Global Frac News

Braid: Temptation to take one last dip into public purse proving too great by Don Braid, March 27, 2013, Calgary Herald ….Alberta Health Services is hell-bent on giving top officials another round of bonuses for missing another round of targets. … The bureaucratic argument is that officials have already done their year’s work. … Dr. Chris ...

Gas Industry Report Calls Anti-Fracking Movement a “Highly Effective Campaign” by Katrina Rabeler, March 27, 2013, Yes! Magazine A report intended to help the oil and gas industry squash the anti-fracking movement turns out to be full of useful information – and admits that much of what activists are saying is true. Communities working to stop a ...

Canadian Company Gasfrac Tests Waterless Fracking in Texas by Mark Whittington, March 27, 2013, Yahoo! As early as 2011, according to an article published by First Enercast Financial, oil and gas drillers started to recognize that they might have a problem because of a shortage of water. The problem is exacerbated because the unique geology of ...

‘The Shale Gale Is a Retirement Party’, So concludes an expert analyst of the natural gas boom. Brace for bust by Andrew Nikiforuk, March 27, 2013, TheTyee.ca Now don’t get Berman wrong. With more than 30 years of technical experience in the oil and gas industry, the consultant recognizes the intensive mining of shale gas ...

Encana looks at purchasing wastewater from the Town of Rimbey by Treena Mielke, March 26, 2013, Rimbey Review The Town of Rimbey could be close to half a million dollars richer if a deal now in the works with Encana gets the nod from council at their March 25 meeting. Mayor Sheldon Ibbotson said Encana is ...

Rural Councillors pass fracking resolution by Dan Singleton, March 26, 2013, Mountain View Gazette

Halliburton Denied Texas Venue In $300M Fracking Secrets Suit by Beth Winegarner, March 25, 2013, Law360 Halliburton Energy Services Inc. will face arbitration hearings in Florida —rather than in Texas, as Halliburton demanded — on Ecosphere Technologies Inc.’s $300 million claims that the oil field giant stole fracking-liquid trade secrets despite a nondisclosure agreement, the American ...

Judge Sides with Wyoming in Fracking Chemical Suit by Associated Press, March 25, 2013, Time US A judge in Casper has sided with the state of Wyoming and ruled against environmentalists who sought to make public the lists of ingredients that go into hydraulic fracturing fluids. Environmental groups had requested the ingredient lists from the Wyoming ...

IEA expects global natural gas revolution by UPI, March 25, 2013 PARIS — Natural gas is positioned to make a sustained impact on the global energy market but only if it’s developed responsibly, the IEA executive director said. The International Energy Agency hosted its inaugural unconventional natural gas forum in Paris. IEA Executive Director Maria Van ...

Quake Lawsuits Shake Up Shale Play Companies by Arkansas Business, March 25, 2013 Disposal wells are where natural gas drilling companies like BHP Billiton inject the goop left over from their hydraulic fracturing operations. Between 2010 and 2011, hundreds of earthquakes were felt near disposal wells in the Faulkner County area. In 2011, the Arkansas Oil ...

Alberta’s government urged to preserve water by Catherine Griwkowsky, March 19, 2013, Edmonton Sun The provincial government must preserve water as a public trust. That’s according to Shannon Stunden Bower, research director of the Parkland Institute. Stunden Bower will be speaking at a conference between the Council of Canadians and Parkland Institute called Protecting Alberta’s Water Commons: Challenges ...

Newspapers seek release of shale settlement by Don Hopey, March 23, 2013, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Washington Observer-Reporter have returned to court to force the release of the confidential settlement ending a claim by a Mount Pleasant family that Marcellus Shale gas development damaged their farm and their health. In a motion filed ...

TV Ontario to pull online game that shows pipeline bombing by Adrian Morrow, March 22, 2013, The Globe and Mail with a report from The Canadian Press The public broadcaster paid to have the game developed as part of a documentary on the debate over a proposed oil pipeline that would run through B.C. Part of ...

