Environment

A joint health assessment in a Colorado oil and natural gas field has concluded that air pollution-spurred health concerns have to be added to the environmental precautions surrounding well development and, more specifically, hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

The Maryland House of Delegates passed two Marcellus Shale regulatory bills on Saturday, adding clarity to how lawmakers expect the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to regulate oil and natural gas operators, as well as several aspects of their drilling activities.

A nonprofit organization that conducts reviews of state oil and natural gas regulations has concluded that North Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has experienced staff but is not adequately prepared to regulate oil and natural gas activities.

The sponsors of the TransCanada Alaska Co. LLC Alaska Pipeline Project took a major step forward Friday with the proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline by filing 11 draft environment reports with FERC. But the odds of the project becoming a reality still don’t look good.

January natural gas futures posted a double-digit loss Monday as traders acknowledged a low volatility price environment and little incentive for end-users to step up to the plate and lock in prices. At the close January was down 12.3 cents to $3.461 and February also had shed 12.3 cents to $3.490.

A staff member of Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), with a background in Marcellus Shale issues and energy taxes, has joined the government relations staff of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). Before joining the IPAA, Matthew Kellogg was legislative assistant to Reed, who is co-chair of the Marcellus Shale Caucus, which was formed earlier this year, and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. “Matt’s legislative background in energy policy, particularly as the head staffer of the Marcellus Shale Caucus, will provide a unique perspective on the industry’s public policy challenges,” said IPAA President Barry Russell. Prior to his stint in Congress, Kellogg worked at the New York State Assembly Minority Counsel’s Office in Albany, where he researched legislation and agency regulations regarding the state’s moratorium on horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. At the IPAA, Kellogg primarily will be responsible for the legislative and regulatory issues surrounding Marcellus Shale development. He will also serve as a legal adviser on environment and tax policy.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has tapped U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral James A. Watson IV to be director of the Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement (BSEE).

One year after spending $1.9 billion on capital expenditures (capex) in the Fayetteville Shale play (see Shale Daily, Dec. 21, 2010), Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) indicated that it would probably spend less there in 2012 as overall gas production and net income and earnings continued to rise.

Employment in the core industries that drive Marcellus Shale development in Pennsylvania more than doubled to 20,837 people between 2008 and 2011, while employment in ancillary industries dropped by around 1% to 193,813, according the Center for Workforce Information and Analysis (CWIA) at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.