Fracking

Two public opinion polls, one in New York and one of voting-age residents across the nation, indicate that support for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is slipping, with opposition to the practice reaching a high in one poll conducted in New York.

The University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture (UTIA), which had spent three months in search of an industry partner to investigate the impacts of natural gas and oil exploration, as well as development from shale formations, has put the project on hold after receiving no bids for the proposed research project.

North Carolina has sent back grant funds that it received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study the effects of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on surface water quality.

While Gov. Jerry Brown already has declared he will seek to fine-tune its provisions next year, California’s new law (SB 4) regulating hydraulic fracturing (fracking) will not have final rules implemented for the industry to follow until 2015, although the law will be effective on Jan. 1 (seeShale Daily,Sept. 24).

The pressure pumping industry is becoming more efficient and learning “to do more with less,” adding overall capacity for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations but also oversupplying the market and keeping pumping prices competitive for the next 12-18 months, according to analysts at UBS Securities LLC.

Rejecting urgings from environmental groups to veto the bill, California Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed into law new regulations (SB 4) for hydraulic fracturing (fracking), but with the caveat that he intends to work on amendments next year to fine tune the requirements.

Appalachian operator EQT Corp. and the oilfield services company Green Field Energy Services have completed multiple hydraulic fracturing (fracking) stages using pumps powered 100% by Marcellus Shale gas at a well site.

In what’s being viewed as a symbolic move with little traction, a Democratic lawmaker in Pennsylvania has introduced a bill calling for an “open-ended” ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state until it can be fully studied.

A snap poll conducted by theSyracuse Post-Standardin New York has found that nearly 88% of respondents believe hydraulic fracturing (fracking) should at least be permitted in certain parts of the state, while only about 10% believe the practice should be banned outright.