Indeed, under the headline “Encana extends capacity of directional drilling,” the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports this about the technological advancements that our industry is continually making:

When Encana Oil & Gas (USA) was trying to figure out how to drill for the natural gas beneath a narrow box canyon north of Parachute, it was time for some out-of-the-box thinking.

The company’s solution? It drilled a remarkable 50-plus wells directionally from one well pad of just 4.6 acres. As a result, it developed about 640 acres of underground resources — the amount contained in a square mile — from a single location, based on underground well densities of as much as one every 10 acres. That’s the most wells that Frank Merendino, Encana’s drilling manager for its North Parachute Ranch property, believes has been drilled from an onshore pad anywhere in the United States.

“The reason they’re all here is to drain this massive area … without impacting the environment,” Merendino said as he surveyed the well pad. In the distance behind it, a long, thin waterfall coursed from the rim at the canyon head. It’s one of seven falls on the 45,000-acre ranch property.

The directional drilling prevented the cost and visual impact of trying to build pads on the canyon cliff sides, or drilling through a few extra thousand feet of earth from surrounding plateaus and having to locate pads near the rim, where possible spills into the canyon would be a concern.

Encana’s effort won it a Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission award this summer. It also is appreciated by state wildlife officials because of the reduced disturbance of habitat. Encana’s accomplishment reflects oil and gas technology’s continuing evolution, said Dean Riggs, assistant regional manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Grand Junction.

“Many, many moons ago, we used to have one well per gas pad,” Riggs said. Riggs took over as the manager of the wildlife area that includes Encana’s North Parachute project eight years ago, and back then four wells on a pad was probably normal in the region, he said. “Eight wells per pad eight years ago was a big deal,” he said.

Similar technological advancements are on display in Wyoming. This from yesterday’s Houston Chronicleunder the headline “Remote Wyoming site could help shape fracking’s future”:

Natural gas development in the U.S. will depend not only on what happens in Washington and in statehouses across the country. It could be shaped in part by what happens in a big antelope-dotted field south of this remote valley town.

Here, Shell Oil Co. and others are taking steps – some required and others voluntary – that soon may be the norm for reducing the environmental impact of gas drilling and the extraction process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Shell, for instance, now recycles more than half the water it uses in fracturing local wells, reducing the need for locally sourced fresh water. It also has installed equipment that is sharply cutting emissions from drilling rigs and has shrunk its surface footprint by drilling more wells at a single site, rather than spacing them out checkerboard style, as is done in some other fields.

And support for America’s oil and natural gas industry – and common sense hydraulic fracturing regulations – runs as deep as the wells being drilled into shale formations. Last week, a diverse group of 119 organizations — including the National Association of Manufacturers, US Chamber of Commerce, Independent Petroleum Association of American, Ohio Grocers Association, and North Dakota Farm Bureau — sent a letter to President Obama highlighting the immense benefits of this energy revolution. This from the letter:

The shale gas and oil revolution in America today has been good news for job creation, economic growth and energy security, and it promises hundreds of thousands of more new jobs, billions of dollars more in revenue to governments, and vast supplies of domestic, affordable and clean-burning energy for generations to come.

Speaking of jobs: A new Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program study highlights the potential of the emerging Utica Shale formation last week. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports “Ohio’s natural gas and oil reserves are a multibillion-dollar bonanza that could create more than 204,500 jobs in just four years.” Here are key study experts:

• Ohio’s natural gas and crude oil industry’s could reinvest approximately $246 million on new exploration and development in 2011, and is estimated to ramp up to $14 billion by 2015;
• Between 2011 and 2015, Ohio’s natural gas and crude oil industry will help create and support more than 204,520 jobs; and
• Ohio’s natural gas and crude oil operators (producers) could distribute more than $1.6 billion in royalty payments to local landowners, schools, businesses and communities based on an estimate of 2,837 new Utica wells drilled and completed between 2011 and 2015.

And it’s not just here at home. The shale revolution — enabled by American technology and know-how — is going global. From South America to eastern Europe, vast oil and natural gas supplies are being responsibly leverage into a more stable energy supplies for consumers while generating enormous economic benefits.

