Research

Crude Oil | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

IHS Study: Worldwide Shale Oil Deposits are Huge
September 18, 2013September 18, 2013

Global research company IHS released a new study yesterday about the huge supply of oil (yes, oil) that now exists worldwide because of shale. Oil retrieved from shale deposits is referred to as “tight oil” and according to IHS, the world apart from North America has nearly 300 billion (with a “b”) barrels of tight oil available–if they have the will to get it. In order to get it, they’ll have to frack for it. For perspective, the U.S., the biggest oil consumer in the world, consumed 6.7 billion barrels of oil for all of 2012 (according to EIA statistics).

The new IHS study is titled Going Global: Predicting the Next Tight Oil Revolution. Unfortunately we could not get our hands on a copy to review. However, we were able to find a chart reportedly from the study which shows how big the deposits of tight oil are by region (see our Pinterest images on the right side of any MDN web page). The surprise for us: The biggest potential non-U.S. source of tight oil is Africa…
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Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

New Study Final Nail in Coffin of Inflated Fugitive Methane Claims
September 17, 2013September 17, 2013

In 2011 Cornell professors Robert Howarth and Anthony (Tony) Ingraffea published a study that claimed drilling for natural gas is actually worse than burning coal because extracting natural gas leads to high levels of “fugitive methane” escaping into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming (see New Cornell University Study Says Shale Gas Extraction Worse for Global Warming Than Coal). It was a “you can’t really be serious” moment, calling into question the academic rigor (or lack thereof) at Cornell. The problem with Howarth and Ingraffea’s work is that it was all theoretical–no actual data measurements on which they based their claims.

A peer-reviewed study by MIT was later published using actual data that roundly refuted the work of Howarth and Ingraffea (see New MIT Study on Fugitive Methane Discredits Cornell Study). Now, a second peer-reviewed study has just been published by in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Titled “Measurements of methane emissions at natural gas production sites in the United States” (full copy embedded below), the study uses data from 190 actual well sites and calculates that less than half of one percent (0.42% on average) of natural gas escapes from well sites during extraction (“fugitive methane”). This is much less than Howarth and Ingraffea “estimated” with their theoretical study. This new study puts the final nail in the coffin of efforts to discredit natural gas drilling as worse than coal based on wildly inflated fugitive methane numbers…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Group Seeks Volunteers to Sample Rivers/Streams Near Fracking
September 17, 2013September 17, 2013

Increasingly MDN receives a lot of email from both pro- and anti-drilling organizations and groups. We select only those items that we believe would be of interest to you. Below is one such item. A few days ago we received a forwarded email from someone working with the Three Rivers QUEST (3RQ), a water monitoring program managed by the WV Water Research Institute. West Virginia University also has some sort of involvement, according to the 3RQ website.

3RQ is looking for volunteers for their water monitoring program in WV–people to take water samples from rivers and streams “down wind” (or rather downstream) from active shale drilling sites. We fully expect most people who participate in the program are anti-drilling in philosophy. However, good science is good science. MDN believes it would be a good will gesture for pro-drillers to also volunteer…
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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Benesch Law’s Useful Quarterly Report/Overview on Utica Shale
September 16, 2013September 16, 2013

How about a handy quarterly snapshot of the Utica Shale and where various initiatives (like infrastructure investments) stand? The attorneys and researchers at Benesch Law produce just such a report every three months. The latest edition is now out. One statistic of note to give you a feel for the enormous scope and potential of the Utica Shale in Ohio: There are 133 pipeline projects–from local gathering lines to interstate natural gas liquids pipelines–either now being built or on the drawing board. It represents billions of dollars of investment in the Utica.

Below is the full Benesch Shale Industry Report – Quarterly Summary Q2 2013. Well worth the few minutes it takes to read…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

EPA Shuts Door on Pavillion, WY Water Contamination Investigation
September 12, 2013September 12, 2013

Just last year all we heard from mainstream media (promoting the anti-drilling viewpoint) was how fracking pollutes water. Just look at Pavillion, WY! they said. MDN analyzed the Pavillion potential “fracking contaminates groundwater” issue at length one year ago this month (see 3 Things to Know about Pavillion, Fracking & Water Contamination). Then, much to the dismay of anti-drillers, the federal EPA backed away from it’s bungled investigation in Pavillion this past June (see EPA Abandons Pavillion, Can’t Prove Fracking/Water Contamination).

