Wildcatter Weekly, October 15, 2009
posted on: Oct 15, 2009
IPAMS Meetings and Announcements
IPAMS Presents Author and Industry Pioneer Robert Hefner
October 21, 2009 at 11:30 a.m.
Robert A. Hefner III will be coming to Denver to discuss topics from his new book, The Grand Energy Transition. If you haven’t heard about this book, clear your calendar and plan on heading to The Westin Tabor Center on Wednesday, October 21st at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be served.
Hefner, founder and owner of GHK Exploration, a private natural gas company headquartered in Oklahoma City, released this industry sensation in September 2009. A pioneer of ultradeep natural gas exploration and production, Hefner led GHK and the development of innovative technology needed to successfully drill and produce many of the world’s deepest and highest pressure natural gas wells, setting many industry world records along the way, and ultimately leading to the development of vast new domestic natural gas resources.
Each attendee will receive a complimentary copy of Robert A. Hefner’s book The Grand Energy Transition. Click here to read reviews about “The GET” by John Podesta, Ted Turner, Donald Trump and many more…
The online price is $50 for IPAMS Members and $60 for non-members.
Please click here to register for this event.
General questions should be directed to IPAMS Event Coordinator, Becca Ness.
Annual Utah Call-Up
October 20-21, 2009
It’s not too late to register for the Utah Call-Up.
From the Governor on down, IPAMS is meeting with all agencies and officials important to natural gas and oil exploration and production in Utah. Please click here to register for the Utah Call-Up on the IPAMS web site.
We’re holding several rooms at the Little America Hotel, so please contact Becca Ness to make hotel reservations.
For more information, click here to view the Initial Utah Call-Up Agenda or contact Spencer Kimball.
IPAMS Calendar Sponsorship Opportunity
The IPAMS yearly calendar is a great, cost-effective way to highlight your company’s active involvement in IPAMS and environmentally responsible development of oil and natural gas in the Intermountain West. Company logos are visible 365 days of the year on the IPAMS calendar and reach a wide variety of industry, government and public interests.
For more information on IPAMS calendar sponsorships, please contact Jon Haubert.
Click here to view last year’s calendar.
Daily Newsbrief
Are you receiving all the industry news happening here in the Intermountain West? There sure is a lot to keep tabs on…
If you’d like to sign up for IPAMS Daily Newsbrief and receive emails every weekday morning with the latest industry news, pertinent activities in Washington DC, Newspaper Editorials, Markets, the Environment and more, then click here to update your Membership profile and opt in to receive IPAMS Daily Newsbrief.
IPAMS Bids Farewell
Leo Michael Brady, who served as the District Landman and later Senior Land Negotiator for Amoco Production Company in Denver from 1965 to 1979, died October 11, 2009, in Denver at age 95. He was a 1935 graduate of the University of Texas, where he was a three-year letterman of the tennis team and was later inducted into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame. Leo began his career in the oil business in Midland, where he became Division Landman for the Honolulu Oil Corporation. In 1965, he moved to Denver to serve as a landman for Amoco. He participated in the 1968 Alaskan oil lease and then negotiated a 7.5-million-acre lease with Union Pacific Railway Company, then one of the largest oil exploration leases in American history. In 1976, the prolific Brady Field near Rock Springs, Wyoming, was named for him, making Leo one of only two landmen to receive this honor. After Leo’s retirement from Amoco in 1979, Union Pacific subsidiary Champlin Petroleum Company retained him as a land consultant. Leo was a Charter Member of the American Association of Petroleum Landmen and a member of the Permian Basin Landman’s Association, the Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen, the Denver Petroleum Club, and one of the original members of the Valley Country Club.
Memorial services will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church, 830 Elm Street in Denver, at 2 p.m. on October 16, 2009, with visitation at 1 p.m. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association, Colorado Chapter, 455 Sherman Street, Suite 500, Denver, CO 80203.
Other Upcoming Meetings
* Wind River WRAP Phase III Projections Meeting – October 19th at 1:30 p.m.
* Colorado Basin Advisors Network – October 28th at 10:00 a.m.
