Fracturing

California’s proposed law (AB 591) to address hydraulic fracturing (fracking) passed a second hurdle, being voted out 5-1 from the state Senate Environmental Quality Committee (EQ). The measure has been sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee, but no hearing date has been set. AB 591’s author, Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, told EQ that the proposal is a “modest” attempt to provide state regulators in the Division of Oil and Gas with added information on fracking. Wieckowski emphasized that fracking in some form has been around for the past 50 years in California, but only recently has the oil/gas sector begun to use more sophisticated techniques that carry greater potential impact on the state’s water quality. The bill is aimed at chemical disclosure for operators using the fracking process and comes at a time that Wieckowski said “several reports” from the oil/gas industry have indicated California is on the “cusp of a boom” in unconventional oil/gas recovery because of drilling technique advancement, such as fracking. Chemicals used and sources and amounts of water in the fracking process will be disclosed as a result of AB 591, Wieckowski said.

Shale producers should take seriously the questions and issues being raised by environmentalists and others with concerns about hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and be “open and transparent” about the composition of their fracking fluids, FERC Commissioner John Norris said Tuesday.

Lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly ratified two bills calling for a comprehensive study of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking). Both bills now await the signature of Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue.

Texas is on its way to leading the nation in the public disclosure of hydraulic fracturing chemicals. Gov. Rick Perry Friday signed into law HB 3328, making the Lone Star State a leader on an issue with which other states producing natural gas from shale plays have struggled.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry Friday signed into law legislation (HB 3328) requiring the public disclosure of chemicals in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids, making the Lone Star State a leader on an issue with which other states producing natural gas from shale plays have struggled.

A bill aimed at chemical disclosure in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) passed its first hurdle Tuesday in the California Senate, passing out of the Natural Resources and Water Committee with opposing industry groups and lawmakers all indicating that a compromise that should facilitate the measure’s continuing legislative journey is close at hand (see Shale Daily, June 14). AB 591 next goes to the Senate Environmental Quality (EQ) Committee.

Shale gas prices are likely to remain “reasonable” for years to come, despite possible upward pressure from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) issues, according to more than 700 executives and managers from utilities and other industry organizations who participated in a recent survey conducted by Black & Veatch.

As it works to craft best practices for hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was hosting a rare meeting in Washington Monday night — Washington, PA, not Washington, DC.

Two separate bills calling for a comprehensive study of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) in North Carolina — a state where the practice is currently illegal — are expected to be sent to Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue this week.