Tag: drilling

Report: BLM analysis shows climate price of Alaska drilling

This E&E News article discusses new BLM analysis which shows the climate price of Alaska drilling.

The Trump administration’s support for oil development in Alaska’s North Slope could have dramatic climate impacts, even if top brass doesn’t upend current Obama-era restrictions on fossil fuel development.

The Bureau of Land Management is currently rewriting its integrated activity plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), a 23-million-acre reserve that — like its well-known neighbor, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) — is a mecca for birds, caribou and subsistence-hunting resources for isolated Native Alaskan communities.

About half of the reserve is currently available for oil and gas exploration. The other half, including the Teshekpuk Lake area that lies along the Arctic coast, is protected by a 2013 management plan.

BLM is now weighing the impact of opening most of the reserve for development, alongside an analysis of protecting more acreage, according to its draft of potential changes to the NPR-A released in November. The draft document bluntly describes a warming Arctic, vulnerable to ongoing changes as a result of burning fossil fuels. And it quantifies “downstream” emissions.

 

Study: Earthquakes near oil fields could persist long after drilling stops

This National Geographic article discusses how earthquakes near oil fields could persist long after drilling stops. The dense, salty water produced as a byproduct of oil and gas operations can stress fault lines even when operations cease, new research shows. Water left over from oil and natural gas production may strengthen the magnitude of earthquakes in states like Oklahoma and Kansas, according to a new study.

And while scientists have long known that wastewater can trigger earthquakes, the new study published in the journal Nature finds that the water may be sinking deeper than previously thought, leading to an increased proportion of higher magnitude earthquakes. Deeper, heavier water increases what’s known as pore pressure, the force that exerts on rock, making the underlying faults less stable.

Study: Conventional drilling waste responsible for radioactivity spike in rivers

Treatment plants that handle conventional oil and gas waste water are causing a buildup of radioactive materials at the bottom of three Western Pennsylvania waterways, according to a new study from researchers at Duke.

https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2018/01/20/study-conventional-drilling-waste-responsible-for-radioactivity-spike-in-rivers/

Life Cycle of Frac Water

The Swarthmore College Environmental Studies website has a good explanation of fracking, with this link taking you to an analysis of fracking wastewater. Large quantities of water are needed for the fracturing process. This water is most likely obtained locally, competing with nearby sources. Millions of gallons of water is injected into the well at high pressure with proppants such as sand and aromatic compounds.

 

Illinois: A Slippery Tale of Oil Spills and Secrecy

This story from the Food and Water Watch people should help readers understand just how bad fracking is, both for those who live nearby, and those far away. In 2017, a company applied for the first fracking license in Illinois, and received it, over near unanimous local opposition. In May, Woolsey Operating Company LLC submitted and was granted (after 4 rewrites, 10,000 signatures in opposition, and over 4,000 public comments of concern) the first High Volume Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing well permit in Illinois.

 

National forest drilling opponents plan protest at Wayne HQ

Opponents of continued federal auctions of public land in the Wayne National Forest for oil and gas drilling plan to rally this Thursday afternoon at the forest headquarters on U.S. Rt. 33 southeast of Nelsonville.

 https://www.athensnews.com/news/local/national-forest-drilling-opponents-plan-protest-at-wayne-hq/article_19d8327a-dddb-11e7-8069-c33387141ece.html

New non-fracking technology close to market but scientists and farmers need more convincing

The jury is out on new non-fracking technology, which is close to commercialisation, as critics still need more convincing. A new water-jet drill, developed by a Brisbane-based company, uses a small amount of water compared to traditional fracking and uses a radial (horizontal) drilling technique in existing holes.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-12-06/fracking-replacement-technology-closer-to-commercialisation/9107720

Unanswered Questions: NC Gas Pipeline Delayed

A pipeline that would carry natural gas across North Carolina and Virginia faces another delay in the Tar Heel State, as Department of Environmental Quality officials ask another round of questions about the risks and benefits of the project.