Group Appeals Wyoming Oil, Gas Leases

The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance filed an appeal before an Interior Department board over planned oil and natural gas leases in potential wilderness areas in southwest Wyoming. The group challenged a Bureau of Land Management decision to lease two areas in Adobe Town and five areas in the Kinney Rim area, totaling 12,424 acres.
The land qualifies as potential wilderness and should be protected, the Laramie-based group said. READ MORE …

Wyoming Economy Slowed in 2011

Last year, Wyoming’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 1.2 percent, ranking the state the worst state in terms of percentage loss of GDP.

Real GDP is the value of a state’s production of goods and services after inflation adjustments. Wyoming is one of only six states that lost GDP through the year, sharing common ground with Alabama, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi and New Jersey. But the data don’t tell the whole story. While most industries are gaining ground in the state, some large producers took major hits in 2011 to drag down the average.

“Sizable declines in real GDP contributions from the mining and construction industries drove overall real GDP down in 2011 for Wyoming,” said Senior Economist Jim Robinson in a statement. MORE …

Oil And Gas Industry Group Says EPA Is Wrong On Methane Emissions

The American Petroleum Institute and America’s Natural Gas Alliance are criticizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent natural gas emission estimates, and suggest actual industry emissions are half what federal regulators say.

In a report released on Monday, the oil and gas industry groups suggest the figures for methane emissions contained in the EPA’s 2010 emission inventory for natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing are inaccurate and inflated.

The new study, which looked at survey data from wells throughout the country operating between 2010 through 2011, concluded the natural gas industry emitted 4.4 million tonnes of methane gas compared to 8.7 million tonnes in the EPA study released last month.

According to the API and ANGA study the differences in emission levels are due to the fact that the companies taking part in the survey results indicated that they vented methane and re-fractured wells at lower rates than the EPA previously suggested. MORE …

What They’re Saying: American Natural Gas “Offers Hope in Hard Times”

Pittsburgh, Pa. – There is no question that the U.S., and global, economy continue to face historic challenges. In spite of the many ongoing economic recovery and job creation hurdles impacting countless families and businesses across the nation, the responsible development of clean-burning American natural gas remains a silver lining. Indeed, American natural gas is offering “hope in hard times” and is Building a Stronger, More Secure America. Here’s what they’re saying:

Fmr. Pa. Gov., Phila. Mayor and DNC Chairman Ed Rendell: This influx of jobs and investment spurred an unprecedented economic boom for our state and, thanks to a resource found right here in Pennsylvania, this economic revitalization continues. Cheap, clean, and abundant energy is available to heat our homes, fuel our cars and trucks, and power our state’s economy. It’s not a campaign slogan, it’s reality … MORE …