Story first appeared in The Wall Street Journal.
Reliance Industries Ltd. Wednesday cut its estimate of total proven natural gas reserves by 6.6% as it struggles with disappointing and declining output at its key D6 block in Krishna Godavari, which was intended to help it meet India's surging demand for the fuel.
Lower-than-expected output at D6 has hurt India's gas-based power plants and investment in the sector because banks have become cautious about lending due to the absence of committed fuel supplies. It has also hit the nation's steel, petrochemical and refining plants, which have been forced to import costlier gas.
Reliance, the country's largest private refiner by capacity, lowered its estimate of proven total natural gas reserves by 12.42 billion cubic meters to 103.958 billion cubic meters due to lower-than-projected output from D6.
The revision comes a day after the Oil Minister said production at the D6 block would tumble to 20 million standard cubic meters a day by March 2015, way below the 70 mmscm/d targeted for last financial year through March. Actual output for last year was 42 mmscm/d.
The Oil Ministry last week notified Reliance that it intended to prevent the company from recouping about $1 billion of its investment in D6 because it had failed to meet production targets included in the cost-recovery agreement.
In its annual report to shareholders, released late Tuesday, Reliance said the production decline at D6 has been steeper than anticipated because volume at existing wells was lower than expected and gas outside the main channel was too scarce to produce economically.
The company holds a 60% stake in D6. BP PLC owns 30% and Canada's Niko Resources 10%. Reliance also owns 30% of the Panna-Mukta-Tapti gas fields along India's west coast.
Reliance said in the annual report that it was conducting extensive reservoir studies in conjunction with BP to find a way to raise production at D6.
The company has formed an equal joint venture with BP -- India Gas Solutions Pvt -- to import and sell gas in India.
India's gas demand will rise 40% by March 2015 to 356.16 mmscm/d, but output will only grow 8.7% to 113 mmscm/d.
To tap gas resources overseas, Reliance entered into three shale-gas joint ventures in North America in 2010.
Reliance said shale-gas production would be challenging this financial year, in part because of historically low gas prices.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical
blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation
of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and
Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Showing posts with label hydraulic fracturing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hydraulic fracturing. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Energy Companies Targeting Mozambique
Story first appeared in The New York Times.
The world’s largest energy companies have big plans for Mozambique.
Until recently, the East African country was better known for its long civil war, and had few energy resources compared with regional heavy-hitters like Nigeria and Angola.
But in the last 10 years, companies like Exxon Mobil, the BG Group of Britain and Eni of Italy have used the latest technologies, including advances in deep-sea offshore drilling for oil and gas, to find new natural gas resources that are turning Mozambique into the center of an energy boom.
Up and down the country’s shoreline, Western energy companies, as well as a number of Asian competitors, are drilling wells thousands of feet below the Indian Ocean in hopes of striking it rich. The rewards could be huge. Mozambique may have more deposits of natural gas — used in everything from manufacturing to electricity generation — than the European energy giant Norway.
The East African country is not alone in its newfound energy wealth. Countries like Tanzania and Kenya also are attracting billions of dollars in investment from the world’s largest energy companies as they search for new oil and gas reserves.
In total, the Italian company Eni expects to spend $50 billion to develop natural gas projects off the coast of Mozambique. While production may not start until the end of the decade, the energy firm has designated the new reserves for customers in fast-growing Asian markets like India and China.
Other companies, including Anadarko Petroleum of Texas, also have multibillion-dollar plans for such new African oil and gas finds. Most, too, expect to sell the energy to emerging economies hungry to drive domestic growth.
The quickening pace of exploration in East Africa is part of a wider shake-up in the global energy industry as it scrambles to adapt to a series of major changes. Those range from the nuclear disaster in Japan last year, to slashed subsidies for alternative energy amid Europe’s economic crisis, to a boom in unconventional fossil fuels like shale gas that has spread across continents.
The changes have been particularly drastic in fast-growing China, now the world’s largest energy user and emitter of carbon dioxide. Since opening its economy over three decades ago, the Asian giant has become an insatiable consumer of natural resources. The country still relies predominantly on dirty coal for its electricity, but has fast-tracked oil production, as well as newer technologies like shale gas, and hydroelectric and wind power, to maintain its high levels of domestic growth.
With demand from emerging economies continuing apace, the quest for new fossil fuels is opening up unexplored territories for production. That may help to offset the effect of rising oil prices, which have reached almost record highs.
