Have frackers pushed their luck too far? | The Oil and the Glory
September 16, 2011
Have frackers pushed their luck too far? | The Oil and the Glory.
Lawmaker’s sign cracks decorum at Obama job speech
September 9, 2011
WASHINGTON – Rep. Jeff Landry knew not to yell at President Barack Obama during his jobs address Thursday night to Congress.
How To Avoid The Oil Curse : Planet Money : NPR
September 7, 2011
How To Avoid The Oil Curse : Planet Money : NPR. Sept 7, 2011.
FT.com / FT Magazine – The Iraqi who saved Norway from oil
September 7, 2011
FT.com / FT Magazine – The Iraqi who saved Norway from oil.
The Iraqi who saved Norway from oil
By Martin Sandbu
Published: August 29 2009 02:26 | Last updated: August 29 2009 02:26
Pipe Dreams | Food & Water Watch
August 5, 2011
Pipe Dreams | Food & Water Watch.
Pipe Dreams: What the Gas Industry Doesn’t Want you to Know about Fracking and U.S. Energy Independence is available here:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/briefs/pipe-dreams/
August 4, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch, (202) 683-4905
Eric Weltman, Food & Water Watch, (718) 943-9085
Shaky U.S. Economy Won’t Benefit from Natural Gas Expansion
Food & Water Watch Analysis Reveals Industry Plans to Send Fracked
Gas and Profits Overseas
Washington, D.C.—As the federal government prepares to gut key programs to protect water and other natural resources through this week’s debt agreement, the Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to invest $12.4 million on programs to support shale gas development. Yet new analysis released today by the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch casts additional doubt on the benefits of natural gas obtained through hydraulic fracturing. Pipe Dreams: What the Gas Industry Doesn’t Want you to Know about Fracking and U.S. Energy Independence shows that gas leases are not only generating less energy than once forecast, but also a significant portion of U.S. fracked gas will be exported overseas and the industry’s revenues will benefit foreign economies.
According to recent trade publication accounts, DOE will invest $1.6 million, outspending General Electric 4 to 1, on a project designed to remove radioactive material from wastewater from fracking operations in New York State. It will spend additional funds on projects to improve natural gas well performance in Colorado, Texas, California and New Mexico.
In July, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lifted a moratorium on fracking, and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has recommended opening up 85 percent of the Marcellus Shale in New York to gas fracking. A coalition of 49 groups has come out in support of a ban on fracking in New York.
“This new analysis provides further evidence that fracking will endanger New York’s water for the benefit of foreign interests and customers,” said Eric Weltman, Food & Water Watch’s senior organizer in New York. “Governor Cuomo needs to read this report, which effectively undermines the natural gas industry’s claims that fracking will promote energy independence.”
While U.S. natural gas consumption is actually expected to decline through 2015, it is expected to increase overseas—as much as 44 percent by 2035, with China and India leading that demand. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities once conceptualized for importing gas are now being converted to export terminals to feed the Chinese and Indian markets; Chesapeake Energy is exploring selling some of its natural gas to the India-based Cheniere Energy. Included in this plan is a liquefaction plant in the Gulf of Mexico. Natural gas from the U.S. is attractive to foreign markets because it is less expensive than that from Asia.
As U.S. companies sell or lease their own holdings, many international players are increasing their share of the U.S. natural gas market:
• Reliance Industries (India): In 2010 announced the purchase of a 40 percent stake in Atlas Energy’s Marcellus Shale operation for $1.7 billion; also acquired a 45 percent stake in Eagle Ford shale from Pioneer Natural Resources for $1.36 billion, including $210 million to Pioneer’s other partner Newpek LLC, a subsidiary of Mexican company ALFA SAB de CV.
• China National Offshore Oil Corp (China, government-owned): Agreed to pay $2.2 billion for access to a shale play in south Texas in October 2010; agreed to pay $570 million in cash for a third of Chesapeake’s Niobrara shale basin in Colorado and Wyoming in January 2011.
• BP (United Kingdom): In 2008, invested more than $3.6 billion in U.S. shale, including $1.9 billion for 25 percent of Chesapeake’s Fayetteville shale operations and $1.75 billion for all of Chesapeake’s Woodford Shale operations in Oklahoma.
• Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands): Paid $4.7 billion for East Resources and its Marcellus Shale assets in 2010.
After rising and falling in 2008, natural gas prices plateaued in 2010 and have remained steady since. Moreover, many gas wells are producing less gas than once expected, and some U.S.-based companies such as Chesapeake Energy have resorted to selling the land their wells are situated on as a means of generating revenues.
Further adding to doubts of the natural gas industry’s ability to generate ample energy, news surfaced earlier this week that the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating the accuracy of the industry’s claims regarding the performance of shale gas wells.
Pipe Dreams: What the Gas Industry Doesn’t Want you to Know about Fracking and U.S. Energy Independence is available here: August 4, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch, (202) 683-4905
Eric Weltman, Food & Water Watch, (718) 943-9085
Shaky U.S. Economy Won’t Benefit from Natural Gas Expansion
Food & Water Watch Analysis Reveals Industry Plans to Send Fracked
Gas and Profits Overseas
Washington, D.C.—As the federal government prepares to gut key programs to protect water and other natural resources through this week’s debt agreement, the Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to invest $12.4 million on programs to support shale gas development. Yet new analysis released today by the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch casts additional doubt on the benefits of natural gas obtained through hydraulic fracturing. Pipe Dreams: What the Gas Industry Doesn’t Want you to Know about Fracking and U.S. Energy Independence shows that gas leases are not only generating less energy than once forecast, but also a significant portion of U.S. fracked gas will be exported overseas and the industry’s revenues will benefit foreign economies.
According to recent trade publication accounts, DOE will invest $1.6 million, outspending General Electric 4 to 1, on a project designed to remove radioactive material from wastewater from fracking operations in New York State. It will spend additional funds on projects to improve natural gas well performance in Colorado, Texas, California and New Mexico.
In July, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lifted a moratorium on fracking, and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has recommended opening up 85 percent of the Marcellus Shale in New York to gas fracking. A coalition of 49 groups has come out in support of a ban on fracking in New York.
“This new analysis provides further evidence that fracking will endanger New York’s water for the benefit of foreign interests and customers,” said Eric Weltman, Food & Water Watch’s senior organizer in New York. “Governor Cuomo needs to read this report, which effectively undermines the natural gas industry’s claims that fracking will promote energy independence.”
While U.S. natural gas consumption is actually expected to decline through 2015, it is expected to increase overseas—as much as 44 percent by 2035, with China and India leading that demand. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities once conceptualized for importing gas are now being converted to export terminals to feed the Chinese and Indian markets; Chesapeake Energy is exploring selling some of its natural gas to the India-based Cheniere Energy. Included in this plan is a liquefaction plant in the Gulf of Mexico. Natural gas from the U.S. is attractive to foreign markets because it is less expensive than that from Asia.
As U.S. companies sell or lease their own holdings, many international players are increasing their share of the U.S. natural gas market:
• Reliance Industries (India): In 2010 announced the purchase of a 40 percent stake in Atlas Energy’s Marcellus Shale operation for $1.7 billion; also acquired a 45 percent stake in Eagle Ford shale from Pioneer Natural Resources for $1.36 billion, including $210 million to Pioneer’s other partner Newpek LLC, a subsidiary of Mexican company ALFA SAB de CV.
• China National Offshore Oil Corp (China, government-owned): Agreed to pay $2.2 billion for access to a shale play in south Texas in October 2010; agreed to pay $570 million in cash for a third of Chesapeake’s Niobrara shale basin in Colorado and Wyoming in January 2011.
• BP (United Kingdom): In 2008, invested more than $3.6 billion in U.S. shale, including $1.9 billion for 25 percent of Chesapeake’s Fayetteville shale operations and $1.75 billion for all of Chesapeake’s Woodford Shale operations in Oklahoma.
• Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands): Paid $4.7 billion for East Resources and its Marcellus Shale assets in 2010.
After rising and falling in 2008, natural gas prices plateaued in 2010 and have remained steady since. Moreover, many gas wells are producing less gas than once expected, and some U.S.-based companies such as Chesapeake Energy have resorted to selling the land their wells are situated on as a means of generating revenues.