ARGENTINA

“Argentina minister: Boom set in unconventional gas”: Argentina’s vast unconventional natural gas resources will become an important contributor to the South American nation’s energy matrix within the next four years, according to a top minister. …”We, together with [gas rich] Bolivia, are going to become an gigantic source of gas in South America with opportunities for industrialization,” he said.  According to recent U.S. Energy Information Administration report, Argentina ranks No. 3 in the world in terms of technically recoverable shale-gas resources with 774 trillion cubic feet of gas.”

POLAND

Shale gas “could reduce Poland’s dependence on Russia for gas, create tens of thousands of jobs and fill state coffers”: Outside the U.S., Poland is the first country where companies are making a serious effort to develop shale gas, which Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called the country’s “great chance,” as it could reduce Poland’s dependence on Russia for gas, create tens of thousands of jobs and fill state coffers.

UNITED KINGDOM

“Firm finds shale gas near Blackpool “:A company exploring for controversial “shale gas” in the UK says it could drill hundreds of wells in Lancashire to tap into vast gas resources underground. Cuadrilla Resources, whose exploration efforts near Blackpool had to be halted earlier in the year amid concerns they were causing tremors, said there were 200 trillion cubic feet of gas under the ground in the area. A percentage of the gas could be recovered for use in the UK’s energy mix, providing up to 5,600 jobs, including 1,700 in the local area, at the peak of production, the company has suggested.

Ireland, Canada, and Bulgaria, to name a few, are also evaluating the promise of oil and natural gas development – enabled by hydraulic fracturing – from shale formations. The trend is catching on — the world wants competitive and efficient energies that can keep up with expanding global demand.

In an interview with KDKA radio’s Mike Pintet, Professor Radisav Vidic of the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, sets the record straight on hydraulic fracturing – the 60 year-old energy stimulation technology that has been safely used to produced domestic oil and gas over 1.1 million times. Dr. Vidic, who holds a Ph.D. in environmental engineering, underscores hydraulic fracturing’s tight regulations and long and clear record of environmental safety.

On Hydraulic Fracturing’s Clear, Long Record of Protecting Groundwater: “There hasn’t been any proven case”

• “There hasn’t been any proven case that shows that the hydraulic fracturing itself causes contamination to groundwater. First of all, the well casing — the way it’s designed to be used — there’s multiple barriers there through the aquifer so there’s really no communication between the material that’s injected into the well and a groundwater aquifer. … This water is injected at a 8,000 feet depth so the chances of this water coming up all the way to the surface is very small simply.”

On Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Disclosure: “Go on the DEP’s website”

• “You can go on the DEP website, and there is a list chemicals that are being used in hydro fracturing operation. This list contains a total of I think about 78 chemicals. But you have to understand not all of them are used on every well, every time. This is a list of all the chemicals that are ever being used in the hydrofracturing operation. A subset of those chemicals are used on each well depending on which company is doing it and what is their technology, and approach to hydro fracturing the well. The industry is required to disclose this information, and the DEP has a list of all the chemicals that are being used for hydro fracturing operations.”

On GasLand Claims About Flaming Faucets: “It’s not caused by drilling”

• “It’s not caused by the drilling, it’s caused by the methane that’s coming from some place.”

What are others saying about domestic oil and natural gas production enabled by hydraulic fracturing? We’re glad you asked.