The demand from billions of people worldwide to consume energy isn’t slowing down. Companies ability to find new energy reserves, especially in remote locations, is altering the global market.
The opportunities are welcome in more ways than one. The new discoveries, including the so-called tar sands of Canada, are allowing Western companies like Royal Dutch Shell and BP to diversify and safeguard future production. State-owned firms like Sinopec of China and Gazprom of Russia have slowly taken over production of their domestic reserves, leaving them in control of roughly 85 percent of the world’s oil resources, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The discoveries also are helping countries from the United States to Romania to decrease their dependence on foreign energy imports as well as generate tax revenue and employment.
Poland presents a case in point. Since 2009, Chevron and other Western energy giants have been exploring there for shale gas, using many of the techniques pioneered in the United States with Natural Gas Expert Witnesses and Fracking Experts on hand for the process. The new energy resources could have a major effect on Poland, which currently imports more than 80 percent of its natural gas from Russia, its once dominant neighbor. The potential reserves may provide Poland with enough gas for more than 50 years, according to the country’s national geological institute.
There’s a real desire in Poland to build their own natural gas supplies.
So far, the American energy company has been drilling test wells to figure out how much shale gas can be extracted. Chevron has permits to explore more than one million acres in the southeast of Poland. It expects to have a clear picture of the potential size of the region’s energy reserves by the end of next year.
All may not go smoothly. Europe’s shale gas industry is not as developed as that of the United States, so finding the right drilling equipment and qualified work force could limit production.
Public perception may prove a problem, too. This year, Bulgaria canceled drilling permits for Chevron, and banned the controversial drilling technology known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which some environmental advocates have linked to the contamination of drinking water. France also prohibited the technique last year.
Shale gas has the potential to be an enormous economic benefit.
The emerging fossil fuel renaissance, however, has not been good news for every energy company. In the alternative sector, wind farms and solar panels now find it that much harder to compete against fossil fuels, given the new oil and gas discoveries. Analysts say electricity from wind farms located off the coasts of Britain and Germany, for example, may cost six times as much compared with power plants that burn coal or natural gas.
Cutbacks in government subsidies for renewable energy, particularly in European countries struggling from the Continent’s sovereign debt crisis, also are taking a toll. Western companies, including Vestas of Denmark and Q.Cells of Germany, already face tough competition from Asian rivals. Now, cash-poor countries are paring back price guarantees and canceling tax credits for green energy projects.
The changing economics are forcing green energy companies to adapt. Faced with falling global prices for wind turbines and solar panels, analysts expect the industry’s largest manufacturers to buy, or merge with, rivals, as they look to strengthen their market positions. Deals are already taking place. Last year, takeovers in the world’s renewables industry totaled $53.5 billion, a 40 percent increase over 2010, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Others are looking for cash-rich investors. In a bizarre twist, traditional oil and gas companies may come to the rescue of many green energy projects. With decades of experience developing resources out at sea, traditional energy companies are focusing their attention on multibillion-dollar plans to build wind farms off the coast of Europe and North America. Over the last 18 months, for example, the Spanish oil company Repsol and its Norwegian rival Statoil have announced investments in offshore wind projects across Northern Europe.
Interest in nuclear power also has waned after last year’s disaster involving the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Before the accident, there were 440 reactors in operation worldwide, with a further 558 plants either under construction or on the drawing board, according to the consultant Capgemini.
Now Japan has shut almost all of its nuclear reactors, and countries like Germany and Italy have either announced plans to close their remaining plants or canceled efforts to build new facilities. Asian countries are building the largest number of new nuclear power plants, though analysts say the pace of construction has slowed by almost a quarter in the last 12 months.
The development of new plants has slowed down, but India and China remain committed to building new nuclear capacity.
With the outlook dimming for low-carbon energy sources like nuclear power and renewables, there are growing concerns that efforts to curb global greenhouse gas emissions will fail as countries look to exploit new sources of fossil fuels.
Levels of carbon dioxide, for example, rose 5.9 percent in 2010, the latest figures available, according to the Global Carbon Project, an international collaboration of scientists that tracks the numbers. The increase came despite a slowdown in global manufacturing, as many of the world’s largest economies struggled because of the financial crisis.
With many countries expected to return to growth, the use of fossil fuels — and the resulting emissions — are expected to rise.
