On Hydraulic Fracturing’s Critical Role for U.S. Energy, Economic Security
Top ND Oil, Gas Regulator: “We don’t think the EPA should regulate hydraulic fracturing”: Lynn Helms, director of the ND Dept. of Mineral Resources’ Oil and Gas Division, said disclosure is already required in the event of a spill. “The Industrial Commission and the Department of Mineral Resources have made it no secret that we don’t think the EPA should regulate hydraulic fracturing,” Helms told The Minot Daily News in October. (Minot Daily News, 12/26/10)
Fmr. White House Energy Adviser: Hydraulic Fracturing “Can fuel economic growth”: As a clean-burning fuel, [natural gas] can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. And because hydraulic fracturing has enabled extraction of “tight gas” from resources across the country, from New York’s Marcellus Shale to the Barnett Shale in Texas, these huge new gas reserves provide promise for economic growth. (Washington Times Op-Ed, 12/23/10)
Facts About Shale Gas Development, Hydrofracturing Are Relevant (Even in Annapolis & Dallas)
Top PA Environmental Watchdog Slams MD Del. Who Parrots Debunked Gasland Claims: She ignores the reality that no other state since 2008 has added more staff or strengthened and enforced its rules governing natural gas drilling more than Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania now requires a water plan controlling water withdrawals associated with drilling; prohibits drillers from dumping wastewater into waterways without first treating it to the safe drinking water standard; mandates a 150-foot buffer along 20,000 miles of streams from all development; and enforces state-of-the-art rules for designing, building and operating all gas wells. Additionally, we’ve more than doubled our oversight staff during the past two years to 202 employees. … Natural gas production offers significant economic and energy security benefits. (Baltimore Sun, PADEP Sec. John Hanger, 12/22/10)
Wash. Ex. Fact-Checks MD Del.’s Baseless Claims on Hydrofracturing: “Mizeur’s argument is nothing more than a regurgitation of the HBO “Documentary” Gasland, a greatly flawed Michael Moore-style polemic. In Gasland the flim’s director, Josh Fox traipsing through the Marcellus Shale region filming residents, who claim fracking, has contaminated their well water, setting the water from their kitchen faucets afire. John Hanger, the Pennsylvania secretary of the environment featured in the movie, labeled it “fundamentally dishonest, a deliberately false presentation for dramatic effect.” (Washington Examiner, 12/23/10)
EPA Overreaches, Swings and Misses on the Facts in Texas: The Environmental Protection Agency and Region 6 Director Al Armendariz have once again abused the agency’s massive powers. Evidence collected after the EPA issued an emergency order against a natural gas exploration company in early December shows that it prematurely determined, and without sufficient evidence, that the company polluted nearby water wells. In effect, the EPA tried, convicted and sentenced the company, Range Resources in Fort Worth, without any notice or opportunity to appear before the EPA to show that it was not at fault. … The RRC tested the water and soil around the wells, and it performed pressure tests on the wellhead of Range’s two wells. The wells passed pressure tests, showing that the leak did not come from the gas wells drilled by Range. (San Angelo Standard Times, Alex Mills, 12/25/10)
Tightly-Regulated Shale Gas Production Revitalizing Rural America, Driving Down Energy Costs for Struggling Consumers
Responsible Shale Gas Development Creating Opportunity for Small, Family-Owned Businesses: Local businessman Nick Hurley runs the cafeteria at the complex, serving 700 meals a day, including lunches that workers grab on their way out the door. Hurley also provides janitorial and laundry services for the facility. He can’t believe his good fortune. His family owns two grocery stores, but business was suffering before the gas boom hit last year. “Our backs were against the wall,” said Hurley, 36. He started catering to gas rigs, and the business kept growing. His family’s companies now employ 160 people, up from 90 before the boom, including 35 at the Man Camp alone. “This is wonderful,” he said. “We grew up in kind of a repressed area. There is no way we could have built this up without natural gas.” (Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/27/10)
Pa. Paper: “The Economic Development is Obvious”: The region’s landscape in 2010 was painted literally and figuratively by the advent of the natural gas industry. The industry’s development of the Marcellus Shale deposits underneath our Earth took full flight during the year, with varied impact emerging. The economic development is obvious. Jobs and opportunity are springing up like mushrooms throughout our region. … The industry’s positive impact on the economy was a big part of the local portfolio in 2010 and a major reason why the region showed signs of recovery from the nation’s economic malaise. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette Editorial, 12/24/10)
“AP: Oil voted top story” in North Dakota: North Dakota’s oil patch, which has helped the state boast a near billion-dollar budget surplus and a booming economy, has been voted the state’s top news story of 2010 by print and broadcast members of The Associated Press. North Dakota is on pace to pump a record 110 million barrels of oil in 2010, up from 79.7 last year and more than double the amount produced less than three years ago. More than 95 percent of the rigs drilling in North Dakota are aiming at the rich Bakken shale and Three Forks-Sanish oil reservoirs in western North Dakota. (Associated Press, 12/27/10)
Local Pa. Resident, Mayor on Job-Creating Marcellus Development: “It’s a very safe industry.” … “There is a safe way to extract this gas,” Mayor Marc Mantini said. (Leader Times, 12/28/10)
Hydraulic Fracturing Helping to Create Thousands of Good-Paying Jobs, Driving Down Unemployment Throughout Rural America: Not so long ago, this town was just the seat of Bradford County. Now, it lies at the epicenter of natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale region. It used to be a sleepy little place on the Susquehanna River. Now, it’s a boom town. Help-wanted signs plead for waitresses, mechanics, truck drivers. Once-empty storefronts are now occupied in this hilly borough, population 3,000. … According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, 355 of the 1,368 Marcellus wells drilled in Pennsylvania this year were drilled in this rural county on the New York border. Bradford County also leads the state in gas production. … Unemployment is dropping faster here than in any other county in Pennsylvania – the jobless rate was 6.8 percent in October, fourth best in the state, down from 8.1 percent a year ago. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/27/10)
Hydraulic Fracturing-Enabled Shale Gas Production Lowering Energy Costs for Hoosiers, All American Consumers: “Last winter, as you know, it was a colder than normal winter. So far this winter, it’s maybe a little bit warmer than normal,” Atmos Energy V.P. David Park says. … So the average consumer could see their bill drop about $17 per month through February. You can thank the large amount of gas in storage. Park says, “It’s abundant. We’re seeing a lot of production from the shale plays – Barnett and Marcellus and others – that have produced more gas in the market.” (WFIE-TV (IN), 12/26/10)
Science, Hard Work and American Ingenuity Putting Nation on Path Toward Energy Security, Helping Law Enforcement
Bill Nye Isn’t the Only Science Guy: “Geophysicist helps map where to drill for oil, gas deposits”: Drilling for oil or natural gas is too expensive to leave to chance, so energy companies rely on employees like Ryan Miller to point them in the right direction. Miller is a geophysicist at Devon Energy Corp. His job is to interpret scientific data from seismic tests that can send sound waves as deep as 30,000 feet below ground and identify oil and gas deposits. “We can’t drill on imagination or hopes and dreams,” he said. (The Oklahoman, 12/26/10)
Clean-Burning Shale Gas Development in La. Giving Law Enforcement the Resources They Need to Keep Us Safe: Bank deposits of the Red River Parish sheriff’s office exceeded Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage and the banks did not pledge sufficient securities to cover the funds, according to an annual audit released recently. It’s the second year for the same finding for the office that’s flush with cash from the Haynesville Shale activity. Total revenues for year ending June 30 topped $10.8 million, representing an increase of $5.6 million, or 109 percent, from the prior year. (Shreveport Times, 12/27/10)
Faced with state takeover of city pension fund, Pittsburgh City Council opts for massive increase in parking-meter fees – while spending time and money on bizarre crusade against Marcellus
Keep Reading »
• BREAKING: “Shale gas extraction is safe”; Helps Create American Jobs
Now we know why Maryland’s called the “Old Line” state. Following up on a column in the Baltimore Sun this week that was filled with tired old talking points on hydraulic fracturing and shale gas, some actual honest-to-goodness facts were put forth in today’s paper by Erik Milito of the American Petroleum Institute (API). In his must-read Baltimore Sun response, Mr. Milito – a retired U.S. Army Major who directs API’s upstream division – writes this under the headline “Shale gas extraction is safe”:
Del. Heather Mizeur fails to account for previous studies by the EPA and what natural gas development has the potential to do for Marylanders. Just last month, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson noted to NBC Nightly News that previous federal studies have shown no scientific evidence of contamination and that hydraulic fracturing can be done responsibly to develop the energy resources we need to keep our homes comfortable and get to work every day.
Delegate Mizeur is correct in stating that the vast natural gas reserves found in the Marcellus Shale region are a game changer. There is enough natural gas to create hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs and provide Americans with a stable, domestic energy source for generations to come.
Repeating unproven accusations about the hydraulic fracturing process does a disservice to those searching for ways to boost state revenue and get Americans back to work.
And while we’re on the subject of correcting the record and debunking unsubstantiated claims regarding the tightly-regulated development of clean-burning, homegrown energy resources, Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s Tisha Schuller separates fact from fiction in response to Josh Fox’s latest iteration of smears. Here are highlights from Ms. Schuller’s AskMen.com piece:
On Fluids Used in Fracturing, the Technology’s Importance to Energy Security
Hydraulic fracturing can sound frightening, however, I want you to know that this is a highly engineered, managed and monitored process. Truly, for over 60 years, the process of hydraulic fracturing has been conducted safely. But don’t take my word for it. Lisa Jackson, the head of the EPA, recently said so on national television. Currently, over 90% of wells are hydraulically fractured. Hydraulic fracturing is important to all of us because, without hydraulic fracturing, we don’t have access to domestic natural gas resources.
I have two small children and live in the mountains where we drink from a domestic well. I get the concerns about hydraulic fracturing fluids — so here are a few facts to remember. The hydraulic fracturing process uses a mixture comprised almost entirely (99.5%) of water and sand. The remaining materials, used to condition the water, are typically found and used around the house. The most prominent of these, a substance known as guar gum, is an emulsifier commonly found in ice cream. (Emulsifier, by the way, is something that makes something gooey.) The average fracturing operation uses fewer than 12 of these additives, according to the Ground Water Protection Council — not 600. I don’t want 600 chemicals injected at one time into the ground either.
The entire universe of additives used in the fracturing process is known to the public and the state agencies that represent them. Here in Colorado, for example, operators must maintain safety sheets for any chemical products brought to a well site.
On Tired, Debunked Claims About the “Halliburton Loophoole”
Opponents of hydraulic fracturing often blame the so-called “Halliburton Loophole” in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for protecting hydraulic fracturing from federal regulation and exempting it from restrictions of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Remember: Hydraulic fracturing fluids are not being injected into drinking water. They are being injected into the oil- and gas-bearing formation, the one that has been geologically isolated for millions of years. The shallow drinking water aquifers are protected by layers of metal pipe and cement that make up the well bore.
Hydraulic fracturing was never intended to be subject to the Safe Drinking Water Act and it has never been regulated under SDWA — not in the 60-year history of the technology, the 36-year history of the law or the 40-year history of the EPA. … The 2005 Energy Policy Act was nothing more than a restatement of current and practiced law.
Every step of drilling, including hydraulic fracturing, is regulated carefully and with pride in Colorado by our Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC).
State Regulators Confirm That Fracturing Has Never Impacted Groundwater
The Environmental Protection Agency, Ground Water Protection Council, Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, and others have all examined the process and found it to be safe. In Colorado, operators have to apply to get a permit to drill, describing all of their surface and downhole activities through the COGCC.
Despite the assertions in the movie Gasland, the COGCC has investigated hundreds of cases and to date has found no water well contamination attributable to hydraulic fracturing. And these include the flaming faucets and the bubbling surface water in West Creek Divide wetland, both of which were determined to be naturally occurring methane or gas unrelated to drilling.
State regulators in Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, Ohio, New Mexico, and Alabama have also stated the same conclusion that not one case of contaminated groundwater has been caused by hydraulic fracturing.
Previously scheduled to debate Josh Fox on the Huffington Post website later this month, Energy In Depth (EID) was disappointed to learn this week Fox abruptly decided to pull-out – “due to his schedule,” the organizers told us, he “won’t be able to join us.” No such schedule issue last night, though, as Fox appeared on two MSNBC shows over the space of three hours to plug his film and unload his usual clip of ridiculous talking points targeting the safe and responsible use of hydraulic fracturing. Here below we take a look at some of his biggest whoppers of the night.
Josh “Sweaters Up” For Dylan Ratigan
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“Josh Fox” … |
… “Versus Reality” |
| “What we’re seeing here with [shale] gas … one of the largest domestic onshore natural gas drilling campaigns in history…” (3:35) | Actually, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), more natural gas wells were drilled in 1982 than today — and more than two times the number of petroleum wells.
The reality is, 99 percent of the shale gas development currently taking place in America is confined to five states. |
| Host: “Is it a known fact that hydraulic fracture drilling is the cause of the [natural] gas being in the aquifer?”