California Lawmakers Offer Plans to Halt Fracking by Alison Vekshin, March 22, 2013, Bloomberg Three measures, offered in the state Assembly this week, are the first to arrive this year that would halt fracking and follow regulations proposed in December by the state Conservation Department. … “It shocks me that we pride ourselves on being a ...

Fracking contamination and litigation—case law update by Andy Jacoby, March 21, 2013, ABA Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources, 42nd Annual Spring Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah Strict Liability – special considerations for fracking There is an open question whether courts will apply strict liability to fracking operations. Strict liability is important because where it is applied ...

CAPP salutes five oil and gas firms by Calgary Herald, March 21, 2013 Encana was among five oil and gas companies recognized Wednesday by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers for its environmental and social performance. The company’s Race Against Hunger campaign and a recycling program at its Horn River work camps earned it the President’s ...

New Fracking Standards Not Supported by Environmental Organizations by Ecowatch, March 23, 2013 Environmental organizations are objecting to a misleading announcement coming from the oil and gas industry that says they have “made peace” with environmentalists by agreeing to voluntary fracking standards. According to the announcement made, the oil and gas industry believes the new standards ...

Pro-fracking filmmaker accuses IMF of censorship by AFP, March 21, 2013, France24.com AFP – The maker of a documentary in support of oil and gas fracking accused the International Monetary Fund Thursday of censorship after it declined to show a key clip from his film at a conference. Phelim McAleer, whose film “FrackNation” argues in support ...

PM hails fracking as safe by Rob Maetzig, March 22, 2013, Taranaki Daily News Prime Minister John Key yesterday waded into the fracking debate, accusing its opponents of talking a load of nonsense. During a visit to Taranaki he said he had enough of scaremongering over the practice, particularly from the Green Party. “From what they’re saying, ...

NY Court Hears Arguments on Town Fracking Bans by Mary Esch, March 21, 2013, Associated Press Environmentalists and the energy industry are asking a court to decide their battle over previous rulings allowing New York towns to ban drilling for natural gas using high-volume hydraulic fracturing. In arguments Thursday, a lawyer for Norse Energy told a ...

Avon fracking ban upheld by Kate O’Connell, March 20, 2013, Innovation Trail The town of Avon has become the third community in upstate New York to win a court case over the right to ban fracking operations. Western New York-based gas drilling company, Lenape Resources, took Avon and the state Department of Environmental Conservation to court ...

Budget 2013: Energy – Cash for fracking: George Osborne’s offer to local communities by Michael McCarthy, March 20, 2013, The Independent Local communities whose lives are disrupted by the coming new industry of fracking – the extraction of shale gas – may be compensated with substantial financial grants, Mr Osborne indicated. The Chancellor repeated the pledge ...

Clean water at a low price by Deborah Yedlin, March 19, 2013, Calgary Herald Today is World Water Day and Calgary is part of the festivities. How, you ask? Through CAWST, the locally based Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology, Calgary is making a difference by bringing a cheap, affordable filtration process to places that ...

Councillors scheduled to consider fracking-related resolution by Dan Singleton, March 19, 2013, Mountain View Gazette [Refer also to: Wheatland County pushes fracking resolution Wheatland County (Alberta) Councillors call for Fracking Halt until Protective Methods are Developed Wheatland County’s Frac Moratorium Resolution Investigators say an accumulation of gases appears to have caused the 2005 explosion that destroyed the Rosebud water tower ...

Sewage Plants Struggle To Treat Wastewater Produced By Fracking Operations by Leigh Krietsch Boerner, March 18, 2013, Chemical & Engineering News, ISSN 0009-2347 When energy companies extract natural gas trapped deep underground, they’re left with water containing high levels of pollutants, including benzene and barium. Sometimes the gas producers dispose of this contaminated water by sending ...

Columbiana County Well Explosion Caused by Static Electricity by wkbn, March 19, 2013 An oil well explosion on Knox School Road in West Township that was heard and felt for miles was caused by static electricity. Our newspartner, the Lisbon Morning Journal, reported the explosion blew the lid off the tank, landing about 400-500 feet away ...

