Safe

The Bowland-Hodder Shale of northern England has between 822 and 2,281 Tcf of natural gas in place, according to a new study that is the first to integrate all existing seismic data, geological analyses and well samples from the shale, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said Thursday. The assessment is higher than earlier estimates.

For the fourth year in a row, ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. investors soundly defeated proposals calling for more disclosures regarding shale extraction operations.

Despite ongoing statewide efforts, city and county governments in Colorado and California are coming up with local solutions to safe and sane hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Two jurisdictions are lifting fracking moratoriums.

Pro and con on the proposed northern segment of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) rachetted up their campaigns this week in anticipation of a U.S. State Department hearing on the project Thursday in Grand Island, NE.

It was billed as a bilateral effort to ensure safe and environmentally responsible development of the Appalachian Basin’s shale gas resources, but not everyone on the environmental side of the aisle is ready to embrace the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD).

Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a Norwegian-based risk management foundation, has published recommended practices (RP) to guide operators that extract shale natural gas.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) on Tuesday approved RRC staff-recommended revisions to proposed changes to commission rules governing casing, cementing, drilling and completion of wells; cathodic protection wells; and seismic holes and core holes. Changes were initially proposed in September in response to action by the Texas Legislature. The revised proposal for changes takes into account responses received by commission staff during a public comment period. The current 45-day public comment period will end at noon April 1. A public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 CST Feb. 21 at the RRC’s Austin office.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will undertake a 12-14 month comprehensive study of naturally occurring levels of radioactivity in by-products of oil and natural gas development, the agency said Thursday.

A six-foot section of a 20-inch diameter Columbia Gas Transmission system that ruptured Dec. 11 in West Virginia had wall thickness measured as low as 0.078 inches, significantly thinner than the nominal wall thickness of 0.281 inches when the pipeline was installed in 1967, according to a preliminary report issued Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).