Appropriate

Consol Energy Inc. announced Monday that it plans to spend most its capital expenditure (capex) budget in 2013 on natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica shales, and will sell millions in other assets.

A trio of New York legislators opposed to high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) held court over a lengthy public hearing Thursday on rules that would govern the practice, but officials with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) were not in attendance.

The Pittsburgh City Council has referred a series of proposed amendments, which would create “mineral extraction districts” and possibly open the city to at least limited Marcellus Shale drilling, to the city’s planning commission.

The San Francisco-based Center for Biological Diversity has issued a 60-day notice of intent to file a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for allegedly failing to keep wildlife protected from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of oil and gas wells on federal lands it manages in the Monterey Shale in central California.

Flaws in a study of potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on drinking water supplies being conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must be addressed in order for the agency’s final report to be credible, according to a review of the study released Tuesday by the Battelle Memorial Institute.

Two graduate students at The Ohio State University say their state’s policymakers should levy appropriate taxes on the oil and gas industry, be wary of hidden shale extraction costs and commit to good governance if they want to avoid the perils of boom-and-bust cycles common to other regions of the country rich in natural resources.

The Ohio House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of an energy bill that also creates new rules for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state. The bill is to be sent to Gov. John Kasich for his signature.

A Pennsylvania lawmaker is taking aim at one of the most contentious issues in the Marcellus Shale: gas migration.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is scheduled to consider a set of new rules on the disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) early next month, but the debate is already picking up steam regarding proposed exemptions for trade secret chemicals.