Global Frac News

Is natural gas green? When you’re addicted to the planet by Adria Vasil, March 21-28, 2013, Vol. 32 No. 29, NOW Put the word “natural” in front of anything and it sounds so much sweeter, doesn’t it? Unless it turns out to be a natural disaster. Canada is the world’s third-biggest supplier of natural gas, to ...

Raging Grannies fight for value of water by Sharon McLeay, April 5, 2013, Strathmore Times Open dialogue characterized the discussions at the Alberta Government Water Conversation open house held in Calgary March 20. Similar open houses were held throughout the province. The Raging Grannies, an activist group out of Calgary, crashed the gate, hoping to make a passionate ...

Alberta company prevents environmental fracking disasters by Surface Solutions Inc., April 2, 2013 GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB, – An Alberta company has pioneered a new process that has major implications to making hydraulic fracking, safer, less environmentally intrusive, and more efficient. Grande Prairie-based Surface Solutions Inc. (SSI) is the first company to develop a multi-well, web-based monitoring platform ...

Alberta to consider testing water near fracking sites, Energy companies are not required to test water quality by CBC News, April 5, 2013 The Alberta government is considering expanding its mandatory water well testing program to include areas near fracking activity. Currently, the program tests water quality for gas sites that use the coalbed methane extraction ...

Arsenic Uptake in Homegrown Vegetables from Mining-Affected Soils Research Brief 219, Superfund Research Program, March 6, 3013, View Research Brief as PDF (749KB) Arsenic uptake from soil into the edible portion of some plants presents a potential health hazard that may affect home gardeners near contaminated sites. By testing vegetables grown by local residents as well ...

Encana agreement to buy water for frac’ing from the town of Rimbey signed by Treena Mielke, April 2, 2013, Rimbey Review With very little fanfare or discussion, council gave the go-ahead to an agreement with Encana to sell Rimbey’s wastewater. Representatives from Encana were in the gallery at the March 25 council meeting, but councilors had ...

Precautionary Principle Should Guide New Fracking Regulations, says NFU by The National Farmers Union, March 18, 2013 (Rimby, AB) – “There are serious gaps in the regulation of fracking in every jurisdiction, and Alberta is no exception,” said Jan Slomp, National Farmers Union Region 7 (Alberta) Board Member. “That is why we have recommended that the ...

Belfast, Northern Ireland to be Fracked? Press release by Dawn Bourke, April 4, 2013, Belfast Not for $hale Just over a week ago a tiny, nondescript ad appeared in some local newspapers. As you can read DETI proposes to grant a petroleum prospecting license in a large and heavily populated area of NI, from Belfast city center to the ...

Newspapers Seek Missing Court Documents in Fracking Contamination Case by Marie Cusick, April 5, 2013, NPR State Impact Hallowich v. Range Resources is one of the most closely watched cases involving claims of health impacts and property damage against a Marcellus Shale gas driller. … The Hallowich family has since moved from their home. They are ...

W.Va. court asked to rule on gas drilling question by Vicki Smith, April 3, 2013, Associated Press A federal judge has asked the West Virginia Supreme Court to rule conclusively on whether state law allows a gas drilling company to use a Marion County farmer’s land to sink horizontal wells that would draw gas from neighboring ...

‘Fracking’ fear in towns and villages throughout Tyrone April 3, 2013, Tyrone Courier There are fears the highly controversial gas extraction process, fracking, could soon be taking place in Tyrone! Large swathes of the county and indeed the country could be the subject of hydraulic fracturing, with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment currently advertising a ...

Fracking boom continues to raise environmental concerns, ‘Water is an important thing and it is something that we have to protect,’ says Montana landowner by CBC News, April 3, 2013 Chuck Nerud, who operates a ranch in northeastern Montana, is torn on whether to allow fracking on his land. “It’s a tough decision as to whether or ...

Gerry Protti appointment to head monitoring board criticized by Silvia Pikal, April 3, 2013, Beacan News with files from the Canadian Press Gerry Protti appointment criticized while others say he is best suited for job. Energy Minister Ken Hughes says Protti is suited for the job because of his experience in the oil and gas industry, ...

