Companies line up to drill after survey shows Dakota oil, gas fields far bigger than believed

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WASHINGTON 

–  Energy companies are lining up for their shot to drill in the Dakotas and Montana after a new government report revealed that a massive geological formation stretching across the states contains twice the oil and three times the amount of natural gas than was originally believed.
While the new estimate is drawing smaller companies to the game, the larger players like Schlumberger, Halliburton and Continental Resources are pushing forward with ambitious multi-year plans to stake their claim in the industry.
Continental recently announced a five-year plan to triple its production by 2017. The company’s growth is based on success in North Dakota and Montana as well as in parts of Oklahoma.
The dash to drill follows news from the government on how much more oil and natural gas there is to tap.
“These world-class formations contain even more energy resource potential than previously understood, which is important information as we continue to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign sources of oil,” newly confirmed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said Tuesday in a statement.
The new U.S. Geological Survey estimates there are 7.4 billion barrels of oil, 6.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 0.53 billion barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations in the Williston Basin Province of Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Since 2008, close to 450 million barrels of oil have been produced in the area and if the government estimates are correct, that leaves billions of barrels of oil and trillions more cubic feet of natural gas left for the taking.
That’s good news for North Dakota -- a state that’s already reaped big benefits from the oil boom and has one of the strongest state economies in the country coupled with an exceptionally low unemployment rate. Tax revenues from natural gas and oil hit $1 billion last year in North Dakota and the state is on track to double that number next year.
Republican Sen. John Hoeven believes numbers from the new USGS survey will draw even more developers to the area.
“This will mean a lot of jobs,” he told FoxNews.com. “Financially we are already very strong, we have no debt, but this will mean a lot more. Stores, restaurants, movie theaters – we’ll have to build and we’ll have to hire workers.”
The competition to court employees is already on at the McDonalds in Dickinson, N.D. where prospective hires are being lured in with $300 signing bonuses, Hoeven said.
Calls to McDonalds Corp. for comment were not immediately returned.
Some environmental experts like John Harju, associate director for research with the Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota, believe the possibilities are even greater than what the government forecasts.
“Like any of these USGS estimates, think of them as a milemarker that’s well behind you in the rearview mirror,” he told the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota.
Still, not everyone is as gung-ho as Hoeven about drilling for natural gas, and the controversial process known as fracking used to access it.
The government hopes to calm some opposition to natural gas by releasing a set of draft rules to regulate hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The process involves injecting a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals deep into rock formations to release trapped oil and gas.
Supporters say the drilling method should continue and is credited for the country’s domestic energy boom. They say fracking gives the country a chance to cut its dependence on foreign oil.
Environmental groups have long objected to the practice and say it pollutes the groundwater and kills crops and livestock. They also argue that fracking releases heat-trapping methane gas into the air.
But in mid-April, the Environmental Protection Agency dramatically lowered its estimate of how much methane leaks during natural gas production. The agency said that tighter pollution controls put in place by the industry from 1990 to 2010 cut the country’s average of methane emissions by more than 850 million metric tons overall, or about 41.6 million metric tons annually. That’s a 20 percent decrease from previous EPA estimates – a decrease that took place as natural gas production in the country grew by nearly 40 percent in the past two decades.

• It is not clear exactly when the government will release its fracking regulations, but it is expected in the next few weeks.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/02/energy-companies-line-up-to-drill-after-government-survey-says-there-more-oil/#ixzz2S7qzhmAT

2/5/13

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Related:

• «Σπάει» στα δύο η Gazprom;....Η «επανάσταση του σχιστόλιθου»

• Μία νέα ενεργειακή τρέλα

• Σχιστολιθικό αέριο: μια υπόσχεση, πολλά ερωτηματικά

• Έρευνα: Οι σεισμοί μπορεί να συνδέονται με την άντληση φυσικών υδάτων

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• Το fracking δεν προκαλεί σημαντικούς σεισμούς

• Σχιστολιθικό Φυσικό Αέριο

• Fracking

Bansko Residents Rally again for Resort Expansion

Residents of the Bulgarian mountain resort town of Bansko are staging Monday a new protest rally with demands to have permits to build a new ski lift and to expand the ski tracks.
The initiative committee vows to "be on the barricades in order to remind those in power they are expecting a quick solution to the problem with the ski area" in the mountain near their town.
The demonstrators stress the winter holidays are over, but the problems persist, adding the lines for the ski lifts were unprecedented once again during the last weekend. They insist for the very first time their resort is the leader in the sad statistics of having the longest lines of people trying to use the ski lifts and threaten to move the protests to the capital Sofia.
The initiative committee is accusing Bulgarian eco activists of lies and provocations.
The protest Monday is closing once again the road between the town of Razlog and Bansko.

