A legislative panel in Ohio has cleared four rules proposed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), which include new requirements for the permitting and construction of oil and natural gas wells and rules governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
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House Republicans, Salazar Square Off Over Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) took center stage at a House hearing Wednesday on the fiscal year (FY) 2013 Interior Department budget, with Secretary Ken Salazar saying that he hopes that federal government research into the shale gas practice will end “a lot of the hysteria” surrounding the drilling practice.
Most Cash Points Firm; Futures Traders Ponder Market Bottom
Cash prices on Friday rose throughout the country except for in the Northeast following Thursday’s strength in futures, but the March contract eased as the market couldn’t shake the stranglehold of moderate weather and plump storage.
Micro Shale E&P, Service Company to Merge
A year-old, privately held California micro exploration and production (E&P) company founded by former senior executives from a predecessor Chevron Corp. company (Texaco), Pacific Energy Development Corp. (PEDCO), plans to merge with publicly held Houston-based energy services firm Blast Energy Services to form a new publicly held company headed by PEDCO CEO Frank Ingriselli.
Transportation Notes
Pacific Gas and Electric issued a systemwide Stage 2 low-inventory order on its California Gas Transmission system for Friday, setting penalties of $1/Dth for exceeding a 5% tolerance on negative daily imbalances.
No Pennsylvania Impact Fee This Year
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted unanimously against House Bill 1950 on Tuesday, its last day in session for the year, setting the stage for ongoing debates about the matter when lawmakers return from their recess in January.
House, Senate Strike Deal on Pipe Safety Legislation
The House and Senate have reached a hard-fought agreement on pipeline safety legislation (HR 2845), setting the stage for Congress to pass the bill before it adjourns for the year, the leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee said Thursday.
Transportation Notes
Pacific Gas and Electric, which has had simultaneous Stage 1 low-inventory/high-inventory OFOs in effect consistently on its California Gas Transmission system since it began them July 8 due to lower pressures from pipe remediation work (see Daily GPI, July 8), said it will have an OFO-free gas day Thursday.
Fracking Sans Water? It’s the Real Deal
In the environmental debates raging around natural gas and oil drilling in North America, one thing until now has not been in dispute: it takes huge amounts of water to open up reservoir fractures deep underground. However, new technologies developed in Canada, which have been tested in the United States, may offer the energy industry a waterless way forward.
Ohio Producer Group: State Better Prepared for Shale Surge
With a drilling industry begun in the mid-1800s and modifications to its decades-old oil and gas law in place, Ohio is well prepared for the kind of shale industry growth that has to varying degrees overwhelmed other states, according to Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) Executive Vice President Tom Stewart.