* Leasing Advocacy Meeting - October 29th at 10:00 a.m. (Please note date change)
* Legislative, Legal and Regulatory Committee – October 29th at 1:30 p.m.
Agendas are available for upcoming meetings at http://www.westernenergyalliance.org/advocacy/. All meetings unless otherwise indicated are Mountain time, and at IPAMS and via teleconference.
Visit westernenergyalliance.org for the latest news affecting the Intermountain West’s oil and natural gas industry. Headlines are updated daily from local, national and international news sources. You may also sign up for daily newsbrief emails under the Manage Account section of the “Members Only” page.
The West
Nominations Sought for BLM Environmental Practices Awards
The Bureau of Land Management is accepting nominations for its fifth annual award program for outstanding oil, gas, geophysical, and geothermal operators who demonstrate leadership and creativity in reducing the impacts of their projects. The awards showcase the best management practices (BMPs) on BLM-managed public lands, other Federal agency lands, Indian Trust lands, or Federal lands where the surface is privately owned and the BLM manages the mineral estate.
Environmental BMPs are state-of-the-art mitigation measures applied on a site-specific basis to reduce, prevent, or avoid adverse environmental or social impacts. By reducing the area of disturbance, adjusting the location of facilities, and using various other techniques to minimize environmental effects, the BLM and operators are significantly reducing impacts to wildlife, soil, water, air, and scenic quality that may be associated with new energy development.
Click here to read BLM’s announcement.
New rules add protection for special BLM sites
published in: Summit Daily News on: 10/12/2009 by: Bob Berwyn
Colorado’s Canyon of the Ancients, near Grand Junction, could serve as a model for the management of other sites with special designations from the Bureau of Land Management. The federal agency recently released new rules that put an emphasis on the protection of cultural and environmental resources. The Bureau has always had an overriding “multiple use” mandate for the federal lands it manages, which has frequently led to conflicts between the development of energy resources and preservation. The new rules apply to areas set aside by Congressional proclamation, including national monuments and national conservation areas.
BLM hires new coordinator to deal with region’s access issues
published in: Billings Gazette on: 10/10/2009 by: Brett French
Janné Joy is one of a kind. In the wide world of the Bureau of Land Management, she is the only person specifically hired to deal with access issues. Joy, 48, was hired two months ago as access program manager for the BLM’s 8.3-million-acre Montana/Dakotas region. In the newly created role, Joy has what seems to be an insurmountable task – prioritizing the BLM’s top access issues in the region and then working to bring together landowners, sportsmen, recreational users, conservation and wildlife groups along with county, state and federal agencies to try to reach a resolution that guarantees public access to public lands.
Colorado
Garfield County man waits for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to make a move in contamination case
published in: Glenwood Springs Post Independent on: 10/15/2009 by: John Colson
A Garfield County man claiming he was poisoned by contaminants from a natural gas drilling operation wants to know what state regulators will do now that a report indicates he may be right. “We’re waiting to see if the commission is going to follow those recommendations,” said attorney Richard Djokic, referring to a recent consultants report sent to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which oversees gas drilling operations in the state.
Colo. Gov Touts ‘New Energy Economy’ at Conference
published in: Associated Press on: 10/13/2009 by: Staff
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter says his state’s efforts to build a new energy economy can provide a model for addressing climate change and other challenges facing the country and world. Ritter spoke Tuesday on the last day of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas conference in Denver. Subscribers to the ”peak oil” theory say the world is at or near its maximum oil production and that demand will soon eclipse supply levels. Ritter says Colorado’s promotion of clean energy technology has paid off in creation of jobs and one of the best research and development corridors in the country. He says renewable energy sources as well as natural gas are part of the energy future. [end of article]
400 sign petition for health study on drilling
published in: The Daily Sentinel on: 10/12/2009 by: Dennis Webb
More than 400 people have signed a petition calling for an independent health study before oil and gas drilling in the Battlement Mesa community is approved. Garfield County commissioners on Monday agreed to look into the request after residents said it was warranted because of the high number of retirees living in the unincorporated development near Parachute. Antero Resources plans to drill up to 200 wells from 10 pads within Battlement Mesa.
