Kenai Peninsula Clarion Editorial by Brian Smith.  Another legislative season approaches and again we find ourselves having pipe dreams.

Will this finally be the year we wake up and start serious work on getting North Slope gas to Alaska communities and markets beyond?
 
Or will the nightmare continue? How many more decades must our ears endure politicians promising a gas line? How much paperwork, press releases, suits, plane tickets, bills — on and on — must be generated and consumed talking and talking and talking about this?
Enough.
 
For decades we’ve heard industry forecasters remind us — much like how mom used to sound when we left the house with wet hair and no coat — of looming gas shortages as we kick up our feet to warm them next to our heaters.
 
“Those politicians we hired will figure it out eventually,” we told ourselves while sipping eggnog.
Well, we have arrived — a gas deficit is predicted by 2015. That’s 24 months from now and we’re no closer to having a gas pipeline than we were when we were first warned about the shortage.
What can be done?
 
Looks like Nikiski’s Mike Chenault will be resubmitting his idea on how to get that gas to Alaskans through a reincarnation of House Bill 9, which essentially gives the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation the power and money to see a 24-inch gas pipeline to open season.  (Read Much More…,.)

Today’s Consumer Energy Alliance Links:

Human Events: Keystone XL approval is critical for America’s energy future **Op-ed by Michael Whatley

The facts are simple. The Keystone XL pipeline has undergone more than four years of environmental review. The U.S. State Department declared that the pipeline would “have a degree of safety over any other typically constructed domestic oil pipeline system under current code.” This is because of 57 special conditions that will be incorporated into the pipeline, including heavier construction materials in sensitive areas, a higher number of remotely controlled shutoff valves and increased inspection rates.

 

CNN: US set for energy bonanza, says historian Ferguson

But now an unlikely champion for U.S. growth under the Obama administration has emerged — a former adviser to a Republican Party presidential candidate and Harvard history professor, Niall Ferguson, who says America could actually be heading toward a new economic "golden age." And it has nothing to do with Washington and everything to do with energy. Ferguson, who is also an author and commentator, believes the production of natural gas and oil from shale formations via a process known as "fracking" — forcing open rocks by injecting fluid into cracks — will be a game changer.

 

USA Today: Oil and gas boom offers opportunities, risks

As welcome as the oil and gas boom is, like any positive development it comes with an array of caveats. For one thing, it doesn’t portend a dramatic decline in gasoline prices for future Thanksgiving trips to grandma’s house. Much more than natural gas, oil is a world market, and demand is rising rapidly in developing nations such as China and India. So unless there is a massive shift to vehicles powered by electricity or natural gas, most U.S. drivers will remain subject to the swings of international petroleum markets. Nor will the U.S. military be able to disengage from the Middle East, because key allies will still rely heavily on oil imports from there, or will be threatened by hostile nations such as Iran.

 

Houston Chronicle: Not enough pipelines, so crude sells at discount

A $21 price difference between crude oil in Midland and Cushing, Okla., is an all-time high, as oil production in the Permian Basin far outpaces the pipeline infrastructure to move it. The spot price for West Texas Intermediate crude was about $87 per barrel this week in Cushing – the delivery point at which the U.S. benchmark oil is priced – versus $65 per barrel in Midland. The two only differed by $3 in October, according to a Wells Fargo report.

 

New York Times: Longmont lands in thick of drilling dispute

In a way, Longmont’s fracking ban is in a position similar to Colorado’s ballot measure legalizing small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. Both are lessons in the promise and peril of populism: both initiatives sailed through on Election Day despite opposition from the authorities, and both now face legal scrutiny and fights at all levels of government. Gov. John W. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has warned Longmont residents that the ban is likely to mean a lawsuit from the state, which insists that only it has the authority to regulate drilling. Already this summer, Colorado sued Longmont over earlier city rules that limit drilling near schools and homes.

 

From: energyindepth.org

 

NATIONAL

Rise in U.S. oil output could help rebuild roads. Newsday, Editorial. With the region’s post-Sandy gasoline pangs finally in the rearview mirror, there’s good news about the nation’s energy future — and an opportunity that should be seized. The United States is projected to become the world’s largest oil producer by 2020, temporarily surpassing Saudi Arabia, thanks to technologies unlocking light oil and shale gas resources. That’s according to the International Energy Agency, an autonomous agency created after the 1973 oil crisis to promote energy security for its 28 member nations, including the United States.
 
Tests indicate HF has not impacted Binghamton water. Binghamton Press and Sun.  “It’s not surprising that this latest round of water tests shows the same results of the city’s water testing over the past six years: that Marcellus Shale development has not impacted the Susquehanna River negatively, and in turn hasn’t impacted the City of Binghamton’s water supply,” said John Krohn, spokesman for Energy In Depth.
 
Cuomo’s frack freakout: NY jobs lost to fear. New York Post, LTE. Cuomo should know that fracking for gas deposits in New York’s Southern Tier would be welcomed by employment-starved Upstaters.
 