Now, with hardly a peep, the EPA published an official notice in yesterday’s Federal Register that they’ve turned the lights out on their Pavillion investigation (see it embedded below). Over and done. The EPA has officially washed its hands of the investigation. Do you think you’ll read about that in the New York Times? Ha!…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA | Wastewater

USGS Study Says Drilling Wastewater Not Fully Treated by Plants
September 9, 2013September 9, 2013

In a bit of a scam, the U.S. Geological Survey has released the results of a new study that supposedly shows when conventional and unconventional wastewater (no distinction) is run through the local sewer plant for processing, it results in nasty stuff being dumped into local streams and rivers (study titled “Discharges of produced waters from oil and gas extraction via wastewater treatment plants are sources of disinfection by-products to receiving streams”). The scam is that U.S. taxpayer-paid researchers working for a U.S. government agency produced this report, but you can’t get a copy unless you pay Elsevier $41.95 for a copy. Excuse us, but reports and studies conducted by the government and paid for by us, taxpayers, are supposed to be free (we paid for it!)–not locked up in a private, for-profit business.

Therefore, we only have the abstract and summary on which to evaluate the study…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | York County

PA Researcher: Breakthrough Fracking Technique Reduces Water Need
September 6, 2013September 6, 2013

Paul Krumrine, a PA-based researcher for SiGNa Chemistry, is working on a new technique for extracting shale gas. It appears he’s on the verge of a breakthrough. The new technique has progressed to the point it’s now patented and SiGNa is shopping it around to drillers for field tests. The technique developed by Krumrine uses sodium silicide (SiGNa specializes in uses of sodium silicide) in a chemical reaction to create incredible amounts of pressure and lower the amount of water needed to hydraulically fracture a well. It also dramatically reduces the concentrations of certain materials in flowback water that returns to the surface.

A bit more about this intriguing new innovation:
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Michigan | Research | Statewide MI

Univ of Michigan Reports Explore Future of Fracking in MI
September 6, 2013September 6, 2013

The University of Michigan is in the midst of a two-year project called the Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan Integrated Assessment. The project, which ultimately hopes to help guide policy on shale drilling in the state, is being overseen and under the umbrella of the Graham Sustainability Institute at U-M (a potential red flag if you ask us). The first round of analysis is now done. Yesterday, researchers released seven technical reports–think of them as tutorials or backgrounders or “get the facts established” reports. In our brief scan they look helpful and unbiased (we’ve gathered all the reports together in one document, embedded below so you can read or download it).

The upshot from the reports? Michigan has lots of shale gas, particularly in the Utica-Collingwood shale layer, that may one day be mined. However, Michigan’s shale gas is located deep, and with the current low price of natural gas and the abundance of gas in shallower plays (like the Marcellus), Michigan won’t see significant drilling for a long time, which gives policy makers time to “get it right” when it comes to regulations…
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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Research

IHS Research: Every US Household Saves Avg $1,200/Year from Shale
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

In October 2011, global research company IHS released the first (of three) volumes in a new study titled America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the US Economy (see Shale Drilling will Create 3.5M Jobs, $5.1T in Investment). In December 2012, they released the second volume (see New Report: Fracking Creates Jobs in States with No Drilling). Today, September 4, 2013, IHS releases the third and final volume, which deals with the manufacturing renaissance currently under way because of shale gas and oil (see it below).

The surprise finding in this latest research study: Because shale oil and gas have lowered the cost of energy by so much in America, lower costs are passed along to consumers not only in lower utility bills, but also in lower costs for manufactured goods because the cost of manufacturing has decreased (from lower energy bills). All told, the average household in America saved $1,200 per year in 2012–a number that will grow to $2,000 per year by 2015 and $3,500 by 2025. Bottom line: Every single citizen in this country is benefiting–right now–from the shale revolution. This is not “just a few farmers and drillers get rich” phenomenon. We all realize a significant monetary benefit from shale…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Anti-Drillers Smear PA DEP Over Delayed Global Warming Report
August 28, 2013August 28, 2013

A Pennsylvania state report on the impacts of the mythical concept of human-induced global warming on residents of the state is a year and a half late. Boo hoo. Big deal. Aren’t there enough of these kinds of “reports” circulating already? Why is another one needed? Apparently anti-drillers in PA and at the NPR reporters at StateImpact Pennsylvania want to see it published. They also want it to contain a reference to the totally debunked and discredited “study” by Cornell professors Robert Howarth and Anthony Ingraffea. You know, the study that laughably says burning coal is better for the environment than natural gas. MIT later put that whopper to rest (see New MIT Study on Fugitive Methane Discredits Cornell Study).

But let’s not let real science get in the way here! Anti-drilling groups like PennFuture want Howarth’s discredited “research” to be included in the final report. When someone from the PA DEP dared to say it ought to be removed, well, the antis had a cow. PennFuture went on a fishing expedition and obtained internal emails and drafts of the report and leaked it to sympathetic StateImpact reporters. It’s now time to crucify the DEP official who wanted the holy words of Bobby & Tony removed…
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Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Research | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Did WVDEP Ignore It’s Own Research on Shale Well Air Pollution?
August 26, 2013August 26, 2013

The West Virginia Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act, passed and signed into law in December 2011, directed the WV Dept. of Environment Protection (WVDEP) to conduct three studies. The third and final study on air quality was released in June (see WVDEP Releases Study on Air Quality Impacts of Shale Drilling). The WVDEP said based on the data they received, no new regulations are required to control air pollution near drilling operations. However, a West Virginia University professor that oversaw the raw report given to the WVDEP disagrees with their assessment.