Fears of tainted water well up in western Colorado
published in: Denver Post on: 10/11/2009 by: Nancy Lofholm
Ned Prather can’t forget that awful drink of water. He was thirsty the afternoon of May 30, 2008, after he and his wife, Dollie, drove up the dusty, steeply kinked road to their cabin an hour northeast of DeBeque. He went to the sink and filled a glass with water. “I tipped it up just like this and just started guzzling — like an idiot. I didn’t know it was bad until I drank two- thirds of the cup,” said the 61-year-old outfitter as he retraced his actions that day.
Montana
Judge overturns EPA-approved Montana water rules for gas drilling in the Powder River Basin
published in: Associated Press on: 10/14/2009 by: Matthew Brown
A federal judge has overturned water quality rules that were meant to protect southeastern Montana cropland from natural gas drilling but were assailed by Wyoming as a threat to energy production. The rules covered the Tongue and Powder rivers, which flow north from the rich gas fields of northeastern Wyoming into primarily agricultural land in Montana. Drafted by Montana and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the rules limited how much salty water — a byproduct of drilling — could enter the rivers. State officials said the EPA had not yet begun to enforce the rules, in part because of a pending lawsuit.
New Mexico
San Juan County gas producers prepare for seasonal downturn
published in: Farmington Daily Times on: 10/11/2009 by: James Monteleone and Debra Mayeux
Hampered by low natural gas prices and expecting a continued slowdown in drilling with the onset of winter, local oil and gas companies are making major cutbacks. Officials with the Bureau of Land Management and with National Forest lands in the San Juan Basin are preparing to implement annual wildlife protection restrictions, which between Nov. 1 and March 1 limit the use of drilling and service rigs on federal lands.
NM Oil, gas companies face slow winter
published in: Associated Press on: 10/11/2009 by: Staff
Oil and gas companies are making major cutbacks due to low gas prices and the onset of an expected winter slowdown in drilling. New Mexico Oil and Gas President Bob Gallagher says oil and gas producers across the state on average are operating at nearly a 30% capacity.
North Dakota
Documentary looks at N.D. oil boom
published in: Bismarck Tribune on: 10/08/2009 by: Macy Egeland
A documentary about Stanley was recently released, telling the story of North Dakota’s oil boom from the perspective of the local oil workers and residents. On Sept. 21, “Crude Independence,” a documentary film about the oil boom in North Dakota, was released on DVD and for digital download. This documentary was filmed and directed by Noah Hutton and his crew from New York. They spent the summer of 2008 in Stanley working on their documentary that includes images of the land and information about the oil boom.
“Remember Charlie” Safety Presentations
November 11-19, 2009
The “Remember Charlie” presentation details Charlie Morecraft’s personal near-death experience at a refinery. This powerful message for improving safety in the workplace and has been extremely popular across the country. There will be safety presentations at six locations November in western North Dakota.
The 90-minute session is free to all attendees, but registration is required (click here to register.)
Click here for more information.
Utah
DOI Report on 77 Leases in Utah
The Department of the Interior released a report with a decision from a BLM multi-disciplinary team tasked with reviewing 77 leases from the December 2008 Utah lease sale. DOI failed to reinstate a single lease, and went so far as to withdraw 8 parcels completely from oil and gas leasing. A very small number of leases, 17, will be reoffered in future lease sales, but Interior Secretary Ken Salazar failed to give a timeline, and those leases should be reinstated to the winning bidders, who fairly won those leases in a public auction. IPAMS believes all 77 leases should have been reinstated, and that DOI continues to politicize the leasing process. Secretary Salazar stated that the remaining 52 deferred parcels will continue to be analyzed for leasing, yet after seven years of environmental review, Utah producers are left asking how much analysis is enough?
Click here to view IPAMS press release issued after the press conference.