• Without fracture stimulation, ND’s economic boon wouldn’t be happening: “Hydraulic fracturing — or frac’ing — also is used for natural gas, and it’s controversial. The fluid is mostly water, but it also contains about one-half percent chemicals. Despite industry assurances, environmental groups worry frac’ing is polluting groundwater, and they want more regulation. Some even want an outright ban. But without this technology, the boom in North Dakota wouldn’t be happening.” (NRP, 8/18/10)
• Hydraulic fracturing helping to create hundreds of jobs in rural Pa.: “New York State lawmakers made a grand show of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale gas drilling procedures last week. They held our state up as an example of what not to do in a recession and inferred the state is selling its environment out so that it can generate the economy the gas drilling brings. To our friends to the north we would say that sword holds a double edge. … This past week the Sun-Gazette reported on the rapid growth of the cement mixing Halliburton plant off Route 405 in Clinton Township, where ground was broken a year ago. By year’s end there will be about 100 jobs, and there are projections that the plant will eventually employ 400 people. Plants with 400 jobs especially new ones aren’t plentiful in our region. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette Editorial, 8/15/10)
• Shale drilling could become an economic gusher for Michigan: “The $1.2 billion-a-year oil and gas industry is a modest player in Michigan’s economy, but the situation could change because the shale-rich Great Lakes State could be sitting atop the next in-demand natural resource, experts said. Advances in technology and $3-a-gallon gasoline have made deep-seated shale oil more accessible and desirable, they said. … The industry’s fortunes took a turn for the better when the state sold $178 million in leasing fees in a single auction in May. That equaled the total amount of money the state has collected in leasing fees since the 1920s, a telltale sign that interest in shale drilling is heating up. (Detroit News, 8/18/10)
• Roustabouts wanted as companies rush to drill for gas: “Workers looking for jobs in the region’s booming natural gas industry may try their hand as a “roustabouts” — general laborers who work physically grueling 12-hour shifts for 14 consecutive days in all kinds of weather to build and remove drilling pads and assist production. “It’s demanding labor, working long stretches without days off. You have to be ready to do quality work and do it a long time. Once they start production, they don’t stop,” said Richard Guenther, an employee relations specialist with Chesapeake Energy Corp. in Mt. Morris, Greene County. Pay can range from $10 to $20 an hour, plus overtime. (Tribune-Review, 8/18/10)
• 1 million wells have been fractured without a single case of documented harm to groundwater: “Water is mixed with sand and some chemicals and then pumped at high pressure into the well bore to shatter the Bakken shale formation, which can be as hard as a driveway. The “fracking” creates fissures that free up trapped oil and natural gas to flow up to the well bore. … Increasingly refined hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques have doubled Montana’s oil-and-gas production, Richmond said. In the United States, approximately 35,000 wells are “fracked” each year and 1 million wells have been developed without documented harm to groundwater, he said. … Oil in the Bakken lies well below groundwater supplies. (Billings Gazette, 8/14/10)
• Marcellus Shale’s economic impact is growing: “Marcellus Shale drilling is still in its infancy in West Virginia, but the industry is already contributing millions of dollars to the state’s economy. It may be awhile before the gas industry’s economic impact rivals that of coal in West Virginia. Mike Shaver, clad in a hard hat and muddy boots, surveys a gas drilling rig on a site in Upshur County. As a crew drills towards the Marcellus Shale, a pipe pumps water and dirt out of the hole in the earth and into a huge pit of muddy, rock-filled water. Shaver looks at the water, trying to determine how much farther the drill has to go before reaching shale gas. (Huntington Herald Dispatch, 8/14/10)
• Fracturing enabling a “transformative opportunity”, says. fmr. Gov. Ridge: “Former Gov. Tom Ridge this afternoon called Marcellus Shale gas production a “transformative opportunity” for Pennsylvania during an appearance Downtown in his new role as a strategic adviser to an industry group. Still dressed in the jeans and checkered shirt that he wore to inspect production operations in Washington County earlier in the day, Mr. Ridge hailed the industry’s economic potential but also stressed the need to manage environmental concerns. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/17/10)

And in Saturday’s Santa Maria (CA) Times, EID’s Lee Fuller sheds light on some of these facts:

This newspaper makes a series of claims about hydraulic fracturing that are simply unsupported by the facts. Claiming that the process is unregulated in California would be news to the state’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources, which according to its Web site has “statutory authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing under Section 3106 of the Public Resources Code.”

Hydraulic fracturing has been used more than 1.5 million times since the 1940s without a single instance of drinking water contamination.

Shale gas production is helping to create tens of thousands of jobs across the country, increasing America’s energy security, and generating billions of dollars for state and local governments, something California desperately needs. The fact that hydraulic fracturing can be performed safely and responsibly makes these economic benefits even more obvious.

Speaking of hydraulic fracturing facts, last week the American Petroleum Institute (API) released a new white paper entitled “Hydraulic Fracturing: Unlocking America’s Natural Gas Resources”, a must-read for anyone seeking credible, science-based information about this critical technology. This from API’s primer:

Clean burning natural gas is critical to American manufacturing jobs, to farmers for fertilizer, to households for heating and cooking, to businesses for electricity and fuel for transportation needs, and to society to help address climate change concerns because of its low carbon-content. But getting to the natural gas isn’t always easy. That’s where hydraulic fracturing plays an important role in America’s energy supply.

The overview also notes that “without hydraulic fracturing the US would lose 45% of domestic natural gas production and 17% of oil production within five years.”

