Critics

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has joined a chorus of critics calling for greater oil and natural gas industry representation on a federal panel charged with reviewing the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) used to develop shale gas.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has joined a chorus of critics calling for greater oil and natural gas industry representation on a federal panel charged with reviewing the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) used to develop shale gas.

The shale natural gas industry is “under siege” by some critics and without the public’s support, access to the massive reserves also could be diminished, an industry executive said Wednesday.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Friday called on Energy Secretary Steven Chu to broaden the membership of the panel charged with reviewing the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) practice used to develop shale natural gas.

A coalition of conservation and environmental groups wants Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett to rescind a new policy requiring Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) inspectors to get approval before issuing notices of violation to Marcellus Shale operators. In a recent letter, 42 groups, including Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Audubon Pennsylvania and the Sierra Club, said the policy “will create unacceptable delays in resolving identified problems putting public safety and natural resources unnecessarily at risk.” The policy, described by the DEP as a three-month pilot project, requires inspectors to get all notices of violations pre-approved by DEP Secretary Michael Krancer. The DEP said the measure is a way to guarantee consistency across the state, but critics say it undermines the authority of inspectors (see Shale Daily, April 1).

A Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) hearing intended to get to the bottom of the matter of whether the Barnett Shale gas drilling activities of Range Resources Corp. led to the contamination of two water wells in Parker County, TX, has been postponed to Jan. 18 from Monday (Jan. 10). In the meantime, one interested observer told Shale Daily that both research that condemns the company and other findings that would exonerate it are incomplete.

The Pittsburgh City Council was scheduled to vote Tuesday on an ordinance with questionable legal premises that would prohibit natural gas drilling in the city which is surrounded by the Marcellus Shale.

President Obama’s grade for his performance on oil and natural gas issues during his first 100 days in office is a “D,” two producer groups said last Wednesday. Critics say Obama speaks with a forked tongue when it comes to oil and gas.

A Colorado ballot initiative that would remove a severance tax break for the energy industry would not, as critics have charged, increase residential natural gas prices nor would it push producers out of the state, according to a study by a Denver-based nonprofit group.