Assessing the risks of fracking, New York needs to be diligent where Pennsylvania has been careless by David Brown, March 9, 2013, Times Union  The Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project meets with patients who believe their health has been, or could be, affected by natural gas drilling. In both home and office visits, we see people ...

Chesapeake sued for fixing prices, underpaying landowners by Zain Shauk, March 18, 2013 Chesapeake Energy Corp. allegedly manipulated prices and unlawfully passed on its drilling expenses to landowners, shortchanging them on royalty payments for drilling on their land, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Dallas. The landowners are led by the billionaire investors ...

LISTEN: Scott Vaughan on his time as Canada’s environment watchdog by The Current, March 18 2013, CBC “One issue on data gaps,…you know shale gas, my colleagues asked the federal government…what chemicals are being used on shale gas, and do they pose a risk to human health and the environment. We told parliament that right now ...

Talisman Considering Ending Shale Exploration in Poland by Shale Gas Daily, March 13, 2013 Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc. is considering a plan to exit shale development in Poland, a move that helps the company focus elsewhere but is also a blow to what was once considered Europe’s best source for shale natural gas and a hedge ...

New energy regulator will weaken environmental protection, say critics by Sheila Pratt, March 17, 2013, Edmonton Journal Some critics are worried the Alberta government’s new regulatory body for oil, gas and coal could result in weaker, less transparent application of environmental protection laws. Energy Minister Ken Hughes is trying to soothe those concerns, saying a new ...

Ewart: Frack sand an overlooked part of complicated process by Stephen Ewart, March 16, 2013, Calgary Herald There’s an underappreciated grittiness to hydraulic fracturing. For all the public’s concern over fracking – from water to chemicals to wellbore integrity – there’s a vital component of the controversial oilfield practice that largely goes unnoticed. That would be ...

We Asked For Water, They Gave Us Gasoline, Situation All Fracked Up by Robert Hunziker, Weekend Edition January 6-8, 2012, Counter Punch According to worldwide energy industry participants, all of the low hanging fruit is gone. Finding new energy sources will henceforth be difficult and expensive… and very dangerous to your health. … According to Texas ...

EPA Terms of Reference “sideline basic questions” by Leitrim Observer, March 16, 2013 Some members of No Fracking Ireland Network have stated that the EPA Terms of Reference into the research of gas exploration and extraction “sideline basic questions about the environmental impact, danger to human health, and fundamental advisability of an extremely controversial process.” The ...

Well explodes in eastern Wayne County, Ohio by Marilyn Miller, March 16, 2013, Beacon Journal CHIPPEWA TOWNSHIP: Fire crews from several Wayne and Summit County departments spent several hours Friday evening extinguishing flames from a tank after an explosion at a well in Chippewa Township. The billowing clouds of black smoke followed a loud explosion that ...

AAMDC frac motion commotion by Sharon McLeay, March 15, 2013, Strathmore Times Vicki Balance of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers addressed a letter to Wheatland Council expressing the Association’s policies of adhering to best business practises in natural resource development. “I have received a few phone calls on this issue,” said Reeve Glenn Koester. ...

‘Muzzling’ of Canadian government scientists sent before Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault, One civil servant calls situation “absolutely embarrassing”; 128-page report detailing the communication barriers Canadian government scientists face now in front of Information Commissioner by Kate Allen, March 15, 2013, The Toronto Star Federal Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault is being asked to investigate the “muzzling” of ...

U.K. driller Cuadrilla halts fracking at Anna’s Road, Lancashire, over environmental concerns by Energy Wire, March 15, 2013 U.K.-based company Cuadrilla has suspended activity at one of its three gas drilling sites until next year, pending the completion of an environmental assessment this fall. Work at the gas driller’s Anna’s Road site in Westby, Lancashire, ground ...