And here’s what they’re saying about the shale gas revolution underway in America, made possible by hydraulic fracturing:

• Houston Chronicle: “The case for shale gas: Study on abundant resource points up national security advantages”: If the Obama administration needs further proof of the pivotal importance to national and global security of developing our abundant domestic natural gas resources, it will find it in a landmark study by scholars at Rice University’s Baker Institute, released last week. “Shale Gas and U.S. National Security,” coauthored by Baker scholars Kenneth B. Medlock III, Amy Myers Jaffe and Peter Hartley, offers exhaustive, objective and incontrovertible scholarly argumentation for aggressive development of this resource. The work provides a veritable connect-the-dots between development of shale gas in places like South Texas, Arkansas, West Virginia and Pennsylvania and the undeniable national security benefits such development would bring. The study calls the emergence of shale gas “perhaps the most intriguing development in global energy markets in recent memory.” (Editorial, 7/23/11)

• New York Post: “Just the fracks?”: If a new study out of Penn State doesn’t make New Yorkers breathless at the chance to allow hydraulic fracturing — a new method for extracting natural gas — absolutely nothing will. The study says Pennsylvania, which allows the process (also known as fracking), will reap a $12.8 billion bonanza this year from drilling. The spike in activity has helpedcreate nearly 140,000 jobs, both inside and outside the industry. Spending for natural-gas extraction in the Keystone State (not even including salaries) came to $4.7 billion in 2009, $11.1 billion last year and could reach $14.5 billion in 2012. … Pennsylvania may soon pass Texas as the nation’s top natural-gas exporter, producing nearly 3.5 billion cubic feet a day. (Editorial, 7/22/11)

• La. Dept. of Natural Resources Sec. Scott Angelle: Exploration of the Haynesville Shale has been a tremendous asset for our economy– generating more than $320 million in revenue from lease bonuses, royalties and rental payments to state and local governments since 2008, not including taxes and support activity. More than 2,000 wells have been permitted, begun drilling or are already producing, and the U.S. Department of Energy designated the Haynesville Shale as the most productive natural gas play in the nation this year. (DNR release, 7/22/11)

• Fmr. WVU engineering prof.: “Why fracturing is good for you”: This hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology in conjunction with the Marcellus shale gas is a godsend we should cherish, protect and celebrate. As in any industry, there are risks and abuses that need to be controlled, but to attack hydraulic fracturing or horizontal drilling is not only irrational, but actually counterproductive. (Charleston Gazette, Op-Ed, 7/23/11)

• American shale gas “bringing wealth to the community,” keeping “taxes low during tough economic times”: “Schools are strapped financially because of cuts from the state, and if we could get some funds from something like this, it would be a godsend,” Zick said. … “It paid for three-quarters of the track, which we would have not been able to do otherwise,” Zick said. “It was badly needed. We couldn’t even have a track meet there because PIAA wouldn’t let us.” Mountain View Superintendent Andrew Chichurra said the money also was used for a new roof on the elementary school and upgrades to the high school soccer field. … Twenty miles west, near Dimock, a school district is reaping the benefits from a drilling operation on its own land. … Bush said the district has received more than $700,000 to date, and the money is being used for capital improvement projectsas they arise and to keep taxes low during tough economic times. … “I’m thrilled there was no rise in my property taxes,” said Suzanne St. Pierre, parent of a recent Elk Lake High School graduate and resident of Auburn Township. “This is bringing wealth to the community.” (Times Leader, 7/24/11)

• “Gas A Cash Crop: Public Entities Benefit From Drilling Money”: The Marshall County Parks and Recreation Board received an initial $1.5 million payment for a land lease at Grand Vue Park. The deal called for $2,900 per acre for 532 acres, along with 18.75 percent in royalties. Much like Brooke County, park officials said the money will be used for future projects and improvements at the park. … West Liberty University also has signed a gas lease deal. The school expects to receive $5,000 per acre for its 279 acres, or about $1.4 million, not including 18 percent in royalties if drilling begins. The school plans to use its money to help build a new science center on campus. (Wheelings News-Register, 7/24/11)