Finding new deposits doesn’t change the climate constraints facing the world.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
The world’s largest energy companies have big plans for Mozambique.
Until recently, the East African country was better known for its long civil war, and had few energy resources compared with regional heavy-hitters like Nigeria and Angola.
But in the last 10 years, companies like Exxon Mobil, the BG Group of Britain and Eni of Italy have used the latest technologies, including advances in deep-sea offshore drilling for oil and gas, to find new natural gas resources that are turning Mozambique into the center of an energy boom.
Up and down the country’s shoreline, Western energy companies, as well as a number of Asian competitors, are drilling wells thousands of feet below the Indian Ocean in hopes of striking it rich. The rewards could be huge. Mozambique may have more deposits of natural gas — used in everything from manufacturing to electricity generation — than the European energy giant Norway.
The East African country is not alone in its newfound energy wealth. Countries like Tanzania and Kenya also are attracting billions of dollars in investment from the world’s largest energy companies as they search for new oil and gas reserves.
In total, the Italian company Eni expects to spend $50 billion to develop natural gas projects off the coast of Mozambique. While production may not start until the end of the decade, the energy firm has designated the new reserves for customers in fast-growing Asian markets like India and China.
Other companies, including Anadarko Petroleum of Texas, also have multibillion-dollar plans for such new African oil and gas finds. Most, too, expect to sell the energy to emerging economies hungry to drive domestic growth.
The quickening pace of exploration in East Africa is part of a wider shake-up in the global energy industry as it scrambles to adapt to a series of major changes. Those range from the nuclear disaster in Japan last year, to slashed subsidies for alternative energy amid Europe’s economic crisis, to a boom in unconventional fossil fuels like shale gas that has spread across continents.
The changes have been particularly drastic in fast-growing China, now the world’s largest energy user and emitter of carbon dioxide. Since opening its economy over three decades ago, the Asian giant has become an insatiable consumer of natural resources. The country still relies predominantly on dirty coal for its electricity, but has fast-tracked oil production, as well as newer technologies like shale gas, and hydroelectric and wind power, to maintain its high levels of domestic growth.
With demand from emerging economies continuing apace, the quest for new fossil fuels is opening up unexplored territories for production. That may help to offset the effect of rising oil prices, which have reached almost record highs.
The demand from billions of people worldwide to consume energy isn’t slowing down. Companies ability to find new energy reserves, especially in remote locations, is altering the global market.
The opportunities are welcome in more ways than one. The new discoveries, including the so-called tar sands of Canada, are allowing Western companies like Royal Dutch Shell and BP to diversify and safeguard future production. State-owned firms like Sinopec of China and Gazprom of Russia have slowly taken over production of their domestic reserves, leaving them in control of roughly 85 percent of the world’s oil resources, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The discoveries also are helping countries from the United States to Romania to decrease their dependence on foreign energy imports as well as generate tax revenue and employment.
Poland presents a case in point. Since 2009, Chevron and other Western energy giants have been exploring there for shale gas, using many of the techniques pioneered in the United States with Natural Gas Expert Witnesses and Fracking Experts on hand for the process. The new energy resources could have a major effect on Poland, which currently imports more than 80 percent of its natural gas from Russia, its once dominant neighbor. The potential reserves may provide Poland with enough gas for more than 50 years, according to the country’s national geological institute.
There’s a real desire in Poland to build their own natural gas supplies.
So far, the American energy company has been drilling test wells to figure out how much shale gas can be extracted. Chevron has permits to explore more than one million acres in the southeast of Poland. It expects to have a clear picture of the potential size of the region’s energy reserves by the end of next year.
All may not go smoothly. Europe’s shale gas industry is not as developed as that of the United States, so finding the right drilling equipment and qualified work force could limit production.
Public perception may prove a problem, too. This year, Bulgaria canceled drilling permits for Chevron, and banned the controversial drilling technology known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which some environmental advocates have linked to the contamination of drinking water. France also prohibited the technique last year.
Shale gas has the potential to be an enormous economic benefit.
The emerging fossil fuel renaissance, however, has not been good news for every energy company. In the alternative sector, wind farms and solar panels now find it that much harder to compete against fossil fuels, given the new oil and gas discoveries. Analysts say electricity from wind farms located off the coasts of Britain and Germany, for example, may cost six times as much compared with power plants that burn coal or natural gas.