US set for energy bonanza, says historian Ferguson. CNN. "This is an absolutely huge phenomenon with massive implications for the U.S. economy, and I think most people are still a little bit slow to appreciate just how big this is," he said in Hong Kong this week. "Conceivably it does mean a new golden age."
 
Oil and gas boom offers opportunities, risks. USA Today, Editorial. Not long ago, U.S. natural gas production was lagging so badly that energy companies were planning to import huge quantities of liquefied natural gas from abroad. Now some of those same companies want to convert their import terminals into facilities for exporting U.S. gas.
 
‘Green completion’ is industry’s answer to emissions concerns. Philadelphia Inquirer. Typically, a well’s initial production is vented or burned off to clear out impurities before a well is connected to a pipeline. Now, more operators are using so-called green completions, a process by which impurities such as sand, drilling debris and fluids from extraction are filtered out and the gas is sold, rather than wasted.

Enviro groups debate gas drilling ties. Associated Press. Two more public meetings with outdoor groups are scheduled for December, said Steve Forde, a spokesman for the Marcellus Shale Coalition. "The sportsmen and conservation communities are an important part of Pennsylvania’s heritage and key partners in responsible shale gas development," Forde wrote in an email. But he added that the coalition hasn’t discussed donations with any of the outdoor groups that helped set up the sessions.
 
US to help meet Japan’s gas needs. Asahi Shimbun. "With the boom in U.S. shale gas production, the Qataris lost this market," explains one informed source at a Japanese trading company. Several other nuclear plants shut down thereafter and Japan’s power utilities were forced to import more LNG, with short-term prices shooting up accordingly in the spot market.
 
HF tail wags NYS energy policy. Examiner. Angry and impatient as the Fracking industry may be with New York State, we have a moment to examine whether our media has properly characterized the Fracking issue. Fracking cannot proceed without the completion of the SGEIS report and that report cannot proceed until the health impact analysis review is complete; so we have a little time. We should use it wisely.
 
Obama’s Energy Mandate: More Oil and Gas. Energy Tribune. Claiming personal credit for the success of the shale gas and oil industry took some ‘Chicago politics’ hutzpah given the development took place mostly on private land. But with the fiscal cliff looming on January 1, the President will be involved in making some critical energy policy decisions. So just what is the president’s electoral mandate for his second-term?
 
US shift to shale gas may be harmful in the long term. Financial Times, LTE. The impact of the shale gas revolution in the US has already been felt around the world – for example, though the diversion of cheap coal to Europe.

INTERNATIONAL

Shale gas boost. Manchester Gazette, LTE. Shale gas has been described by MEP Paul Nuttall as “probably the most exciting development in the sphere of energy since North Sea oil”.
 
Shale gas needs regulation, not a ban – European Parliament. Globe and Mail. EU politicians rejected a ban on shale gas, while calling for a robust regulatory regime to address environmental and other concerns, in a series of votes on Wednesday in the European Parliament.

US ‘shale revolution,’ gas volume quintuples, and price plummets. Asahi Shimbun.  We’re seeing a phenomenal growth of grass-roots investment, new shoots for growth, which have lead times,” he said. Morse said there may be a considerable shift to gas-fueled vehicles in the trucking industry over the next two years.
 
Europe’s Shale Boom Lies in Sahara as Algeria Woos Exxon. Bloomberg. While environmental regulation and disappointing drilling tests have held back the development of shale gas reserves in Europe, Algeria is using tax breaks to encourage exploration. Pipelines under the Mediterranean to Spain and Italy already link Africa’s largest gas exporter into Europe’s grid.
 
Let the HF Begin in Europe – Very Cautiously. Oil Price. The European Parliament has rejected a proposal to ban new hydraulic fracturing operations on European Union territory, but while opportunities abound, they won’t be revolutionary just yet.
 
HF rules likely to be tightened. New Zealand Herald. Tomorrow’s report is an interim one – so debate will continue – and options include a ban on fracking until environmental concerns are dealt with, through to a range of new regulations and rules over more disclosure.
 
Feds sued over HF ban. Windsor Star. An American company intends to sue the federal government for more than $250 million over Quebec’s controversial moratorium on hydraulic fracturing or fracking.
 
No clear answers on shale gas. Business Day, Op-Ed. The shale gas deposits of the Karoo still pose more questions than answers. South Africa could certainly use the economic benefits that the development of this resource could provide – Econometrix notes a potential R80-billion contribution to GDP, including an employment potential of 293000 jobs.
 
With world’s largest reserves, China starts to forge ahead with shale. Asahi Shimbun. In terms of estimated reserves, China has more shale gas than the United States. To date, test wells have found gas in 24 locations. In March, a plan given to a person involved in the industry revealed a production goal of between 60 billion and 100 billion cubic meters of gas by 2020. NOTE: China Daily also reports.
 
China’s Anton Oilfield Services wins HF contract from Sinopec. Platts. This is the third consecutive tender for horizontal well multi-stage fracking from Sinopec this year and will involve 50 wells, Anton said in a statement.

COLORADO

Longmont lands in thick of drilling dispute. New York Times. Gov. John W. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has warned Longmont residents that the ban is likely to mean a lawsuit from the state, which insists that only it has the authority to regulate drilling. Already this summer, Colorado sued Longmont over earlier city rules that limit drilling near schools and homes.