• “Energy Boom Fuels Hiring”:In May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there were 413,500 jobs in the oil and gas extraction and support businesses in positions ranging from roustabout to tax accountant. After shedding jobs for much of the previous two decades, steady job growth returned to the U.S. industry in 2004, about the same time that U.S. energy producers began extracting natural gas from shale-rock formations. The sector has added an average of 5,920 jobs a month this year through May and preliminary data suggest that trend continued in June. Through May, there are13.6% more jobs tied to drilling than at the end of last year. By contrast the number of construction jobs in the U.S. has only grown 0.8% in that span. (Wall Street Journal, 7/26/11)

• The Oklahoman: “A wedding of demand and technology”: Enhanced recovery techniques have dramatically increased estimates of natural gas reserves in shale formations. Those estimates aren’t overhyped, as recently claimed in a New York Times story, says the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Gas production is projected to increase by 26 percent between 2009 and 2035, largely because of shale gas that can be tapped largely because of hydraulic fracturing. … Shale gas is a game changer for the nation. The question now is whether the Obama administration will change the rules of the game with a federal takeover of hydraulic fracturing oversight. … It’s been around for 60 years but is getting new attention in shale formations. It’s the wedding of demand for cleaner energy with the supply of technology to produce it. (Editorial, 7/24/11)

• Wall Street Journal: “A Tale of Two Shale States”: A new Manhattan Institute report by University of Wyoming professor Timothy Considine estimates that a typical Marcellus well generates some $2.8 million in direct economic benefits from natural gas company purchases; $1.2 million in indirect benefits from companies engaged along the supply chain; another $1.5 million from workers spending their wages, or landowners spending their royalty payments; plus $2 million in federal, state and local taxes. Oh, and 62 jobs. …  [Pa.] Marcellus drilling has created 72,000 jobs between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2011. The average wage for jobs in core Marcellus shale industries is about $73,000, or some $27,000 more than the average for all industries.  The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue says drillers have paid more than $1 billion in state taxes since 2006—and the numbers are swelling. … And all of this with no evidence of significant environmental harm. (Editorial, 7/26/11)

• USA Today: “Texas bucks national unemployment trend”, thanks to hydraulic fracturing: From June 2009 to June 2011 the state added 262,000 jobs, or half the USA’s 524,000 payroll gains, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. … Technological breakthroughs have let companies extract natural gas embedded in shale deposits. Barnett Shale in Fort Worth is one of the USA’s largest gas fields, and drilling began at the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas in 2008. The number of oil and gas rigs in the state has jumped to 850 from 330 in July 2009, says Ana Orozco, economist for IHS Global Insight. Each rig employs a few dozen workers and leads to hiring by engineering firms, pipeline builders and other services. (7/26/11)

EPA may halt oil activity
Pomeroy asks to turn down regulations
By Eloise Ogden
Minot (N.D.) Daily News
July 17, 2010

Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., is asking House leadership to turn down any new regulations on hydraulic fracturing.

A state minerals expert also says any new regulations on hydraulic fracturing would have a catastrophic impact on the oil development in North Dakota.

Pomeroy sent a letter Friday to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to reject any proposals that would place burdensome, new regulations on hydraulic fracturing in legislation

aimed at responding to the Gulf oil spill.

Some members of Congress have discussed attempting to attach new regulations on hydraulic fracturing to legislation aimed at addressing that tragedy, according to Pomeroy.

Lynn Helms, director of the N.D. Department of Mineral Resources, during a presentation in Minot in May, spoke about if the Environmental Protection Agency decides to regulate hydraulic fracturing.

“We really have got to stop that from happening,” he said. He said his department put together a document which tells how North Dakota regulates it and has gone to EPA headquarters and Gov. John Hoeven.

“If this happens, I can tell you that our Bakken and Three Forks drilling will have to stop for two to three years,” he said. He said when it happened to Alabama for coalbed methane, “they completely had to shut the door” for two years.

“By the time they got the rules written, the play had moved on and it has never been what it was before,” he said. “So that’s a huge cloud sitting over our industry a major impact. It would just reduce our activity to almost zero for two to three years.”

In his letter to Pelosi, Pomeroy said, “I believe that this would be a mistake and would find little support in the Senate. The EPA is currently undergoing a congressionally mandated study into hydraulic fracturing that is expected to be completed in 2012.”

Pomeroy called it “irresponsible” for Congress to enact new regulations

before the results of that study are known.

