Controversy

Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Tuesday stripped co-founder and CEO Aubrey K. McClendon of his title as chairman of the board and said it would name an “independent, nonexecutive chairman in the near future.”

If the comments filed are a barometer, the controversy over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) proposal to curb excessive speculation in the derivatives market is far from over. Trade groups representing producers, municipal gas utilities, corn growers and other interests have called on the agency to make a number of changes to the proposed rule.

The $4.3 billion tie-up that would merge shale player Atlas Energy Inc. with Chevron Corp. has stirred up a controversy with Atlas’ well-heeled joint venture (JV) partner Reliance Industries Ltd., whose management suggested in recent correspondence that it may be considering a counter proposal.

The $4.3 billion tie-up that would merge shale player Atlas Energy Inc. with Chevron Corp. has stirred up a controversy with Atlas’ well-heeled joint venture (JV) partner Reliance Industries Ltd., whose management suggested in recent correspondence that it may be considering a counter proposal.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has lifted suspensions on 45 oil and natural gas leases in Montana that were caught up in the controversy over the impact of drilling on climate change (see Daily GPI, April 13).

The controversy over hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the production of shale gas was a key issue in a congressional race in upstate New York. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), a vocal critic of fracking who is seeking his 10th two-year term, was leading George Phillips, a Republican from Broome County, NY, who supports shale development and state regulation of fracking, by 90,412 to 82,292, or 52.4% to 47.5% on election night, but Phillips refused to concede as of Friday, the Daily Freeman reported. Phillips said he was awaiting the outcome of 12,600 absentee votes that remain to be counted. Fracking was an issue in House races in Pennsylvania and in Texas, but the race in New York was “the most contentious one,” said Phillips spokesman Jazz Shaw. Fracking, which is used to stimulate many shale wells, is a process in which fluids are injected at high pressure into underground rock formations to fracture the rock and increase the flow of fossil fuels. “The public made [fracking] an issue” in the congressional race, Shaw said.

The controversy over hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the production of shale gas has become a major issue in a tight congressional race in upstate New York.

The controversy over air quality in the Barnett Shale in North Texas appears to be far from over after the Fort Worth City Council on Tuesday night voted to delay until Feb. 2 a vote on XTO Energy Inc.’s application for a multiple-well drilling site on the city’s south side.

The controversy over air quality in the Barnett Shale in North Texas appears to be far from over after the Fort Worth City Council last week voted to delay until Feb. 2 a vote on XTO Energy Inc.’s application for a multiple-well drilling site on the city’s south side.