A national ban on fracking would eliminate nearly 15 million jobs all across the country, according to research published today by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy (Energy 21). Texas would suffer a particularly severe blow, with job loss figures estimated as high as 1.5 million.
Methane emissions in several major Texas oil and gas fields are declining, according to new data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The news comes as the EPA is pursuing costly new methane regulations for oil and natural gas activities, which analysts have warned could wipe out many producers in Texas and all across the country.
A new report from two environmental activist groups alleges oil and natural gas development is harming North Texas children, despite an abundance of data showing such claims are not true.
Over the last week, many organizations (from general news publications to anti-fracking groups) have mistakenly claimed the Science Advisory Board (SAB) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to alter the agency’s conclusion that fracking has not led to “widespread, systemic” impacts on drinking water.
A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects the United States will become a net exporter of natural gas by late 2017, as domestic production continues to increase.
An air quality report from researchers at the University of North Texas (UNT) and funded by a local anti-energy group was not what its boosters claimed, according to new documents from the chief air regulator in Texas.
Will a Dallas Ozone Resolution Give EPA More Control in North Texas?
At the end of May, the Dallas City Council’s Committee on Quality of Life & Environment passed a resolution calling for increased ozone regulation in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The resolution then went to a full City Council vote at its June 15th meeting, where it easily passed. But is there more to this “clean air” resolution than meets the eye?
Development of the Barnett Shale in North Texas led to the fracking revolution in the United States.
A new study from Duke University shows that shale development has been beneficial for local communities across the United States. According to the study, local governments receive revenue from oil and natural gas development through at least six types of taxes, fees, or other payments.
Recent estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that fracking “now makes up about two-thirds of total U.S. marketed gas production.” These new estimates indicate dramatic growth, as less than ten percent of natural gas produced in 2000 was unlocked by fracking.
A new study from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) in Pennsylvania finds that fracking has not polluted water supplies.
Anti-fracking groups headquartered in Arizona, California, and Washington, D.C., are bragging that they were able to stop oil and natural gas drilling in Texas, according to a press release from earlier this week.
[source] The cost to drill an oil or natural gas well has fallen by as much as 30 percent since 2012, according to a new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and research firm IHS Global. The report analyzed the costs associated with drilling and production in four shale fields across four states, as well as offshore development in the Gulf of Mexico.
[Photo Source: US Army Corps of Engineers] Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released a report on the safety implications of drilling, hydraulic fracturing and production near the Joe Pool Dam. It appears the USACE ignored their own study and instead recommended that oil and natural gas development should be moved farther away from the dam at Joe Pool Lake. The current USACE recommendation is a buffer zone of 3,000 feet from all dam features, but the USACE argues the exclusion zone should extend another 1,000 feet, to 4,000 feet from the dam.
A recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that hydraulically fractured wells made-up about 51 percent of the total crude production in the U.S in 2015. Using well completion and production data from DrillingInfo and the research firm IHS Global Insight, EIA estimates that crude oil production from fracked wells increased from less than 2 percent of the U.S. total in 2000, to over 50 percent in 2015.
Numerous studies have shown that natural gas development (including fracking) is protective of public health, contrary to what anti-fracking activists have claimed. But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s a list of scientific reports and peer-reviewed studies, authored by health experts who focused specifically on the Barnett Shale region in North Texas.
Methane found in Parker County drinking water is “likely natural” and unrelated to fracking, according to a report released late last year. The analysis, which has received little media attention, contradicts claims by environmental activists who have cited methane in Parker County wells as proof that fracking contaminates groundwater.
We all know that the Barnet Shale is a vital source of cheap, abundant natural gas in Texas, but according to a recent updated assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), its significance may be even greater than we thought.
Methane leakage rates in the Barnett Shale are below the threshold at which scientists believe natural gas could lose its environmental advantages, according to a new study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research was backed by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
A new report from North Texans for Natural Gas highlights how oil and natural gas production benefits public schools and universities all across Texas. Oil and natural gas development is a key economic driver in the Lone Star State – in large part thanks to technologies like hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling – and the revenues it generates fund a variety of public services, including education.
The scientific consensus is that fracking does not pose a major risk of groundwater pollution. In fact, public data actually show that natural gas and fracking can help preserve precious water resources.
DALLAS— The U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy continued its analysis of the impact of the Obama administration’s proposed ozone regulations with a snapshot look at the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
A recent University of North Texas (UNT) study linking fracking and high ozone levels in Dallas-Fort Worth failed to disclose a previous financial relationship with Downwinders at Risk, an anti-fracking group that has spent years campaigning for tighter federal rules on ozone. An investigation by North Texans for Natural Gas uncovered the financial connections, which include at least $120,000 for research on the same subject, starting in the summer of 2014.