“Imposing new regulations now will do nothing to protect drinking water and will only serve to slow down development resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs and more imported oil. It is critical that any legislation related to the Gulf oil spill focus on responding to that tragedy and not include additional burdens on hydraulic fracturing,” he said.

Pomeroy pointed out that over the past two years, North Dakota has significantly increased its oil production, rising from the ninth largest oil producing state to the fourth. “This increase in production has resulted in a significant state budget surplus and the nation’s lowest unemployment rate,” he said.

Pomeroy toured oil-field operations in the Stanley area last week. “During these visits I saw firsthand the significant safeguards that are put into place to protect groundwater during hydraulic fracturing operations,” he said.

He said North Dakota currently has strong regulations on oil and gas development that more than adequately protect groundwater.

“These requirements include strict safety requirements on the storage and disposal of hydraulic fracturing fluid and on encasing the well to avoid leaks. The initial phases of wells are encased in several layers of cement from the surface to below the level of the deepest potable water source and below that level, wells are encased in an additional layer of cement to ensure that groundwater is in no danger of contamination,” he said.

Pomeroy said the regulation of hydraulic fracturing is best left to the states

. “Regulators in each individual state have a better idea of what steps are necessary to protect their residents and environment. Additionally, they are better equipped to implement commonsense regulations that fit their states unique needs than a catchall Environmental Protection Agency regulation,” he said.

NOTE: Click HERE to view this article online and HERE to view Rep. Pomeroy’s letter to Speaker Pelosi.

Founded in 1881, the Denver, CO-based American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) stated purpose, according to its site, is being for “the exchange of information pertaining to the management of water-works, for the mutual advancement of consumers and water companies, and for the purpose of securing economy and uniformity in the operations of water-works.”

How far AWWA’s come in those 130 years, though. A recently issued AWWA white paper titled “Hydrofracking: Is It Worth The Risk?” — written by Paul Easley, an ‘environmental manager’ for Fort Smith Utility in Arkansas — reads more like a manuscript from Gasland than an independent analysis. How does Mr. Easley’s claims stand in an Energy In Depth fact-check? We’re glad you asked.

Are you one of these voters that’s concerned about America’s energy security? If so, you’ve come to the right place for up-to-date news and information about domestic oil and natural gas production. Here’s how to stay informed:

• Twitter: @EnergyinDepth — Join the more than 2,800 other EID Twitter followers for the latest news stories, issue alerts and press releases about hydraulic fracturing, and job creation associated with American energy production.

• Facebook: Facebook.com/EnergyinDepth — Engaged in the debate about responsible, job-creating American oil and natural gas production on Facebook. Have you “Liked” us yet?

• YouTube: YouTube.com/user/EnergyinDepth — President Obama’s EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, recently told Congress this about hydraulic fracturing: “I’m not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water.” This video, and a host of others, are all here.

• Online Resources: Bookmark www.EnergyinDepth.org, and visit our interactive blog and comprehensive library for fact-based information about hydraulic fracturing.

Don’t be a stranger. We look forward to continuing to hear from you.

WASHINGTON – Following up on the decision this week by state legislators in New Jersey to approve legislation seeking an outright ban on the responsible deployment of hydraulic fracturing as a means of harvesting clean-burning, job-creating natural gas, Energy In Depth sent a detailed letter to Gov. Chris Christie today highlighting several important facts about the technology, along with an attachment capturing comments and insights from more than a dozen state environmental regulators from both parties testifying to the safety and efficiency of fracturing.

Also copied on the letter are the primary co-sponsors of the bill from both the General Assembly and Senate. The letter also extends an invitation to the governor, legislators, and their staff to tour a wellsite and see firsthand how a fracturing operation works, and what policies and procedures are in place to ensure it is executed safely.

The text of the letter is below; a stand-alone, electronic file can be accessed here.

July 1, 2011

Honorable Chris Christie
Office of the Governor
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625

Dear Governor Christie:

Earlier this week, the state legislature approved a bill seeking to implement a formal, statewide ban on the use of hydraulic fracturing, sending to your office legislation that refers to the technology in the text as a “drilling technique.” In fact, the process of stimulating a well via the fracturing process has nothing at all to do with drilling, but everything to do with making possible the delivery of billions of barrels of U.S. oil and trillions of cubic feet of U.S. natural gas, generating thousands of U.S. jobs and billions of dollars in annual tax revenue in the process.