Fox: “PA DEP says ‘yes.’ Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission says ‘yes.’ EPA is doing an investigation right now … this process has never been investigated.” (6:18) |
PA DEP actually says “no.” DEP: “A lot of folks relate the situation in Dimock to a fracking problem. I just want to make sure everyone’s clear on this – that it isn’t. … It wasn’t a fracking problem.” (DEP’s Scott Perry, 5/11/10) More DEP: “There has never been any evidence of fracking ever causing direct contamination of fresh groundwater in Pennsylvania or anywhere else.” (Perry, 4/2/10) Colorado says “no” too COGCC issued an official rebuttal to GasLand earlier this week “However, using the same investigative techniques, we concluded that Mike Markham’s and Renee McClure’s wells contained biogenic gas that was not related to oil and gas activity. Unfortunately, Gasland does not mention our McClure finding and dismisses our Markham finding out of hand.” “Finally, [GasLand] asserts that the water in the Markham and McClure wells deteriorated after drilling and hydraulic fracturing occurred nearby. However, COGCC records indicate little or no temporal relationship between the Markham and McClure complaints and nearby drilling and hydraulic fracturing activities, which occurred several years earlier and in most cases many years earlier.” Fox: “This process has never been investigated.” That’s true — unless you don’t count all the times it has.
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| “You have more air pollution from natural gas drilling in Dallas-Fort Worth than all of the cars and trucks in Dallas-Fort Worth, and that’s the fourth-largest city in America.” (6:51) | The chart below tells you all you need to know about the validity of this talking point. But for a bit more detail on why it’s wrong – and what specific methodological mistakes Dr. Armendariz made in arriving at this conclusion – click here for Dr. Ed Ireland’s comprehensive rebuttal over on the BSEEC website.
One more thing: DFW is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, not city (that’s Houston).
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| “I do think that we need to get off of fossil fuels entirely.” (3:21) | According to EIA, fossil fuels currently meet 85 percent of U.S. energy demand and are expected to meet 79 percent of that demand in 2030. Here at EID, we believe in renewables and alternatives too. We just don’t believe in magic. |
ROUND TWO
No Sweater For (the now ‘suspended indefinitely without pay’) Olbermann, But Plenty of Outrageous Statements
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“Josh Fox” … |
… “Versus Reality” |
| “Hydraulic fracturing is a new form of drilling for natural gas that forces down millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals, and this brew has about 600 different chemicals. (1:04) | New form? Dept. of Energy/GWPC: “Both horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are established technologies with significant track records; horizontal drilling dates back to the 1930s and hydraulic fracturing has a history dating back to the 1950s.” (DOE, GWPC 2009)
600 chemicals? Same report: “Although the hydraulic fracturing industry may have a number of compounds that can be used in a hydraulic fracturing fluid, any single fracturing job would only use a few of the available additives. For example, in [this exhibit], there are 12 additives used, covering the range of possible functions that could be built into a fracturing fluid.” |
| “The problem is that these chemicals, fracking fluids, are turning up in people’s water supply.” (1:22) | PA DEP chief: “It’s our experience in Pennsylvania that we have not had one case in which the fluids used to break off the gas from 5,000 to 8,000 feet underground have returned to contaminate ground water.” (Reuters, 10/1/10)
DEP Redux: “We haven’t had frack fluid come back from thousands of feet down and get into people’s drinking water supply.” (KDKA-TV, 10/16/10) |
| “We’re currently in the largest natural gas drilling campaign in history. … It’s proposed for places like the New York City watershed.” (1:39) | See above for the facts about shale gas being the largest ‘drilling campaign in history’. As for the idea that Marcellus development is “proposed” for the NYC watershed, time to update the talking points:
NY Times: “New York State environmental officials [DEC] announced on Friday that they would impose far stricter regulations on … natural gas drilling in the upstate area that supplies most of New York City’s drinking water, making it highly unlikely that any drilling would be done there.” (New York Times, 4/23/10) |
| “Even if you get five or 10 years of natural gas out of these unconventional gas plays … you’re going to be at a net loss of energy and in money at the end of the day…” (2:17) | Five or 10 years? Try 100: “The natural gas shale boom in North America has more than doubled discovered gas resources and can supply more than a century of consumption at current rates, an IHS CERA study released Wednesday said.” (Reuters, 3/10/10) |
| “There’s a woman I interviewed last week who has frack fluids – these carcinogenic chemicals and neurotoxins – in her lungs, simply from just living around this area.” (4:02) | You read that right: Josh Fox actually told Keith Olbermann that a woman has fracturing fluids … in her lungs. Any wonder why even a long-time NYT editor called Josh and his film “flawed”? |
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
This past weekend, New York Gov. David Paterson vetoed a misguided bill that would’ve established a blanket ban on responsible energy development all across the state – effectively bringing to an end an industry that’s been in place in New York for more than 170 years. This directly from the governor’s office:
“The Governor vetoed legislation that would have placed a moratorium on high-volume, horizontal hydraulic drilling and more conventional vertical drilling. The Governor’s order obviates the need for a moratorium on high-volume fracking. However, vertical drilling has been a fact in this State for 40 years without demonstrable environmental damage. Permitting for such drilling will continue unless the DEC’s comprehensive review requires it to be stopped.”
Our friends at Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York (IOGA of NY) also weighed-in on the governor’s decision. In a statement, IOGA-NY executive director Brad Gill said:
“We are grateful to Governor Paterson for his courage and clear-headed judgment in vetoing S.8129-B (Thompson)/A.11443-B (Sweeney). This bill would have had far-reaching consequences to the state’s oil and natural gas industry, and to the communities in which our member companies work.
“We are very pleased that the governor saw the bill for what it was – a flawed piece of legislation replete with unintended and dire consequences for the people and businesses in our industry. Our members are aware of the considerable pressure put upon lawmakers and the governor to approve this bill. We’re hopeful that the governor’s veto today will set the stage for a more reasoned and rationale public discussion about these issues going forward.”
Unfortunately, many claims continue to be made about the safety, effectiveness and overall ability for domestic energy producers to ensure that the process is done right, which will ultimately help deliver affordable supplies of homegrown energy to American consumers who continue to face historic unemployment rates.
Here’s a few recent claims, and actions, that are flatly disconnected with the reality and the facts as it relates to the overwhelmingly positive economic impact of shale gas production and fracturing’s long and clear record of environmental safety.
CLAIM
Doug Shields, Pittsburgh City Council
Three weeks after enacting a ban on natural-gas drilling in Pittsburgh, city council on Tuesday voted to discourage Marcellus Shale production farther afield.
The nonbinding resolution, called a “will of council,” urges the trustees of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History not to allow drilling or extraction on the 2,200-acre Powdermill Nature Reserve in Westmoreland County. … It can allow extraction without allowing drilling on the property because of horizontal drilling, which would allow a company to drill a well off of the Powdermill property and extend the line horizontally underneath the site to extract its gas.
The resolution says Carnegie trustees may lease Powdermill land “for shale gas exploitation” because of a potential royalty windfall. The resolution urges the trustees to “reject any and all offers” from gas companies. The resolution was introduced by Councilman Doug Shields, the sponsor of council’s recently enacted law banning gas extraction citywide. (Post-Gazette, 12/11/10)
FACT
The Pittsburgh City Council isn’t at all bashful when it comes to passing misguided – and unconstitutional – bans on job-creating shale gas production, for sure. But why is the council working aggressively to ban clean-burning natural gas production outside of its city-limit jurisdiction in other Pennsylvania counties, as well as in other local and municipal governments across the Commonwealth?
FLASHBACK:
The lure of millions of dollars in natural gas royalties has prompted officials at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to study whether to permit drilling on the Marcellus shale range at its Powdermill Nature Reserve in Westmoreland County. Carnegie spokeswoman Betty Momich said trustees of the Pittsburgh-based museum are a long way from deciding whether to allow drilling on the 2,200-acre preserve in Cook Township.
“We are a science-based organization that is very passionate about environmental and conservation issues,” she said. … “It’s a tremendous opportunity for the state, private landowners and organizations like ourselves. But that’s not the only consideration here,” Momich said. (Tribune-Review, 8/25/10)
CLAIM
Cornell Prof., who runs a university-funded ‘green jobs’ site:
Susan Christopherson, an economic geographer at Cornell, said that almost 70 percent of the economic gains would go to upstate landowners and that most of the industry jobs and long-term economic gains would go elsewhere.
“The oil and gas industry is much more like financial services than manufacturing,” she said. “You don’t have continuous jobs and long-term production. What you usually get is a boom and bust cycle.” (New York Times, 12/12/10)
FACT
Study: Marcellus Production in NY Could Create 16,000 In-State Jobs Over 10 Years
Over a 10-year period the economic impact of drilling alone could exceed $15 billion, supporting more than 16,000 person-years of employment and generating salaries and wages of $792 million. State and local tax coffers would receive $85 million of new revenues. (Potential Econ. & Fiscal Impacts from Natural Gas Production in Broome Co., NY; 7/09)
New Fed. Govt. Report Highlights Hydrofracutring’s Postitive Energy Security, Environmental Impact
Yesterday, the Energy Information Administration, an independent arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, released its Annual Energy Outlook anaylsis. Key findings? “Significant update of the technically recoverable U.S. shale gas resources, more than doubling the volume of shale gas resources assumed in” last year’s report. How’s this possible? Hydraulic fracturing, a 60 year-old oil and natural gas stimulation technology, coupled with advacnements in horitzontal drilling techniques.
Here are just a few highlights from the news cycle regarding the se preliminary findings:
- Shale-Gas Output May Double by 2035, Reducing Energy Imports, US Says: This year’s outlook more than doubles the estimate of U.S. technically recoverable reserves of natural gas from shale, a type of sedimentary rock, to 827 trillion cubic feet from 347 trillion cubic feet. New technologies that let natural-gas producers drill horizontally and fracture the rock formations with injections of water, sand and chemicals account for the increase, Newell said. Last year’s long-term outlook predicted annual shale-gas production would rise to 6 trillion cubic feet by 2035, Newell said. The updated forecast is 12 trillion cubic feet, he said. (Bloomberg, 12/16/10)
- DOE sees rapid growth in natural gas: The Energy Department foresees a rapid growth in natural gas production over the next 25 years, according to a report from its statistical arm Thursday. … The greatest chunk of that should come from shale gas, which has already increased production 14-fold over the last decade. (Politico, 12/16/10)
- EIA projects huge growth in U.S. shale: New information gleaned from drilling activity in the United States reveals shale gas reserves are about twice as abundant as previously thought, the EIA said. The U.S. Energy Information Agency said in its 2011 outlook that it projects technically recoverable unproven shale gas reserves sit at 827 trillion cubic feet, 474 trillion cf larger than the previous year’s outlook. … “Our reference case projection shows the growing importance of natural gas from domestic shale gas resources in meeting U.S. energy demand and lowering natural gas prices,” said EIA Administrator Richard Newell in a statement. (UPI, 12/17/10)
But despite the fact that fracturing and expanded shale gas production is putting the United States on stronger economic footing and helping to slash greenhouse gas emissions, some in Washington remain committed to thwarting this positive progess, and the tens of thousands of good-paying jobs being created through this production. And here’s what academics and editorial pages are saying about responsible shale gas production enabled by tightly-regulated, environmentally proven fracturing technologies:
- EPA’s costly rules will cost jobs and setback nation’s economic recovery: Private industry needs the freedom to innovate and discover new technologies. Over the past five years, oil and natural gas companies have developed safe and efficient techniques to drill through shale. Through a combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, companies can now reach enormous deposits of natural gas in Appalachia, Texas, Louisiana and other regions of the country. And some of the same techniques are now being used to access large deposits of oil in western North Dakota. (Lexington Herald-Leader Op-Ed, 12/17/10)
- The Madness of New York. Shale drilling relies on hydraulic fracturing, the process of blasting a solution that is 99% water and sand (less than 1% chemicals) into rock to release gas deposits. Fracking has been commercially viable since 1949 and is responsible for 30% of domestic oil and gas production. The recent advances in shale gas have come from combining fracking with “horizontal” drilling, which permits wells to move laterally under the surface. Horizontal fracking lets the industry get much more energy out of one well. The industry uses steel casing and cement to prevent fracking fluid from polluting wells and underground reservoirs. … While energy exploration is never risk-free, the Ground Water Council hasn’t found a single documented case of fracking having polluted local ground water. (Wall Street Journal, Editorial, 12/16/10)
- Energy independence remains elusive goal?: Tom Ridge spoke last week at a University of Tulsa energy forum. He made natural gas the grand marshal of the parade. The former PA governor is driving a float in the parade through his involvement with the Marcellus Shale, the exciting but controversial source of natural gas in his home state. … Less dependence means less leverage by Mideast bullies. Less dependence on foreign oil means more dependence on American natural gas. President Obama and the Democratic Congress have marched away from independence with offshore drilling bans and hydraulic fracturing probes. Independence still isn’t enshrined in a national energy policy. (The Oklahoman Editorial, 12/15/10)
Reel Slanted: Split Estate Movie Long on Anecdote, Hyperbole; Short on Facts, Evidence
Docs, links, background on EPA order in Parker Co., TX
Statement from Range Resources [link]:
- “Based on our findings to date, it’s very clear that our activities have not had any impact on the water aquifer in southern Parker County or the subject water wells.”
- “Range’s wells are completed in the Barnett Shale formation which is over a mile below the water zone. The investigation has revealed that methane in the water aquifer existed long before our activity and likely is naturally occurring migration from several shallow gas zones immediately below the water aquifer.”