Tiny particles enlisted to tackle fracking’s mysteries by Peter Behr, March 15, 2013, Energy Wire Can magnetic nanoparticles injected deep underground with hydraulic fracturing liquids reveal detailed dimensions of shale rock fractures and track movements of gas molecules? Can other particles — that change form when they encounter oil — be “interrogated” for clues about the ...

Dryden fracking lawsuit appeal set for court hearing by Andrew Casler, March 14, 2013, The Ithaca Journal DRYDEN — Norse Energy Corporation is hoping to overturn a 2012 decision that upheld the Town of Dryden’s hydraulic fracturing ban. State of New York Supreme Court judges are scheduled to hear the appeal on the morning of March ...

CSG Fight not over yet by Australia Prime 7, March 14, 2013 It’s a test of true endurance. … Anti-CSG compainers have won their war in the Northern Rivers.  Metgasco making the decision to leave the area yesterday, for now at least. … This is just a message.  To the next company after Metgasco. Anyone ...

Families Blame Fracking for Destructive Quakes by Erik de la Garza, March 14, 2013, Courthouse News Service LITTLE ROCK (CN) – Fracking by Chesapeake oil and Billiton Petroleum caused “thousands of earthquakes” that damaged homes in central Arkansas, two families claim in Federal Court. Johnny and Patsy Miller and Christopher and Rebecca Krisell sued Chesapeake Operating ...

Gas drilling company threatens lawsuit against Texas Campaign for the Environment by Claire St. Amant, March 13, 2013, Dallas Culture Map UPDATE: Michael Anderson, an attorney for Trinity East Energy, spoke with CultureMap on March 12. The story has been changed to reflect that interview. As the debate over the permissibility of natural gas drilling ...

Oil patch eyes potential NWT shale boom by Nathan VanderKlippe, March 12, 2013, The Globe and Mail The oil patch is days away from its first peek into the prospects for a potential new energy play in the Northwest Territories. MGM Energy Corp. is on the cusp of making public early results from a well drilled ...

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan supports fracking moratorium by Chicago Business, March 13, 2013 (AP) — Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan says he supports a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing over legislation calling for regulations on the practice. The Chicago Democrat spoke to reporters in Springfield Wednesday, a day after environmentalists and land owners rallied at the ...

Wyoming regulators OK Encana aquifer waste well by Adam Voge, March 12, 2013, Star-Tribune Wyoming’s oil and natural gas commission approved a plan Tuesday to dispose of wastewater into an aquifer used in some parts of the state for drinking water, overruling no votes from the two geologists on the commission. The Wyoming Oil and Gas ...

Gas leaks spark call for probe by Hamish Broome, March 9, 2013, Northern Star Coal seam gas fields around Tara in Queensland’s Darling Downs are leaking radon gas at levels three times higher than non-CSG zones, new research from Southern Cross University has found. Published in the international journal Environmental Science and Technology and available online, ...

Two Children Dead After Water Truck Overturns on Sedan in Harrison County by WBOY-TV, March 9, 2013 Two children were dead on scene, according to Clarksburg Police Chief Marshall Goff.  Their ages are unknown at this time.  The two drivers involved in the crash were taken to the United Hospital Center with non-life-threatening injuries.  A male ...

“Many fleas make big dog move” : Jessica Ernst’s inspirational talk by Stopfyldefracxking.org.uk, March 8, 2013 Jessica Ernst chatting to residents A huge thanks to all who came to the Jessica Ernst talk, “Fracking Community: Actions and Omissions Speak Louder than Words“ on Thursday 7 March.  The church hall in St Annes was packed, and the audience ...

Canadian Government Gag Order for Scientists? by Living on Earth, March 8, 2013 Canada’s Harper Administration is allegedly restricting what environmental information government scientists can share with journalists, according to academics and media watchdogs. Host Steve Curwood learns more from Tyler Sommers, coordinator of Democracy Watch.

Fracking on the Fylde 7:35 Min. Interview with Jessica Ernst by Wave 965, March 7, 2013 A Candian Scientist is visiting St Annes to share her expiriences of fracking for shale gas. Jessica Ernst is visting the area as part of a national tour to highlight the dangers associated with the conterversial gas extraction. She’s suing the company ...

