The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission will require drilling companies to release generalized information about the composition of fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing fluid starting on January 15, 2011. Hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling have been used heavily in Arkansas to develop the Fayetteville Shale. More at Platts.com.
The Delaware River Basin Commission has proposed natural gas drilling regulations that will significantly increase the requirements placed on companies who must abide by them. More in the New York Times.
New York Governor, David Patterson, took two actions related to natural gas. First he issued an executive order that will prohibit the use of hydraulic fracturing in the state until July 1, 2011. Second, he vetoed a temporary ban on all natural gas drilling in the state. More at NY1.com.
Homeowners refused to join a Marcellus Shale production unit in New York but were pulled in through “compulsory integration” (the term used in New York for “forced pooling”). Now they have water problems. More at DCBureau.org.
The “Promoting Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Act” is a proposed bill that will provide tax incentives to people who buy natural gas vehicles and research funds for improving hybrid vehicles. The bill has opposition from both environmental groups and some in the oil and gas industry. More at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The New York State Assembly voted 93 to 43 in favor of placing a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. The bill now goes to Governor Patterson. More at CNN.com.
Sometimes drilling companies release natural gas into the atmosphere because they don’t have the ability to capture the gas and transport it to market. The Government Accountability Office says that 50 billion cubic feet of natural gas is lost this way each year from federal lands – that could be worth over $23 million in tax dollars. More at Forbes.com.
No permits for the use of hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale will be issued in New York until at least May 15, 2011 if a bill passed by the State Assembly is signed by the Governor. Gas companies sitting on ticking leases were again frustrated that they can not drill and develop their assets. More at Reuters.
Ken Salazar, head of the US Department of the Interior says: “we will be considering issuing a policy that will deal with the issue of disclosure requirements with respect to the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing”. More on TheHill.com.
API, the American Petroleum Institute, cautions lawmakers that over-regulating the use of hydraulic fracturing could do significant damage to the oil and gas industry along with consumers who will pay higher prices when less effective technologies must be used. More at the Houston Chronicle.
Local government units in Pennsylvania want to charge “Impact Fees” when certain natural gas activities take place within their jurisdictions. These “taxes” would be charged for drilling a well or for each foot of gathering line. More in TheTimes-Tribune.com.
A review of some of the problems associated with developing the Marcellus Shale gas field in northwestern Pennsylvania and speculation on how many jobs have been lost in New York because of a drilling ban. More at BuffaloNews.com.
Steve Kirchhoff, the ExxonMobil vice president for natural gas, reviewed a number of factors that will determine the long-term direction of the natural gas industry in the United States. More at PennEnergy.com.
In Pennsylvania, natural gas gathering lines are small diameter pipelines that move natural gas from wellheads to a main line. They currently do not have the same status as a public utility – but if they acquired that designation they might have the power of eminent domain – and many things would change in the natural gas industry. More in TheTimes-Tribune.com.
The Pennsylvania Geological Survey published their “Oil and Gas in Pennsylvania” in 2002. Although this publication date was before horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing were being applied to shales the booklet still contains a lot of interesting information related to oil and gas formation, rock units and drilling.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania city council has placed a ban on drilling for the Marcellus Shale within city limits. Some people view this as environmental protection others view it as a “taking”. More at BusinessWeek.com.
A blog post on the New York Times website has some quotes from William Colton, an Exxon vice president, about natural gas being a beneficiary of carbon emissions policy.
Pennsylvania’s Governor, Ed Rendell, signed an executive order that will stop new drilling on state forest lands. Tom Corbett, the current Attorney General and candidate for Governor says that he will reopen drilling to get the revenue. More at Pittsburgh Live.
New York’s plan to cut programs at the state Department of Environmental Conservation has environmentalists worried that the environment will not be protected and drilling companies worried that permitting and regulatory processes will be extremely slow.
Although Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell pushed relentlessly for a severance tax on natural gas the legislature will end their current session without an approved tax bill. More at the Post-Gazette.
Tom Corbett, a Republican candidate for Pennsylvania Governor, has received a large amount of financial support from the natural gas industry. More at Canadian Business Online.
Andrew Gould, CEO of Schlumberger, believes that developing the shale gas resource in Europe will face many regulatory, social, logistical and financial challenges. More at the New York Times.
What is a reasonable severance tax? It should be an amount that is fair to the state and fair to natural gas producers. An article on PennLive.com explores severance taxes in several states and suggests how State government should set the tax rate.
Pennsylvania Governor Rendell has called a meeting of key legislators to meet on Columbus Day to iron out a Marcellus Shale severance tax bill that can be passed this year. More at Philly.com.
Some of the first government-sponsored environmental review hearings on natural gas production from shale and hydraulic fracturing are occurring in Quebec. Some have been rowdy others restrained. More at CBC News.
Producing natural gas from shale is getting a lot of early debate in Quebec. Some believe that the best solution is to manage activity from the start. More at CTV Montreal.
With the prospect of a new severance tax, lawmakers in Pennsylvania are already debating how that money should be spent. Already the list of projects is longer then available funds. However, many of them will directly benefit the natural gas industry. More in TheTimes-Tribune.com.
State legislators in Pennsylvania are debating proposals that will place hold-out landowners in a “poll” of owners who will receive royalties when a horizontal well is drilled on adjacent properties. Some believe that this is a taking of private property. More at KDKA.com.
Some people in Pennsylvania want to see rules that require natural gas drilling companies to hire Pennsylvania residents for Marcellus Shale jobs within the state. More at PennLive.com.
An article on The Daily Review website quotes a press release by Pennsylvania State Senator Matt Baker that explains why he opposes Senate Bill 1155, that would place a tax of 39 cents per MCF on all shale gas extracted. Other Senators oppose the bill as reported in a video at WJACTV.com. An article in The Times Tribune reports that Governor Rendell says that he will not sign a bill that phases in the tax by setting it low during the first few years of a well’s production.