Further adding to doubts of the natural gas industry’s ability to generate ample energy, news surfaced earlier this week that the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating the accuracy of the industry’s claims regarding the performance of shale gas wells.
Pipe Dreams: What the Gas Industry Doesn’t Want you to Know about Fracking and U.S. Energy Independence is available here: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/briefs/pipe-dreams/
Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.
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August 4th, 2011
Pipe Dreams: What the Gas Industry Doesn’t Want you to Know about Fracking and U.S. Energy Independence
Download the 
PDF File
Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board
June 13, 2011
Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.
“Setting the Bar for Safety & Responsibility”
On May 5, 2011, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu charged the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) Natural Gas Subcommittee to make recommendations to improve the safety and environmental performance of natural gas hydraulic fracturing from shale formations. Secretary Chu extended the Subcommittee membership beyond SEAB members to include the natural gas industry, states, and environmental experts. The Subcommittee is supported by the Departments of Energy and Interior, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
President Obama directed Secretary Chu to form the Natural Gas Subcommittee as part of the President’s “Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future” – a comprehensive plan to reduce America’s oil dependence, save consumers money, and make our country the leader in clean energy industries.
The Subcommittee will conduct a review, and will work to identify any immediate steps that can be taken to improve the safety and environmental performance of hydraulic fracturing. They will also develop advice for the agencies on shale extraction practices that ensure protection of public health and the environment.
Notice of Public Meeting
The SEAB Natural Gas Subcommittee will hold a public meeting on Monday, June 13, 2011, at Washington Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.
View the event live via webcast beginning at 7PM EDT.
On a Party Line Vote, Committee Rejects Lowey-Hinchey
Amendment to Make Shale Gas Panel Unbiased and Impartial
***NEWS RELEASE***
| For Immediate Release
June 15, 2010 |
Mike Morosi (Hinchey) – (202) 225-6335 Matt Dennis (Lowey) – (202) 225-6506 |
Appropriations Committee Republicans Block Lowey-Hinchey Amendment
to Prevent Increased Financial Conflicts of Interest on
U.S. Department Of Energy-Sponsored Fracking Panel
On a Party Line Vote, Committee Rejects Lowey-Hinchey
Amendment to Make Shale Gas Panel Unbiased and Impartial
Washington, DC – House Appropriations Committee Republicans today rejected an amendment offered by Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) that would have prevented natural gas industry executives from serving on what is supposed to be a neutral federal advisory panel on shale gas drilling. The Lowey-Hinchey amendment would have eliminated report language authored by House Republicans that would force the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to have at least one-third of the members on the newly-created Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board be shale gas industry representatives.
The Lowey-Hinchey amendment was offered during a markup of the Fiscal Year 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill and was rejected by the Republican majority on the Appropriations Committee in a party line vote. Currently, the DOE has filled six of the seven panel slots, including the chairman position, with individuals who have financial ties to companies involved with hydraulic fracturing operations. The Republican measure, which Lowey and Hinchey were unable to overcome, would require the DOE to replace or add panel members with individuals who are employed by the very shale gas industry the panel is supposed to independently assess.
“It is outrageous that the Republican majority opposed our common-sense effort to ensure members of federal advisory boards are unbiased and without conflicts of interest,” said Lowey. “Allowing the shale gas industry to put a thumb on the scale of this board makes it more likely that the decisions it makes will focus more on profits and less on the safety of our water sources, Americans’ health, and environmental preservation.”
“Federal advisory boards are supposed to be unbiased, impartial bodies that advise our agencies, but almost everyone who currently serves on the shale gas advisory panel has direct financial ties to the oil and shale gas industry,” said Hinchey. “Now the Republican majority is calling for an even greater bias by requiring that one-third of the panel work directly on behalf of the shale gas industries. This isn’t an honest effort to give industry a seat at the table. Instead, it’s a blatant attempt to rig the decisions of the panel in favor of industry and against the safety and security of our environment, drinking water and public health.”
A number of recent reports and incidents are raising serious concerns about hydraulic fracturing. A study by researchers at Duke University found a statistically significant correlation between methane contamination of drinking water wells and their proximity to shale gas drilling sites. On April 20th of this year thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluid spilled into the Susquehanna River watershed, following a major fracking well blowout in Leroy Township, PA.
