State Representative Lon Burnam, Dem. Fort Worth, asked nine questions of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality concerning its investigations of emissions of methane and volatile organic compounds from oil and gas operations in the Barnett Shale area and in Texas in general. Recent air quality tests by private companies…
Twenty-two U.S. House Democrats from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Utah and Idaho delivered a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Director Lisa P. Jackson, cautioning the EPA to do a “reasonable and transparent study” of whether hydraulic fracturing of wells creates risks to drinking water. EPA is required to study whether hydraulic…
The International Energy Agency (IEA) issued a forecast of world energy consumption and use, and for the first time included a scenario projecting the impacts of taking steps to stabilize greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at about 450 parts per million by 2030. This “450 Secnario” would limit overall temperature increases…
I have recently received several inquiries about the rights of unleased mineral owners whose tract is included in the boundaries of a pooled unit. There seems to be some general miss-perception about this issue. A typical oil and gas pooling clause allows the lessee to combine separate tracts covered by separate…
A new website, Mineral Rights Forum, provides information and discussions about topics of interest to mineral owners. It is owned by Kenneth DuBose and is run by Peter Moorman. Looks like it will be a good resource for mineral owners. It reports on a recent documentary, Split Estate, that investigates conflicts…
This video was done by the American Petroleum Institute to illustrate the modern techniques used in the drilling, fracing and completion of a horizontal well.
In a recent Wall Stree Journal article, “America’s Natural Gas Revolution,” Daniel Yergin and Robert Ineson opine that gas produced from shale “is already changing the national energy dialogue and overall energy outlook in the U.S.–and could change the global natural gas balance.” Mr. Yergin is the author of “The Prize:…
President Obama has appointed Dr. Alfredo Amandariz as new Administrator of Regions 6 of the Environmental Protection Agency, encompassing Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. (See Dallas Morning News article) Dr. Amendariz, a professor of engineering at Southern Methodist University, raised controversy among natural gas producers in the Barnett…
The Energy Information Administration has issued rankings of states in production of oil, gas, coal, electricity generation, and energy consumption. Texas ranks prominently in most categories. — Texas is first in total energy production, producing 10,997 trillion Btus of energy in 2006 (the most recent information available). Wyoming is second (mainly from…
EIA issued the following press release today: U.S. Energy Information Administration Washington, DC 20585 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 29, 2009 Natural Gas Reserves at Record High – Oil Reserves Fall with Lower Price At the end of 2008, domestic natural gas proved reserves reached their highest level since the…