- Range VP Mike Middlebrook: “While the research indicates our activity did not cause any methane in any water well, we’re committed to doing the right thing and to continue to work with regulators to determine the cause and assist landowners. This is our home, too, and no one wants to make sure this is done right more than we do.”
Statement from Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) [link]:
- “The RRC began its investigation into this complaint on Aug. 6, 2010 after receiving the initial complaint. The RRC continues to actively investigate the area and the complaint … Throughout its investigation, the Commission staff has shared data cooperatively with EPA staff.”
- RRC chairman Victor Carrillo: “As I repeatedly emphasized to EPA Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz last Friday, EPA’s actions are premature as the Railroad Commission continues to actively investigate this issue and has not yet determined the cause of the gas. This EPA action is unprecedented in Texas, and commissioners will consider all options as we move forward.”
- RRC commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones: “I disagree with EPA’s premature actions. The Commission bases its decisions on sound science and fact. If this is another EPA action designed to reach pre-determined conclusions and to generate headlines rather than conduct a successful environmental investigation, then the public is poorly served.”
- RRC commissioner Michael Williams: “The Railroad Commission has been on top of this issue from Day 1. We will continue to take all necessary action to protect Texas lakes, rivers and aquifers. Texans have no interest in Washington doing for Texas what it did for Louisiana fishermen.”
- Event timeline:
o Dec. 1: RRC meeting to discuss initial test findings with EPA postponed — by EPA itself;
o Dec. 3: RRC receives letter from Range; company notifies RRC of its plan to voluntarily conduct soil tests
o Dec. 7: Less than one week after postponing meeting with RRC, EPA issues “emergency” order based on claim that RRC “has not acted to protect” health of its constituents
Letter to RRC from Range Resources, Dec. 3, 2010 [link]:
- “[R]esearch shows the presence of multiple shallow formations which are gas bearing. Based on all of the test results available to Range (all which we have voluntarily made available to Mr. Lipsky through his counsel), we have yet to see any information that would indicate that the gas present in the Lipsky water well was cause by or contributed by any operations by Range or any other oil and gas operator in the area.”
- “In particular, while the gas in the Lipsky water well is thermogenic, its constituent analysis is far different than either the gas produced at the Butler #1-H and the gas analysis of the gas that was observed on the bradenhead.”
- “We are also aware anecdotally from multiple sources that gas was present in water wells in the area of the Lipsky property long before the drilling and completion of any Range well or any other well in the Newark East field, and that water wells in the area often show the presence of gas.”
Background on EPA Region 6 administrator Al Armendariz:
- Paid by Environmental Defense Fund to produce study on shale-related air emissions in Dallas-Fort Worth, which was subsequently debunked:
o BSEEC: “If [Armendariz’s] study’s conclusions were correct, then the Dallas-Fort Worth region would have seen a dramatic rise in ozone levels over the past several years during the time that the number of gas wells has grown … [This chart], using ozone data from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, shows that the opposite is true.”
- Starred in Josh Fox’s anti-gas polemic “GasLand,” which just this week was called a “piece of propaganda” by a New York Post columnist – reversing course from an earlier position in support of the film he took when it was first released. (see video here, 5:45)
- Served as “technical advisor” to several anti-energy organizations; remarkably, lists the following groups as “references” on his curriculum vitae:
o Environmental Defense Fund
o Sierra Club
o WildEarth Guardians
o Public Citizen
o Downwinders at Risk
- Soon after taking job as Region 6 administrator, was fêted with a “grassroots celebration” hosted by Downwinders at Risk and the Texas Oil & Gas Accountability Project, an event at which he showed up to speak.
Barrasso “The Lasso” Finds His Mark Once Again
In a letter today to Interior secretary Ken Salazar, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) underscores the fact that Wyoming, as well as other oil and natural gas producing states, are best equipped to effectively regulate hydraulic fracturing. The senator “opposes adding any burdensome, job killing federal regulations on American energy producers,” according to a press release from his office.
Barrasso, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources panel, writes this to the Interior secretary:
I oppose adding burdensome, new red-tape that will further discourage oil and gas production on public lands in the West.
The states have primary experience regulating oil and gas development, including hydraulic fracturing. Their regulations have defined the management structures to protect the environment. The State of Wyoming recently updated its oil and gas regulations to increase transparency for chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing.
Citing the fact that “Oil and natural gas production is critical to jobs and economic development in Wyoming and throughout the western United States,” the senator requests that the secretary answer these crucial questions promptly:
- What specific changes to existing federal onshore oil and natural gas policies is the Department of the Interior considering?
- Has the Department compiled existing state oil and gas regulations related to hydraulic fracturing?
- What substantive evidence has the Department collected to suggest the existing state and federal regulatory process does not adequately function?
- Will the Department commit to conducting an economic analysis prior to finalizing any changes to the federal onshore oil and natural gas program?
- Is the Department planning to solicit input from impacted state regulatory agencies and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission?
Sen. Barrasso isn’t alone in his fight to ensure that misguided federal laws and regulations do not undermine Wyoming’s economy, its workforce or our nation’s ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace.
At an Interior Department forum last Tuesday, entitled “Forum on Natural Gas Hydraulic Fracturing on Public Lands,” deputy secretary David Hayes said this in introducing forum panelist Tom Doll of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission:
And then we have Tom Doll who’s supervisor of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a position he’s held since March 2009 after being appointed by Governor Freudenthal.
He’s a veteran of Wyoming’s Soil and Gas Industry with more than 37 years of experience in engineering, project management and supervision in field operations, has a petroleum engineering degree from the University of Wyoming. And as you know, Wyoming has been a real leader in terms of disclosure issues and regulatory issues associated with hydraulic fracking.
Here are key excerpts from Mr. Doll’s remarks:
If we weren’t able to use hydraulic fracturing in the state of Wyoming, our wells would not be economic by any stretch of the imagination. These are tight reservoirs. They’re thin. They require hydraulic stimulation to be economic.
That would be, without hydraulic fracturing, that would be a negative impact on Wyoming’s economy. We gain tax revenues from severance ad valorem sales tax and other sources. And, in fact, my agency is funded completely from industry on a conservation tax.
Wyoming has no income tax and low property and sales taxes and so hydraulic fracturing is the reality and it means something to each individual in the state of Wyoming.
Since 1950s, when we got our oil and gas conservation commission set up, we have had no confirmed cases of ground water well contamination due to well stimulation in the state of Wyoming. We do require that we will approve federal wells via these applications for permit to drill and sundry notices prior to any work commencing on federal minerals as well. And our Web page provides all of our disclosure information for the public.
Energy In Depth, for its part, is also working aggressively to inform elected officials, concerned citizens, and other key stakeholders of fracturing’s long and clear record of environmental safety, as well as the key role that this tightly regulated technology will continue to play in meeting our nation’s increasing energy needs.
Under the headline “With fracturing, energy security is on the horizon,” EID’s Chris Tucker writes this in today’s The Oklahoman:
An energy revolution is under way in the U.S. thanks to hydraulic fracturing, a 60-year-old oil and natural gas stimulation technology that — coupled with advancement in horizontal drilling — is making the development of energy from underground shale formations economical for the first time. … The U.S. State Department is aggressively promoting shale gas exploration throughout Asia and Europe as a way to reduce global carbon emissions.
While one bureaucracy in Washington is promoting natural gas abroad, another is angling to hamstring production at home, citing claims that it contaminates groundwater. Despite how fracturing has been portrayed in Hollywood and by some national media, it’s been tightly regulated by energy-producing states for more than six decades, and safely used more than 1.1 million times without impacting groundwater. Top EPA officials have confirmed this fact.
For decades, politicians have touted “energy independence.” As modern shale gas development continues to expand, energy security is now truly on the horizon. Oklahomans reside atop the Woodford Shale, whose development has contributed ample jobs and revenue to the state. Even President Obama recently cited natural gas as an area for congressional bipartisanship.
Let’s hope for the sake of Oklahoma — and for the nation — that EPA abandons misguided regulations that won’t provide any additional environmental benefits.
ICYMI — EID Live-Blogs Interior Dept. Forum on Hydraulic Fracturing
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Energy In Depth sweated it out at U.S. Dept. of Interior’s forum on “Natural Gas Hydraulic Fracturing on Public Lands” – not because we were nervous, but because the room was outrageously hot – and provided a real-time stream of live updates to our more than 1,300 Twitter followers. While this isn’t the first time we’ve live-blogged and fact-checked in real-time, yesterday’s event did thankfully include actual oil and natural gas production experts who understand the critical role that hydraulic fracturing continues to play for our nation’s economy, overall energy security, and increasingly, our environment.
Below is a transcript of the afternoon’s proceedings (official transcript available here):
- Tweeting from Interior Dept.’s Forum on Natural Gas Hydraulic Fracturing on Public Lands. Live stream: http://tinyurl.com/39b6fng.
- Salazar: Natural gas is clean, abundant, and American. Forum: http://tinyurl.com/39b6fng.
- Salazar: BLM will roll out regs on disclosure. Forum: http://tinyurl.com/39b6fng.
- Browner: Nat gas is a tremendous opportunity for our country; will drive down dependence on foreign oil.
- Browner: There’s broad bipartisan support for increased domestic nat. gas production.
- BJs Services panelist says company adheres to highest environmental practices; doesn’t tolerate leaks.
- BJs Services panelist: we endorse GWPC disclosure framework.
- BJs Services: frac fluid made up of more than 99 water/sand; very small amount is pet. distillates.
- Exxon panelist: XOM largest nat gas producer in the US; proud to play leading role
- XOM panelist: working on workable system on disclosure; states (CO, WY), GWPC — state regulators best positioned to handle fracturing
- XOM expert: expanded nat gas access can be balanced w/ the envir., ecosystem
- XOM expert: energy future will be sustainable when it’s based on free market forces, not govt picking winners-losers
- Anadarko expert: 90 percent of nation’s gas wells require fracturing
- APC expert: nat gas is domestically abundant, which means stable supplies, and we can avoid price spikes
- APC expert: we place a priority on protecting groundwater by placing impenetrable steel pipes in the ground
- APC: American natural gas has helped put 3 million folks to work
- APC expert: hydraulic fracturing is a safe, proven and highly regulated process
- APC expert: steel pipe is cemented information; fluid or gas cannot communicate w/ groundwater
- NRDC exec dir: says they want HF disclosure. Has he visited Energyindepth.org, or seen HALs, RRCs, EQTs, Chiefs, etc. sites?
- NRDC: we are very broadly supportive of nat gas (hey, we’ll take it)
- Trout Unlimited: we support natural gas production on public lands, if done right.
- Trout Unlimited cites need to recycle, manage water withdrawal. He should know PA shale gas producers recycle more than 80 percent of water
- Question on well design/casing: APC expert says we protect groundwater at all possible costs, follow API cement specifications
- XOM follows up: state by state regs ensure casing goes well below fresh groundwater
Jobs, affordable energy and robust economic development – that’s what New York will be leaving on the table if Governor Paterson signs symbolic legislation into law that would effectively ban the basic technologies needed to deliver clean-burning natural gas resources to the folks who need them. That’s our position on the matter – and it’s also the position of New York state assemblyman Michael Benjamin, Democrat from the Bronx.
In a letter he sent this week to the governor, Asm. Benjamin makes reference to the growing economic development and jobs being created just across the border in Pennsylvania.
New York could also benefit by taking a page from Pennsylvania’s book when it comes finding a revenue stream to hire additional inspectors and regulators to oversee Marcellus development. In Pennsylvania, the natural gas industry worked with the state Department of Environmental Protection and proactively agreed to increase permitting fees from $100 to about $4,000 per well so that additional inspectors and engineers could be hired, at no expense to the taxpayer, to regulate all aspects of the industry.
Hats off to Assemblyman Benjamin for standing up at an important time to serve as the voice of reason in a debate that’s often lacked facts and basic civility. Here’s to hoping the governor sees the many benefits of responsible production and heeds the advice laid out in the letter below.
November 30, 2010
Governor David Paterson
Executive Chamber
Albany, NY 12224
Dear Governor Paterson:
I strongly urge you to veto A.11433-B/S.8129-B, which would suspend hydraulic fracturing for the extraction of natural gas or oil until May 15, 2011. This bill is flawed because it is overbroad and will cause an unnecessary halt to gas exploration in Western NY and areas outside the Marcellus Shale. I am opposed to a moratorium on hydrofracking in New York. I believe that natural gas exploration will provide our State with desperately needed jobs in these tough economic times. To arbitrarily suspend drilling without any evidence of danger to our water supply would not be in the best interest of our economy. I believe that New York’s current regulations, along with pending DEC rule changes, are sufficient to protect New York’s natural resources and to prudently dispose of wastewater.
In addition to the state DEC and EPA reviews already underway, there is a de facto moratorium on natural gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale because funding for 29 additional DEC inspectors was not included in the FY 2010-2011 state budget. Without the added inspectors, no new permits can be issued for expanded natural gas exploration in the Southern Tier, which makes this legislation redundant. In addition, recent budget cuts have decimated DEC and will slow the permitting process for new and existing wells.