Dr. Michael McCawley, chairman of the Department of Occupational & Environmental Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at WVU, said he thinks a 625-foot “setback” is not far enough (in some cases) and that air emissions from Marcellus and Utica shale drilling need more regulation…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Research | Statewide PA

Shale Gas Roundtable Issues Recommendations for PA Gas Drilling
August 16, 2013August 16, 2013

In March, MDN told you about the Shale Gas Roundtable, a group of high level participants from industry, government and academe organized and run by the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute on Politics (see Out of the Shadows: Another New Group Wants to Regulate PA Shale). The Roundtable has intentionally maintained a low profile–some might call it secrecy–in an attempt to craft a set of recommendations that will be taken seriously by both sides of the drilling debate and actually acted on, instead of being shelved as just another list of “nice to do” initiatives.

The group, which first met in September 2011, came all the way out of the shadows yesterday by releasing a 139-page report (full copy below) on their best thinking and recommendations to date. The report is a duesy–and we mean that in a mostly good way. Thorough and long, and full of concrete recommendations, the report tackles everything from proposed changes in the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection to new standards for water sourcing, biodegradable fracking chemicals, erosion controls, proposed new laws and even (yes) a vote in favor of forced pooling as the best way to minimize disturbance of surface land…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Is an “Independent” Shale Research Organization Possible?
August 16, 2013August 16, 2013

The Shale Gas Roundtable–a southwestern PA group made up of representatives from the oil and gas industry, government and academe–released an important new study on Wednesday with a list of comprehensive recommendations for how shale drilling can and should go forward in Pennsylvania (see today’s companion story). One of the boldest proposals by the group is the establishment of an independent research organization to study the effects of shale drilling. The trick is to craft an organization whose research is unassailable–no accusations that “industry” or “enviro groups” funded the research and therefore said research is skewed or tainted. How to do that?

The Roundtable proposes to borrow an idea from the automotive industry…
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Commodity Price | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Susquehanna County

At What Mmcf Price Do Shale Drillers Make Money?
August 8, 2013August 8, 2013

Ken Medlock, senior director of Rice University’s Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies and a team of Rice researchers recently performed a study of shale drilling economics. One of the questions they looked at: At what price per million cubic feet (or Mmcf) must a driller sell the gas in order to at least break even and not lose money? They have some interesting findings…
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Accidents | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Susquehanna County

EPA’s Dimock PowerPoint Revealed – But, is it Real?
August 6, 2013August 6, 2013

Apparently the Los Angeles Times has a friend in the radically left DeSmogBlog and so has shared the famed, single EPA PowerPoint presentation that supposedly blames drilling and fracking by Cabot Oil & Gas for methane in nearby water wells. DeSmogBlog has an “exclusive” copy of said PowerPoint, so we assume they got it from the LA Times. We grabbed a copy from the DeSmogBlog website and embedded it below so you can read it and evaluate it for yourself.

The most recent hubbub about Dimock arose when the LA Times trumpeted they have in their possession a never-before-seen secret/internal “report” from the EPA–which turns out to be a PowerPoint presentation–blaming Cabot’s fracking for water problems in Dimock, PA (see LA Times Attempts New Hatchet Job on Fracking in Dimock). Is this finally the smoking gun? Is the Obama EPA now covering up evidence against evil “big oil & gas”?…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Heinz Endowments Fires Head of Enviro Grants – Change Coming?
August 5, 2013August 5, 2013

Anti-drillers are nervous that one of the big-money spigots for funding their so-called research into the dangers of fracking is about to be shut off. In a developing soap opera, the “longtime head” of environmental grant making for the Heinz Endowments, Caren Glotfelty, has been shown the door. A number of anti-drilling studies have been funded by Glotfelty during her tenure at Heinz. Bobby Vagt, president of Heinz Enowments, will fill in for Glotfelty until a replacement is found. Vagt, you may recall, is involved with the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (see Important: Drillers & Enviros Form New Group, Launch Cert Program). It was also recently disclosed that Vagt sits on the board of natgas pipeline company Kinder Morgan (see Heinz Endowments President Owns $1.2M in Kinder Morgan Stock).

Anti-drillers have broken out the tea leaves, chicken feet and anything else they can to divine whether or not the move to oust Glotfelty is an indication of a change in (funding) priorities for Heinz…
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