In the last days of 2012, similar rallies closed the same road for three consecutive days. The protests were supported by the Speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Deputy Economy Minister in Charge of Tourism, Ivo Marinov, and Lyuben Tatarski, Member of the Parliament from the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, who appeared all in person at the demonstrations.
The proponents of new construction insist it would not cause any environmental harm because the construction will be done only within the now-existing limits of the ski zone. Such decision will lead to eliminating a text in the plan for management of the Pirin National Natural Park.
The Mayor of Bansko, Georgi Ikonomov, who supports the demonstrators, has declared he would not negotiate with the Greens party unless OLAF, the EU anti-fraud office, probes how the environmentalists are using resources and spending money.
Environmentalists have argued that Bansko is already overdeveloped, with excessive amounts of hotel beds and ski runs that have already harmed the nearby Pirin National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
They labeled the presence of senior officials at the rallies a "huge political gaffe." To them the protests are being staged by those in power in order to serve corporate interests.
Bansko's main ski and tourist operator, Yulen, is known to be held by Tseko Minev, who also owns Vitosha Ski and First Investment Bank, chairs the Bulgarian Ski Federation, and is said to be close to Bulgaria's PM Boyko Borisov.
The rallies caused long lines of vehicles during the winter holidays, outraging some of the guests arriving for the extended holiday weekend, while others have supported the demonstrators.
.novinite.com
14/1/13
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• Greek, Romanian Police to Patrol Bulgarian Ski Resort

 

Heavy smog shrouds Beijing for 3rd day

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Air pollution in Beijing has reached dangerous levels for a third day. On Sunday, the municipal government issued a warning on its website for PM 2.5 readings. 

Real-time monitoring data shows the air quality index was as high as 500 in most parts of the city, with some above 900. An AQI reading below 50 indicates excellent air quality; above 100 is light pollution.


 The smog is expected to last another three days, as weather conditions are preventing the pollutants from dispersing. The public are advised to stay indoors and to avoid strenuous exercise.
 .cntv.cn
13/1/13
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Related post:

• Air pollution in Beijing reaches 'health hazard' levels (VIDEO, PHOTOS RT)

Air pollution in Beijing reaches 'health hazard' levels (VIDEO, PHOTOS RT)

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Air pollution in the Chinese capital has hit dangerous marks, reaching beyond the permissible level of pollution on the local environmental center’s scale. Beijing residents are recommended to stay indoors by local authorities.
The Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center has reported the rising of air-quality indices since Friday in many parts of the city.

A warning scrolled across the monitoring center's website says that the density of PM 2.5 had reached 700 micrograms per cubic meter in many parts of Beijing and that the polluted air was expected to linger for the next three days.
The index indicates the level of airborne PM 2.5 particulates, at which particle matters are considered the most harmful to health. Air is considered good when the index is at 50 or below, but hazardous with a reading between 301 and 500, when people are warned to avoid outdoor physical activities.
The city’s authorities have blamed a lack of wind and foggy conditions for the high concentration of air pollutants.
“It is expected that air pollution in Beijing will remain heavy during the daytime today… people are advised to stay indoors as much as possible,” China’s state TV quoted Beijing’s environmental protection center as saying on Friday.
According to rules issued by the city’s government in December, all outdoor sports activities are to stop and factories have to reduce production if Beijing's official air-quality reading goes over 500.
Meanwhile, according to a Twitter account run by the US embassy in Beijing,air quality ratings for the city have ranged between “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” since Thursday, and reached the “beyond index” mark during Saturday afternoon. Monitors there recorded off-the-chart air-quality readings as high as 845 at 8pm on Saturday.
Readings are often different in different parts of Beijing. Chinese authorities and the United States also have different ways to calculate the air quality index, although their indices are "highly similar" at the two ends of the spectrum, according to the founder of the nongovernmental Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing, Ma Jun.
For comparison, on Friday the 9pm readings for PM2.5 and ozone in Hong Kong’s Central and Western districts, among the most polluted on the island, were around 60 and 20 respectively, according to the website of Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department.
Air pollution is believed to be one of the major problems in China with its fast pace of industrialization, reliance on coal power and quick growth in car ownership. Due to polluted air Beijing is often covered with dense smog, while its many residents suffer from respiratory problems.
Several other cities, including Tianjin on the coast east of Beijing and southern China's Wuhan city also reported severe pollution over the last several days.
.rt.com
12/1/13

A man walks along trees on a heavy haze winter day in central Beijing, January 12, 2013 (Reuters / Jason Lee)

A woman wearing a mask walks on a street during severe pollution in Beijing on January 12, 2013 (AFP Photo / Ed Jones)

A woman wearing a mask crosses a street during severe pollution in Beijing on January 12, 2013 (AFP Photo / Ed Jones)

Severe pollution clouds the Beijing skyline on January 12, 2013 (AFP Photo / Ed Jones)