If passed, these bills will act as an unnecessary deterrent to New York’s ability to keep and create jobs, and provide cheaper natural gas to our residents. Today, I received an email from Mr. John Holko, President of Lenape Resources, Inc., who informed me that a blanket moratorium on natural gas exploration will force his company to close. Mr. Holko’s assertion supports a study by the American Petroleum Institute that found in 2009 alone, natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale yielded 57,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It also found that New York’s reluctance to exploit the Marcellus Shale has already resulted in $11 billion in lost economic output. This figure is staggering considering our current fiscal situation.
Instead of passing legislative impediments, we should allow the DEC to continue to revise regulations for exploration in the Marcellus Shale area. Once the DEC’s review is released, we will have a greater understanding of the impact of hydraulic fracturing on the quality of the local water supply and the surrounding environment. Until then, I recommend that we avoid a rash and unnecessary moratorium that will undoubtedly impact this important economic opportunity. Instead, we should protect our future by becoming less dependent on foreign sources of energy, while we continue to develop alternative energy sources in America. And New York can be a leader in the safe extraction of natural gas.
For the aforementioned reasons, I strongly urge you to veto A.11433-B/S.8129-B.
Sincerely,
Michael Benjamin
Member of Assembly
What’s worse than a lame-duck vote on a bill to impede Marcellus development in New York? A lame-duck vote in the middle of the night.
It turns out your mother was right all along: Nothing good ever happens after midnight.
Of course, when it comes to state legislature in Albany, it’s not entirely clear that much good happens before it either. Monday night, at around 11:30 p.m. EST, the New York State Assembly signed-off on legislation seeking to install a six-month ban on “the issuance of new permits for the drilling of a well which utilizes the practice of hydraulic fracturing.” The late-night, lame-duck vote follows passage of the same bill in the New York State Senate in August – remarkably, a debate that was held even later in the evening than the Assembly had to endure this week.
Which got us to wondering: Why do you think it is these guys insist on taking up sweeping moratoria bills in the dead of the night, while the vast majority of their constituents are fast asleep? Although we can’t say for sure, one of the reasons may be that the legislation in question is so slapdash in its construction that, if it actually were to ever take effect, virtually all oil and natural gas development in New York could come to a halt – irrespective of which formations are being targeted. Our friends at ProPublica (!) made precisely this point back in August when the State Senate initially passed the bill:
| But the language in the final bill … does not differentiate between the different ways hydraulic fracturing can be used. It appears to be a blanket prohibition that would also stop hydraulic fracturing in New York’s many vertical oil and gas wells and would apply to drilling in geologic formations outside the Marcellus. |
Just in case you’re scoring at home, there are more than 6,700 producing natural gas wells currently in service in New York, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and about 5,000 producing oil wells. Just about every one of them requires fracture stimulation technology to remain a viable source of energy. And they also require workers. So how many folks might lose their job if this bill successfully initiates a coup de grâce on oil and gas in New York? According to the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York (IOGA), the impact would be far from insignificant – especially at a time when more than 900,000 New Yorkers are already out of work:
| [IOGA] warned that the legislation as written could halt hydraulic fracturing already going on elsewhere in the state. … If that were to happen, the group said, it could jeopardize 5,000 industry jobs and the $1 million in annual revenue that the state collects from drilling permit fees. … “The governor must be made to understand the vast unintended consequences and act quickly to reject this needless legislation,” Brad Gill, executive director of the trade group, said. |
It’s a sad turn of events for a state that’s been producing natural gas since the second-term of the Monroe administration – and especially difficult to understand when one considers New York consumes more natural gas than every state in the Union save California and Texas. Maybe that’s why its per-capita CO2 emissions are the lowest in the nation as well. But you know what? Ninety-five percent of New York’s natural gas has to be pipelined-in from someplace else, mostly the Gulf Coast and Canada. And if this bill ends up being signed into law, it’d be tough to imagine that number not climbing up to 100 percent pretty soon thereafter.
But wait a second: Maybe we’re being a bit too pessimistic in appraising the actual impact of this legislation. And maybe we’re being a bit too complimentary of the opposition in suggesting this bill represents a dispositive (and fatal) development at a time when DEC is still actively working to finalize its draft regulations.
Take a look at the language of the moratorium bill once again: “This act shall …expire and be deemed repealed on May 15, 2011.” So basically we’re dealing with a bill that bans the development of the Marcellus at a time when the development of the Marcellus was already effectively halted, pending the release of DEC’s final regulatory framework.
And of course, no one believed that DEC was going to release that final document before May anyway – not with a new governor coming in, and an entirely new leadership team installed atop the agency. “We already have a de facto moratorium on horizontal hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale, and as far as I’m concerned, this really was a big mistake from the beginning.” Another comment from Brad Gill and IOGA-NY, right? Actually, this statement comes from anti-shale activist Walter Hang in today’s Ithaca paper. For once, Walter, we agree with you.
The indefatigable Tom Shepstone, friend of Energy In Depth and an active exponent of responsible shale development in PA and NY, shares his analysis of what the New York Assembly vote actually means in practice:
| [Shale gas opponents] are obviously ecstatic but I’m not at all sure they should be. All evidence is that New York State is still acting in a pro-gas fashion … and a 6-month moratorium is essentially meaningless, as it will take that long for the … regs to go into place and a new Governor to put his stamp on the drilling process in New York. This is, indeed, classic New York State politics – demagoguery that masks actions of precisely the opposite effect. |
Practical effects aside, though, the message that Albany sent this week is that “New York State is closed for business,” according to Democratic Asm. Michael Benjamin, who represents a district in the Bronx and views the responsible development of the Marcellus in the Southern Tier as an important stream of revenue for the state and a potential source of good-paying jobs for his constituents. And of course, he’s right. But then, the other side’s got good arguments too, right? Here’s how Asm. Robert Castelli, Republican from Westchester County, justified his pro-moratorium vote to the Ithaca Journal: “Our environment should not be reducing the protection of the environment to the level of a political football.” Unfortunately, no English translation was available.
So what happens next? Unfortunately, the outgoing governor appears poised to sign this ramshackle bill into law later this month, hoping against hope that this single act initiates a rapprochement with the special interest groups that blasted him apart following the abrupt dismissal of DEC commissioner Pete Grannis. And hey, there’s already some evidence out there indicating this may be a smart move for him politically. Keep in mind, the bill hasn’t even been signed yet. But that didn’t stop activists from Catskill Citizens for Safe [read: “No”] Energy from projecting what Gov. Paterson’s legacy will be if it is:
| By signing this bill, Governor Paterson will cement his reputation as the first Governor in the country to protect his citizens from the precipitous onslaught of dangerous and poorly regulated shale gas extraction. |
Yeah, we get it: tough economic times out there, and who can blame a man who’s just looking for his next job? But you know who else is looking for work right now? More than 900,000 of the governor’s fellow New Yorkers – some of whom could extricate themselves from the unemployment rolls tomorrow if the development of the trillion-dollar resource known as the Marcellus Shale was allowed to commence today. Isn’t it about time for Albany to stand up and represent those folks’ interests as well?
What You Should Know: Tomorrow’s Dept. of Interior Forum on Hydraulic Fracturing
Tomorrow, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) – which oversees energy development on federal, taxpayer-owned land – will hold a forum focused on the 60 year-old oil and natural gas stimulation technology called hydraulic fracturing. This from DOI on the forum entitled “Natural Gas Hydraulic Fracturing on Public Lands,” which is set to go live at 1pm tomorrow:
As recently as November 3, 2010, President Obama reiterated his commitment to the development of natural gas resources. The Department of the Interior shares that commitment and wants to ensure that natural gas is developed in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner so that the U.S. can fully realize the economic, security, and environmental benefits of this important energy resource.
Energy In Depth will be on site, live-blogging the forum via our Twitter page, ensuring that the facts about this critical technology, and its long and clear record of environmental safety, are echoed and reinforced.
That said, it’s important for folks to understand how transformational – from an economic, environmental, energy security and geopolitical standpoint – this technology is, has and continues to be for our nation. Here’s a quick run-down about what they’re saying about fracture stimulation from the past few days:
- Don’t halt ‘fracking,’ gas group says: The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York says the moratorium, which currently is under consideration by the state Assembly, would halt most gas and oil drilling currently allowed. The group also says the proposed moratorium has flaws that would harm the state’s entire gas and oil industry. … The Independent Oil and Gas Association says the moratorium would bar safe drilling, result in the loss of 5,000 jobs and jeopardize $1 million in annual revenue the state collects in fees for traditional drilling permits. “The members of the Assembly must understand that (the proposed moratorium) would jeopardize an industry that has operated safely in New York for more than 100 years and employs more than 5,000 people today,” said Brad Gill, executive director of the association. “We hope the Assembly will allow the DEC to complete its review of the state’s regulations governing high-volume fracturing and not cave to the smear campaign being waged by radical opponents against the people of our industry.” (Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman, 11/27/10)
- IGOA-NY: Assembly bill on hydrofracking would harm NY businesses: An Assembly bill to place a moratorium on oil and gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing will do significant harm to all of New York. The bill has several technical flaws. As written, it would halt a vast majority of the oil and gas drilling currently allowed in New York, which means the jobs of 5,000 New Yorkers would be in jeopardy and the 300-plus companies who employ those people would likely be forced out of business. (Syracuse Post-Standard, Brad Gill, 11/28/10)
- Louisiana Editorial: Exploration – balance a must. Perhaps there have been too few stories of the jobs and other economic advantages and gestures of good will that often accompany oil and natural gas enterprises — from energy workers renovating a farmhouse at a wildlife refuge to new roads and bridges, teacher raises, or charitable donations and bequests to churches and nonprofits. For every story of hazard or greed, there’s another of helpfulness and philanthropy, especially in the two years since the discovery of the Haynesville Shale reworked this area’s landscape. (Shreveport Times Editorial, 11/28/10)
- Wyo. Editorial: State should be thankful for better economy: New jobs numbers for Wyoming are positive, a good sign that as we celebrate Thanksgiving today, things are looking brighter for many families while our state continues to recover from the recession. Tax revenues that fund state government are also up, which bodes well for several job sectors in Wyoming. … The increased oil and gas activity has also hiked mineral severance taxes and royalties paid to the state. (Casper Star-Tribune Editorial, 11/25/10)
- PA Paper: Businesses are booming, and unemployment has steadily decreased this year: Some businesses are booming, and unemployment has steadily decreased this year, due in part to the gas industry. … Chesapeake alone employs about 40,000 in the United States. It has 1,200 employees in Pennsylvania. Of those jobs, 500 are local and not drilling positions, Grove said. … “It’s a broader range of jobs, from blue collar to white collar,” Grove said. “The drilling part is big and unique.” … Stacie Schearer, a staffing specialist for Halliburton, was at a recent career day at Milton Area High School, handing out information to students about possible gas-drilling careers. (Daily Item, 11/28/10)
- Wyoming job growth gains momentum: Wyoming’s economy continues to mend, adding 3,000 nonfarm jobs in October compared to a year earlier. In figures released Tuesday by the Research and Planning Section of the state Department of Employment, the natural resources and mining sector, including oil and gas, proved to be the biggest gainer. It added 3,100 jobs, or an increase of 12.8 percent, from October 2009, marking the fifth straight month of improvement. (Billings Gazette, 11/23/10)
In a recent white paper analysis, under the headline “Hydraulic Fracturing the Key to Michigan’s Energy Future,” Russ Harding of the Midland, Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy writes that hydraulic fracturing has “been done safely and without environmental damage in America dating back to the 1940s.”
Harding — who served as director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality from 1995 through 2002, having previously held senior management posts in environmental and natural resources departments in Arizona, Alaska and Missouri — writes this in his analysis about hydraulic fracturing’s long and clear record of environmental safety:
Fracking is the process of creating fissures in underground formations to allow natural gas to flow. Horizontal drilling is utilized to access deep shale formations that contain natural gas. Fluid comprised of 99 percent water and sand and containing small amounts of chemicals found in common consumer products is injected into formations to create fissures from which the natural gas can be economically recovered. The wells are encased in multiple layers of steel and surrounded by cement to protect groundwater.
But natural gas development activities, including fracking, are already subject to several federal and state environmental laws. Regulators at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment should be allowed to do their job without political interference. Fracking operations to recover natural gas have been done safely and without environmental damage in America dating back to the 1940s.
Safely developing the country’s vast natural gas reserves is critical to both the nation’s economy and national security. It is also important to hold the oil and gas industry to the highest safety and environmental standards in developing deep shale reserves. Oil and gas development is never 100 percent free from environmental risk, but fracking has proven to be a safe and effective technology in helping to meet the nation’s energy needs. Efforts to prevent use of the technology by overregulation will increase energy costs and decrease jobs.
