Even with natural gas prices near ten-year lows, the Eagle Ford shale shows no sign of slowing oil production. It produced 27.1 million barrels for the first four months of this year, Texas Railroad Commission figures show, while Eagle Ford oil production for all of 2011 totaled 36.6 million barrels. “So we’re already 75 per- cent of the way to …
Gas producer turns off the taps in response to moratorium
After years of fighting with local governments for permission to expand gas production, this producer has shut in its wells. “Lenape said it leases drilling rights on about 5,050 acres in the town, pays the owners $13,000 a year in gas royalties and provides them $65,000 a year in free gas.” With the wells shut in the town must look for new gas …
Lennon and Yoko: Fracking IS Your Mother
A recent musical performance by celebrity activists on the Jimmy Fallon show is, unknowingly, a tribute to fracking for oil and natural gas. Here’s the scene: An old woman, whose longevity has been extended by oil-and-gas-based agriculture and oil-derived medicine, whose appearance is preserved by oil-based makeup, wears plastic (oil) glasses, a shiny (oil-coated) hat, and clothes grown using natural …
The Frac’ing Truth
Land and business owners in Broome County, New York filed a lawsuit to lift a two-year ban on oil and gas drilling. They would like to benefit from the creation of jobs and prosperity. So would the members of two landowners’ coalitions representing over 1300 families who own a combined 31,000 acres. Lifting the ban would restore their right as …
Power Hour: David Biederman on The Dangers of NOT Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing also known as frac’ing or fracking is the most important energy issue this election year. Want to know why? Listen to this week’s Power Hour episode, “The Dangers of Not Fracking” with CIP Researcher and oil industry professional David Biederman. Media coverage of fracking has led many to believe that it is a health menace. On this episode …
North Dakota’s Economic Stimulus
In North Dakota, a state with a 3% unemployment rate, the labor shortage is so great that businesses are now employing international students who have obtained four-month work visas. While many states with two or three times North Dakota’s unemployment rates are eagerly looking for government bail-outs and government-funded “stimulus” packages, North Dakota has embraced the ultimate stimulus–a high degree …
Test: Does Hydraulic Fracturing Contaminate Water Aquifers?
Below are three graphs showing the distance between aquifers and induced hydraulic fractures. Two are scientifically derived field images from thousands of hydraulic fracture stimulations. One is a fictitious piece of propaganda put out by a media opportunist. Can you tell which is which?
Obama is Restricting the Flow of Natural Gas
The shale gas revolution has delivered Americans inexpensive energy. As the chart below shows, the Henry Hub spot price for U.S. natural gas is many multiples lower than what Europe and Japan pay for this vital energy. ycharts.com
Will we have the political will to leave North Dakota free?
North Dakota’s growing prosperity continues to be on full display for the world this month. As we wrote previously, the state’s freedom to drill for oil has made it the 2nd largest producer of oil in the U.S. Recently, a North Dakota oil official publicly predicted that the state could come close to doubling current oil production to 1 million barrels per day …
Mark Ruffalo: Be an Avenger for Fracking
Dear Mark Ruffalo, As an energy researcher I am disappointed that you are using the media attention over your new Avengers movie to attack “fracking”–the revolutionary technology that uses controlled explosives high-pressure water jets to fracture once-useless rock formations so as to release bountiful oil and natural gas. I have no objection to celebrities getting involved with important political issues–if …