An infant wearing a mask (C) is carried along a street in severe pollution in Beijing on January 12, 2013 (AFP Photo / Ed Jones)

A cyclist wearing a mask prepares to cross a road during severe pollution in Beijing on January 12, 2013 (AFP Photo / Ed Jones)

People walk during a heavily hazy winter day in central Beijing, January 12, 2013 (Reuters / Jason Lee)

Pedestrians wearing masks wait to cross a road during severe pollution in Beijing on January 12, 2013 (AFP Photo / Ed Jones)

People walk on a pedestrian bridge on a very hazy winter day in Beijing January 12, 2013 (Reuters / Jason Lee)

Vehicles drive on the Third Ring Road on a very hazy winter day in Beijing January 12, 2013 (Reuters / Jason Lee)

Bulgaria Top Cop Blocks Road to Main Winter Resort Bansko

Bulgarian Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov participated Sunday in a protest that blocked the entrance to Bulgaria's top winter resort, Bansko.
Tsvetanov expressed support for Bansko residents, who for a thrid day in a row have come out to request an expansion of ski facilities in the resort.
The action of Bulgaria's top cop and Vice-PM is a culmination of a string of high-ranking visits to the protests, which saw Parliament Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva and vice minister for tourism Ivo Marinov also showing up.
"I am convinced that in a very short time, protesters' demands will be satisfied. Their requests will be heard at the very first cabinet sitting in 2013," stated Tsvetanov.
8,000 Bansko residents, organized by mayor Georgi Ikonomov, have submitted to Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev a petition requesting for expansion of facilities in the resort.

Sunday Ikonomov claimed that Plevneliev has already given his support for the petition.
Petitioners have argued that environmentalists and others opposing the further development of Bansko are just bullying authorities and are dooming the region to economic underdevelopment.
Opposers to projects for ski facilities expansion argue that Bansko is already overdeveloped, with local companies requesting further ski runs only to make up for an excessively high number of tourist beds in Bansko made possible by the construction boom in the 00s.
In addition, they have argued that the local ski operator, Yulen, has already overstepped the territory for ski facilities allowed by the state in the Pirin National Park, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Environmentalists have argued that the manifest support of high-ranking statespersons for the protests is out of order and showing that the rallies have been staged in a situation smacking of Vladimir Putin's Russia.
The current protests in Bansko bring to mind rallies in June supporting Bulgaria's new Forestry Act intended to ease development in forest areast, which were supported by ruling GERB party MPs and cabinet ministers.
The legislative amendments were however scrapped, after massive protests against them blocked a major intersection in capital Sofia for several days on.
The amendments to the Forestry Act were known to be sponsored by the Vitosha Ski company, which operates facilities on Vitosha Mountain nearby Sofia.
Both Vitosha Ski and Yulen are known to be controlled by notorious businessman and Bulgarian Ski Federation chair Tseko Minev, who also holds First Investment Bank.
.novinite.com
30/12/12
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• Bulgarian Winter Resorts (Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo) Expect Greek Visitors Boom 

• Greek, Romanian Police to Patrol Bulgarian Ski Resort

White Christmas in Rio. Health alert?

Under a torrid 40 degrees Celsius, the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro woke up on December 25 under a white blanket. Only it was not snow - it was a mysterious white soot-like dust which entered people's apartments and caused allergies. The authorities still do not know what caused it... could there be a serious health risk?

The official data available can be summarized by a white soot-like dust which descended on several areas of the city of Rio de Janeiro early on the morning of Christmas Day. Eye witnesses described the phenomenon as being like snowflakes falling. The dust settled mainly in the southern areas of the city such as Lagoa, Copacabana, Ipanema, Botafogo, Laranjeiras, Largo do Machado and Glória, in the Centre, Tijuca (North) and Recreio (West).

Eye witnesses declare that it is a fine white powder which entered apartments and in some cases caused allergies. The Brazilian environmental authorities are still investigating the causes of the event.

Some commentators postulate that the microparticles could have come from the volcanic eruption in Chile.

In 2010, the States of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo set up stations to monitor a similar phenomenon of white microparticles which invaded the cities and which at the time considered as a serious health risk. At the time the blame was placed on the incomplete burning process of fossil fuels used by vehicles and which were, in 2010, declared to be responsible for 77% of the air pollution in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro.

The nature of this substance was of particular concern to the authorities because it was four times smaller (at 0.0025 mm.) than the size of microparticles which were considered dangerous and for this reason the particles penetrate very deeply into the human respiratory system. Such particles have been linked by some experts also to heart attacks and cancer.

If the microparticles which spread out over Rio de Janeiro on Christmas Day are of the same origin, then a public health alert may be in order.

Juan Blanco

Pravda.Ru

26/12/12