But Mr. Harding isn’t alone in his efforts to better inform and educate folks about the overwhelmingly positive economic, environmental and national security benefits associated with domestic oil and natural gas production enable by fracture stimulation technologies. Here’s what other scientific experts are saying about fracturing and job-creating domestic energy development:
- Western PA Geologist: “The scientific facts of geology and drilling are not a mystery, something of which they appear not to have an understanding. Commencing in 1859 at Titusville, Pa., there have been some 350,000 oil and gas wells drilled in Pennsylvania, long before the discovery of the Marcellus gas play in 2004. … There has not been one documented public death or health issue due to the drilling, fracking and extraction process for hydrocarbons. The council’s vote is a vote against science, knowledge and being educated about things they just don’t want to understand. If council is so concerned about the chemicals in the fracking process, they should first look at the household chemicals used in their own homes. (Post-Gazette, 11/21/10)
- Texas Alliance of Energy Producers’ Alex Mills: “The truth is states have regulated hydraulic fracturing since the 1950s and there has never been an incident of ground water pollution caused by a frac. These facts were conveniently left out of her report. EPA is in the process of doing another study of hydraulic fracturing, but this will be the second in recent years. The first found no pollution of ground water from fracturing. (San Angelo Standard Times, 11/19/10)
- Marcellus Shale Coalition’s Kathryn Klaber: “Your readers should understand that fracturing fluids are 99.5 percent water and sand, with a fraction of additives used to reduce friction in the well bore and to kill bacteria (all components are listed on the state DEP’s website). These fluids have never impacted groundwater, a fact that has been confirmed by DEP Secretary John Hanger. The shale-gas industry – which, according to experts at Penn State, will have helped create 88,000 jobs in the commonwealth by year’s end – is committed to responsibly ensuring that we maximize the economic, energy security, and environmental benefits of the Marcellus Shale for all Pennsylvanians. We are devoted to getting this opportunity right. Our industry is taking commonsense steps to ensure that groundwater is protected and that responsible Marcellus development will continue to help put tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians to work. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/20/10)
Given these facts, it’s no wonder why film critic (not the bourbon) Evan Williams of The Australian writes this in a critique of the anti-clean-burning natural gas development film Gasland:
I wish I could say that GasLand is a well-made film, that it does justice to its story. But it doesn’t. It has all the hallmarks of today’s self-consciously improvised documentary style: erratic camera work, jerky editing, tiresomely repetitive shots of unrolling backwoods highways, all accompanied by bursts of hillbilly music. No shot of a rig is too blurred or unsteady to be cut. … GasLand would have been a more powerful and effective film had Fox shown more professional discipline and the opposing arguments had at least been heard
Clean Meets Green: U.S. Natural Gas Production Helping to Slash CO2, Create American Jobs
From Williamsport to Watford City: Thanks to HF, “Anyone in the region who wants a job can find one”
Thanks to advancements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology, America’s oil and natural gas industry is doing its part to put folks back to work by leveraging our nation’s vast energy reserves into jobs, revenue and opportunity for those who need it. Whether it’s natural gas from the Marcellus or oil from the Bakken, thousands of jobs are being created, local economies are suddenly flourishing and America is strengthening its energy security by the day.
At a public hearing yesterday (click HERE for video) in Williamsport, Pa., members of the state senate heard from local economic and workforce development officials on the economic impact that the natural gas industry is having on the state’s economy. Larry Michael, executive director of Penn College’s Workforce & Economic Development program, summed it up best in this morning’s Williamsport Sun-Gazette:
“We believe that the economic and workforce opportunities are huge,” he said. “The magnitude of this opportunity will not only transform this region of the state but will provide the foundation resources to greatly enhance the overall economic health and job creation opportunities of the commonwealth.”
Industry representatives testifying at the hearing laid out in detail the number of jobs being created:
Perry Harris, northeast U.S. district manager of Halliburton, said the company has 750 state residents on its payroll and is looking for new workers every day. He noted recent development by the company with its facility near Montgomery, where 181 people are employed, and more will be hired.
Michael Narcavage, manager of corporate development for the Chesapeake Energy Corp., said… In the past year, the company has expanded its statewide workforce from about 250 full-time personnel to more than 1,100, many of those jobs in Bradford County, where the majority of the company’s operations are located.
Just to the west of Williamsport in Clinton County, the Lock Haven Express reports today that hundreds of new jobs have arrived in their community as well, thanks entirely to the responsible development of shale gas:
The Marcellus Shale natural gas play dominated Wednesday’s Clinton County Economic Partnership meeting. Partnership President and CEO Mike Flanagan reported about a dozen Marcellus gas-related companies have located in Clinton County, resulting in 200 new direct jobs and having a positive, indirect impact on trucking and construction-related companies in the area.
So what’s at stake if Washington moves to halt or restrict the use of HF?
U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), senior member of the Energy and Natural Resources panel, summed it up best yesterday on the Senate floor: Domestic oil and gas development “will stop very quickly if we can’t continue what is called hydraulic fracturing”
Click HERE to watch this speech
“There is up to 4.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil using today’s technology [in the Bakken formation], according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That, plus the gas shale plays in much of the country and others, we’re beginning to produce a bit more oil and gas at this point in the country. That will stop very quickly if we can’t continue what is called hydraulic fracturing. That’s a big problem that we have to deal with.”
He went on to defend the safety record of 60-year-old fracturing technology, citing its importance to all states that rely on the successful production of our nation’s natural resources:
“I think most of us in this Senate who come from areas where we produce this fossil energy believe that [hydraulic fracturing] has been done for 50 years without a problem and now it is under some siege. … But we need to continue — and we will — with the production of oil in this country and natural gas.”
Clean Meets Green: U.S. Natural Gas Production Helping to Slash CO2, Create American Jobs
How does the United States start down the path of seriously addressing its nation’s energy crisis, reduce its deep and growing dependence on unstable regions of the world for energy, and at the same time maintain our competitive edge in the global marketplace? And oh, how do we put tens of thousands of Americans back to work who are struggling during one of the most drawn out economic downturns in a generation?
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60 Minutes Takes a Look at Critical 60 Year Old Energy Technology
“It’s an American energy renaissance”
“Shale Gas Drilling: Pros & Cons,” was the title that CBS’s Lesley Stahl went with in her 60 Minutes segment last night on natural gas development in America from shale rock formations that have been around for hundreds of millions of years. Thanks to advancements in horizontal drilling technologies coupled with the 60 year old energy stimulation process called hydraulic fracturing, natural gas is not longer “the ugly stepchild of our national energy debate.”
In a Wilkes Barre Times-Leader story today, under the headline “TV report focuses on gas drilling,” Energy In Depth weighs-in on last night’s CBS segment:
Chris Tucker, of EnergyInDepth.org, an organization that promotes the benefits of natural gas drilling, said the segment was “fairly balanced,” although the show didn’t get everything right.
“I think they did a great job of telling the story of real people, everyday people, all across the country whose lives have changed for the better thanks to the development of this clean, American resource,” Tucker said.
“They didn’t quite get it right when they attempted to venture into the regulatory history of hydraulic fracturing. The reality is that fracturing technology is among the most thoroughly regulated procedures that takes place at the wellsite, which is a big reason why it’s been able to compile such a solid record of safety and performance over the past 60 years of commercial use.”
Here are key experts from the CBS segment:
On America’s Abundance
- What is increasingly evident is that shale gas is overwhelmingly abundant right here in the U.S.A. “In the last few years, we’ve discovered the equivalent of two Saudi Arabias of oil in the form of natural gas in the United States. Not one, but two,” Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of Chesapeake Energy, told “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl. “Wait, we have twice as much natural gas in this country, is that what you’re saying, than they have oil in Saudi Arabia?” Stahl asked. “I’m trying to very clearly say exactly that,” he replied.
On the Economic Promise
- Some 10,000 wells will be drilled in northwest Louisiana, in some of the poorest communities in the country, where impoverished farmers are becoming overnight millionaires as they lease their land for drilling. “I never dreamed of money like this,” C.B. Leatherwood told Stahl. ” Leatherwood, a retired oil field worker, got a bundle to drill under his farm: $434,000. His cousin, Mike Smith, also profited: he was paid nearly $2 million.
- They actually call them “shaleionaires,” and they don’t mind putting up with the noisy, smelly drilling when the wells are built because they get a cut of the profits, which could last for years and add up to millions more. Last year, shale drilling generated almost $6 billion in Louisiana in new household earnings. As the rest of the nation plunged into a recession, the region added over 57,000 local jobs, and the Cadillac dealership in town is hopping.
On Hydraulic Fracturing
- The other technology is hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” where millions of gallons of water, mixed with sand and chemicals, are pumped down the well at enormous pressure. “We break the rock. We fracture the rock. And that stimulates the ability of the gas to flow into the well bore, where we can flow it to the surface and sell it,” Duginski explained to Stahl.
- “But fresh water aquifers are only from the surface to about one thousand feet below the surface of the earth, okay? We are fracking wells at depths of 7, 8, 10, 12 thousand feet. Okay? So there is almost two miles of rock between where we are active and where fresh water is drawn from,” McClendon said.
However, there’s some outstanding facts that didn’t make it into last night’s segment. For instance, Sierra Club’s Michael Brune claims that natural gas production is “under-regulated,” and that “the first thing that the industry should do is disclose what chemicals are being used in fracking.” “The 2005 energy bill completely exempted the natural gas industry and fracking technology from any regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. It’s an outrage,” continues Mr. Brune.
But here are several critical facts that CBS viewers, and Mr. Brune, should be aware of:
- FACT: Hydraulic fracturing has never been regulated by the federal government or the EPA or under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This technology, however, is ably and tightly regulated by individual energy-producing states. Far from being “pushed through Congress by Dick Cheney,” the Energy Policy Act of 2005 earned the support of nearly three-quarters of the U.S. Senate (74 “yea” votes), including the top Democrat on the Energy Committee; current Interior secretary Ken Salazar, then a senator from Colorado; and a former junior senator from Illinois named Barack Obama. In the U.S. House, 75 Democrats joined 200 Republicans in supporting the final bill, including the top Democratic members on both the Energy & Commerce and Resources Committees.
- FACT: Natural gas development is regulated under the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Superfund law.
- FACT: Fluids used in the fracturing process – made up of more than 99.5 percent water and sand – are readily available to the public. Pursuant to federal law, these fluids must be available at every wellsite nationwide. Additionally, state regulators list these additives online, including Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Environmental Protection. Further, a host of energy companies and service providers have disclosed these additives (see Halliburton, Range Resources, Chief Oil & Gas, just to name a few).
How does the United States start down the path of seriously addressing its nation’s energy crisis, reduce its deep and growing dependence on unstable regions of the world for energy, and at the same time maintain our competitive edge in the global marketplace? And oh, how do we put tens of thousands of Americans back to work who are struggling during one of the most drawn out economic downturns in a generation?
Loaded question, you say. In reality though, because of the 60 year old oil and natural gas stimulation technology called hydraulic fracturing – coupled with advancements in horizontal drilling techniques – these difficult and long-debated national problems are being addressed before our eyes.
