OIL AND GAS
Wyoming Board Approves New Natural Gas Flaring Policy
The decision means the State Board of Land Commissioners will now be involved in deciding whether state royalties should be charged on natural gas flared on state-leased wells.
4Feb2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedBLM approves Chevron’s Expansion Plan in Western Wyoming
The BLM said it authorized Chevron to expand Table Rock Field 40 miles east of Rock Springs. The plan calls for 33 shallow new oil wells and 20 deep gas wells, and as many as 35 water injection wells. Chevron also got approval to convert 18 existing wells to water injection wells.
26Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedMillions at Stake for Wyoming in
Natural Gas Price
Natural gas prices will remain below $4 for the next three years, resulting in less revenue for the state and local communities like Laramie, according to a statewide report released this month.
24Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedOpportunities and Challenges for U.S. Shale Gas Development — A Special Report From the Bipartisan Policy Center
The in depth study articulates opportunities associated with newly accessible and economically recoverable domestic shale gas resources, and highlights the critical need to develop those resources efficiently and responsibly.
23Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedEPA Seeks Pavillion Peer Review Panel
The agency is looking for experts to review a controversial draft report released last month that linked drilling operations in Pavillion, Wyoming, to water contamination in the area. Encana, the operator of the natural gas field, had requested a peer review of EPA’s findings.
18Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Coal To Natural Gas - It’s Happening Now
in the Power Industry
The most optimistic projections describe an abundant domestic energy source that will create enormous numbers of jobs and lead to cleaner skies. Nationwide, the electricity generated by gas-fired plants has risen by more than 50 percent over the last decade, while coal-fired generation has declined slightly.
16Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedOil & Gas CFOs Cite Unconventional Energy Sources as Greatest Investment in 2012
The discovery of new resource plays such as the Niobrara here in Wyoming and Colorado is driving overall oil and gas industry growth in 2012, according to a new study released by BDO USA, LLP. Energy executives are focusing their attention and capital on unconventional resources.
11Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedEncana Wants More Time from EPA to Respond to Water Contamination Report
Last Friday the energy company sent a letter to Paul Antastas, assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Research and Development. In it, Encana asked the EPA to lengthen the 45-day comment period — which is set to expire on January 27 — for comments on a report the agency issued last month on its study of groundwater contamination near the town of Pavillion.
10Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedGroup Says Study Needed on Shale Gas
Health Effects
Advances in hydraulic fracturing drilling techniques have revolutionized the natural gas industry, but researchers said more must be done to evaluate what the shale boom means for the those living near wells.
10Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedWyoming Oil and Gas officials: Safety Report is
a Call to Action
Nearly all of the state’s oil and gas industry deaths were due to a failure to follow existing safety procedures, former state occupational epidemiologist Timothy Ryan said in a memo last month to Gov. Matt Mead.
6Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedRegional Update — Shale Priming The West’s Energy Industry
France energy giant Total SA is joining the domestic shale rush with a $2.3 billion investment in Chesapeake Energy. Meanwhile, China Petrochemical Corp. is ponying up $2.5 billion in a joint venture with Devon Energy to explore oil and gas projects from the Niobrara in Colorado to the Tuscaloosa Marine shale in Alabama and Mississippi.
5Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Industry: Pavillion Report Won’t Affect Niobrara Play
As many continue to question the scientific conclusions of the findings, both the EPA and industry representatives say the specific concerns raised in the report are not applicable to southeast Wyoming — because the Niobrara formation is geologically much different than the Pavillion area.
4Jan2012 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedEncana Slams EPA Over ‘Not Factual’
Pavillion Draft Report
In a detailed press release to media, the energy company noted that many of the EPA’s findings from its recent deep monitoring wells, including those related to any potential connection between fracking and Pavillion groundwater quality, “are conjecture, not factual, and only serve to trigger undue alarm.”
13Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedEPA Draft Links Fracking, Groundwater Contamination in Pavillion
The finding set off calls for tighter rules on the fracking process. But Governor Mead called for more research, warning the EPA study could have “a critical impact on the energy industry and the country. He called the draft study
as “scientifically questionable,” and said more testing
is needed.

