Energy Tomorrow Blog

Secretary Jewell on Fracking

hydraulic fracturing  horizontal drilling  fracking  oil and natural gas development  safe operations  interior department  shale energy 

Mark Green
Posted October 28, 2014

In an interview with the Huffington Post, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, in just a handful of minutes, does a pretty good job answering some of the most common attacks on hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling made by opponents of fracking – many of whom apparently want no part of the job creation, increased U.S. energy security and reduced emissions of methane and carbon dioxide that safe and responsible fracking brings. Jewell:

“Fracking has been around for over 60 years. It is the ability to actually unlock oil and gas from reservoirs away from the wellbore. New techniques with directional drilling and staged fracking have enabled people to direct those fractures into formations that release a lot of oil and gas a long way away – maybe two miles from the actual wellhead.”

In a nutshell she describes the marriage of advanced hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling that is responsible for America’s ongoing energy renaissance – dramatically increasing domestic oil and natural gas production from vast shale reserves to the point where the U.S. now is No. 1 in the world in natural gas production and is expected to be No. 1 in oil output soon.

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Better Data for Better Decisions on LNG

department of energy  development  employment  lng exports  natural gas supply 

Erik Milito
Posted March 15, 2013

Opponents of a free market for natural gas have been trumpetinga new study which purports to show that LNG exports would be an economic negative for the United States. This flies in the face of analysis done by the Department of Energy, The Brookings Institute, ICF International and others which showed that to boost economic activity open markets are the way to go. So we took a look at the study to figure out why their conclusions are not consistent with other industry or government projections. We found some serious biases and inconsistent assumptions added up to a fatally flawed report. Here are a few specifics.

The employment impact analysis is flawed because it assumes no incremental natural gas production.

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DOE Study: LNG Exports Will Boost U.S. Economy

natural gas  exports  energy  department of energy 

Mark Green
Posted December 5, 2012

Big news in a just-released study conducted for the U.S. Energy Department, which finds that allowing U.S. liquid natural gas exports would help the economy – and increasingly so as LNG exports grow. NERA Economic Consulting analyzed 16 different export scenarios, incorporating different assumptions about U.S. natural gas supply and demand and different export levels

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Commission Identifies Deepwater Horizon Missteps

blowout preventer  deepwater horizon  department of energy  domestic energy  energy information administration  energy policy  gulf of mexico  gulf oil spill  macondo well  oil leak  oil production  oil spill  boemr  oil rig 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted January 6, 2011

The presidential commission examining the Deepwater Horizon accident has determined that several missteps contributed last April's blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, including poor decision-making by the companies' management and government regulators. According to an excerpt from its report, the commission found the tragedy "was not the product of a series of abberational decisions made by a rogue industry...the root causes are systemic" and should be corrected. 

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E15 Causes Equipment Failures, Says DOE Study

department of energy  domestic energy  e10  e15  energy policy  environmental protection agency  epa  ethanol  fuel blends  gasoline  gasoline pumps 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted December 17, 2010

In comments filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), API today revealed that a Department of Energy (DOE)-funded study shows the vast majority of existing gasoline pumps will fail if used to dispense E15. 

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API Supports GWPC's Disclosure Registry

department of energy  domestic energy  energy policy  fracking  ground water protection council  groundwater  hydraulic fracturing  drilling wells  groundwater protection  hydraulic fracturing fluids  natural gas wells 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted December 15, 2010

API has announced that it supports the voluntary chemical disclosure registry being developed by the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) with the endorsement of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC). The registry is a step toward providing information about the chemicals in hydraulic fracturing fluids while protecting drilling companies' intellectual property. 

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A Surprising and Wrong Decision

access  department of energy  domestic energy  energy policy  gas prices  gasoline prices  government revenue  gulf of mexico  interior department  offshore drilling  offshore drilling ban  offshore drilling moratorium  oil prices  unemployment  foreign oil 

Mark Green
Posted December 13, 2010

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Suit Filed Against EPA's E15 Waiver

biofuels  coordinating research council  department of energy  e10  e15  energy policy  environmental protection agency  epa  ethanol  fuel blends  over regulation  cars 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted November 9, 2010

API and a group of food and farm industry associations filed a lawsuit today with the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit against the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) E15 waiver decision.

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EPA and DOE: Ignoring the Science

coordinating research council  department of energy  domestic energy  e15  energy policy  environmental protection agency  epa  ethanol  ethanol blends  fuel  fuel blends  gasoline  over regulation  e20  emissions control equipment 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted October 14, 2010

Yesterday's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) E15 news release is a classic example of Washington obfuscation. Although it appears to explain the agency's reasons for approving a new fuel blend consisting of 85 percent gasoline and 15 percent ethanol for 2007 and new vehicles, the news release very cleverly avoids many of the key considerations that should have been part of the E15 decision. 

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Rare Earth Minerals Stumbling Block to a Green Future

alternative energy  china  congress  department of defense  department of defense  department of energy  domestic energy  domestic oil  edward markey  energy policy  foreign oil  renewable energy  solar  waxman-markey  wind  carbon credits  department of commerce  hybrid vehicles 

Kyle Isakower
Posted October 1, 2010

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