Lack of adequate procedures cause of Suncor rig blowout by Erica Fisher, Energetic City, March 7, 2013 The B.C. Oil and Gas Commission has released its report on the blowout at a Suncor natural gas rig 20 kilometres north of Hudson’s Hope last March, pointing to a lack of adequate well control procedures as the cause. ...

NCS Oilfield Services frac technology completes 50 stage frac on two-mile lateral by Luke Geiver, March 06, 2013, The Bakken Magazine The successful completion of three two-mile lateral wellbores in the Bakken formation has NCS Oilfield Services, a technology and services company focused on multistage completions, looking to expand its presence in the Williston Basin. Using ...

In Alberta And B.C.: Stephen Harper Destroying The Rule Of Law by Robin Mathews, February 25, 2013, Vivelecanada.ca Alberta energy specialist Andrew Nikiforuk (Tyee, Feb. 22, 2013) reports the involvement of the federal Minister of Justice in what may be called direct interference with the rule of law in Alberta. The story Nikiforuk tells leaves the ...

Gasland Part II, directed and written by Josh Fox, World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival, April 17 to April 28 in New York City by Deadline, March 6, 2013 Two years ago, Josh Fox introduced us to hydraulic fracturing with his Oscar®-nominated exposé Gasland. Now this once-touted energy source has become a widely discussed, contentious topic. ...

A must read account of fracking Colorado by Phillip Doe, originally published by EcoWatch, March 6, 2013, Resilience.org Some wag has observed that under state planning guidelines a rural folk is worth less than half a city folk, less even than the three-fifths slaves were worth in the “original” Constitution. … In reaction to the state’s lawsuit against ...

Hey CSIS, farmers are not terrorists, Anti-fracking activists have been labelled a security threat by Paul Slomp, March 05, 2013 I nearly fell off my chair while reading an article in the Guardian Weekly headlined “Canada’s spy chiefs target anti-frackers,” by Stephen Leahy. Apparently “monitoring of environmental activists in Canada by police and security agencies has become ...

Lawyers for Exxon Mobil begin case in round 2 of marathon groundwater contamination trial by Holly Ramer, The Associated Press, March 4, 2013, Global News A former Exxon Mobile engineer testified Monday that environmental hazards surrounding the gasoline additive MTBE were widely discussed in water quality and oil industry circles in the mid-1980s, contradicting the state ...

Fracking’s future an illusion at best by David Olive, February 25, 2013, The Toronto Star The fantasy of “Saudi America” may end up making one of the speedier exits in the history of catchphrases. As recently as last year, the U.S. petroleum industry was boasting of a new, 100-year supply of oil and gas, mostly from ...

Longview residents push for protection of water from oil and gas operations by Colette Derworiz, February 26, 2013, Calgary Herald Some residents in Longview, a small community south of Calgary, are worried about the village’s water supply due to oil and gas operations in the area. “We don’t feel like the water is being tested often ...

Read up on shale gas by Mel McLachlan, Postmedia News, February 26, 2013, Comox Valley Echo Your readers may recall that a few years ago a series of test wells were drilled in the Comox Valley in an attempt to evaluate the potential of exploiting the methane gas trapped in the local coal bearing formations. As ...

Chesapeake, Encana sued in civil antitrust action by Brian Grow and Joshua Schneyer with additional reporting by Scott Haggett in Calgary, February 25, 2013, Reuters A major Michigan landowner is suing Chesapeake Energy Corp and Encana Corp, alleging that the two energy giants colluded to rig bids for oil and gas rights in 2010. Northstar Energy, which owns ...

GAZ DE HOUILLE – LE FÉDÉRAL VEUT DÉCOURAGER JESSICA ERNST translation by lesamiedurichelieu in Pressgauche.org, February 26, 2013, of article in The Tyee.ca by Andrew Nikiforuk, February 22, 2013 Dans une décision étonnante, le gouvernement Harper met une autre embûche dans une procédure légale très suivie en Alberta qui veut juger la règlementation de la fracturation ...