Cutbacks in government subsidies for renewable energy, particularly in European countries struggling from the Continent’s sovereign debt crisis, also are taking a toll. Western companies, including Vestas of Denmark and Q.Cells of Germany, already face tough competition from Asian rivals. Now, cash-poor countries are paring back price guarantees and canceling tax credits for green energy projects.
The changing economics are forcing green energy companies to adapt. Faced with falling global prices for wind turbines and solar panels, analysts expect the industry’s largest manufacturers to buy, or merge with, rivals, as they look to strengthen their market positions. Deals are already taking place. Last year, takeovers in the world’s renewables industry totaled $53.5 billion, a 40 percent increase over 2010, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Others are looking for cash-rich investors. In a bizarre twist, traditional oil and gas companies may come to the rescue of many green energy projects. With decades of experience developing resources out at sea, traditional energy companies are focusing their attention on multibillion-dollar plans to build wind farms off the coast of Europe and North America. Over the last 18 months, for example, the Spanish oil company Repsol and its Norwegian rival Statoil have announced investments in offshore wind projects across Northern Europe.
Interest in nuclear power also has waned after last year’s disaster involving the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Before the accident, there were 440 reactors in operation worldwide, with a further 558 plants either under construction or on the drawing board, according to the consultant Capgemini.
Now Japan has shut almost all of its nuclear reactors, and countries like Germany and Italy have either announced plans to close their remaining plants or canceled efforts to build new facilities. Asian countries are building the largest number of new nuclear power plants, though analysts say the pace of construction has slowed by almost a quarter in the last 12 months.
The development of new plants has slowed down, but India and China remain committed to building new nuclear capacity.
With the outlook dimming for low-carbon energy sources like nuclear power and renewables, there are growing concerns that efforts to curb global greenhouse gas emissions will fail as countries look to exploit new sources of fossil fuels.
Levels of carbon dioxide, for example, rose 5.9 percent in 2010, the latest figures available, according to the Global Carbon Project, an international collaboration of scientists that tracks the numbers. The increase came despite a slowdown in global manufacturing, as many of the world’s largest economies struggled because of the financial crisis.
With many countries expected to return to growth, the use of fossil fuels — and the resulting emissions — are expected to rise.
Finding new deposits doesn’t change the climate constraints facing the world.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Chevron Targets Romania for Natural Gas Fracking
Story first appeared in The New York Times.
Romania is set to start exploring its shale gas reserves in a drive for energy independence, despite local protests against the potential risks and Europe-wide concerns about the technology used to exploit unconventional gas sources.
Several oil companies have expressed interest in exploring what is believed to be the country’s significant potential. According to an assessment by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary may together be sitting on top of about 538 billion cubic meters, or 19 trillion cubic feet, of technically recoverable shale natural gas reserves.
The U.S. energy company Chevron has, since 2010, obtained concessions in Romania, covering a combined area of 870,000 hectares, or 2.2 million acres, in the Eastern plains and the Black Sea coastal region of the country. After surface prospecting, the company is planning to start an exploratory drilling campaign this year. Chevron believes that Romania holds potential for a successful project. No wells have yet been drilled, and it is critical to conduct a standard natural gas exploration with Natural Gas Expert Witnesses on hand to monitor the proceedings.
Chevron’s plans have resulted in protests by environmental advocate organizations and local politicians.
In Barlad, an economically depressed town near the Moldovan border, 2,000 locals gathered in March in a rare demonstration against activities planned in the area. The region’s economy, hit by the loss of heavy industries since the fall of communism in 1989, would benefit from the large investments that shale gas development would bring. According to Romania’s Mineral Resources Agency, for example, exploratory drilling in the Dobroudja region, on the Black Sea Coast, could bring more than $80 million in investment over four years.
But the Barlad protesters said they were worried about the potential effect on the local environment.
In neighboring Bulgaria, Parliament, under pressure from protesters, imposed a ban in January on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the technology used to extract gas from shale. The ban caused cancellation of Chevron’s Bulgarian exploration permit.
Romanian environmentalists hope to emulate the Bulgarian example. They are currently against the exploration of shale gas, due to the fact that the method used is the only one available and is not environmentally acceptable.
Fracking is strongly polluting, and the risks are by far higher than the benefits. Fracking can pollute arable land, leak chemicals and the huge use and pollution of water resources.
Romanian activists are not fighting Chevron, they are fighting the government.
