Apache Gets Environmental Nod for Julimar, Brunello Fields

- Apache Gets Environmental Nod for Julimar, Brunello Fields

Thursday, September 08, 2011
Apache Corp.

Apache said a subsidiary has received Australian government environmental approval for development of the Julimar and Brunello offshore natural gas fields that will supply natural gas to the Chevron-operated Wheatstone LNG project.

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TransCanada Pipeline Will Have Limited Environmental Impact

- TransCanada Pipeline Will Have Limited Environmental Impact



Aug 26, 2011

The U.S. State Department concluded that TransCanada (NYSE:TRP) proposed $7 billion KeyStone XL pipeline will have limited impact on the environment, potentially bringing the department closer to a final decision on the controversial project.

TransCanada (NYSE:TRP) has a potential upside of 8.2% based on a current price of $42.48 and an average consensus analyst price target of $45.97.

TransCanada is currently above its 50-day moving average (MA) of $41.96 and above its 200-day of $40.16.

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Gas Drillers Have Work To Do To Address Environmental Concerns

- Gas Drillers Have Work To Do To Address Environmental Concerns

Thursday, August 11, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON
by Ryan Tracy

Regulators should require the oil and gas industry to disclose the contents of the fluid used in a drilling technique that has helped unlock vast reserves of U.S. energy resources, a panel convened by the U.S. Energy Department recommended Thursday.

The Natural Gas Subcommittee, in a report issued Thursday morning, also said the industry has to expend effort to fully address environmental concerns related to the drilling technique, known as hydraulic fracturing, and other aspects of the drilling process, including wastewater management and well design.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu convened the subcommittee to identify ways to improve the safety of gas drilling. Neither the panel nor the Energy Department have regulatory authority over the industry, but the recommendations come as operators face increasing scrutiny from the media and environmental groups along with the prospect of tighter regulation from states and other federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

The panel noted that a recent boom in gas drilling that has quickly transformed the U.S. into a production giant has brought economic benefits and "enhanced national security," but added that "the growth has also brought questions about whether both current and future production can be done in an environmentally sound fashion that meets the needs of public trust."

The EPA is conducting its own study on the impact of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water, while planning to regulate air emissions from gas operations and the use of diesel fuel in the fracturing process. New York is moving toward allowing more drilling to tap what are thought to be considerable reserves within its borders, but regulators are still evaluating the environmental consequences.

The Energy Department panel recommended more research into possible methane leakage from gas wells--a problem that, according to Pennsylvania regulators, has tainted water supplies in dozens of homes. It said operators should develop best practices for well design and regulators should inspect wells at crucial points during the drilling process.

In addition, the panel said regulators should "immediately develop rules to require disclosure of all chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids," addressing a longstanding complaint from environmentalists who say that without that information, they cannot hold companies accountable for potential contamination. The panel said there should be an exception for information that was "genuinely proprietary."

Federal agencies should make a joint effort to evaluate the emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases from natural gas drilling as part of a look at the "life-cycle use of natural gas as compared to other fuels," the panel said.

Proponents of natural gas have long argued that gas is cleaner-burning than oil or coal, but recent research has suggested that extracting the gas may release more greenhouse gases than previously thought, raising questions about whether it is an effective way to mitigate climate change.

Environmental groups have questioned the panel's objectivity, saying that some of its seven members have been paid to do research for the oil and gas industry. The industry, meanwhile, has griped that it has no direct representatives in the panel. The members include academics, consultants, and the president of an environmental advocacy group.

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Pacific Rubiales Receives Environmental Permit for Quifa Wells

- Pacific Rubiales Receives Environmental Permit for Quifa Wells

Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp.

Pacific Rubiales announced that Colombia's Ministry of the Environment recently granted the Company the requisite environmental permits for Quifa Southwest and Quifa North. The environmental permit for Quifa Southwest was granted on June 2, 2011, and the permit for Quifa North was granted on June 24, 2011 (collectively, the "Permits"). The Permits affirm that Pacific Rubiales can continue its development drilling campaign in Quifa Southwest and proceed with its exploration drilling campaign in Quifa North.

The exploration program is aimed at incorporating drilling results into an updated National Instrument 51-101 compliant reserves report. The Company's exploration program for the second half of 2011 in the Quifa North area includes 3 exploratory and 13 appraisal wells in prospects Q, F, P and Z, while in Quifa Southwest the drilling campaign includes a total of 52 wells (32 vertical and 20 horizontal).
With this drilling campaign, the Company expects to reach a gross production target of 60,000 bbl/d at Quifa Southwest and Quifa North, by the end of 2011. Details of the campaign will be provided to the market on a timely basis.

The Ministry of the Environment is currently conducting an administrative investigation in the Block. Such administrative investigations occur on a routine basis in the ordinary course of business with respect to the execution of the Company's various projects. In response to recent media reports in Colombia, the Company wishes to make clear that the current administrative investigations will not produce material consequences to the Company's current operations in the Block.

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Gas Driller Citations to Be Reviewed

Gas Driller Citations to Be Reviewed

Thursday, March 31, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
by  Timothy Puko, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Every Marcellus shale drilling citation will need a review from the new Department of Environmental Protection chief before final approval, said an agency spokeswoman.