NORTH CAROLINA

McCrory and energy. New Bern Sun Journal, Op-Ed. The rich untapped natural gas resources that are in shale formations within the United States are being released through a new process called fracking. By using this new process and tapping the rich natural gas resources in North Carolina the new governor is looking to create new jobs.
 
Russell Catania: No-go on HF. News & Observer, LTE. Regarding fracking in this state: Considering the low water table and the fact that so many homes and businesses rely on ground water for their supply, we cannot afford to pollute any of it.

NORTH DAKOTA

N.D. seeks alternatives to flaring. E&E News (sub req’d). In a monthly production update, North Dakota oil and gas chief Lynn Helms wrote that the state was exploring a handful of options to make use of the gas, which is a byproduct of sweet crude production and often is essentially stranded at well sites due to a lack of storage and transport capacity… The latest in the hunt for solutions could be a boon to the state’s other successful industry: agriculture.

NORTHEAST
 

 

 

Votes are in, and shale development is the winner. Press & Sun-Bulletin, Op-Ed. As the extended economic downturn in our region stretches on, New Yorkers crave the facts about this opportunity and the jobs it could create in this region. Instead, several candidates presented voters with biased, emotional allegations not borne out by scientific research and their sound defeat makes it clear that New Yorkers are ready and waiting for shale gas development to revive our region.
 
Testing clears Binghamton water of HF impact. Binghamton Press and Sun.  “It seems that Matt Ryan does a wonderful job of wasting the Binghamton taxpayers’ money,” said John Krohn, spokesman forEnergy In Depth. “It’s not surprising that this latest round of water tests shows the same results of the city’s water testing over the past six years — that Marcellus Shale development has not impacted the Susquehanna River negatively, and in turn hasn’t impacted the City of Binghamton’s water supply.”
 
NY shale regs delayed again. Olean Times Herald. Never sure on how to proceed in regard to proposed hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s only real policy has been stalling for time.
 
Dec. 3 is latest timeline for academics’ HF review. Ithaca Journal. The panel of academics who will help assess New York’s review of shale-gas drilling have now been told their work should be completed by Dec. 3, according to one of the state-selected experts.
 
HF needs health analysis. Albany Times Union, LTE. The choice is ours: To let three out-of-state individuals privately review the health impacts of fracking or to call for a comprehensive, independent review. The results will fundamentally reshape New York.
 
Local filmmaker takes on HF. Poughkeepsie Journal. The movie is directed at the governor because many fracking opponents fear Cuomo will lift the current moratorium on fracking. The film chronicles both an anti-fracking rally and a separate concert that took place in Albany on the same day in May.
 
Anti-HF movement picks up steam as state delays decision. YNN Hudson Valley. A much anticipated health study of fracking regulations will not meet the November 29th due date. That’s according to Governor Cuomo. The DEC needed that study to issue their final report which could have allowed the state to begin issuing permits to gas companies. Because of that, the final decision on the controversial practice could be delayed up to six months.
 
Food production, not HF. Messenger Post, Op-Ed. The debate among those who believe that hydrofracking is not only safe but will also give a much needed boost to the economy of the Southern Tier and those who believe that the damage it will cause in no way justifies placing both the environment and so many people at risk has been bitter, rising to a level of acrimony not seen in decades.

OHIO

Chemical makers hope homegrown gas can yank business from Gulf Coast. E&E News (sub req’d). Although development of the Utica resource is in its early stages, results from the first group of wells in eastern Ohio have prompted an investment spurt in processing and pipeline infrastructure to separate ethane and other gas liquids from natural gas. Leaders of Ohio’s extensive chemicals and polymer industries see low-cost ethane from Utica as a perfect raw material.
 
Utica Shale rig counts may be rigged to favor oil. E&E News (sub req’d). Drawing on the widely read reports on drilling rig activity published by Baker Hughes Inc., EIA said in a "Today in Energy" mini-report last week that there were twice as many active rigs in Ohio’s Utica oil and gas play at the end of October than a year ago. And the big difference was oil exploration.
 
New wave of injection wells on the way in Ohio for fracking waste. Plain Dealer. Earlier this month, Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials gave the green light to the placement of four new injection wells — technically known as Class II underground injection wells– including one in Portage County.
 
Anti-HF groups cry foul on ODNR’s injection-well ‘open house’. Athens News. Two groups that oppose new injection wells in Athens County for wastewater from oil-and-gas drilling have criticized the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, for holding an "open house" to discuss a proposed new well in Rome Township, rather than a true public hearing.

TEXAS

Eagle Ford lease deadlines driving drilling. San Antonio Express. The rush is on in the Eagle Ford Shale, and some of it has more to do with legal contracts than extracting oil and gas from miles below the surface.
 
HF front and center in Perot Museum’s energy hall. Dallas Morning News. Once they enter the hall, they’ll be dunked, figuratively, in the products of that geology, oil and gas — especially the natural gas wrested from the black rock of North Texas’ Barnett Shale.