Un terremoto en España, con epicentro en una zona con licencias para 'fracking'...

Un terremoto de 5,2 grados en la escala Richter se ha notado en el interior de la provincia de Albacete, según datos del Instituto Geográfico Nacional (su página web está caída pero informa a través de Twitter). Según datos de instituto alemán Geofon el epicentro se encuentra a siete kilómetros de la población de Ossa de Montiel, en las cercanías de las Lagunas de Ruidera, y ha tenido una profundidad de 14,8 kilómetros.


El terremoto se ha sentido en varias poblaciones de Albacete, Madrid, Murcia, Cartagena, con grados de intensidad III, definida como débil-moderada, según el instituto de terremotos estadounidese.

En 2012 la sociedad Oil and Gas Capital logró tres permisos de fracking de la Junta de Castilla-La Mancha. Uno de ellos en la comarca de Montiel, en la zona donde se ha producido el terremoto. La sociedad presentó dichas solicitudes al Gobierno autonómico en 2011, que adoptó la resolución positiva el 26 de julio de 2012. Se trata de tres proyectos denominados s Esteros, Almorada y Nava en donde tienen permisos de investigación por un periodo de seis años.

El último terremoto que sufrió España se produjo en Murcia en 2011. Se produjeron dos moviemientos sísmicos, el mayor tuvo una magnitud de 5,1 grados, y sacudieron a la localidad de Lorca. El suceso se llevó la vida de nueve personas. El pasado 17 de febrero se produjo un terremoto de 2,7 grados en la zona de Lorca, con un grado de intensidad III.
http://cincodias.com/cincodias/2015/02/23/economia/1424709188_911224.html
23/2/15
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• El depósito de gas está sobre una falla...

  • Soria afirma que 'el riesgo de movimientos sísmicos relevantes es limitado'...

CA Officials Allowed Fracking to Taint Drinking Water Amid Record Drought

Oil companies in drought-ravaged California are pumping wastewater from their operations into aquifers, potentially contaminating groundwater supplies that have become increasingly important...

State regulators permitted companies to drill hundreds of waste-disposal wells into aquifers that store water for drinking or irrigation, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Companies injected a blend of briny water, hydrocarbons and trace chemicals.

Most of the wells are located in the state’s Central Valley, where residents are pumping so much groundwater to cope with the historic drought that the land has started to sink.

“It is an unfolding catastrophe, and it’s essential that all oil and gas wastewater injection into underground drinking water stop immediately,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity environmental group.

So far, tests of nearby drinking-water wells show no contamination, state officials said. But the federal Environmental Protection Agency is still threatening to take control of monitoring the waste-injection wells after more than 30 years of state management.

“If there are wells having a direct impact on drinking water, we need to shut them down now,” said Jared Blumenfeld, regional administrator for the EPA. “Safe drinking water is only going to become more in demand.”

The problem dates back to 1983, when the EPA gave state regulators responsibility for enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The agreement listed aquifers considered exempt, where oil companies could legally inject leftover water.

But there were two signed copies of the agreement, which led to oil companies injecting wastewater into aquifers that were supposed to be off-limits, the Chronicle reported.

The EPA first suspected the problem in 2011, and last summer state officials shut down 11 waste-injection wells that they feared could taint groundwater supplies already feeding homes and farms.

In 2010, cherry trees on Mike Hopkins San Joaquin Valley orchard starting turning brown, a problem that spread the next year.

Tests of the water revealed high levels of salt and boron, both of which can damage trees. Hopkins blames oil companies for tainting the aquifer that used to feed his orchard, and sued four companies that had been injecting wastewater nearby.

In another sign of California's persistent drought, downtown San Francisco recorded no measurable rain in January for the first time in 165 years, the National Weather Service said.

The agency also said Santa Cruz recorded no rain in January for the first time since 1893. Normal rainfall for that city in January is more than 6 inches.

For the Bay Area as a whole, last month was the driest January on record, the weather service said. December brought decent rain to Southern and Northern California, raising hopes for a wet winter, but January turned out to be dry and unusually warm.
sputniknews.com
3/2/15
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• NASA Satellite Images Reveal Shocking Groundwater Loss in Drought-Stricken California

• California Experiencing Most Severe Drought Ever Recorded

•  ***fracking

ΗΠΑ: Το Φθηνό Φυσικό Αέριο Εκτοπίζει τα Πυρηνικά από την Παραγωγή Ηλεκτρικής Ενέργειας

Η πυρηνική ενέργεια φαίνεται ότι είναι ένα -ακόμα- από τα «θύματα» της επανάστασης του shale gas στις ΗΠΑ, καθώς το κόστος της παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας από φυσικό αέριο είναι πλέον τόσο χαμηλό που απειλεί ευθέως την οικονομική βιωσιμότητα των πυρηνικών μονάδων.

Η μεγαλύτερη αμερικανική επιχείρηση στον τομέα της πυρηνικής ενέργειας, Exelon Corp, ανακοίνωσε τις προηγούμενες ημέρες ότι θα πρέπει να διπλασιάσει τις τιμές πώλησης της ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας προκειμένου να συνεχίσει να λειτουργεί η μονάδα της στη Νέα Υόρκη.

Οι ρυθμιστικές αρχές της Πολιτείας της Νέας Υόρκης έχουν περιθώριο έως τις 15 Ιανουαρίου προκειμένου να εγκρίνουν τα νέα τιμολόγια που ζητεί η επιχείρηση. Συγκεκριμένα, ζητεί τιμές που είναι κατά 83% υψηλότερες σε σχέση με τις τιμές χονδρικής, προκειμένου η μονάδα Ginna να είναι κερδοφόρος.