The text of the amendment, which was rejected on a party line vote follows:
Pages 99 and 100, strike ‘‘The Committee is concerned that the selected panel members will not adequately represent industry perspectives, and therefore will not foster a spirit of partnership among industry, environmental, and governmental parties. In order to strengthen these partnerships and industry support for any subsequent recommendations, no less than one-third of panel members should be industry representatives who actively work in the shale gas industry. Further, the’’ and insert ‘‘The’’.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – The Colbert Report – 6/1/11 – Video Clip | Comedy Central
June 2, 2011
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – The Colbert Report – 6/1/11 – Video Clip | Comedy Central.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says mountaintop mining is not a good thing for American democracy. (06:26)
New Film: The Last Mountain
Tonight on Colbert while promoting his new movie exposing the horrors of mountaintop removal by the Coal industry, at the end of a list of clean alternative energy sources that we should be replacing coal with RFK clearly enumerasted Natural Gas as one of the choices.Thanks a lot, Riverkeepers.
Colbert did launch a satirical attack on energy policy and “energy independence.”
BLUEPRINT FOR A SECURE ENERGY FUTURE March 30, 2011
May 17, 2011
https://gdacc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/blueprint_secure_energy_obama_mar2011-1.pdf
Introduction: Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future
“We cannot keep going from shock to trance on the issue of energy security, rushing to propose action when gas prices rise, then hitting the snooze button when they fall again. The United States of America cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity and security on a resource that will eventually run out. Not anymore. Not when the cost to our economy, our country, and our planet is so high. Not when your generation needs us to get this right. It is time to do what we can to secure our energy future.” President Obama, March 30, 2011
Rising prices at the pump affect everybody – workers and farmers; truck drivers and restaurant owners. Businesses see it impact their bottom line. Families feel the pinch when they fill up their tank. For Americans already struggling to get by, it makes life that much harder. Demand for oil in countries like China and India is only growing, and the price of oil will continue to rise with it. That’s why we need to make ourselves more secure and control our energy future by harnessing all of the resources that we have available and embracing a diverse energy portfolio.
Every president since Richard Nixon has called for America’s independence from oil, but Washington gridlock has prevented action again and again. If we want to create a more secure energy future, and protect consumers at the pump, that has to change. When President Obama took office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. Today, he pledged that by a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one-third, and put forward a plan to secure America’s energy future by producing more oil at home and reducing our dependence on oil by leveraging cleaner, alternative fuels and greater efficiency.
We’ve already made progress toward this goal – last year, America produced more oil than we had in the last seven years. We’re taking steps to encourage more offshore oil exploration and production – as long as it’s safe and responsible. And, because we know we can’t just drill our way out of our energy challenge, we’re reducing our dependence on oil by increasing our production of natural gas and biofuels, and increasing our fuel efficiency. Last year, we announced ground-breaking fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks that will save consumers thousands of dollars and conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil.
And beyond our efforts to reduce our dependence on oil, we must focus on expanding cleaner sources of electricity, including renewables like wind and solar, as well as clean coal, natural gas, and nuclear power – keeping America on the cutting edge of clean energy technology so that we can build a 21st century clean energy economy and win the future.
To help us reach these goals, the Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future outlines a three-part strategy:
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Develop and Secure America’s Energy Supplies: We need to deploy American assets, innovation, and technology so that we can safely and responsibly develop more energy here at home and be a leader in the global energy economy.
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Provide Consumers With Choices to Reduce Costs and Save Energy: Volatile gasoline prices reinforce the need for innovation that will make it easier and more affordable for consumers to buy more advanced and fuel-efficient vehicles, use alternative means of transportation, weatherize their homes and workplaces, and in doing so, save money and protect the environment. These measures help families’ pocketbooks, reduce our dependence on finite energy sources and help create jobs here in the United States.
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Innovate our Way to a Clean Energy Future: Leading the world in clean energy is critical to strengthening the American economy and winning the future. We can get there by creating markets for innovative clean technologies that are ready to deploy, and by funding cutting-edge research to produce the next generation of technologies. And as new, better, and more efficient technologies hit the market, the Federal government needs to put words into action and lead by example.
GDACC 
