Energy Today - July 18, 2013
Mark Green
Posted July 18, 2013
The newspaper reports land on the air force base located on the central California coast could be leased for offshore “slant drilling.” An Air Force spokesman tells the Times: “Initial information obtained by the Air Force indicates there may be potential for new technology slant drilling capable of targeting oil deposits off Vandenberg Air Force Base’s coastline from locations with minimal or mitigable mission/environmental impacts.”
Washington Post – Gulf Rebound to Lure $16 Billion More Rigs by 2015
Analysis by Global Hunter Securities indicates the number of drilling rigs in the Gulf will grow from 36 currently to 60 by the end of 2015. Producers will need $16 billion in additional rigs to handle expanded drilling. “Right now the Gulf is the fastest growing deep-water region in the world,” says Pacific Drilling’s Chris Beckett.
InsideClimateNews.org – Small-Town Economic Needs Generating Urgency for Keystone XL’s Benefits
The needs of small communities and counties along the proposed pipeline route stand out among more than a million comments received by the State Department, according to the website’s report. Local officials who’ve struggled through economic hardship welcome the Keystone XL for the revenues it would generate to support local budgets.
Wall Street Journal – Save a Chicken, Drill a Well
The Journal reports on a “habitat exchange” initiative in the Oklahoma Panhandle to preserve living space for the football-sized prairie chicken – as well as workspace for oil-drilling rigs. The report says ranchers, industry and the Environmental Defense Fund are working together to protect the bird’s habitat (should it be listed as threatened or endangered), for which energy companies would receive credits as an incentive. (Subscription publication)
Fuel Fix.com – Throwing a Flag on Anti-Fracking Celebrities
Commentary by IHS CERA’s David Vaucher takes issue with various stars’ credibility on hydraulic fracturing. “I do appreciate and enjoy these stars’ work,” Vaucher writes. “I had a lot of fun watching Mark Ruffalo play Bruce Banner in “The Avengers”, and Zooey Deschanel is really funny in “New Girl”. Nevertheless, I do get upset when celebrities hi-jack a cause to which they have no connection in order seemingly to raise their own profiles, or because it’s the ‘cool,’ ‘popular’ thing to do.”
About The Author
Mark Green joined API after a career in newspaper journalism, including 16 years as national editorial writer for The Oklahoman in the paper’s Washington bureau. Previously, Mark was a reporter, copy editor and sports editor at an assortment of newspapers. He earned his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University. He and his wife Pamela have two grown children and six grandchildren.