Here’s what they saying about job-creating unconventional oil and natural gas production in America enable by fracture stimulation technologies:
Hollywood, National Media “Trying to make an issue out of something we’ve been doing since the 1940s”
- “There is no Bakken without hydraulic fracturing”: Engineers have used fracking to increase well production for more than 60 years, but it has become especially effective recently in combination with horizontal drilling and other technological developments. … Industry officials insist the process is environmentally sound and provides a windfall to land and mineral rights owners who otherwise wouldn’t see their properties fully developed. … “It’s a little bit frightening that the national media and Hollywood are trying to make an issue out of something we’ve been doing since the 1940s,” said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. “In North Dakota, hydraulic fracturing goes on at a depth of two miles beneath the surface, and they have yet to find any clear evidence of an issue” concerning impact on ground water, he said. Ness said the “rhetoric” concerning fracking “is something of an attack on fossil fuels.” … “The bottom line is there is no Bakken without hydraulic fracturing.” … “The states have regulated this process for decades,” he said. “The EPA has never proven to be as effective at regulating as the states, and we have one of the top regulatory agencies in the nation.” (Grand Forks Herald, 11/17/10)
- Utah Lawmaker: “Students should learn that the [fracturing] practice is safe”: Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, recommended sending the video to environmental groups that deal in “misinformation.” He dismissed growing concerns about the chemical drilling injection known as “fracking” for natural-gas production. Draxler said the full Oklahoma video does address fracking and Utah students should learn that the practice is safe. “It’s just a public perception problem,” he said. (Salt Lake Tribune, 11/18/10)
- Why Here, Why Now, Is it Safe: The oil and gas industry steadfastly defends the process of Hydro Fracturing as having been proven safe over many years as well as necessary to keep the nation on a path to energy independence. Studies have “consistently shown that the risks are managed, it’s safe, it’s a technology that’s essential … it’s also a technology that’s well-regulated,” said Lee Fuller, director of the industry coalition Energy In Depth. Just several years ago, an EPA study declared the fracking process posed “little or no threat to underground sources of drinking water.” (Press & Sun-Bulletin Op-Ed, 11/15/10)
- “Natural gas key to solving energy woes; Shale revolution to open up vast quantities”: John Richels, chief executive of Devon Energy, showed the audience a small piece of black rock that’s the source of controversy over extraction of natural gas through a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing or fracking. To the industry, fracking is the key to unlocking vast reserves of gas hidden in the dense rock. … Richels said more than one million wells have been drilled using the technique and resistance has been mostly from places not familiar with energy drilling. (The Oklahoman, 11/17/10)
A Cleaner, More Secure Energy Future
- “U.S. can slash carbon emissions with natural gas: report”: The shale gas boom could help the United States reduce greenhouse gas emissions even if Congress does not pass broad climate legislation, according to a Deutsche Bank report. U.S. natural gas prices have fallen sharply over the last two years as supplies expanded due to the unexpectedly swift development of technologies to tap the fuel in shale formations a mile or more underground. Lower natural gas costs have also already helped raise the proportion of U.S. electricity generated from the fuel to 23 percent from 20 percent two years ago. (Reuters, 11/17/10)
- U. of MD Environmental Researcher: “A sensible shale gas policy”: Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and other Appalachian states all have a rich vein of Marcellus shale, buried thousands of feet underground. Locked in the shale is a huge quantity of natural gas. Combining two technologies — hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling — allows energy companies to free these valuable reserves. … In Pennsylvania and other Marcellus states, including Maryland, shale gas can be a boon — a catalyst of a clean, sustainable energy sector that creates lasting employment — as long as states don’t buy into the boom-town mentality. Controlled growth, embedded in a comprehensive plan for a clean energy sector, offers the best chance for states to see the economic benefits. … Natural gas is the cleanest of fossil fuels, causing only half as much CO2 emissions as coal burned in a power plant. It’s domestic, versatile and can enable a clean, sustainable energy sector. It’s too good to waste. (Baltimore Sun Op-Ed, 11/15/10)
Hundreds of Jobs in Rural America at a Time When They’re Most Needed
- “Texas gas firm opens Tunkhannock (PA) office”: Southwestern Energy, headquartered in Houston, Texas, will move its Northeastern Pennsylvania operations office from a rented space in Tunkhannock to a new office on state Route 92 in Lemon Township. The company does not yet have a solid timeline of when it anticipates the office will be completed, Appalachian Asset Manager John Nicholas said, but employees will move to temporary offices by the end of November. Nicholas said his company outgrew its leased offices, with 11 employees working in a space designed for six. He said the company anticipates 25 to 35 employees will work out of the new office as the company’s operations expand. … “You hear a lot of things about (gas industry) workers being imported from other places,” Nicholas said, “but today we have 11 people working there and there’s only one transfer from Alabama. The rest are local hires.” (Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, 11/11/10)
- Oh Canada: “Canadian fracturing firm plans 200 jobs in PA”: A Canadian gas well services firm plans to hire more than 200 people for a new complex being built in southwestern Pennsylvania to serve Marcellus Shale wells. Calfrac Well Services Corp., based in Calgary, Alberta provides hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as well as coiled tubing and cementing services for oil and gas well drillers. John Grisdale, president of the company’s U.S. operations says Calfrac is building a full-service facility in the Fayette Business Park in Georges Township, about 40 miles south of Pittsburgh. The facility should open late next year and Grisdale tells the Herald-Standard of Uniontown, “Our expectation is to add 200 or more jobs.” (Associated Press, 11/17/10)
GasLand director Josh Fox has big night over on MSNBC – but how much of what he said actually squares with the facts?
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Energy In Depth: Separating fact from fiction on hydraulic fracturing
Rocky-Mountain Lie: State of Colorado Debunks Josh Fox and GasLand
A longtime New York Times editor says Gasland is “one-sided, flawed,” and done “in the Michael Moore mode”. A “propagandist” is how the top environmental watchdog in Pennsylvania, Dept. of Environmental Protection secretary John Hanger, described Gasland’s Josh Fox. And the reviews just keep rolling in.
The latest one? This week the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) – yes, the official, state oil and gas regulatory body of Colorado, presided over by Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter – issued a document debunking a host of groundless claims lodged in the film Gasland, particularly about the 60 year old energy stimulation technology known as hydraulic fracturing.
For context, here’s COGCC’s chief mission:
- The efficient exploration and production of oil and gas resources in a manner consistent with the protection of public health, safety and welfare
- The prevention of waste
- The protection of mineral owners’ correlative rights
- The prevention and mitigation of adverse environmental impacts
Here are key experts from COGCC’s ‘Gasland Correction Document’:
- “[W]e concluded that Mike Markham’s and Renee McClure’s wells contained biogenic gas that was not related to oil and gas activity. Unfortunately, Gasland does not mention our McClure finding and dismisses our Markham finding out of hand.”
- “Indeed, the water well completion report for Mr. Markham’s well shows that it penetrated at least four different coal beds. The occurrence of methane in the coals of the Laramie Formation has been well documented … dating back more than 30 years.”
- “Based on these results, the COGCC has concluded that the gas seep on Ms. Bracken’s property resulted from the fermentation of organic matter by methanogenic bacteria. This is not uncommon in wetland areas, such as those that exist along West Divide Creek.”
Hydraulic fracturing – which has been safely used to stimulate oil and natural gas production in the United States more than 1.1 million times – has never been credibly proven to impact groundwater: not in Colorado, Pennsylvania, or in any other energy-producing state. And that’s no accident. This critical, proven and tightly regulated technology is effectively regulated by individual energy producing states. And without it, enormous amounts of job-creating, homegrown oil and natural gas reserves would remain out of reach. Understand that, and now you understand the true motivation of Josh Fox.
Fact-Check: Joe Sestak’s Claims on HF, Marcellus Jobs Conflict with Reality
EID Reinforces the Imperative to Continue to “Let states handle fracking” Effectively
As the debate over responsible oil and natural gas development continues, particularly as it relates to the 60 year old process called hydraulic fracturing – the critical technology used more than 1.1 million times nationally in energy-producing states without ever impacting groundwater – Energy In Depth remains at the tip of the spear. In a Casper Star-Tribune letter to the editor today, EID’s executive director Lee Fuller writes this under the headline “Let states handle fracking”:
Tom Doll, supervisor of Wyoming’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, understands that hydraulic fracturing is an effective, environmentally sound and critical energy production technology. “The Commission has regulated hydraulic fracturing since 1954,” Mr. Doll, a petroleum engineer, has said. “Contrary to what has recently been in the press, the Commission has no documented cases of hydraulic fracturing negatively impacting ground water.”
What does Mr. Doll think about a one-size-fits all Washington, D.C., takeover of hydraulic fracturing currently being pursued by some in Congress? “We feel that we should administer our rules and regulate [fracturing] and we don’t need the help of the federal government in this regard,” Doll says, adding that states are “doing a good job.”
Wyoming, and a host of other energy-producing states, are doing a good job of regulating fracturing. Fracturing has been used to stimulate oil and natural gas production in more than 1.1 million wells since it came into commercial use in 1949 and it has never impacted or contaminated groundwater. The EPA, top state environmental regulators and a host of independent academics and energy experts have also confirmed this fact.
Mr. Fuller’s comments follow similar comments from the top energy production watchdog in North Dakota. This from the Minot Daily Times over the weekend:
“The Industrial Commission and the Department of Mineral Resources have made it no secret that we don’t think the EPA should regulate hydraulic fracturing. This is a way for the average citizen of North Dakota, if they feel that way or if they feel the opposite way, to voice their opinions to EPA,” Lynn Helms [director of the Department of Mineral Resources] said.
You see, individual states are best positioned and situated to regulate fracturing, as state regulators have the best ‘know-how’ of local and regional geology. And energy-producing states are taking commonsense steps to ensure that this process is tightly and effectively regulated. This from the Associated Press under the headline “Arkanasas board set to create rule on fracking”
Commission Director Larry Bengal says under the Arkansas rule, the operator would report the specific names and concentrations of the chemicals used during fracking. That information would be on the commission’s website. The rule also would require operators to provide information before starting the fracking process to prove that well casings can withstand pressure and won’t leak.
The hydraulic fracturing process uses millions of gallons of water, mixed with chemicals and sand, which are pumped at high pressure thousands of feet underground to create fissures in the rock — known as shale — and release the gas. According to the Oil and Gas Commission’s website, 99.5 percent of fracking fluid is sand and water. But small amounts of chemicals also are used to reduce bacteria buildup in the well, reduce friction and prevent corrosion.
This is a story of American ingenuity, driven by technological advancements. The results? Expanded access to reliable supplies of homegrown oil and natural gas and tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs at a time when they’re most needed. Here’s what they’re saying:
- Bakken used as model for other oil plays. Associated Press. “Know-how gained from North Dakota’s once-perplexing Bakken shale formation is being used to exploit other onerous oil plays across the globe. Pushed by high crude prices, companies in just four years have nearly perfected technology to tap oil trapped in a thin layer of dense rock nearly two miles beneath the surface in western North Dakota. Unlocking the Bakken using advanced horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques has propelled the state from the nation’s ninth-largest oil producer in 2006 to its fourth-largest today. A record number of rigs are piercing the state’s oil patch.
- New firm opens, plans to employ 140 people. Williamsport Sun-Gazette. “Meadville-based Universal Well Services Inc., a natural gas and oil well services company, has opened a new facility on Arch Street and has plans to hire 140 people within the next 12 months. Already on staff here are 70 employees, according to Bob Garland, senior technical adviser at Universal’s corporate office. The company brought some employees from its existing facilities, but most of the individuals hired here are locals, he said. “We are attempting to hire locals as much as we can because that is important,” Garland said.
- Marcellus Shale Brings Promise Of New Jobs To Region. WPXI-TV. “Experts are predicting the Marcellus Shale industry will be around in western Pennsylvania for at least the next 50 years and thousands of people will be needed to work here. On Friday, educators met at Waynesburg University to figure out how to give students the education they need to get those jobs. “We are talking to the superintendents of schools and counselors about an energy education looks like,” said Barbara Kirby of Waynesburg University. … The Marcellus Shale is booming. … A recent Penn State University study shows the impact of Marcellus drilling jobs in Pennsylvania. The numbers have increased every year and will reach an estimated 107,000 jobs in 2010.
- DeSoto library pays off bond two years early. Shreveport Times. “The Library Board of Control recently authorized the payoff of a 2002 property tax that funded construction of new library branch buildings in Pelican and Stonewall. Paying the slightly more than $1 million left in the bond issue saved taxpayers $410,000 in interest. The bonds officially will be paid Nov. 15. “We have saved a lot of money,” board President Katherine Freeman said. Construction is under way on a new branch location in Logansport. But it’s being paid with cash on hand. The library board, like other governing entities in the parish, has the extra money because of the development connected to the Haynesville Shale.
Fact-Check: Joe Sestak’s Claims on HF, Marcellus Jobs Conflict with Reality
In recent Senate debate, PA congressman rattles off debunked talking points from anti-HF fringe groups
Keep Reading »
ICYMI – EDF Advisor Says HF Can be Done Safely, is Critical to Development of Natural Gas
Environmental Defense Fund: “Our natural gas supplies would plummet precipitously without hydraulic fracturing”
This from EDF’s Scott Anderson’s appearance on E&E TV’s On Point program this morning:
E&E TV
E&E TV
: “Do you believe that [hydraulic fracturing] can be used safely?” (5:23)
EDF’s Scott Anderson
EDF’s Scott Anderson
: “Yes I do. I think in the vast majority of cases, if wells are constructed right and operated right, that hydraulic fracturing will not cause a problem.” (5:19)
E&E TV: “How difficult is it for states to regulate this practice? And should it be done on a state-by-state bases, a region-by-region bases or nationally?” (2:11)
EDF’s Scott Anderson
EDF’s Scott Anderson
: “The states actually have a lot of knowledge and experience in regulating well construction and operation. We think that states have every reason to be able to tackle this issue and do it well. We also think that if states fail in that and the federal government has to takeover, the states will have no one but themselves to blame.” (2:00)
E&E TV: “Without this practice of hydraulic fracturing, what would our natural gas supplies look like?” (1:38)
EDF’s
EDF’s
Scott Anderson: “Our natural gas supplies would plummet precipitously without hydraulic fracturing. About 90 percent of gas wells in the United States are hydraulically fractured, and the shale gas that everyone talks about as being a large part of the future of natural gas production is absolutely dependent on fracturing in each case.” (1:33)
E&E TV: “So you would say that this is a necessary part of our energy future?” (1:09)
EDF’s Scott Anderson
EDF’s Scott Anderson
: “Yes. At the Environmental Defense Fund we don’t pick fuels, we are realist, we recognize that fossil fuels will be around for a while, a long while most likely. We recognize that natural gas has some environmental advantages compared to other fossil fuels, so we do believe that natural gas will be around, and has a significant role to play….” (1:05)
NOTE: The full interview can be viewed HERE.
Spiraling deficits, worker furloughs, budget cuts, and tax and fee hikes are common these days in state capitals across the nation. Unemployment remains near double-digits nationally, home foreclosures continue to skyrocket and a fear of a double-dip recession persists. And as economic growth continues to lag, stagflation remains a very serious threat to our economy, and to American families.
Thanks to the tightly-regulated 60 year-old oil and natural gas stimulation technology called hydraulic fracturing, however, tens of thousands of good-paying Americans jobs are being created and billions in much-needed revenues are being generated. At the same time, enormous amounts of reliable homegrown energy resources are being safely delivered to American consumers and small businesses, helping to drive down our nation’s dependence on unstable regions of the world to fuel our economy.
