The hype surrounding the US gas industry continues to grow as America moves ever closer to its cherished dream of energy independence. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that “the U.S. is the closest it has been in almost 20 years to achieving energy self-sufficiency, a goal the nation has been pursuing since the 1973 Arab oil embargo … Read More
Fracking
EU: Fracking Laws Are Adequate, For Now
In a decision that will both dismay and worry environmental campaigners and communities facing fracking across Europe, the European commission has concluded that existing laws are adequate to cover the controversial drilling technique. A new report undertaken for the Commission by the Belgian law firm Philippe & Partners, argues that there is no need for … Read More
End “the Century of Subsidy”? Maybe next year…
Slowly but surely the battle lines are being drawn for the upcoming Presidential election. President Obama built his State of the Union address on one of fairness. In doing so Obama reminded Americans that there is a clear choice when it comes to the next election. There is also a choice with energy. Before we … Read More
A Road Map to Renewal or Ruin?
The oil boys from Houston must be wriggling with delight after President Obama’s official jobs council called for an “all-in approach” to energy policy that includes expanded oil-and-gas drilling as well as more pipelines. “We should allow more access to oil, natural gas and coal opportunities on federal lands,” argued the President’s Council on Jobs … Read More
Fracking Causes Blowouts too
Another day and yet another reported problem with fracking. Canadian regulators are now investigating the possibility that fracking could have caused a blowout in a neighbouring well which was producing oil several hundred metres away. The country’s Energy Resource Conservation Board was alerted last Friday after a landowner saw black fluid spraying fifteen metres into … Read More
Big Oil Threatens President Obama
 By Brendan Demelle, DeSmogBlog American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard today announced the oil and gas industry’s latest election-year scare campaign to threaten the demise of the U.S. economy unless Big Oil gets its every wish in Washington. This year the wish list includes approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, expanded offshore drilling on both … Read More
Shale Gas “Will Wreck Climate Commitments”
Further to my blog earlier in the week criticising the Financial Times’ new “let’s happily drill the land of plenty” philosophy to oil shale and gas, of course there is downside to these new found reserves of oil. The big fat elephant in the room missed by the FT and ignored by the oil industry … Read More
Don’t Look Away Now
Love it or loath it as the voice of business, you can say one thing about the Financial Times, it normally covers the energy beat with a reasonable degree of accuracy. That’s why is was so disappointing to read the latest misguided comment piece by the paper’s Washington columnist Edward Luce, in an article “Look … Read More
Shale Oil Jobs “Vastly Exaggerated”
The headline in yesterday’s Financial Times said it all “Surge in shale oil output fuels US jobs bonanza”. According to the FT: “The boom in shale oil and gas production has created one bright spot in the otherwise grim US labour market.” “The rate of job growth is noteworthy,” Brian Davidson, an economist with the … Read More
The Downsides of “Extreme Energy”
So its official: fracking causes earthquakes. Just minutes ago, a report published by the oil company Cuadrilla as to whether its drilling operations caused two “earthquakes” back in April and May, concluded that fracking was the “highly probable” cause of the small seismic events. Cuadrilla suspended fracking operations in June, over fears of a link … Read More