The head of the mineral resources agency, was not available to answer questions on shale gas operations, despite repeated calls: But in an interview with the local Web site HotNews earlier this month, he said unconventional gas was a resource that not a single state or company can afford neglecting.
Concerning the effect that shale gas operations could have on the environment, the mineral resources agency stated that exploiting any mineral resource is a process that has an impact on the environment. But this impact can be controlled and minimized by respecting good practices and further regulation of operations being carried out.
According to a professor at the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, hydraulic fracturing is “relatively secure,” but only if drilling is preceded by expensive studies, and the operation is monitored thoroughly.
Still, therein lies the problem, considering the very high number of drills, and the fact that companies look to make the most savings possible.
Aside from the usual effects linked to any industrial activity, the possible contamination of deep aquifers by the chemicals used in the process and to heavy metals liberated during fracking is also distressing.
In any case, one day or another, petrol, gas and coal reserves will dry out. The race for shale gas pushes this inevitable moment away, but doesn’t help avoid it. Exploiting shale gas simply postpones the strategic shift to renewable energy.
A report commissioned by the European Parliament in 2011, on the effects of shale gas and shale oil production on the environment and on human health, assessed the risks to the environment and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and evaluated the European regulatory framework.
Whenever exploration and production of unconventional fossil fuels has been done at relevant scale, it has had an effect on the environment. As it generally involves processing significantly larger amounts of material, as well as higher energy and water consumption, the overall impact will be higher than for conventional oil and gas wells.
The report also showed gaps in existing regulations, like the threshold for Environmental Impact Assessments to be carried out on hydraulic fracturing activities. At present, the threshold is set far above any potential industrial activities of this kind, and thus they are just not covered by the corresponding regulation.
The 27-nation European Union lacks a unified stance on fracking. Attached to its energy independence from Russia, Poland, for one, has resisted calls for restrictive European legislation on shale gas.
Chevron states that not a single case of groundwater contamination had been linked to shale gas production since fracking was first used in the United States on an industrial scale in the 1970s. As more information will be presented, people will be able to take an informed decision.
Romania has been an oil and natural gas producer since the late 19th century. One of the first refineries in the world started operating in 1856 near the town of Ploiesti, north of the capital. But today, like its neighbors, it depends heavily on imported Russian gas.
In a recent speech, the Romanian president answered critics of shale gas. Citing the United States and Poland, with the largest estimated reserves in Europe, as examples, he urged Romania to reduce its import dependency.
With legislative and local elections coming up this year, the subject has brought heated political debate and revived arguments about other long-stymied international mining projects.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Romania is set to start exploring its shale gas reserves in a drive for energy independence, despite local protests against the potential risks and Europe-wide concerns about the technology used to exploit unconventional gas sources.
Several oil companies have expressed interest in exploring what is believed to be the country’s significant potential. According to an assessment by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary may together be sitting on top of about 538 billion cubic meters, or 19 trillion cubic feet, of technically recoverable shale natural gas reserves.
The U.S. energy company Chevron has, since 2010, obtained concessions in Romania, covering a combined area of 870,000 hectares, or 2.2 million acres, in the Eastern plains and the Black Sea coastal region of the country. After surface prospecting, the company is planning to start an exploratory drilling campaign this year. Chevron believes that Romania holds potential for a successful project. No wells have yet been drilled, and it is critical to conduct a standard natural gas exploration with Natural Gas Expert Witnesses on hand to monitor the proceedings.
Chevron’s plans have resulted in protests by environmental advocate organizations and local politicians.
In Barlad, an economically depressed town near the Moldovan border, 2,000 locals gathered in March in a rare demonstration against activities planned in the area. The region’s economy, hit by the loss of heavy industries since the fall of communism in 1989, would benefit from the large investments that shale gas development would bring. According to Romania’s Mineral Resources Agency, for example, exploratory drilling in the Dobroudja region, on the Black Sea Coast, could bring more than $80 million in investment over four years.
But the Barlad protesters said they were worried about the potential effect on the local environment.
In neighboring Bulgaria, Parliament, under pressure from protesters, imposed a ban in January on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the technology used to extract gas from shale. The ban caused cancellation of Chevron’s Bulgarian exploration permit.
Romanian environmentalists hope to emulate the Bulgarian example. They are currently against the exploration of shale gas, due to the fact that the method used is the only one available and is not environmentally acceptable.
