A large number of people are concerned about the hydraulic fracturing methods now being used to produce natural gas from shale. The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is going to study the potential impact on human health.
Drillers in North Dakota have been extremely successful in producing oil from newly discovered fields. However, they have not been as successful in finding ways to get the crude to market – because there is not enough pipeline capacity for all of the oil. However, if they had more refining capacity the state could become a distribution point.
Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil, says refueling stations are the big problem for the widespread use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel. But, he also says that natural gas is becoming a much more important fuel for electricity generation.
Exxon Mobil now has approval from both US and Dutch regulatory agencies for its purchase of XTO Energy. The significance of this deal is the entry of Exxon Mobil into the US onshore natural gas sector.
In this video CONSOL Energy CEO, Brett Harvey, talks about the company’s purchase of natural gas assets from Dominion Resources. He seems to think highly of the potential for natural gas. A quote: “Natural Gas will be the chosen fuel.” (Consol already owns a lot of coal mines between the surface and the Marcellus Shale which create conflicting land use problems when drilling for natural gas.)
“Earth Science Week 2010 (October 10-16) won’t take place for some months – so now is the perfect time to start planning your activities! Don’t wait until the hectic first weeks of the next school year.” You can start your planning by visiting the Earth Science Week website or by checking out their March newsletter. The theme for 2010 is “Exploring Energy.”
Will the new shale plays still be producing natural gas ten to twenty or more years into the future? This topic was discussed at IHS CERA conference last week in Houston.
“A study of seismic activity near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by researchers from SMU and UT-Austin reveals that the operation of a saltwater injection disposal well in the area was a “plausible cause” for the series of small earthquakes that occurred in the area between October 30, 2008, and May 16, 2009.” Quoted from the Southern Methodist University press release.
An article in the New York times points to the enormous enthusiasm for renewable energy projects. However, many in the energy industry believe that the ability of renewable energy to make a substantial contribution to total energy demand is overrated.
Although international oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP were not pioneers in the development of United States gas shales they are now working to acquire positions in Europe.
A company building a natural gas pipeline on the floor of the Baltic Sea discovered a dozen sunken ships that are thought to be between 300 and 400 years old.
The Department of Energy is awarding a $154 million grant to NRG Energy, a company that will create a carbon capture and storage project at a 60-megawatt coal-burning power plant in Texas.
Polyethylene is used to make items such as plastic bags and other packaging materials. Researchers at MIT have figured out how to transmit heat – in one direction only – through the plastic.
Khalid Al-Falih, CEO of Saudi Aramco: “I don’t think any of us will see, at any time in our lives, fossil fuels meeting less than 70 percent of total energy demand.”
This video features a visit to a nuclear power plant to see the volume of nuclear waste that is being store there until the United States has a viable long-term storage facility.
The Ground Truth Trekking Blog has a collection of articles on the theme of “Coal in Alaska”. The state has enormous coal resources from lignite through anthracite – but it can be hard to transport the coal to distant markets at a competitive price.
Newly-discovered “thermopower” could change the face of tomorrow’s tiny gadgets. Heat waves can be used to push electrons down a microscopic carbon nanowire, generating a high-speed current of electricity.
The purpose of the TransCanada pipeline is to transport crude from Canadian oil sands to refineries on the United States Gulf Coast. Now producers of crude in Montana and North Dakota want to use the pipeline.
An article on the Vancouver Sun website explains how most of the major oil companies are jumping into the shale gas plays of Europe. A big problem is that there are currently very few rigs there.
Early results in the Utica Shale Gas Play in Quebec, Canada has wells producing over 10 million cubic feet of gas per day. Some believe that the play could contain over 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
The “Natural Gas Act” is legislation that would expand the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel by providing tax incentives for natural gas vehicles and refueling stations. Versions of the bill are in the House and Senate.
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Hobart King
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