Over the past 60 years, fracturing has been deployed more than 1.1 million times in at least 25 states – most often in the context of oil and natural gas, but also to stimulate flow from geothermal wells, water wells, and even by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a means of remediating Superfund sites. Over that period, fracturing has proven time and again to be a safe, efficient technology; in use since the 1940s, fracturing has never in its history been tied to the contamination of underground sources of drinking water, a fact most recently confirmed by EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, who previously served your state as commissioner of environmental protection.

The fracturing process itself involves the carefully controlled deployment of water, sand and small percentages of common, industrial materials under high pressure down-hole for the purpose of creating and sustaining small fissures in rock strata deep underground. These fissures act as conduits in otherwise impermeable rock allowing trapped natural gas to make its way to the wellbore and eventually up to the surface for collection. The process occurs after the well has been drilled, and routinely is completed in two to four days. Once the well is fractured, it’s ready to produce natural gas for years, even decades. It’s been estimated that nine out of 10 onshore energy wells in America – natural gas and oil – require fracturing technology to become or remain viable.

Of course, New Jersey is one of the few states in which fracturing technology has not been historically deployed, a function not of any political considerations, but of the state’s underlying geology. But just because New Jersey isn’t in a position to produce much natural gas doesn’t mean it doesn’t consume any.

According to the Energy Information Administration, New Jersey uses more than 620 billion cubic feet of natural gas each year, a large percentage of that produced via the use of fracturing in other states. Currently, more than half of all New Jersey residents rely on natural gas to heat their homes, benefiting significantly from low natural gas prices made possible due to the influx of new supply, which itself is made possible from fracturing. These low prices have also been a boon to New Jersey manufacturers, which rely on natural gas both as an indispensible source of energy and as a basic feedstock in just about everything they make.

While a statewide ban on this technology is not likely to have a material impact on development activities in your state, it could be used by opponents of affordable, reliable energy as a tool to push for implementing similarly destructive, ill-informed moratoria in other states. In view of that potential, we write today to express our strong opposition to the bill. We hope you will take a moment to review the attached fact sheet capturing comments and insights from environmental regulators across the country, with testimonials from each speaking to the safety of the technology and the true facts regarding its regulated use.

If this bill becomes law, New Jersey will become the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing, even as neighboring New York finalizes its plan to allow Marcellus wells to be fractured in a responsible and highly regulated way there. But before you decide how to proceed on this legislation, we would like to invite you and your staff to tour a wellsite, so you can see for yourself how the process works. It’s an invitation we’re also extending to the primary co-sponsors of the bill; those offices are copied on this letter. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly should you have any questions or concerns. We thank you for your time, and look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,
Lee Fuller
Executive Director
Energy In Depth

(click here to view attachment)

cc: Sen. Robert M. Gordon (D-Bergen); Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer and Middlesex); Sen. Christopher Bateman (R-Morris and Somerville); Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen); Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer); Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen); Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr. (D-Burlington and Camden); Assemblyman Ruben J. Ramos, Jr. (D-Hudson)

But first, by way of background, here’s what the paper’s hard news section reported on Sunday under the headline “Cawley: No evidence of pollution from fracking”:

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley on Friday said that there was no documented evidence of water being affected by the fracking process used in the mining of Marcellus shale natural gas.

Now back to today’s editorial, which plays fast-and-loose with the facts. This from the piece:

Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley may want to check his facts a little more closely the next time he talks about the natural gas mining technique known as fracking.

The former Bucks County commissioner and now chairman of the Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission last week told members of the county Transportation Management Association that there “has never been a documented case of water being affected by fracking for Marcellus Shale.”

…

Cawley’s deputy chief of staff maintained what his boss said was accurate, and that the process of fracking is not in itself risky.

With all due respect, a statement like that is akin to saying coal mining is not in itself risky. Or drilling for oil is not in itself risky. Or a nuclear power plant is not in itself risky.