Petro-state politics prompts CSIS to spy on citizens at alarming rate, FOIs reveal by Mike Chisholm and Jenny Uechi, February 25, 2013, Vancouver Observer Environmental activist Rod Marining knows the feel of steel handcuffs on his wrists. As co-founder of Greenpeace International, he sailed aboard Greenpeace ships campaigning against French atmospheric nuclear testing in French Polynesia, ...

Encana aims to dispose of wastewater in Madison aquifer by Adam Voge, February 21, 2013,  Star-Tribune Wyoming’s environmental regulatory agency is objecting to an oil and natural gas company’s plan to inject wastewater into a Wyoming aquifer.  The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality in a Feb. 11 letter opposed a plan by Encana Oil and Gas ...

Assassinations of environmental activists have doubled over last decade by Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360, February 21, 2013, The Guardian Where is Sombath Somphone? With every day that passes, the fate of one of south-east Asia’s most high-profile environmental activists, who was snatched from the streets of Laos in December, becomes more worrisome. His case has ...

Kalkaska Co. fracking wells used 42M gallons water by the Morning Sun, February 24, 2013 Three deep hydraulic fracturing wells in northwestern lower Michigan’s Kalkaska County have used 42 million gallons of water in the past two years, according to a published report. … The wells are run by Encana Oil & Gas wells in Excelsior ...

Fears fracking could be “fast tracked”, Peers and charities fear a change in the law will allow the Government to “fast track” fracking against the will of local communities by Louise Gray, February 23, 2013, The Telegraph The Growth and Infrastructure Bill, currently going through the House of Lords, could allow exploration for shale gas to ...

Censorship is alive and well in Canada – just ask government scientists by Elizabeth Renezetti, February 22, 2013, The Globe and Mail We like to think of censorship as something that happens over there, in the faraway places where men break into houses at night to smash computers, or arrive in classrooms to remove books they ...

New South Wales sets up coal seam gas exclusion zones by Rick Wilkinson, Oil and Gas Journal, February 22, 2013 The government of New South Wales plans to establish 2-km exclusion zones around towns in the state with populations above 1,000 or more people to keep coal seam gas exploration and production activity away from residential ...

One of three men injured in Fort Saskatchewan blast dies by Mariam Ibrahim, February 22, 2013, Edmonton Journal One of three workers seriously injured in an explosion at a Fort Saskatchewan construction site has died. Alberta Occupational Health and Safety spokeswoman Lisa Glover confirmed one man died of his injuries around 6 a.m. Friday. The worker ...

Burnaby city council first in BC to call for a moratorium on fracking by Maryam Adrangi, February 22, 2013, rabble.ca Earlier this week, Burnaby city council passed a resolution to call for a moratorium on fracking. The city itself is not threatened by hydraulic fracturing; however, it has “from time to time advocated on environmental matters ...

Listen! Encana conference call (warning, executive profanity) 19 Seconds, February 15, 2013 Listens as of 9:32 PM October 4, 2014: 61,057 Listens as of 11:07 AM, February 22, 2013: 48,244 Listens as of 9:50 PM February 21, 2013: 34,755 Ewart: Encana fumbles over Internet follies by Stephen Ewart, February 22, 2013, Calgary Herald A week after Encana had to apologize when one of ...

How fracking’s catch-22 shields the natural gas industry and throws citizens under the bus by Laurel Peltier, February 21, 2013, green laurel  The Hagys’ water contamination lawsuit demonstrates how the natural gas industry has built a near-perfect “federal legal exemption’s framework” that when combined with lax or absent state regulations and the legal system’s high costs, ...

Alberta’s Strange Sinking Sensation, Why can’t Canada’s wealthiest province break even? Blame the paradox of plenty by Andrew Nikiforuk, February 21, 2013, TheTyee.ca But the invitation to converse is disingenuous. Petro states, which are studies in the abuse of power, engineer monologues for their citizens, not dialogues. … Truth in short supply Now here’s what Redford forgot to ...

