Skies

Halliburton Co., the No. 2 global oilfield services provider, is beginning to see some blue skies in North America this year and going into 2014, CEO Dave Lesar said Monday.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary-designate Ernest J. Moniz fielded questions about his position on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), natural gas exports and climate change during his confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

A report issued by American Clean Skies Foundation last Thursday projects that technology-driven changes in oil and gas production since 2007 will lead to annual employment gains of 835,000 to 1.6 million new jobs nationwide by 2017 — more than the entire U.S. auto manufacturing industry — and increase the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by $167 billion to $245 billion net.

A report issued by American Clean Skies Foundation Thursday projects that technology-driven changes in oil and gas production since 2007 will lead to annual employment gains of 835,000 to 1.6 million new jobs nationwide by 2017 (more than the entire U.S. auto manufacturing industry), and increase the country’s gross domestic product by $167 billion to $245 billion on a net basis.

Researchers at Duke University have added their voices to the debate on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), saying in a report released Monday that the practice probably is not the cause of brine migration in the Marcellus Shale, but it could increase the potential for contaminating drinking supplies in the future.

In a paper released Thursday, researchers from Cornell University firmly stood by an earlier claim that shale gas has a larger greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint than conventional gas and oil or coal, and thus would be an unsuitable bridge fuel.

The documentary “Haynesville: A Nation’s hunt for an Energy Future” is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. EST Tuesday on the CNBC network.

Shale Gas and America’s Future, a 30-minute, made-for-TV film about the country’s natural gas drilling boom, has been released by the American Clean Skies Foundation (ACSF), a pro-natural gas industry group.

Those searching the skies for storm-driven relief for falling natural gas prices should lower their sights and take into account the extensive earthquake damage to a major Japanese nuclear power plant recently. That’s just what FBR Research is doing in predicting Japan’s increased demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fill its 8,200 MW power gap could cut into supplies for the U.S. market, leading to tightening the domestic natural gas market.