Fracking is strongly polluting, and the risks are by far higher than the benefits. Fracking can pollute arable land, leak chemicals and the huge use and pollution of water resources.
Romanian activists are not fighting Chevron, they are fighting the government.
The head of the mineral resources agency, was not available to answer questions on shale gas operations, despite repeated calls: But in an interview with the local Web site HotNews earlier this month, he said unconventional gas was a resource that not a single state or company can afford neglecting.
Concerning the effect that shale gas operations could have on the environment, the mineral resources agency stated that exploiting any mineral resource is a process that has an impact on the environment. But this impact can be controlled and minimized by respecting good practices and further regulation of operations being carried out.
According to a professor at the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, hydraulic fracturing is “relatively secure,” but only if drilling is preceded by expensive studies, and the operation is monitored thoroughly.
Still, therein lies the problem, considering the very high number of drills, and the fact that companies look to make the most savings possible.
Aside from the usual effects linked to any industrial activity, the possible contamination of deep aquifers by the chemicals used in the process and to heavy metals liberated during fracking is also distressing.
In any case, one day or another, petrol, gas and coal reserves will dry out. The race for shale gas pushes this inevitable moment away, but doesn’t help avoid it. Exploiting shale gas simply postpones the strategic shift to renewable energy.
A report commissioned by the European Parliament in 2011, on the effects of shale gas and shale oil production on the environment and on human health, assessed the risks to the environment and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and evaluated the European regulatory framework.
Whenever exploration and production of unconventional fossil fuels has been done at relevant scale, it has had an effect on the environment. As it generally involves processing significantly larger amounts of material, as well as higher energy and water consumption, the overall impact will be higher than for conventional oil and gas wells.
The report also showed gaps in existing regulations, like the threshold for Environmental Impact Assessments to be carried out on hydraulic fracturing activities. At present, the threshold is set far above any potential industrial activities of this kind, and thus they are just not covered by the corresponding regulation.
The 27-nation European Union lacks a unified stance on fracking. Attached to its energy independence from Russia, Poland, for one, has resisted calls for restrictive European legislation on shale gas.
Chevron states that not a single case of groundwater contamination had been linked to shale gas production since fracking was first used in the United States on an industrial scale in the 1970s. As more information will be presented, people will be able to take an informed decision.
Romania has been an oil and natural gas producer since the late 19th century. One of the first refineries in the world started operating in 1856 near the town of Ploiesti, north of the capital. But today, like its neighbors, it depends heavily on imported Russian gas.
In a recent speech, the Romanian president answered critics of shale gas. Citing the United States and Poland, with the largest estimated reserves in Europe, as examples, he urged Romania to reduce its import dependency.
With legislative and local elections coming up this year, the subject has brought heated political debate and revived arguments about other long-stymied international mining projects.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Drillers May Be Allowed to Drill Before Disclosing Chemicals
Story first appeared in Bloomberg.
Natural-gas companies drilling on U.S. land would be permitted to wait until after hydraulic fracturing is completed to disclose what chemicals they used, under a draft rule being considered by the U.S. Interior Department.
A version in February required companies to file a complete chemical makeup at least 30 days before work began, something energy trade groups, including Washington-based American Exploration and Production Council, complained about. They said it could slow energy production on federal lands.
The President has pledged to increase U.S. natural gas production in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, releases gas trapped in shale rock by injecting water, sand and chemicals thousands of feet underground. It’s used for almost every new natural-gas well drilled in the U.S. There is a concern that fracking could contaminate ground water reservoirs, and it is imperative that Fracking Expert Witnesses are on hand to make sure everything is being handled properly to avoid problems.
Requiring disclosure of chemicals would only be required after the fracturing operation has taken place, according to the draft, obtained by Bloomberg News.
The Washington-based Environmental Working Group said in February that some of the chemicals already disclosed by the companies are known to cause cancer or reproductive harm.
The Presidential administration plans to post the fracking information on a public website, possibly on FracFocus.org, according to the draft. FracFocus is managed by the Ground Water Protection Council and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.
API Guidelines
Draft rules are being developed with input from the public and industry, according to an administration official familiar with the rule’s development who declined to be identified because he isn’t authorized to discuss a matter still under development.
The rule, which also includes standards for well construction, is consistent with guidelines for well construction and integrity established by the American Petroleum Institute, the largest trade group representing the industry, according to the draft.