Few Bush-era energy leases are valid, report finds (IPAMS Quoted)
published in: Los Angeles Times on: 10/09/2009 by: Nicholas Riccardi
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday that only 17 of 77 oil and gas leases on Utah public lands that the Bush administration auctioned off in December were valid and that his agency would prevent development on the remaining parcels, at least in the near future. Salazar spoke at a Washington news conference to announce the findings of a report he commissioned this year on the parcels, which became the subject of a fierce controversy during the waning days of George W. Bush’s presidency. Environmentalists contended that the auction of drilling rights on 100,000 acres of federal land in southeastern Utah were a last-minute giveaway to the energy industry. The environmentalists won a restraining order from a federal judge halting the sales.
Team studying withdrawn BLM leases in Utah issues recommendations (IPAMS Quoted)
published in: Oil & Gas Journal on: 10/09/2009 by: Nick Snow
The US Bureau of Land Management should lead development of a comprehensive interagency strategy to address energy leasing, development, and related air quality concerns for other Western states, an interdisciplinary team which reviewed 77 withdrawn Utah leases said in a special report. It also recommended increased coordination and collaboration on oil and gas leasing and development at the federal and state levels, studying the use of interdisciplinary field reviews for all proposed lease sales, and improving interdisciplinary participation in identifying parcels to be offered.
Utah Governor’s Gala 2009
October 30, 2009 in Salt Lake City, UT
The 2009 Gala for Utah Governor Gary Herbert will take place on Friday October 30th in the Grand Ballroom at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is an opportunity to support Governor Herbert, who is a strong supporter of natural gas and oil development in Utah
Wyoming
Wyoming Governor deplores fatality stats
published in: Billings Gazette/Casper Star-Tribune on: 10/15/2009 by: Dustin Bleizeffer
Wyoming’s workplace fatality rate is worst in the nation – 17.1 fatalities per 100,000 workers in 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. From 2003 to 2007, there were 210 workplace fatalities in Wyoming, according to a preliminary report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. That’s 210 empty seats at the dinner table where husbands, fathers, brothers and sons should be seated. “We can do better than this. These numbers are just awful,” Gov. Dave Freudenthal said.
Wyoming government expects declining revenues
published in: Billings Gazette/Casper Star-Tribune on: 10/15/2009 by: Joan Barron
Gov. Dave Freudenthal intends to present a conservative budget for the 2010-12 biennium given an expected $200 million to $400 million less in revenues compared to projections made in May. The slowing economy and decreases in commodity prices, particularly natural gas, have led forecasters from the legislative and executive branches of government to periodically revise downward revenue projections for easily available state funds for the 2010-12 biennium. Their October report is due next week.
Wyo. lease sale includes Adobe Town parcels, sage grouse habitat
published in: E&E Landletter, Subscription Required on: 10/08/2009 by: Eryn Gable
The Bureau of Land Management last week auctioned off parcels of Wyoming’s ecologically important Adobe Town, as well as 29,000 acres of “core” sagebrush habitat that is considered vital to the survival of the sage grouse, to oil and gas developers. The Oct. 2 sale generated close to $1.5 million for leasing rights and rental fees, almost half of which will go to the state of Wyoming. Fifty-nine of 66 parcels were sold, accounting for 57,000 acres of the total 62,000 acres made available by BLM.
Washington Watch
Government Accountability Office Studies
IPAMS has been involved in several GAO studies over the last year. We’ve found that it’s better to provide input into the studies than to just have to live with the consequences. GAO conducts studies in response to requests from Members of Congress, who then base oversight actions and legislation on the results.
• Categorical Exclusions (CX): A recent study on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 Section 390 CXs is one example. Although IPAMS disagrees with the mischaracterization of the report in the media and some of the particulars in the report (see IPAMS press release from last week), we do agree with some of GAO’s basic recommendations. Our early participation in the study also gives us leverage in our reaction to the study (see IPAMS letter to GAO about the study). IPAMS out-front media approach , including the press release and editorial board meetings, resulted in IPAMS included as a strong reaction in an article in The Grand Junction Sentinel about 15 environmental groups asking the BLM to suspend use of the Section 390 CXs. Wouldn’t it be nice to ask the BLM to suspend their use of certain laws as well?
