The Marcellus Shale natural gas industry has gotten tripped up by the F-bomb. Not that word. “Fracking has become almost a dirty word,” said Brian McDermott, spokesman for Gregory FCA Communications, an Ardmore public relations firm that has measured popular sentiments associated with various resource-extraction terms. It found fracking lacking, scoring even lower in positives [...]
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie imposed a one-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing pending more research into its safety while, at the same time, vetoing a bill that would permanently ban the practice. “I am placing a one-year moratorium on fracking so that the DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection) can further evaluate the potential environmental [...]
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has announced new rules on natural gas drilling operations in the state’s Marcellus Shale. The new emergency set of temporary measures regarding Marcellus Shale requires operators to submit erosion, sediment and water management plan. Drilling applications must include public advertisements about their activity 30 days prior to work [...]
Noble Energy announced that it has formed a strategic joint venture worth $3.4 billion with Consol Energy to explore and develop acreage in the fast-growing Marcellus shale gas play in the US. The joint venture involves Noble acquiring a 50% interest at $1.07 billion in 663,350 net undeveloped acres in south-west Pennsylvania and north-west West [...]
Endeavour International Corp., has entered into an agreement to acquire Marcellus shale assets in north-central Pennsylvania from SM Energy Co. SM Energy is selling its entire leasehold position in a play consisting of 42,000 net acres adjacent to the Endeavour’s existing Marcellus acreage and includes a pipeline and related facilities for aggregate consideration of $110 [...]
Shell Oil has made its Global Onshore Tight/Shale Oil and Gas Operating Principles available to the public with examples of how the company delivers them. The move is intended to address public concern about tight/shale oil and gas development – especially regarding hydraulic fracturing – encourage feedback and challenge from our stakeholders, and drive continuous [...]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will commence visits to locations in five states where its investigators will study the safety of hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ as it is more commonly referred to. EPA investigators will study places where fracking has already taken place and look for any impact on residential water wells and other sources [...]
The Norwegian flag was flying along with the stars and stripes on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, as state oil company Statoil ASA celebrated 10 years of trading on the exchange. But not everyone was keen to congratulate Norway’s biggest company. Instead, angry residents in the eastern United States believe Statoil’s much-touted shale [...]
Pennsylvania’s top health official want to see is gas drilling poses a health risk. Department of Health Secretary Eli Avila said his agency needs resources to create a registry for tracking whether spikes in illnesses could be related to shale gas drilling. That request came to the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission came as the panel [...]
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge is asking natural gas companies operating in the Marcellus Shale to improve their “public image.” Ridge, who now serves as a consultant to the natural gas industry, urges the companies to make their public image better if they wish to be “warmly embraced” by the public, not just “grudgingly accepted.” [...]