In North Dakota, where there’s virtual full employment, the responsible development of the state’s oil-rich Bakken Shale formation, enabled by hydraulic fracturing, continues to be an economic boon for the region. This from a Minot (ND) Daily News story this week under the headline “Oil revenue plays big role in state budget”:
Tax collections from oil and gas totaled nearly $583 million in 2010, a 43 percent increase from 2009 and a 250 percent increase since 2006, said Cory Fong, state tax commissioner. Biennium oil and gas tax collections are expected to total $1.4 billion for 2009-2011 and more than $2 billion during 2011-2013, he said. The state’s general fund budget this biennium is $2.7 billion.
Oil and gas tax revenues that have helped create a $1 billion state surplus also are pulling duty to support several spending areas, from property tax relief to schools and local infrastructure.
And in Pennsylvania, where the Mighty Marcellus Shale – the second largest natural gas field in the entire world – is being responsibly developed thanks to fracture stimulation technologies, the Associated Press reports today that the Commonwealth’s “unemployment rate fell for a second straight month in September, as employers added more than 7,000 jobs to their payrolls.”
Today’s Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader puts the historic economic opportunity into perspective, reporting this under the headline “Drilling backer sees 90,000 new Pa. jobs by end of year”:
Natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale is not a “flash-in-the-pan gold rush,” Klaber said, but an industry that will add 90,000 jobs to Pennsylvania’s work force by the end of the year and will produce steady employment for decades to come.
Such activity will not only produce drill site jobs, which Klaber said will move from site to site, but will also create careers at drilling company regional offices, many of which have already opened shop in Pennsylvania.
“I think it has happened quickly, but I think the coverage of it has been pervasive. I mean the interest in it has made it seem faster than it really is,” Marcellus Shale Coalition President Kathryn Klaber told The Times Leader on Wednesday.
PA DEP Continues to Confirm the Fact that Hydraulic Fracturing Has Never Impacted Groundwater
The tightly-regulated, 60 year-old energy stimulation technology call hydraulic fracturing – which has been used safely more than 1.1 million times throughout the United States – has never in its history been found to adversely impact sources of underground drinking water. Independent scientific experts and state regulators from energy-producing confirm this fact, over and over again. A national organization of state groundwater water regulators has, as well. This year, the EPA told Congress that hydraulic fracturing has never resulted in a single case of groundwater contamination.
And in Pennsylvania, where the responsible development of the Marcellus Shale’s abundant, clean-burning natural gas reserves – enabled by fracture stimulation technologies coupled with horizontal drilling – are helping to put tens of thousands to work, top environmental regulators also continue to ensure that these critical facts are known.
Here’s a quick and recent snapshot of what PA DEP is saying about hydraulic fracturing’s long and clear record of environmental safety:
“Jennifer Means, a representative from the state DEP’s Eastern Oil and Gas Region Office in Williamsport, later substantiated Mr. Chacon’s statements. ‘So far it has not been our experience that the fracking process has caused any water-supply issues,’ Ms. Means said.” (Scranton Times-Tribune, 10/20/10)
“Thus far, the DEP says they’ve found not one instance of underground contamination of well water from fracking. ‘We haven’t had frack fluid come back from thousands of feet down and get into people’s drinking water supply,’ [DEP secretary John] Hanger said.” (KDKA-TV, 10/16/10)
“‘It’s our experience in Pennsylvania that we have not had one case in which the fluids used to break off the gas from 5,000 to 8,000 feet (1,500-2,400 m) underground have returned to contaminate ground water,’ said John Hanger, secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).” (Reuters, 10/1/10)
FRAC Act supporters claim that fracturing is unregulated and unsafe, and therefore Congress must fundamentally rewrite federal law to give EPA outright authority to oversee this process. Inherently, though, energy-producing states are best situated to regulate this technology, and the 60 year track record of environmental safety underscores that fact. Put simply, the FRAC Act is yet another Washington ‘solution’ in search of a problem.
Washington, DC – Last week, Energy In Depth (EID) executive director Lee Fuller addressed the U.S. Energy Association’s (USEA) Supply Forum at the National Press Club in Washington. Key experts from Mr. Fuller’s statement are below, and his full remarks are available online on EID’s YouTube page, which can be accessed by clicking HERE.
- “The states, over a long period of time, have created programs that protect ground water, and protect well bores by putting a barrier in and preventing movement in and out of that well bore. That same technology then, hydraulic fracturing fluids that are used the water, sand and small amounts of chemicals that are there are also protected from groundwater.
- There aren’t instances of problems with hydraulic fracturing creating problems in groundwater. They haven’t occurred, it’s true in Pennsylvania, and it’s true across the country. It’s a remarkable success story for the regulation of this technology. It’s not done by the federal government; it’s done by the states.
- “So, if you can’t make the argument that hydraulic fracturing risk isn’t managed properly – because it is – then you have to look at something else. And that focus has been to move toward the question of chemicals; the chemicals that are used in the process. People don’t understand chemicals. People in local communities don’t understand chemicals. So if you can create an anxiety in that community over chemicals, you can suppress the development of the resource.”
From Toronto to Richmond, EID’s Gettin’ the Facts Out
Formed two years ago to separate fact from fiction about our nation’s oil and natural gas industry – particularly as it relates to the tightly regulated 60 year-old energy stimulation technology called hydraulic fracturing – Energy In Depth has established itself as a reliable resource for folks interested in learning more about this process, for academics and for the media.
Our work takes us to small towns, state capitals and rural communities. We go where the debate is, but more importantly, we seek to educate and engage policymakers, the press and the public on the facts about responsible energy exploration and production here in the United States — and in Canada.
This week, we had the opportunity to participate in two events: one at the University of Toronto; the other closer to home in Richmond, Va.
Yes, EID has officially gone global. We’ve even translated Gasland Debunked into French for those in parts of Canada seeking to understand the facts about this tightly-regulated technology that has been used to stimulated oil and natural gas production in the United States for more than 60 years without ever impacted groundwater.
In Toronto, we participated in a panel discussion entitled, “Fracture Lines: Will Canada’s water be Protected in the Rush to Develop Shale Gas?” Here’s a photo from that event (EID’s Chris Tucker, second from the right):
And at the Governor’s Conference on Energy in Richmond, EID spoke about fracture stimulation’s long and clear record of environmental safety on a panel entitled “Expanding Natural Gas – Supplies and Opportunities.”
These forums offered EID the opportunity to share the work we do, separate fact from fiction about fracturing and tell the incredible story of job creation, economic develop, and increased energy security that the shale gas revolution continues to make possible.
Here’s a quick snapshot of how American-made energy production technologies, like hydraulic fracturing, are benefiting consumers and our economy:
- US drilling technology helped save Chilean miners. Houston Chronicle, Op-Ed. “This inspiring story highlights the fact that when it comes to drilling and exploration, the United States is still the gold standard. Companies around the world contract industry leaders like Hart to drill for oil, natural gas, and — as was the case in the war zones of Afghanistan – even water. The U.S. drilling industry’s continually improving safety and environmental standards set the bar for operations worldwide. Though revered abroad, the industry’s amazing track record is overshadowed at home by relentless vilification by slick politicians and green lobbies.
- Auditor: Mansfield in good financial standing. Shreveport Times. “The city’s net assets increased by $1.7 million, or 32.4 percent, in 2009 compared to 17.8 percent the previous year, putting it in good financial standing, an auditor told the mayor and aldermen Monday. The change is primarily due to increased sales tax revenue of $765,834 and increases in grants and contributions, Bill Weatherford said. … Activity related to the Haynesville Shale is credited with bumping up revenue streams.
- Rail executive sees synergies between shale and trains. Scranton Times-Tribune. “If natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale is going to prevail, it needs rail. That was the message from transportation officials Thursday night during a gathering at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Todd Hunter, director of marketing for the North Shore Railroad, explained to members of the NEPA Logistics Club that gas companies are so far from their suppliers – and they are consuming commodities such as sand and pipe in such quantities – that rail service is going to be crucial. “Without rail, shale fails,” he said, quoting Lycoming County transportation planner Mark Murawski.
- Winter could put freeze on most heating costs. Reading Eagle. “[UGI’s Joseph] Swope said gas prices are falling because of increased supply, including recent production from the Marcellus shale formation. “There had traditionally been a tight balance between supply and demand,” Swope said. “Now we have a local supply that is weatherproof.” Swope said that even though Marcellus shale is just beginning to produce natural gas, it might be having a psychological effect on the local natural gas market. Real or perceived, Marcellus shale and decreased demand due to the ongoing recession have combined to drive down natural gas prices for UGI customers, he said.
This morning, the U.S. Department of Labor issued the nation’s monthly jobs report. These headlines speak to the bleak results:
- Los Angeles Times’: “Stagnant labor market seen as unemployment rate holds at 9.6%.”
- USA Today: Obama faces same jobless rate of 9.6% — but fewer jobs
- Associated Press: “Economy loses 95K jobs due to government layoffs,” noting that “The jobless rate has now topped 9.5 percent for 14 straight months, the longest stretch since the 1930s.”
But it’s not all gloom and doom. You see, because of technologies like hydraulic fracturing – a tightly regulated 60 year-old oil and natural gas stimulation process – thousands of good-paying private sector jobs continue to be created at a time when they’re most needed. At the same time, because of this work enable by fracture stimulation technologies, abundant supplies of homegrown, reliable sources of oil and natural gas are coming to market, helping to keep energy costs stable for struggling American consumers, families and small businesses.
Unfortunately, “the federal government has something in the works that, if approved, could paralyze North Dakota’s oil patch,” according to the state’s Department of Mineral Resources chief. It’s called the FRAC Act, and this misguided legislation – which would strip individual energy-producing states of their “commendable” ability to tightly regulate fracturing would deliver a major blow to job growth and domestic energy production without adding any additional environmental benefits.
“University of Pittsburgh environmental engineering professor Radisav Vidic said there is no evidence that fracking alone creates any environmental hazards, as long as all other safety measures are followed,” reports West Virginia’s Wheeling Intelligencer. The FRAC Act is simply another ‘Washington solution’ in search of a problem.
But here’s a quick look at the staggering rates of economic growth in North Dakota, where the responsible development of oil-rich Bakken Shale is putting thousands of Americans to work, as the state’s “oil rig count matches record set in 1981.”
The Dickinson Press: Experts discuss North Dakota oil possibilities (10/7/10)
- “Many great opportunities for all of us North Dakotans with this Bakken play,” said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. “I think we all recognize the influx of people, the influx of wealth and the influx of potential is somewhat of a renaissance for North Dakota.” … “You really can’t understand the magnitude of what’s going on until you get out on the ground you see a drilling rig you see the traffic,” Ness said.
- Kathleen Neset, a geologist and owner of Neset Consulting Service in Tioga, said the Three Forks Formation, which is present in Stark County, is about 370 million years old. Neset said the Bakken play is the largest in the lower 48 states, citing it as a “technology play.” “We knew the oil was there, now it’s a matter of making it work with the technology,” Neset said.
- However, the federal government has something in the works that, if approved, could paralyze North Dakota’s oil patch. Hydraulic fracturing, a high-pressure tactic used to extract oil from rock formations, is at the heart of developing the Bakken Formation. Lynn Helms, director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, said it has been proposed that the Environmental Protection Agency be put in charge of hydraulic fracturing. Helms said the state’s geology is much different than others and North Dakota’s regulations are much more stringent than others. “We know how to take care of our resources in North Dakota,” he said, adding protection of groundwater resources is the number one priority. “We’ve been doing it for a long time.”
Williston Herald: Bakken basics: Town hall meeting highlights oil industry activity (10/7/10)
- North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms said activity in the state has reached record-breaking levels across the board. “We are in an unprecedented time in North Dakota history,” said Helms. Helms said activity is booming, with over 320,000 barrels of oil being produced each day, a record number of rigs operating and thousands of jobs available. He added that the long term stability of the state’s oil play grows stronger each day.
- Kathy Neset, owner of Neset Consulting Services of Tioga, said technology has been a key component to the current success in the Bakken formation. Neset explained to the crowd the horizontal drilling technique used to get to the thin layer of Bakken shale. Without the use of horizontal drilling, a huge amount of oil would be unrecoverable. “When we have an unconventional play, we have to go out and do other things,” said Neset. … “This truly is a technological play,” said Neset.
- North Dakota Petroleum Council President Ron Ness said current estimates put the number of employees in the oil industry in the 18-25,000 range. Ness said there are thousands of current job openings available to meet the current demand. In the long term there will be thousands of permanent jobs in the state, from people servicing wells to operating processing plants. Ness said gas processing plants have been announced in Williams and McKenzie counties, among others. He said these will provide large numbers of high-paying jobs to the communities they’re located in.
KFYR-TV: Western Oil Development (10/7/10)
- “They see this as a tremendous opportunity, not just for the current time, but for many years to come,” said Director of North Dakota Pipeline Justin Kringstad. “We’ve got something very sustainable,” said Helms.
The biggest problem facing North Dakotans, aside from the threat posed by the FRAC Act, which could shut down this responsible and tightly regulated development, according to the Associated Press? “The money problem is how to spend it,” where there’s “virtual full employment, according to economists.”
Backyard Brawl: WVU, Pitt Profs. Confirm Hydraulic Fracturing’s Environmental Safety Record
AP: “The number of millionaires in ND rose by more than 40 percent in one year alone”, thanks to fracturing
Last week, PA’s DEP secretary, John Hanger, once again confirmed the fact that hydraulic fracturing has never impacted groundwater, a fact that a host of PADEP officials continue to reinforce. And last night, in a KDKA-TV segment, Sec. Hanger once again confirmed that fact that fracturing – a tightly regulated, 60 year-old technology used to stimulate oil and natural gas production – has never contaminated groundwater, which is what top EPA officials told a U.S. Senate panel this year.