Protti named new energy regulator by Darcy Henton, April 3, 2013, Calgary Herald Gerry Protti, founding president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, has been appointed chairman of Alberta’s new energy regulator. The appointment of former oilfield executive Gerry Protti as board chairman of Alberta’s new one-window energy regulator has drawn mixed reviews, with applause from the oilpatch and ...

Radioactive Drilling Waste Shipped to Landfills Raises Concerns by ideastream, April 2, 2013 Radioactivity is everywhere, but it’s concentrated – to varying degrees – in materials like radium or uranium found deep in the ground.  When companies drill for natural gas, they bring some of those radioactive elements to the surface mixed in the leftover dirt ...

Gas Co.’s Fracking Defamation Suit Sent Back To Trial Court by Dan Prochilo, April 2, 2013, Law360 A Texas appeals court on Monday halted its review of Range Resources Corp.’s defamation suit against two homeowners in a hydraulic fracturing dispute, saying a new trial court judge should get a chance to hear the homeowners’ argument for ...

Where is Alberta Advantage? by D. Vinish, April 2, 2013, Mountain View Gazette

Dart Energy slashes costs amid CSG changes by Kim Christian, April 02, 2013, The Australian DART Energy shares have tumbled to record lows as the company cuts costs and slashes jobs in response to government crackdowns on coal seam gas projects. Dart will close offices and axe 70 per cent of its workforce, taking the ...

GAS LEAK! by Matthew Carney and Connie Agius, April 1, 2013, ABC Four Corners VIDEO: Interview with Simone Marsh, Senior environmental specialist (Four Corners) That’s what’s upsetting to us. They didn’t tell us the truth in the first place. I’m scared.  I’ll be honest with you. I’m scared. What’s going to be left? Nothing. They’ve taken everything. QGC says ...

Marcellus Watch: Judge’s ruling protects Corning aquifer by Peter Mantius, April 1, 2013, Corning Leader While the craven New York State Legislature has been AWOL on vital gas drilling issues for years, state court judges, fortunately, have been quietly doing their job. Last week a state Supreme Court judge in Rochester smacked down efforts by a subsidiary ...

Mi’kmaq chiefs opposed to Colchester County decision on fracking wastewater by Harry Sullivan, April 1, 2013, Truro Daily   The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs are speaking out against a recent decision by the County of Colchester to discharge fracking wastewater into the municipal sewer system. Approval was granted last week by the municipality’s Public ...

Campaign rally derailed by shale gas protestors by CBC News, April 1, 2013 About 50 people blocked the entrance to a Tory campaign rally in Bouctouche Monday afternoon, demanding that the premier address their concerns about shale gas exploration. The campaign rally was for Jimmy Bourque, the Progressive Conservative candidate in the Kent byelection. Instead of ...

The Treason of the Intellectuals by Chris Hedges, March 31, 2013, Truthdig The power elite, especially the liberal elite, has always been willing to sacrifice integrity and truth for power, personal advancement, foundation grants, awards, tenured professorships, columns, book contracts, television appearances, generous lecture fees and social status. They know what they need to say. They ...

Peter Kent’s department ducks questions about cuts following concerns over contaminant from Erin Brockovich case by Mike De Souza, April 1, 2013, canada.com OTTAWA-Two weeks after being asked how it would enforce environmental regulations in the wake of cuts to scientific oversight, the Harper government has offered a reporter some answers to its own questions in ...

Fracking has sparked energy revolution, inventor says, Part 1: Calgary innovation continues to transform industry around the globe by CBC News, April 1, 2013 “Mostly it just creates an efficient process where rock that couldn’t be produced now can be produced,” said Packers Plus president Dan Themig, who invented the process. … Themig’s system uses various-sized ...

Fracking the First Amendment by Jim Hightower, March 28, 2013, Boulder Weekly It’s one thing for Big Oil frackers to bust into our Earth, our communities and our economic well-being — but the fracking fad is also busting the free speech rights of locals who dare to speak out against it. Welcome to Sanford, N.Y., a ...

Old iron gas pipes are leaking across Michigan; replacement is slow, natural gas explosions can be deadly by Keith Matheny, March 31, 2013, Detroit Free Press Felt miles away, an explosion on Feb. 27, 2013 leveled a Royal Oak home, killing one person, shaking homes, shattering windows and frightening neighbors. On Feb. 27, as a Consumers Energy work ...