‘Muzzling’ of federal scientists called a threat to democracy by Margaret Munro, February 20, 2013, Calgary Herald Federal Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault has been asked to investigate the way the Harper government has been “muzzling” federal scientists. The request, accompanied by a report on the government’s “systematic efforts” to obstruct access to researchers, was made jointly ...

Drill, Baby, Drill Can Unconventionals Usher in a New Era of Energy Abundance? by J. David Hughes, February 2013, Post Carbon Institute We’re on the cusp of an oil and gas revolution But what if it’s all just a short term bubble? Executive Summary Despite the rhetoric, the United States is highly unlikely to become energy independent unless rates ...

Oil and gas violations kept under wraps,  B.C. regulator won’t provide details of hundreds of regulatory violations uncovered last year by Gordon Hoekstra, February 19, 2013, Vancouver Su B.C. Oil and Gas Commission lacks ‘transparency’ on fracking violations by Gordon Hoekstra, February 18, 2013, Vancouver Sun Hundreds of deficiencies were discovered during the course of 4,223 inspections ...

Alberta asks public for consultations on fracking and water use by Grace C. Visconti, February 18, 2013, Digital Journal Edmonton – In a surprising move, Environment Minister Diana McQueen announced that the Alberta government would engage the public in consultations (February 19 – March 21) province-wide on the controversial hydraulic fracking practice and water use in ...

Germany may ban fracking over environmental concerns by rt.com, February 18, 2013 Germany could join other European countries and ban the fracking method of shale gas extraction, according to Germany’s Environment Minister Peter Altmaier. Altmaier says he wants a ban on fracking in all areas where drinking water is protected, noting that a fracking ban is nothing ...

Fracking’s harm is forever by Scotty Robinson, February 18, 2013, Toronto Star I have come to the conclusion the world has completely lost its ability to reason. There is nothing more important on this planet than water. It is why there is life here. We cannot live without it yet here we are taking billions of ...

Texas Fracker Accused of Bully Tactics Against Foes by Mark Drajem, February 18, 2013, Bloomberg When a Texas landowner took his fear that a gas driller had poisoned his well to federal regulators, the company, Range Resources Corp., turned around and sued him for conspiring “to harm Range.” In Pennsylvania, a state lawmaker who criticized the company was dubbed ...

Legislation further compromises environmental protection, Alberta government creates a new regulator and turns its back on accountability by Rachel Notley, February 14, 2013, Fast Forward Weekly In an exclusive interview with the Edmonton Journal on Saturday, February 9 at the Economic Summit (“Energy minister lays out Alberta’s new oil strategy,” February 11, 2013, Karen Kleiss), Energy ...

Fracking plans cause concern in Woody Point by CBC News, February 17, 2013 A town council on the Northern Peninsula has raised a lot of questions about fracking plans near Gros Morne National Park. Tony Howell, deputy mayor of Woody Point and chair of the area’s emergency planning committee, said it’s important to know what chemicals ...

Emotions driving Quebec fracking moratorium, Bouchard says by Bertrand Marotte, February 17, 2013, The Globe and Mail Quebec is sending a discouraging message to potential investors by dithering over development of its potentially huge oil and gas reserves, says former premier Lucien Bouchard. Those who oppose hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas have essentially won the ...

Lupo has history of brine dumping; violations stretch back to 1970s by Jamison Cocklin, February 17, 2013, Vindy.com THE HEADLINES ARE DECADES OLD, but they all share one person in common: Ben W. Lupo. Today’s front pages are oddly reminiscent of headlines years ago: “Area brine dumping tied to sodium in Beaver River.” “Ohio EPA probes ...

Apache moves to kill gas well after uncontrolled flow by San Antonio Express-News, February 16, 2013, mywesttexas.com Apache Corp. evacuated 15 nonessential workers from a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico and hired specialists Boots & Coots to kill the well after tests found natural gas migrating below the seabed. … Problems first arose Feb. ...