But as they say, facts are awfully stubborn things. So, with all due respect to the paper’s editorial board members and editors, here are the facts:

• Lisa Jackson, President Obama’s EPA Administrator: “I’m not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water.” (5/24/11)

• Taury Smith, Top NY State Geologist and Self-Described Liberal Democrat: “He said he has been examining the science of hydrofracturing the shale for three years and has found no cases in which the process has led to groundwater contamination.” (Albany Times Union, 3/14/11)

• John Hanger, Gov. Rendell’s DEP Secretary and Founder of PennFuture: 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…have returned to contaminate ground water,” Hanger said. … 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. (Reuters, 11/4/10)

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT

Congressman Ralph Hall (TX), House Science Committee chairman:

• Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process by which water, sand, and a small amount of additives are pumped into a well to create enough pressure to fracture formations deep within the Earth. Advances in this 60-year old technology, combined with horizontal drilling, have transformed the production of natural gas along with the natural gas industry. (Testimony, 5/11/11)

Senator Mary Landrieu (LA), Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee:

• “I don’t think the oil executives would ever do this, but if I were one of them, I would be tempted to just shut off the spigots and go elsewhere and maybe America could run everything on solar power for the next decade or two and see what happens.” (Politico, 5/11/11)

Congressman Darrell Issa (CA), House Oversight and Government and Reform Committee chairman:

• Hydraulic fracturing for onshore oil and natural gas deposits is under attack. Despite its safe use for 60 years in more than 1 million wells in the U.S. and the promise of reducing our oil imports by more than half over the next 10 years, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy are caving to radical environmentalists who demand new, onerous regulations against the industry.

• The Energy Department has gone so far as to convene a panel charged with designing the “best practices” for industry safety. Naturally, the panel does not include a single practitioner of hydraulic fracturing — but does include the president of the Environmental Defense Fund. (Politico, 5/12/11)

EXPERTS TESTIFY BEFORE THE HOUSE SCIENCE PANEL

Elizabeth Ames Jones, Railroad Commission of Texas chairman:

• With over one million wells drilled, the RRC is responsible for more oil and gas wells than any other entity in the nation. … Since then, Texas’ natural gas production has increased more than 50 percent. Never in this period has hydraulic fracturing been a contributor to groundwater contamination.

• Our regulatory practices addressing hydraulic fracturing are the culmination of over 50 years of experience. The recent expansion in hydraulic fracturing activity in the Barnett Shale produced more than 13,000 gas wells. Even with such a dramatic increase in activity, not once has Texas experienced a case of groundwater contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing. I do not know of a single reported case of contamination nationwide.

• Whether it is fracturing fluid, oil or natural gas, to affect the usable quality of water, those substances would have to migrate upward through thousands of feet of rock. That is physically impossible.

• As many of you know, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was enacted in 1974 to protect public water. Hydraulic fracturing had been commercially utilized for 25 years at that time, and the SDWA never considered it as an issue. For the next 22 years the SDWA was debated and amended only twice, and both times hydraulic fracturing was never discussed. … EPA released a draft study on hydraulic fracturing concluding the process does not pose a risk to drinking water. To lay the alarm to rest, the US House passed the bipartisan 2005 Energy Bill clarifying that Congress never intended for hydraulic fracturing to be regulated under the SDWA. (Testimony, 5/11/11)

Harold Fitch, Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality & Groundwater Protection Council (GWPC):

• Hydraulic fracturing has been utilized throughout the United States for more than 60 years, and the states have a long history of successful regulation of the practice. … Because of rock characteristics and the physics of the fracturing process, it is virtually impossible for an induced fracture to propagate upward into fresh water zones. … States have adequate programs and authority for regulating hydraulic fracturing and a very good understanding of the technology.

• We believe the laws and rules in Michigan and other states effectively protect water and other natural resources as well as public health and safety from potential adverse effects of hydraulic fracturing. (Testimony, 5/11/11)

Dr. Michael Economides, Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, University of Houston:

• It is important to realize that this gas production wouldn’t be possible without hydraulic fracturing. … Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming each have over 60 years of extensive experience with the hydraulic fracturing process and these States have well developed regulatory processes in place.

• The chance of propagating a fracture upward into groundwater is nil. You have a better chance of winning the lottery. … My contention is that the hydraulic fracturing process is safe, already well regulated by the various States, and the hysterical outcry over this process is completely unjustified.

• Ultimately, the frenzy of arguments over hydraulic fracturing distill to this single fact: Either the United States wishes to utilize its natural gas resources, or it doesn’t. For development of shale or tight gas goes hand-in-hand with hydraulic fracturing. Saying “no’ to hydraulic fracturing really means you are saying “no” to natural gas production in the United States. (Testimony, 5/11/11)