Gas quakes anger Dutch farmers but relieve state coffers by France24, March 31, 2013 AFP – Farmers living atop Europe’s largest gas field in the isolated northern Netherlands are angry at increasingly frequent earthquakes caused by extraction. Freezing winds and a glimmer of cold light pass through the three-foot by two-inch (one metre by five centimetre) ...

SPOG announces fracking open house Apr. 8 by Dan Singleton, March 26, 2013, Mountain View Gazette Work is nearing completion on the Sundre Petroleum Operator’s Group (SPOG)’s long-awaited best practices performance measures document for hydraulic fracking, say officials. Tracey McCrimmon, executive director of SPOG, said a public open house is scheduled for April 8 at the ...

Revealed: secret Scots fracking plans By Rob Edwards, March 31, 2013, Herald Scotland An Australian energy firm has been accused of hiding plans to use the controversial technique of fracking to exploit shale gas under central Scotland. Dart Energy has insisted that it has “no plans” to mine shale gas in Scotland. But in a submission ...

Family says gas drilling turning paradise home into nightmare by Jim Parsons, March 29, 2013, Channel 4 Action News “Is that really water burning?” Parsons asked Headley. When Headley placed a funnel over the bubbles, the flame stayed lit. “The horses used to drink out of this spring, and the deer and the coon. All those ...

Ernst versus Encana – les juges jouent à la chaise musicale translation Of Andrew Nikiforuk’s article by Amie du Richelieu March 30, 2013 Alberta’s Top Judge to Hear High Profile Fracking Case by Andrew Nikiforuk, March 29, 2013, TheTyee.ca Klippenstein told The Tyee. “We hope that the case can now move forward without unnecessary delay. Albertans are entitled ...

Maddow shows incredible photos from explosive Texas ‘fracking’ accident by David Ferguson, March 29, 2013, raw story “Oil and gas workers were ‘fracking’ in Hemphill County, Texas,” Maddow said. … An explosion launched the so-called “frac stack,” the pipe for drilling and flushing water and debris from the drilling site, into the air like a javelin. ...

Letter: Fracking a bust for Pennsylvanians by Grant A. Mincy, March 29, 2013, Knoxnews In response to the letter titled “Fracking a boon to Pennsylvanians,” as a University of Tennessee-trained geologist now conducting research on hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in North Carolina, I have a few issues to raise. It is true that naturally occurring methane ...

Michigan gas wells surpassing all water records; governor-approved frack panel unconcerned by banmichiganfracking, March 29, 2013 Information documents received by Ban Michigan Fracking on March 1 and 18 show Encana Oil and Gas USA is poised to establish a new national record for water usage on a horizontal frack pad, surpassing the record it set just ...

Gas in your syrup by Gérard Montpetit, Translation March 18, 2013 (French original below), Member of the committee Non-shiste La Présentation (La Présentation is situated about 30 km east of Montréal, near the town of Saint Hyacinthe) March has arrived. The days are getting longer and the snow is melting in the sun. At this time of the year ...

IMF says global subsidies to fossil fuels amount to $1.9 trillion a year … and that’s probably an underestimate by David Roberts, March 28, 2013, Grist A new report from the International Monetary Fund tries to tally up fossil fuel subsidies around the world and finds that they add up to an eye-popping $1.9 trillion ...

Concerns raised over fracking water disposal, Critics not convinced that fracking water pilot project successful at removing contamination by CBC News, March 28, 2013 Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves blasting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into a well bore to split the surrounding rock and release trapped hydrocarbons, usually natural gas, coal bed methane ...

Scientists Say Oil Industry Likely Caused Largest Oklahoma Earthquake by Joe Eaton, March 29, 2013, National Geographic News Fracking’s Latest Scandal? Earthquake Swarms, Turns out that when a barely regulated industry injects highly pressurized wastewater into faults, things can go terribly wrong by Michael Behar, March/April 2013 Issue, Mother Jones Oklahoma earthquake linked to oil extraction wastewater By Jason Palmer, March ...

Carbon offsets program slammed by B.C. Auditor General, Environment minister rejects report’s conclusions but accepts recommendations by CBC News with files from the CBC’s Stephen Smart and The Canadian Press, March 27, 2013 The biggest concern to Doyle is that tens of millions of dollars that are being collected each year from schools, hospitals and other ...

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 ...