• MMS Verification Study: Another GAO study on the accuracy of MMS royalty data was released recently. IPAMS members also provided input to this study. Please contact Kathleen Sgamma with questions and comments.
• Leasing Protest Study: GAO has approached IPAMS again, this time for a study on the impact of lease protests and legal challenges to natural gas and oil projects. IPAMS will be meeting with investigators during the Utah Call-Up (Initial Agenda) in Salt Lake City, and would appreciate it if your company could send a representative. If your company is unable to attend, please provide Kathleen Sgamma with any information about how lease protests or legal challenges have held up your projects.
Derivatives Regulation Approved by House Panel
published in: CQ Politics on: 10/15/2009
Legislation that would regulate the over-the-counter derivatives market for the first time won approval from the House Financial Services Committee Thursday, after members adopted an amendment that would require many more derivatives to be traded on public exchanges. The panel approved the bill by 43-27, with Walter B. Jones of North Carolina the only Republican to join panel Democrats in support of the measure.
Hearings on Senate’s climate change bill to begin soon
published in: Oil & Gas Journal on: 10/15/2009 by: Nick Snow
The US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will begin 3 days of hearings on Oct. 27 on the global climate-change bill that its chairwoman, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced Sept. 30. “Members of the committee and their staffs, along with the committee’s staff, have been working day and night since the bill was introduced, and we have made great progress,” she told reporters at a briefing. “Draft provisions of the chairman’s mark have been sent to the Environmental Protection Agency for analysis. We expect that to be completed in time for the hearings.”
EPA Tosses Bush-Era ‘Aggregation’ Policy for Oil and Gas Industry
published in: E&E News, New York Times on: 10/15/2009 by: Robin Bravender
U.S. EPA has torn up a George W. Bush administration memorandum detailing when multiple emission sources from the oil and gas industry must be grouped together, or “aggregated,” under air permitting programs. Gone is the 2007 guidance document (pdf) to help regulators decide when two or more emission activities should be considered a single source under the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review (NSR) and Title V permitting programs.
Cap-and-Trade Would Slow Economy, CBO Chief Says
published in: Washington Post on: 10/15/2009 by: Juliet Eilperin
A House-passed bill that targets climate change through a cap-and-trade system of pollution credits would slow the nation’s economic growth slightly over the next few decades and would create “significant” job losses from fossil fuel industries as the country shifts to renewable energy, the head of the Congressional Budget Office told a Senate energy panel Wednesday. CBO Director Douglas W. Elmendorf emphasized that his estimates contained significant uncertainties and “do not include any benefits from averting climate change,” but his message nevertheless contrasted sharply with those of President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders, who have suggested that a cap on carbon emissions would help revive the U.S. economy.
Tying climate change to Nat’l security
published in: Politico on: 10/14/2009 by: Lisa Lerer
Climate-legislation supporters are increasingly turning to national security to bolster their pitch for a bill this year. So far, the climate debate has largely focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, drafting an international climate change treaty and fostering new, cleaner sources of energy and so-called green jobs. But for nearly two years, military and intelligence experts have been issuing studies warning that climate change could put American military personnel and national security at risk.
Boxer: Climate bill ready
published in: Politico on: 10/13/2009 by: Lisa Lerer
A major Senate climate change bill is written and ready to be debated before the Environment and Public Works committee, the chairwoman of the panel said Tuesday. Sen. Barbara Boxer’s legislation would distribution of tens of billions of dollars of pollution allowances to power plants, manufacturing, and other industries. It will mirror cap and trade legislation passed by the House in late June with, she noted, “a few tweaks.” The legislation has been sent to the Environmental Protection Agency for analysis, which should be completed by the end of the month.
Meet Lindsey Graham, the Next GOP Maverick on Climate Change
published in: E&E News, New York Times on: 10/13/2009 by: Darren Samuelsohn
Sen. Lindsey Graham spent his summer testing out lines on global warming. As the Republican hit the town halls in South Carolina, a state with a major military presence and one of the country’s highest unemployment rates, Graham would ask people if they thought climate change was a problem. Few did. But Graham quickly followed with another question, asking for a show of hands from those concerned about energy security. The response was strong, and Graham wasted little time making the connection.