And earlier this week, Radisav Vidic – a University of Pittsburgh professor with a Ph.D. in environmental engineering – told the Wheeling News Register that he has “not seen any evidence that fracturing itself poses a danger to the environment. The process has been around since the 1950s.”
Not to be outdone, though, West Virginia University’s Donald Lyons, an engineering professor, writes about the economic potentials of responsible Marcellus Shale development, fracturing’s long and clear record of safety, and the devastating impact that the FRAC Act could have on job creation and domestic energy production in a Charleston Gazette op-ed this week entitled “Natural gas means more jobs”:
Underlying West Virginia is the Marcellus Shale, which is another great source of natural gas. Last year, shale-gas drilling in the Marcellus provided 57,000 new jobs — mainly here in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. An economic study estimated that drilling throughout the Marcellus Shale, which extends from Kentucky to upstate New York, could create 280,000 new jobs and add $6 billion in tax revenues over the next decade.
State agencies do a commendable job of overseeing the process of hydraulic fracturing, a technology that has been used for decades to produce oil and natural gas, to assure the process is done safely and without a negative impact on the environment.
Opponents of shale-gas drilling … want regulatory oversight to be shifted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is conducting a study of hydraulic fracturing practices at the direction of Congress. But adding one more layer of bureaucratic red tape will stall natural gas production by raising drilling costs by as much as $100,000 per well, without making shale-gas production any safer than it already is. This could force most of the independent companies that account for the bulk of natural gas production to shut down their operations. In that event, gas production would drop 45 percent within five years, according to an industry study, and thousands of jobs would be lost. Shale gas production should be increased, not decreased.
So what does the public think about this historic opportunity? Well, according to a Lycoming College poll released yesterday, folks in the communities where Marcellus production is underway overwhelmingly support this activity and believe strongly – nearly 80 percent – that “the creation of many jobs was very likely.”
But hydraulic fracturing is not just helping to create thousands of good-paying jobs, stable supplies of homegrown energy for consumers, and much-needed economic activity in the Rust Belt exclusively. In North Dakota, through the responsible development the Bakken Shale’s abundant, job-creating oil reserves, small towns are expected to “double in the next 5 years,” according to a WDAY news report this week. This from their dispatch under the headline “Workers needed to fill thousands of jobs in western North Dakota”:
Williston’s Economic Development Executive Director Tom Rolfstad says the surge out west is not an oil boom, but an oil industry, saying it isn’t going away anytime soon. He expects Williston and other western towns in the Bakken Shale to double in the next 5 years. It’ll leave them in need of everything from oil workers, to doctors, bakers, and waitresses.
It’s a problem much of the country would like to have. Tom Rolfstad is pleading for workers.
“We need a lot of help! How are we going to grow this fast?” He says he needs thousands of people. It’s part of the “Invest in the West to Fund the Rest” campaign. Rolfstad and other economic development leaders are trying to get more North Dakota workers out west to fill about 3-thousand jobs.
The Associated Press also reports on the incredible amount of economic opportunity, job creation and prosperity that fracturing is helping to make possible for North Dakotans:
In recent years, oil companies have been extracting oil from the Bakken shale deposit, the largest such formation ever surveyed in the United States by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The number of millionaires in North Dakota rose by more than 40 percent in one year alone, to 388 in 2006.
What does Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection secretary and a University of Pittsburgh environmental engineering have in common? They both understand the facts regarding the 60 year-old energy stimulation technology called hydraulic fracturing, which has been used safely to enhance oil and natural gas production in more than 1.1 million wells nationwide without every contaminating groundwater — and aren’t afraid to let these facts be known.
John Hanger, Gov. Rendell’s PA DEP chief and former Penn Future executive, notes that the media (err Josh Fox & CNN) are overestimating “the risks of hydraulic fracturing.” Sec. Hanger tells Reuters, under the headline “Pennsylvania regulator says shale gas drilling method safe,” this about fracturing, which has helped create nearly 88,000 jobs through the development of the Commonwealth’s clean-burning natural gas resources trapped in the Marcellus Shale formation over just the past few years:
Pennsylvania’s chief environmental regulator said on Friday he saw no evidence that the chemicals used in the shale gas drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing contaminates underground water supplies.
“It’s our experience in Pennsylvania that we have not had one case in which the fluids used to break off the gas from 5,000 to 8,000 feet underground have returned to contaminate ground water,” Hanger said.
Hanger’s comments echo frequent statements by energy companies that there have been no proven cases of water contamination from hydraulic fracturing, a process used to remove natural gas from shale beds deep underground.
Hanger said the public and the media appear to overestimate the risks of hydraulic fracturing. “There’s a lot of focus in the media and the public on the problems that we have not had,” he said during an hour-long interview in his office.
But Sec. Hanger is not alone in ensuring that these critical facts about fracturing’s long and clear record of environmental safety are made available to the public. Under the headline “Pitt Professor Says Fracking Safe, Decades-Old Process,” the Wheeling News Register reports this:
[Radisav] Vidic, professor of environmental engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, said this form of rock fracturing has been used for decades to extract minerals – and with no direct side effects.
“I have not seen any evidence that fracturing itself poses a danger to the environment,” he said. “The process has been around since the 1950s. If everything is followed correctly and done by the book, the impact should be minimal.”
And from Central Pennsylvania to Eastern Wyoming, and many places along the way, fracture stimulation technology is to continuing to serve as a key component to energy and economic security for thousands of communities, and for our nation.
Here’s a quick look at what they’re saying about America’s oil and natural gas industry:
- Taking responsibility: “Three companies with local Marcellus Shale drilling sites took state Fish and Boat commissioners on a field tour through Lycoming County Sunday, showing some of the methods in place to protect the environment and local wildlife, keep nearby residents happy and collaborate with one another to keep improving practices. Chief Oil & Gas, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Range Resources led a tour of sites in Mifflin, Watson and Cummings townships, where the shale is in various stages of extraction. (Williamsport (PA) Sun-Gazette, 10/4/10)
- More oil rigs popping up around Cheyenne: “More oil rigs are popping up around Cheyenne, and a few rigs 50 miles north of town probably have reached their target, the Niobrara Shale. So how much oil is down there? If anyone knows yet, mum’s the word. … They’re betting that a combination of drilling techniques can unlock oil from the Niobrara. The shale formation is similar to the Bakken Shale in western North Dakota, scene of booming oil production for the past few years. (Associated Press, 10/3/10)
- Drilling will help stimulate economy: “Hydraulic fracturing is a proven technology that is regulated at the state level. It involves pumping a water mixture into underground rock layers where oil and natural gas is trapped. This mixture is 99 percent water and contains a small amount of fracturing fluid and sand. The additives used in fracturing fluids are used in many household products, including toothpaste, cosmetics and even ice cream. These additives are diluted with water by a factor as high as 122 times before being pumped into the ground, according to federal studies. In fact, studies by the U.S. EPA and the Ground Water Protection Council have confirmed no direct link between hydraulic fracturing operations and groundwater impacts. (Charlottesville Daily Progress, 10/4/10)
- Property owners stump for drilling rights at Wayne County barbecue: “The constitutionality of the Delaware River Basin Commission’s role in regulating the burgeoning natural gas industry in Wayne County came into question Saturday afternoon at a gathering of drilling advocates. “Our nemesis is the Delaware River Basin Commission,” said Bob Suhosky, a member of the Wayne County Oil and Gas Task Force who holds a lease individually in Cherry Ridge Twp. “They’re taking a certain amount of constitutional rights from us.” … Marian Schweighofer, executive director of the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance, concurred with Mr. Suhosky’s views. “In America, we own the property. We own it from here to China,” Ms. Schweighofer said. “If there’s a taking, you’re supposed to be compensated for it.” (Scranton Times-Tribune, 10/3/10)
EPA has an idea: Let’s convene a panel of “experts” from which we can solicit advice as part of our upcoming study on the safety and performance of hydraulic fracturing. But let’s make sure to populate that panel with folks we know are outspoken critics of the technology in question. Fox, meet hen house.
The list released by EPA last month is 82 folks long – but two names in particular jump out upon first review. Theo Colborn and Robert Howarth, two fervent critics of HF—were placed on the list of potential panelists for EPA’s peer-review panel.
Colborn, a zoologist, earns her living fronting a group called the “Endocrine Disruption Exchange,” a non-profit receiving funds for research attempting to link HF to ADHD and obesity. Seriously. As for Howarth— when he’s not picking up a mic and attacking HF at anti-drilling rallies— is a professor at Cornell University. He wrote a draft report in April claiming shale gas production could emit the same amount of emissions as production and usage of coal. In a letter sent to EPA this week, the Independent Petroleum Association of America said Howarth’s report was “riddled with errors.”
The letter also addressed EPA’s consideration of stolid HF critics for the panel— perhaps addressing Colborn and Howarth indirectly:
“Unfortunately, a number of nominees’ past comments betray a strong and unambiguous antipathy toward shale development in general, and hydraulic fracturing in particular.”
The fact of the matter is, EPA needs to stop playing politics with HF—a technology that made the United States the world’s largest natural gas producer and destroyed our dependency on foreign natural gas sources before it even began. It’s in the interest of all Americans for EPA to have a fair and balanced selection of unbiased experts with real knowledge of the issues surrounding the HF debate.
If the EPA fracas continues, you might as well have Red Sox fans doing the Yankees’ annual scouting report. Both outcomes would be equally absurd.
Experts say FRAC Act “will have a far-reaching effect on all Americans,” Will “curtail” job-creating domestic energy production
Keep Reading »
Read All About It: The Facts About Hydraulic Fracturing’s Record of Safety Continue to Mount
The positive and overwhelming economic and energy security benefits enabled by hydraulic fracturing – a tightly regulated 60-year old energy stimulation technology – continue to be realized across the nation. These benefits – affordable supplies of reliable homegrown energy and thousands of good-paying jobs – are a reality in major energy-producing states, particularly North Dakota and Texas.
And while New York was the birthplace of natural gas production, a de facto ban on Marcellus Shale production through the use of 21st century horizontal drilling technology continues to deny landowners their right to responsibly develop privately-owned, clean-burning, job-creating resources.
Facts are stubborn things, as they say. So for your edification, here are a few about fracturing.
In a Fort Worth Business Press column today, Bruce Vincent, chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of American (IPAA) and president of Swift Energy, underscores the critical role that fracture stimulation has played, and continues to play, in safely producing homegrown, job-creating energy oil and natural gas resources over the past 60 years. Here are key excerpts from Vincent’s column, which speaks directly to the devastating consequences that bills like the FRAC Act would introduce to American consumers:
This process is tightly regulated by energy-producing states, and is subject to a host of federal laws and regulations as well. In fact, federal law mandates that these fluids – which as stated, are made up of more than 99.5 percent water and sand – be disclosed at every single well-site. Many states even provide these lists online.
In commercial use since 1949, hydraulic fracturing has been – and continues to be – the linchpin to American oil and natural gas production. With surgical-like precision, using high-pressure fluids made up of more than 99.5 percent water and sand, with a small percentage of everyday additives used to kill bacteria and reduce wellbore friction, fracturing stimulates oil and gas production thousands of feet below ground, allowing increased amounts of energy to be produced.
But is it safe, and what steps do producers take to ensure groundwater protection? The short answer: yes, and many.
Unfortunately, some members of Congress believe that they know better than Texas, and that Washington bureaucrats ought to regulate fracturing, rather than individual energy-producing states who understand the geology best and have amassed an impressive track record of overseeing this critical technology. These advocates say their legislation is about disclosure of fracturing fluids. At its core, though, these efforts are aimed at stopping fracturing altogether, which would significantly blunt the positive economic growth and job creation in Texas, as well as in other energy-producing states, and ultimately, increase the cost of energy for America.
More than 1,500 miles away from Ft. Worth, in bucolic Syracuse, NY, folks are also talking about fracturing’s long and clear record of environmental safety and effectiveness. In yesterday’s Syracuse Post-Standard, Alfred Station, NY-native Chris Kulander – who holds a Ph.D. in geophysics with a focus on petroleum seismology – write this about fracture stimulation, and the benefits this proven technology stands to help generate through responsibly developing New York’s portion of the Marcellus Shale:
No evidence directly connects injection of fracking fluid into shale with aquifer contamination. In 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a study finding no confirmed instances of drinking water contamination by fracking fluids in the ground. This finding is not surprising, as fracking fluid is pumped through heavy steel pipe surrounded by a concrete liner to formations thousands of feet below aquifers.
Fracking has made production from the Marcellus Shale possible and created thousands of jobs.
An unfortunate push exists in New York to ban all fracking, purportedly until the technology can be “proven” safe, and to require federal oversight of fracking.
While a responsive state regulatory framework and vigorous, impartial enforcement of those regulations are necessary, draconian measures such as rolling moratoriums or federal oversight of fracking are not. New York is well able to regulate fracking while at the same time allowing development of natural gas and enjoying the jobs and revenue it brings.