Oilsands tailings leaking into groundwater, Joe Oliver told in memo by Mike De Souza, February 17, 2013, Edmonton Journal Tailings ponds from oilsands production are leaking and contaminating Alberta’s groundwater, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was told in an internal memo obtained by Postmedia News. The memo, released through access to information legislation, said that federal ...

CEO of Gastem says ecology activists are fascists translation by des Ami(e)s du Richelieu February 17, 2013 of Le pdg de Gastem qualifie les militants écologistes de “fascistes” by Lapress.ca and Le Soleil, February 16, 2013 Mr Savoie did this declaration to the Soleil in reaction to the elected officials of the Gaspésie municipality of South-East Ristigouche that ...

New policy gives government power to muzzle DFO scientists by Michael Harris, February 7, 2013, iPolitics Inc. “Everything has a crack in it; that’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen, take a bow. Another crack has appeared in the Harper government’s surreptitious but merciless war to muzzle Canadian scientists — and just about everyone else. ...

Minister boasts of fracking ban by Neil Reid, February 17, 2013, stuff.co.nz Crown minister Chris Tremain has been accused of double standards for lobbying to ban oil and gas exploration in parts of his back yard. Tremain, the Minister of Internal Affairs, of Local Government and Associate Minister of Tourism, is a member of a government ...

Yedlin: Profanity brings Encana pressures to the fore by Deborah Yedlin, February 16, 2013, Calgary Herald If Encana didn’t already have enough to deal with, more was added to its woes on Thursday. One of the 20 executives gathered to participate in a conference call with reporters, investors and financial analysts discussing the company’s fourth-quarter financial ...

If Alberta wants stricter regulations on oilsands pollution, the precedent exists by Marty Klinkenberg, February 16, 2013, Edmonton Journal The province and power companies once denied mercury and metals discovered in central Alberta lakes were linked to local industry, arguing instead they were carried on the wind from across the globe. It wasn’t until a scientist ...

Oh Yoko! Ms. Ono at 80 by Jon Wiener, February 14, 2013, The Nation explained the problem with fracking concisely in The New York Times letters column in December: “Evidence shows that there is no amount of regulation that can make fracking safe.… 6 percent of the wells leak immediately and 60 percent leak ...

Fracking fears play no part in throne speech by John Gleeson, February 15, 2013, Coastal Reporter B.C. is already in bed with the oil and gas industry and now the Liberal government wants us to make babies and grow old together. The most telling part of Tuesday’s throne speech — which banks on untold billions from ...

Encana shares down after posting $2.79 billion loss in 2012 by Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press, February 15, 2013, Calgary Herald New federal foreign investment rules wouldn’t stand in the way of natural gas giant Encana Corp. being taken over, interim CEO Clayton Woitas said Thursday as the company reported quarterly and annual losses and saw ...

Feds Come Down on Lupo; Reveal He Dumped 20 Times by Dan O’Brien, February 15, 2013, The Business Journal “Companies and workers must follow the rules when they extract its valuable resources,” declared U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach during a press conference in front of the B&O Station, his back facing a flowing Mahoning River. Dettelbach took ...

Update: State Oil and Gas Regulators Still Spread Thin by Abrahm Lustgarten, February 4, 2013, ProPublica The U.S. relies on state and federal regulators to make sure that oil and gas drilling is done safely, and that trillions of gallons of toxic waste injected into underground disposal wells do not contaminate water supplies. Today, ProPublica is ...

Liberals slam environmental funding of shale gas study, MLA Chris Collins says pitched idea not what trust fund is for by CBC News, February 14, 2013l The Opposition Liberals are criticizing the Alward government for considering using money from the Environmental Trust Fund to study the impact of developing the shale gas industry. Environment critic Chris ...

‘Free lunches’ for fracking by The New Age Online, February 14, 2013 The anti-fracking lobby organisation Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG) has claimed that Shell is dishing out “free lunches” to communities in the Karoo to get buy-in for the exploration of shale gas in the Karoo. TKAG chairperson, Jonathan Deal, said they were aware of ...