In the draft, the Interior Department said it doesn’t expect the additional requirements to slow approval of drilling permits.
While the president has praised natural-gas production as a source of hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next decade, critics in the industry say the regulations may be a first step toward broader federal oversight of fracking.
About a fifth of U.S. production occurs on U.S. government land, primarily in western states such as Colorado and Wyoming. With the rise in natural gas drilling, the interest in Workers Compensation Insurance has risen at an exponential level. Natural gas companies argue regulating the practice should be left to state authorities who are more familiar with the local geology.
States are effectively requiring disclosure, without discouraging investment. FracFocus, which is working very effectively, is an example of this and is being adapted by several states.
An Arkansas Hosting Company reports that the amount of hosting requests for sites against fracking has risen drastically.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Natural-gas companies drilling on U.S. land would be permitted to wait until after hydraulic fracturing is completed to disclose what chemicals they used, under a draft rule being considered by the U.S. Interior Department.
A version in February required companies to file a complete chemical makeup at least 30 days before work began, something energy trade groups, including Washington-based American Exploration and Production Council, complained about. They said it could slow energy production on federal lands.
The President has pledged to increase U.S. natural gas production in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, releases gas trapped in shale rock by injecting water, sand and chemicals thousands of feet underground. It’s used for almost every new natural-gas well drilled in the U.S. There is a concern that fracking could contaminate ground water reservoirs, and it is imperative that Fracking Expert Witnesses are on hand to make sure everything is being handled properly to avoid problems.
Requiring disclosure of chemicals would only be required after the fracturing operation has taken place, according to the draft, obtained by Bloomberg News.
The Washington-based Environmental Working Group said in February that some of the chemicals already disclosed by the companies are known to cause cancer or reproductive harm.
The Presidential administration plans to post the fracking information on a public website, possibly on FracFocus.org, according to the draft. FracFocus is managed by the Ground Water Protection Council and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.
API Guidelines
Draft rules are being developed with input from the public and industry, according to an administration official familiar with the rule’s development who declined to be identified because he isn’t authorized to discuss a matter still under development.
The rule, which also includes standards for well construction, is consistent with guidelines for well construction and integrity established by the American Petroleum Institute, the largest trade group representing the industry, according to the draft.
In the draft, the Interior Department said it doesn’t expect the additional requirements to slow approval of drilling permits.
While the president has praised natural-gas production as a source of hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next decade, critics in the industry say the regulations may be a first step toward broader federal oversight of fracking.
About a fifth of U.S. production occurs on U.S. government land, primarily in western states such as Colorado and Wyoming. With the rise in natural gas drilling, the interest in Workers Compensation Insurance has risen at an exponential level. Natural gas companies argue regulating the practice should be left to state authorities who are more familiar with the local geology.
States are effectively requiring disclosure, without discouraging investment. FracFocus, which is working very effectively, is an example of this and is being adapted by several states.
An Arkansas Hosting Company reports that the amount of hosting requests for sites against fracking has risen drastically.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
EPA Releases Air Pollution Rules
Story first appeared in The Wall Street Journal.
The Environmental Protection Agency released long-awaited rules to control air pollution from hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" on Wednesday, marking one of its first efforts to regulate the widely used technique of extracting oil and natural gas.
In releasing the standards, the EPA did offer a concession to oil and natural gas companies by delaying the required use of pollution-control equipment until 2015. Under a proposal unveiled last year, the EPA would have required companies to use the equipment almost immediately.
The industry praised the EPA for giving it more time to comply, but environmental groups said the agency should have been more aggressive with its requirements.
The EPA air chief told reporters Wednesday that a decision to delay compliance was made by agency staff, based on their understanding of the way the industry operated, and was not politically motivated.
Representatives from several energy companies--including ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips--met with EPA and White House officials in recent weeks to try to shape the rule.
The EPA's rule, which affects about 13,000 wells drilled each year, coincides with a massive boom in natural gas production that has created opportunities for fuel switching but has also prompted concerns about air pollution and water contamination.
The President has touted natural gas as a valuable domestic resource that can replace coal for electricity generation and supplant oil as a transportation fuel.
The rules announced Wednesday require energy companies to capture smog-forming pollution known as volatile organic compounds when they "frack" a well rather than let it escape into the atmosphere.
