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 …
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
North Dakota Chooses Oil Production
The shale revolution has resulted in North Dakota becoming the 2nd largest oil producing state, passing both Alaska and California this year. Below is the most recent data (February) from the Energy Information Administration, which highlights the powerful up trending production from both Texas and North Dakota. Alaska and California’s declines are even more startling when one considers that these states …
Vermont’s Hypocritical Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing
On Wednesday May 16th, 2012 Governor Peter Shumlin signed H. 464 which outlawed hydraulic fracturing in his state. The governor failed to mention that he was banning a technology which would never have been utilized because Vermont has no oil and gas reserves. He claimed that “this is a job creator” and had his picture taken with a sign that …
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 …
The Shale Revolution: Fueling U.S. Productivity
In Fracing Amazing: The Story of the Eagle Ford Shale, I explained how innovations in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of once-useless source rock unlocked the Eagle Ford Shale formation. Here are some other developments in the growing Shale Revolution in oil and gas production. Natural gas production is so prolific that the price of this clean form of energy …