because of greenhouse gases. Howarth et al’s conclusions were roundly refuted by both the U.S. Dept. of Energy (see this MDN story) and by a Carnegie Mellon University study (see this MDN story).

You can now add another group of Cornell professors to the list of those refuting the poor quality of the Howarth study. Cornell professors Lawrence M. Cathles, Larry Brown, and Andrew Hunter, along with Milton Taam (Electric Software, Inc.) have just published an article in the very same journal responding to the Howarth article. This new peer-reviewed article appears in the January 2012 issue of Climatic Change (a copy of the full article is embedded below).

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Bill to Extend Fracking Moratorium until 2013 Hits NY Senate
January 19, 2012January 19, 2012

As predicted yesterday (see this MDN story), NY State Sen. Greg Ball, a RINO from Putnam County, introduced legislation into the Senate yesterday that would extend the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in New York until June 1, 2013. Fortunately not many of his colleagues in the Republican-controlled Senate agree with him, making passage of the bill unlikely.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Gov. Responds to PennFuture Criticism of Marcellus Bills
January 19, 2012January 19, 2012

On Tuesday, the anti-drilling Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) released a report detailing the problems (from their perspective) with PA Senate Bill 1100 and PA House Bill 1950 which are nearing passage (a copy of the PennFuture report is embedded below). PennFuture’s CEO and president, Jan Jarrett, called on the legislature and Gov. Tom Corbett to throw out the existing bills and instead introduce new, stand alone bills to consider drilling issues separately.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Bill Extending NY Fracking Moratorium Hits Assembly Today
January 18, 2012January 18, 2012

New legislation will be introduced in the New York Assembly today to extend the moratorium on fracking in New York State until either June, or “the end of” 2013, depending on the news source. MDN previously warned that this was coming (see this MDN story).

The bill will be introduced in the Assembly by Robert Sweeney, and likely will be introduced into the Senate by Greg Ball.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Pastor Claims Bible Says ‘Thou Shalt Not Frack’
January 18, 2012January 18, 2012

The following brief is purely for your entertainment purposes, to illustrate how loony the anti-drilling opposition can get. Yesterday, at a rally in Harrisburg, PA to protest new Marcellus Shale drilling legislation, a Lutheran pastor laid claim that the Bible says we shouldn’t frack.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Gov. Cuomo Signals Drilling Not Likely to Happen in 2012
January 17, 2012January 17, 2012

Although pro-drilling groups in New York are attempting to put a positive face on it, yesterday NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state has not yet made a determination on whether fracking will be allowed. Not “when” it will be allowed, but “whether” it will be allowed. He said, “We haven’t made that determination.” His remarks in context were about whether the state will add funding in this year’s budget (being released today) for an estimated 140 regulators that would be needed if fracking were to begin.

At a minimum, it seems Cuomo is saying that fracking won’t be a resolved issue during this budget year, although his remarks are not exactly clear.

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