Fracking involves the use of a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals to break apart energy-rich rocks. Toward the end of the process, a combination of fracking fluids and gas rush to the surface and can escape into the atmosphere. It's one of the largest sources of air pollution from the energy industry, the EPA has said.
The EPA's rules don't address aspects of the fracking process that could cause water contamination. The agency is in the process of studying the impact of fracking on water, but said recently that it verified the safety of water in Pennsylvania and would do additional testing on water in Wyoming that it previously said appeared to be affected by local fracking activity.
Under the rules announced Wednesday, oil and gas companies will be forced to use "green completion" technology by 2015. Until then, they will be required to burn off emissions by flaring the natural gas, a common industry practice already used by energy companies to reduce pollution.
Flaring was 95% effective in reducing volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
The EPA was under a court-ordered deadline to develop the air-quality rules after being sued by environmental groups that had accused the agency of failing to follow the law. The EPA said its rule will improve the air quality in regions where a lot of oil and natural gas drilling occurs.
While the purpose of the EPA's rule is to reduce VOCs, the standards will also cut methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. Scientists have recently started to raise questions about the amount of so-called methane leaks from natural gas wells, saying the emissions might make natural gas less friendly to the environment than has been assumed.
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday's announcement, oil and natural gas companies urged EPA and White House officials to delay the green-completion requirements because they said there wasn't enough equipment to go around. Companies would have to line up to use the equipment and stall their production projects until it became available, they said.
Environmental groups said the industry had exaggerated the scarcity of the equipment.
Left to police itself for too long, the oil and gas industry has failed even to adopt pollution controls that pay for themselves.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
The Environmental Protection Agency released long-awaited rules to control air pollution from hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" on Wednesday, marking one of its first efforts to regulate the widely used technique of extracting oil and natural gas.
In releasing the standards, the EPA did offer a concession to oil and natural gas companies by delaying the required use of pollution-control equipment until 2015. Under a proposal unveiled last year, the EPA would have required companies to use the equipment almost immediately.
The industry praised the EPA for giving it more time to comply, but environmental groups said the agency should have been more aggressive with its requirements.
The EPA air chief told reporters Wednesday that a decision to delay compliance was made by agency staff, based on their understanding of the way the industry operated, and was not politically motivated.
Representatives from several energy companies--including ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips--met with EPA and White House officials in recent weeks to try to shape the rule.
The EPA's rule, which affects about 13,000 wells drilled each year, coincides with a massive boom in natural gas production that has created opportunities for fuel switching but has also prompted concerns about air pollution and water contamination.
The President has touted natural gas as a valuable domestic resource that can replace coal for electricity generation and supplant oil as a transportation fuel.
The rules announced Wednesday require energy companies to capture smog-forming pollution known as volatile organic compounds when they "frack" a well rather than let it escape into the atmosphere.
Fracking involves the use of a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals to break apart energy-rich rocks. Toward the end of the process, a combination of fracking fluids and gas rush to the surface and can escape into the atmosphere. It's one of the largest sources of air pollution from the energy industry, the EPA has said.
The EPA's rules don't address aspects of the fracking process that could cause water contamination. The agency is in the process of studying the impact of fracking on water, but said recently that it verified the safety of water in Pennsylvania and would do additional testing on water in Wyoming that it previously said appeared to be affected by local fracking activity.
Under the rules announced Wednesday, oil and gas companies will be forced to use "green completion" technology by 2015. Until then, they will be required to burn off emissions by flaring the natural gas, a common industry practice already used by energy companies to reduce pollution.
Flaring was 95% effective in reducing volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
The EPA was under a court-ordered deadline to develop the air-quality rules after being sued by environmental groups that had accused the agency of failing to follow the law. The EPA said its rule will improve the air quality in regions where a lot of oil and natural gas drilling occurs.
While the purpose of the EPA's rule is to reduce VOCs, the standards will also cut methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. Scientists have recently started to raise questions about the amount of so-called methane leaks from natural gas wells, saying the emissions might make natural gas less friendly to the environment than has been assumed.
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday's announcement, oil and natural gas companies urged EPA and White House officials to delay the green-completion requirements because they said there wasn't enough equipment to go around. Companies would have to line up to use the equipment and stall their production projects until it became available, they said.
Environmental groups said the industry had exaggerated the scarcity of the equipment.
Left to police itself for too long, the oil and gas industry has failed even to adopt pollution controls that pay for themselves.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)