Soros to Invest $1 Billion in Clean Energy, Form Advisory Group
published in: Bloomberg on: 10/12/2009 by: Katherine Burton and Jim Efstathiou Jr.
Billionaire George Soros, looking to address the “political problem” of climate change, said he will invest $1 billion in clean-energy technology and donate $100 million to an environmental advisory group to aid policymakers. Soros, the founder of hedge fund Soros Fund Management LLC, announced the investment in Copenhagen on Oct. 10 at a meeting on climate change sponsored by Project Syndicate. The group is an international association made up of 430 newspapers from 150 countries.
Media Watch
Op-ed: Natural gas vehicles would cut oil imports
published in: Salt Lake Tribune on: 10/15/2009 by: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and T. Boone Pickens
Utah is noted for its clear skies, the Colorado Plateau, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Basin and the Great Salt Lake. Much of Utah is sparsely populated, but in the population centers, air pollution was becoming a serious problem. And the problem resulted from the fuel used to run cars, trucks and buses. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “about half of all air pollution and more than 80 percent of air pollution in cities are produced by cars and trucks in the United States.”
Editorial: Wind tax plan should include incentives
published in: Casper Star-Tribune on: 10/14/2009 by: Editorial Staff
Wyoming has a big challenge ahead: how to fairly tax the wind energy industry so a steady stream of revenue goes to the counties that host wind projects. It’s clearly a more complicated task than it was to determine the mineral severance tax system for oil, natural gas and coal. Fortunately, there’s no need to rush the process. It’s in the state’s best interest to carefully examine all of the alternatives and their potential impacts, rather than hurry just to get something on the books.
Editorial: 8 worth saving
published in: Salt Lake Tribune on: 10/14/2009 by: Editorial Staff
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reached the right decision last week when he put eight parcels of land near Arches and Canyonlands national parks, Desolation Canyon on the Green River and Nine Mile Canyon near Price off-limits to oil and gas drilling. Drilling leases on the parcels, which encompass 7,670 acres, were auctioned by the Bureau of Land Management last December as the Bush administration rushed to open as much public land as possible to energy development before leaving Washington. Salazar rightly criticized the sale and his predecessor’s disregard for the ecological treasures at the sites and willingness to sidestep environmental assessments routinely required before putting land on the auction block.
Editorial: A Clearer Look at Drilling
published in: New York Times on: 10/13/2009 by: Editorial Staff
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s decision to freeze oil-and-gas development on 60 drilling sites in Utah is one more sign that the Obama administration will take a more sensible approach to energy exploration on public lands than its predecessor’s drill-now, drill-everywhere policies. Mr. Salazar faces even tougher calls ahead. The Utah decision, announced last week, involves parcels leased in the waning days of the Bush administration without proper environmental review or full consultation with the National Park Service. The service was particularly disturbed by the prospect of drilling on fragile lands near two national parks and a national monument. Mr. Salazar condemned the Bush administration’s “headlong rush” to lease the sites.
Op-ed: Yes We Can (Pass Climate Change Legislation)
published in: New York Times on: 10/11/2009 by: Sens, John Kerry (D-MA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Conventional wisdom suggests that the prospect of Congress passing a comprehensive climate change bill soon is rapidly approaching zero. The divisions in our country on how to deal with climate change are deep. Many Democrats insist on tough new standards for curtailing the carbon emissions that cause global warming. Many Republicans remain concerned about the cost to Americans relative to the environmental benefit and are adamant about breaking our addiction to foreign sources of oil.
Op-ed: Peak Oil: A Theory Running Out Of Gas
published in: Investors.com on: 10/09/2009 by: Newt Gingrich and Steve Everley
One year ago, Congress responded to the chorus of Americans calling for more American energy by lifting the ban on offshore drilling. For the first time in a quarter-century, it became legal to drill for more oil and natural gas reserves offshore. This anniversary allows us to look back on how far we have come since 2008. The sad reality is we have barely moved. Earlier this year, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced he would delay the comment period for offshore energy exploration by six months. Salazar claimed that the previous comment period, which would have ended in March, “by no means provides enough time for public review.”
