Maximum

Halliburton Co. is teaming up with Nuverra Environmental Solutions Inc. in the Bakken Shale to advance a produced water recycling project for unconventional oil and natural gas drillers.

Supporters of an “environmental bill of rights” charter amendment in Mansfield, OH, prevailed at the polls on Tuesday, but opponents of the measure fear it could be used beyond its intended purpose — to possibly block wastewater injection wells — and applied to other types of business.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) said it has issued 431 permits for drilling horizontal wells into the Utica Shale.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has launched an enhanced natural gas safety technology available to the industry that it said would validate the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) for safe gas operations. The MAOP Validation Calculator is the result of a four-year license agreement between PG&E and Coler & Colantonio Inc., a privately owned firm that specializes in, among other things, pipeline software and services. The technology is incorporated into a geospacial information system, or GIS, and the software performs calculations to validate the MAOP for each pipeline component. The calculator output allows for standardized report generation and the engineering analysis of MAOP validation issues.

Appalachian Basin producer Consol Energy Inc. said Monday its estimated proved, probable and possible (3P) reserves totaled 20.2 Tcf at the end of 2011, which was 41% higher than in 2010.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has filed an administrative complaint seeking $112,500 in fines — the maximum amount allowed by law — against U.S. Energy Development Corp. for water quality violations that allegedly occurred during drilling activities in Pennsylvania and affected Yeager Brook in Cattaraugus County, NY.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has filed an administrative complaint seeking $112,500 in fines — the maximum amount allowed by law — against U.S. Energy Development Corp. for water quality violations that allegedly occurred during drilling activities in Pennsylvania and affected Yeager Brook in Cattaraugus County, NY.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxic Standards for power plants — commonly referred to as Utility MACT (for maximum achievable control technology) — were finalized recently, and while they cast a shadow on coal-fired generators, the stricter rules offer a brighter future for natural gas demand.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxic Standards for power plants — commonly referred to as Utility MACT (for maximum achievable control technology) — were finalized last week and were expected to be released Wednesday.