Communities

In a state in which the Bakken oil boom produces more than 1.5 Bcf/d of associated natural gas, most smaller towns still depend on propane for their thermal energy needs, and that is likely to continue as economics and the propane suppliers’ lobby tend to keep local communities from making the transformation.

Researchers with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) report finding the economic benefits to local communities for allowing hydraulic fracturing (fracking), on average, outweigh any negative health and social impacts from the practice.

There hasn’t been much to see by Pennsylvania oil and gas producers, who have adopted a “wait and see” approach to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision on Act 13 returning zoning authority to local entities, according to the head of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC).

Colorado drillers may face more scrutiny about emissions from their oil and natural operations under regulations being pondered by the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is probing a chemical emergency at an oil well facility in January, where an inventory of chemicals wasn’t available to first responders as required under federal law.

SandRidge Energy Inc. founder Tom Ward, the former chairman and CEO, was replaced Wednesday by the board of directors, which said its decision was “in the best interests of the company and its shareholders at this time.”

Development of oil and natural gas in the Eagle Ford Shale added more than $61 billion in total economic impact during 2012, according to a study by the Center for Community and Business Research in The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Institute for Economic Development.

Opposition to hydraulic fracturing flared up in Ohio this week as about 100 protestors stormed an office and a water handling facility in one Ohio town, while an oil and gas service company threatened to take its business elsewhere if another town set itself up in opposition to drilling.

A year-long study has concluded that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in an urban oilfield in the Los Angeles area will not harm the environment.