All violation notices for gas drillers and the enforcement actions the agency plans must be e-mailed to Acting Secretary Michael Krancer, spokeswoman Katherine Gresh said. The department's six regions each enforce rules differently, and Krancer is trying to improve consistency across the state, she said, noting the policy may be temporary.

But putting a political appointee in a position to micromanage regulatory enforcement could lead to unfair interference on behalf of campaign donors, said Myron Arnowitt, state director for CleanWaterAction.org. Gov. Tom Corbett received $835,000 in campaign contributions from gas companies, according to MarcellusMoney.org, a website run by Common Cause Pennsylvania and Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania.

"Krancer has talked a lot about being scientifically-based, factually-based and implementing the law," Arnowitt said. "It's not clear how what he's doing does any of that."

Corbett has promised he will give no special consideration to the industry because of the donations he has received.

The DEP has spent much of the past three years playing catch-up with the gas drilling industry, going on a hiring spree to ensure it had enough employees to match the plethoraof permit requests statewide. There were 1,200 violations last year, and adding another layer of bureaucracy to enforcement raises more questions about how quickly the agency can stop lawbreakers, Arnowitt said.

Gresh said the effort won't be time consuming, but she didn't know how much time it might add to Krancer's day or how many more documents he might need to review. Ultimately, it will make the agency more efficient by ensuring new staffers received proper training and are enforcing regulations consistently, she said.

"We have communications like that around the department all the time. This is one aimed at achieving a goal that is very important to Secretary Krancer," Gresh said. "We'll take whatever time is necessary to ensure the consistency to improve efficiency, protect the environment, and, you know, which will benefit all Pennsylvania."

Marcellus Panel Looks for Common Ground at First Meeting

Marcellus Panel Looks for Common Ground at First Meeting

Monday, March 28, 2011
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
by  Laura Olson

The public comments at the end of Friday's inaugural meeting of the state Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission showed part of the challenge facing that panel during the next four months.

One county commissioner stood up to laud the number of jobs that gas drilling has brought to his community. He was followed by a northeastern resident who said her property value has plummeted because of the surrounding well pads, and another woman citing concerns about water quality.

"I moved up here to be at peace with nature," Wyoming County resident Joanne Fiorito told the panel. "You have now ripped my American dream apart, and I am appalled and outraged."

The 30-member panel has 120 days to assess how the state is managing natural gas drilling, as well as find some policy agreement between those skeptical of the booming business and those benefiting from it.

The group will report back to Gov. Tom Corbett in mid-July on what changes they recommend to balance job growth and environmental protection.

Their first task during the meeting, which lasted for more than four hours, was dividing the topics to be tackled among four work groups -- health, safety and environmental protection; economic and workforce development; infrastructure; and local impacts and emergency response.

Those groups will begin their work shortly, and give an update of their progress at the commission's next meeting on April 27.

A locally assessed impact fee on gas drillers will be part of those talks, said Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, the commission's chairman. But a statewide severance tax, which the Corbett administration opposes, is "off the table," he added.

Several of the commission members -- who represent state government, local communities, environmental advocates, industry leaders and academia -- noted a need for some form of levy or fee to help local governments with rising costs.

Mr. Cawley said he'd like to see figures on what the drilling industry is costing municipalities and counties in additional road construction, staffing, emergency response calls and other growing demands.

Several on the panel talked about using a "fact-based" process to figure out how to responsibly grow the drilling industry, and to present Pennsylvania as the best place for drilling companies to invest.

"We have to win," said Nicholas Haden, vice president of Reserved Environmental Services, a wastewater treatment facility in New Stanton, Westmoreland County. "The Marcellus Shale is not the only shale play in the world."

Presenters giving a snapshot of the industry's activities relayed data on how much interest the Marcellus, and the state's other shale formations, already have garnered.

Southwestern Pennsylvania is near the forefront of activity, with Washington and Greene among the top five counties for number of wells. Department of Environmental Protection statistics show Washington with 305 wells drilled since 2007 and 179 in Greene, which puts them third and fourth behind Bradford and Tioga.

Those wells, and others in the works, are expected to bring more than 10,000 industry jobs to the state's southwest by 2014, said Tom Murphy, of Penn State's Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research.

But amid the presentations came questions to be discussed in the coming months: How should the state help non-drilling businesses, which are losing workers to higher-paying gas companies and having trouble filling the resulting openings?

And how many hotel rooms and apartment buildings should towns add to accommodate an industry that tends to move money and manpower quickly if markets shift?

Some lessons may be found in looking at the southern shale gas-producing states, said Teri Ooms, of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development.

A major complaint in Arkansas, and in some parts of Pennsylvania already, is road damage and congestion, said Ms. Ooms. She said one strategy that helped ease tensions was posting truck routes and advertising when those roads would have heavy traffic.

Other problems and solutions will be the source of much-welcomed debate by the commission and members of the public, said Mr. Cawley.

"We want to hear it from all sectors, because we want to provide a blueprint to Gov. Corbett in the middle of July that truly outlines all of the benefits as well as any potential impacts so that he can make an informed decision," he said.