Debate

Indications from a meeting on Monday of the Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Initiative Advisory Commission in Annapolis are that Maryland will continue to chart a cautious course for the exploitation of its unconventional energy resources, said commission member and Republican State Sen. George Edwards, who represents three counties in western Maryland.

Supporters of oil and natural gas exploration in New York are in disagreement with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) over just how much of the state would be open to high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF), while an environmental group has called the agency’s latest actions “meaningless.”

In an fierce debate about whether hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and the chemicals used in the process may be to blame for contaminating the water supply of some Wyoming residents, Encana Corp. is pressing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for “key technical data and information” about water wells re-tested near its natural gas development in Pavillion, WY, to enable the company to properly respond by an October deadline.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s Jim Hackett, who traded the CEO chair for that of executive chairman in May, said the country needs to have an “informed and constructive debate” on the national energy policy to ensure natural gas and oil can continue to be developed under “very strong and appropriate” environmental protections.

Two years after the Macondo well blowout, the debate continued last week at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston about whether oil and natural gas companies prioritize the the safety and risk management culture on drilling platforms or start-up dates for offshore drilling projects.

Two years after the Macondo well blowout, the debate continued Monday at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston over whether oil and natural gas companies prioritize the start-up dates for offshore drilling projects or the safety and risk management culture on drilling platforms.

Three days of fiery debate in the Senate on the Obama administration’s energy policies came to a quiet end Thursday with the defeat of a Democratic-sponsored bill that proposed rolling back billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil and natural gas producers.

Three days of fiery debate in the Senate on the Obama administration’s energy policies came to a quiet end Thursday with the defeat of a Democratic-sponsored bill that proposed rolling back billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil and natural gas producers.

Two new reports by top international research companies have come in on the high side of the great Marcellus Shale resources debate, producing estimates that range between 267 Tcf and 698 Tcf of potential reserves production.