Environment and Wildlife
EPA orders redo of air-permit analysis of Weld County facility
published in: Denver Post on: 10/15/2009 by: Mark Jaffe
The Environmental Protection Agency, saying Colorado failed to adequately evaluate overall pollution impacts, ordered the state to redo an air permit for a Weld County compressor owned by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. The order, signed by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, said the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment “failed to adequately support or explain” its decision. The order was the result of a petition by Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action.
Technology, Alternatives & Renewables
Solar power outshining Colorado’s gas industry
published in: Associated Press on: 10/15/2009 by: Staff
The sun had just crested the distant ridge of the Rocky Mountains, but already it was producing enough power for the electric meter on the side of the Smiley Building to spin backward. For the Shaw brothers, who converted the downtown arts building and community center into a miniature solar power plant two years ago, each reverse rotation subtracts from their monthly electric bill. It also means the building at that moment is producing more electricity from the sun than it needs. “Backward is good,” said John Shaw, who now runs Shaw Solar and Energy Conservation, a local solar installation company.
US aims for carbon capture in a decade
published in: Financial Times on: 10/13/2009 by: Ed Crooks and Fiona Harvey
The US wants to have technology for coal-fired power stations to capture and store their carbon dioxide emissions ready for commercial deployment within a decade, said Steven Chu, the energy secretary. If the US can keep to Mr Chu’s ambitious timetable, its technology would be ready for deployment sooner than in the European Union, which has until now been more aggressive in pursuing carbon capture.
Airline flies first passenger flight on natural gas
published in: Reuters on: 10/13/2009 by: Staff
The world’s first commercial passenger flight powered by a fuel made from natural gas completed late on Monday a six-hour journey from London to Qatar, one of the biggest producers of natural gas. “Today’s flight opens the door to an alternative to oil-based aviation fuel,” Malcolm Brinded, Royal Dutch Shell’s executive director upstream international, said in a statement late on Monday. “We are now well on the way to launching GTL on a world scale for the first time,” Brinded said.
Technology, Alternative & Renewables
States not meeting renewable energy goals
published in: USA Today on: 10/12/2009 by: Traci Watson
Across the USA, states are falling short of their goals to increase the use of renewable energy as Congress weighs a national renewable-energy standard. Thirty-five states have set goals to use more electricity from solar panels, windmills and other renewable forms of energy, according to a database funded by the Energy Department. There is no central clearinghouse of states’ compliance records, but USA TODAY research and interviews with state and power company officials found nine states that have failed or expect to fail to meet their energy goals.
Markets
Analyst: Gas shale may be next bubble to burst
published in: Associated Press on: 10/12/2009 by: Judith Kohler
The promise of enough natural gas to last the United States more than 100 years based on discoveries of vast shale formations could be the country’s next speculative bubble to burst, a speaker warned Monday at a conference exploring the notion that the world’s oil and gas are diminishing rapidly. Arthur Berman, a Texas-based geological consultant, likened the optimistic projections for production from gas shale fields across the country to banks buying into mortgage securitizations, which spurred the housing market crisis and economic meltdown.
Natgas industry says watch long-term horizon
published in: Reuters on: 10/10/2009 by: Ed McAllister
Natural gas has a prominent role to play in the long-term energy mix despite short-term dips in demand, the gas industry said at its largest tri-annual conference this week. Global gas demand is set to contract this year and weak demand will keep the market oversupplied and prices pressured for the next few years. However, the role of natural gas will increase as countries try to cut carbon emissions, executives said at the World Gas Conference this week.
