Finalize

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will miss a Nov. 29 deadline for revised rules governing high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF), a development that should reopen the rulemaking process to at least one public hearing.

With a Nov. 29 deadline quickly approaching, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) has reportedly hired experts from three universities to conduct a health impact analysis of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in the state.

Maintaining that Colorado’s water supply is too fragile to put at risk, a diverse coalition of more than 100 of the state’s business, conservation and sporting groups sent a letter of support Wednesday for a U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposal to reduce the amount of land available for oil shale research and development.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has called the state legislature into a special session scheduled to begin Sunday (Dec. 11) to discuss, and possibly pass, a compromise Marcellus Shale regulatory reform bill as early as this week. The Joint Select Committee on Marcellus Shale (JSCMS), a 10-member bipartisan committee, has been working on legislation informally known as the Marcellus Draft Bill (MDB) for weeks. The JSCMS used a failed bill called the Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act, also known as SB 424, as the bill’s foundation (see NGI, Aug. 15). The shale gas industry is concerned by an amendment calling for operators to pay a $10,000 permitting fee for the first well drilled on a pad and $5,000 for each additional well well (see NGI, Nov. 28; Sept. 19). The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection also has proposed increasing horizontal drilling fees to $10,000 — up from the current $650 paid by all drillers — to fund additional inspectors (see NGI, Feb. 14).

As the city of Dallas’ Gas Drilling Task Force works to finalize the recommendations it is scheduled to make later this month to city council, members Tuesday came to a decision on a few items.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received more than 4,100 comments on its proposed standards to reduce air pollution from oil and natural gas drilling operations, especially operations employing hydraulic fracturing (fracking), by the time the public comment period closed Wednesday.

Despite an uncertain regulatory environment as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) continues to finalize trading rules under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, two trading exchange powerhouses posted impressive earnings.

Despite an uncertain regulatory environment as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) continues to finalize trading rules under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, two trading exchange powerhouses posted impressive earnings.

In a year’s time, production from shale plays has gone from 6% of Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc.’s North American gas production to 36%, the company said Tuesday.