Pipelines put natural gas from Rockies near same prices as other regions
published in: Denver Post on: 10/09/2009 by: Mark Jaffe
For years, natural gas from the Rocky Mountains sold for the lowest price of all the gas-producing regions in the country — sometimes fetching half the spot market price. That gap was as high as $3.36 per million British thermal units in 2007 but has narrowed to pennies — a result of new pipeline capacity and an overall drop in natural-gas prices. On Thursday, there was no difference between the spot gas price at the Opal, Wyo., hub, one of the places Colorado gas is priced, and gas at Louisiana’s Henry Hub, according to Bloomberg data.
Betting Big on a Boom in Natural Gas
published in: BusinessWeek on: 10/09/2009 by: Steve LeVine and Adam Aston
Earlier this year the time came for Lloyd M. Yates, CEO of Progress Energy (PGN), to decide how the big Raleigh (N.C.) utility would meet the state’s stringent smokestack laws. First he considered the easy solution: installing pollution scrubbers on the utility’s old coal-fired plant in Sutton, N.C., at a cost of $330 million. Then his attention turned to natural gas, the price of which had plunged by two-thirds in the previous year. Sure, the recession accounted for some of the slide. But reports were also circulating of massive discoveries of natural gas in the U.S. Moreover, because the fuel emits half the carbon of coal, it seemed safe from the climate legislation being considered in Washington, which could impose steep penalties on emissions.
Industry News and Events
API: US drilling up slightly, but still below year-ago counts
published in: Oil & Gas Journal on: 10/13/2009 by: Nick Snow
US oil and gas drilling activity rebounded somewhat from the previous 3-month period during 2009’s third quarter but remained substantially lower than the comparable 2008 period, the American Petroleum Institute reported. API said the estimated 8,856 wells completed during the quarter ended Sept. 30 were 10.2% more than the second quarter’s total but 46% less than the number for 2008’s third quarter. Activity remains at levels not seen since 2003-04, it added in its latest quarterly well completion report.
New Way to Tap Gas May Expand Global Supplies
published in: New York Times on: 10/10/2009 by: Clifford Krauss
A new technique that tapped previously inaccessible supplies of natural gas in the United States is spreading to the rest of the world, raising hopes of a huge expansion in global reserves of the cleanest fossil fuel. Italian and Norwegian oil engineers and geologists have arrived in Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania to learn how to extract gas from layers of a black rock called shale. Companies are leasing huge tracts of land across Europe for exploration. And oil executives are gathering rocks and scrutinizing Asian and North African geological maps in search of other fields.
The Role of Natural Gas in the Clean Energy Economy
October 22, 2009 at UC Boulder
Can natural gas help us achieve greenhouse gas emission targets while reducing our dependence on foreign oil for transportation? What is its role in greening the electricity grid? What are the environmental issues associated with increased natural gas production and use?
Welcome and Introduction: Governor Bill Ritter
Moderator: Kevin Doran, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Energy and Environmental Security; Faculty Director, Carbon Management Center, Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory
Panelists:
- Mike Ming, President, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA)
- Fred Julander, President, Julander Energy Co.
- Kurt Haeger, Managing Director of Resource Planning, Xcel Energy
- Melanie Kenderdine, Associate Director for Strategic Planning, MIT Energy Initiative
- Dag Nummedal, Director, Colorado Energy Research Institute, Colorado School of Mines
- Patty Limerick, University of Colorado at Boulder
Click here for more information.
Hydraulic Fracturing Conference
November 12-13, 2009 in Denver, Colorado
Presented by the American Institute of Professional Geologists, this day and a half conference is designed to focus on technical, regulatory, legal, and political aspects of this production-enhancing technology. Presenters and attendees will represent the private sector, government, and academia. The conference is structured to allow for consideration and ample discussion of the most crucial aspects of the hydrofracing process as it pertains to oil & gas production, groundwater production, environmental, and economic impacts.
The American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) was founded in 1963 to certify the credentials of practicing geologists and to advocate on behalf of the profession. AIPG represents the professional interests of all practicing geoscientists in every discipline. Its advocacy efforts are focused on the promotion of the role of geology and geologists in society.
Click here for Call For Abstracts and Click here to Register Online (click on Events)
For additional details contact Cathy Duran or (303) 412-6205.