Η συγκεκριμένη μονάδα είναι μία εκ των δέκα συνολικά στις ΗΠΑ που δεν μπορούν να συνεχίσουν να λειτουργούν με βάση τις τρέχουσες τιμές, σύμφωνα με την Moody's Investors Service.

Απ' αυτές τις μονάδες προέρχεται το 10% της εθνικής παραγωγής πυρηνικής ενέργειας.

Όπως επισημαίνουν οι αναλυτές, δύο είναι οι κύριοι παράγοντες που άλλαξαν τους όρους του παιχνιδιού για την πυρηνική ενέργεια στις ΗΠΑ: Το φθηνό και «άφθονο» φυσικό αέριο και σε μικρότερο βαθμό οι επιδοτήσεις προς τις Ανανεώσιμες Πηγές Ενέργειας (κυρίως τα φωτοβολταϊκά και τα αιολικά).

Το 2013 έκλεισαν τέσσερις μονάδες στις ΗΠΑ, με αποτέλεσμα για φέτος για πρώτη φορά τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες οι μονάδες παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας να είναι λιγότερες από 100.

Οι αναλυτές εκτιμούν ότι μέσα στα επόμενα χρόνια ίσως βάλουν «λουκέτο» άλλες 15 μονάδες.

 [energia.gr]

6/1/15

Environmental Watchdog Finds Oil, Gas Companies Using Cancer-Causing Chemicals

WASHINGTON, October 23  - Oil and gas companies are exploiting federal loopholes to frack with cancer-causing petroleum-based products, a report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) said.

"Despite a federal ban on the use of diesel fuel in hydraulic fracturing without a permit, several oil and gas companies are exploiting a Safe Drinking Water Act loophole, pushed through by Halliburton to frack with petroleum-based products, containing even more dangerous toxic chemicals than diesel," a statement published on the watchdog's website Wednesday said.

The group found that one of the primary ingredients in fluids, used in fracking, contains a highly toxic chemical called benzene, which is more toxic than diesel fuel and harmful to drinking water supplies and public health.

According to the statement, permits are required for fracking with diesel fuel; however, companies can inject other petroleum products even more toxic than diesel without using a permit.

"This double standard illustrates what happens when Congress manipulates environmental statutes for the benefit of polluters, instead of allowing EPA [US Environmental Protection Agency] to make public health decisions based on the best available science," EIP Executive Director and former Director of Civil Enforcement at EPA Eric Schaeffer said in the statement.

Halliburton, the company that pushed for the 2005 loophole which exempts fracking from the requirements of the 1973 Safe Drinking Water Act is one of the largest fracking companies.

The study recommends that Congress should revise and repeal the 2005 loophole by advising the US Environmental Protection Agency to require safeguards for the Safe Drinking Water Act from using chemicals that contain large amounts of benzene and other toxic chemicals.
(RIA Novosti)
23/10/14
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• Europe focuses on shale gas amid Ukraine crisis. -Exploration of S.G. in the EU as a tool to further diversify its energy supply

• Study links fracking with methane-contaminated drinking water (+2video RT)

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• US Using Diesel in Fracking Poses Health Threat

Fracking: China's 2015 shale gas output to hit 6.5 bln cubic meters

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's shale gas output will likely hit 6.5 billion cubic meters next year, up from an estimated output between 1 billion and 1.5 billion cubic meters this year, vice director of the National Energy Administration Zhang Yuqing predicted.

Shale gas production in recent years has seen leapfrog development since the country started to survey and explore the energy source in 2009, Zhang said at a workshop held in Beijing on Friday.
The output surge has come with increasing use of natural gas in China. Government data showed that domestic natural gas output hit 117.1 billion cubic meters in 2013, up 9.5 percent year on year. However, the production was short of demand. Total natural gas consumption stood at 167.5 billion cubic meters, up 10 percent year on year.

The country must rely on imports to make up for the supply shortage. Currently, 30 percent of the natural gas China consumes is imported.

Shale gas is an important unconventional source of natural gas. So far the reserves being invested in for exploration have hit 130 billion cubic meters in the country, Zhang said.

[xinhuanet.com]

18/10/14

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Related:

• New Evidence Links Earthquakes to Fracking...

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• US Using Diesel in Fracking Poses Health Threat

• FEATURE: As climate talks heat up, experts debate if natural gas, fracking will turn ‘brown’ economies ‘green’

• University of Colorado Boulder Scientists Link 10,800-Foot-Deep Fracking Wastewater Well to More Than 200 Earthquakes

• Europe focuses on shale gas amid Ukraine crisis. -Exploration of S.G. in the EU as a tool to further diversify its energy supply

Kiev fights in Ukraine’s southeast for shale gas deposits to be controlled by US (Aleksey Pushkov)

The control over Ukraine’s southeast is important for Kiev first of all because of the shale gas deposits, which Western countries should be developing, head of the State Duma’s international affairs committee Aleksey Pushkov said on Saturday....
“Kiev is fighting in Ukraine’s east for the gas reserves: Germany says the reserves make 5,578 billion cubic metres (bcm) [the U.S. reserves are 8,976 bcm]. Control will be from the U.S.,” he wrote on Twitter. The Yuzivska shale gas field is at the border between the Kharkov and Donetsk regions.
The resources are estimated at over four trillion cubic metres. In May 2012, British-Netherlands Shell won the competition for development. Another company, certified for development of deposits in the Dnepropetrovsk-Donetsk area is Ukraine’s Burisma, where recently son of the U.S. Vice President Joe Biden became a member of the board of directors.
Residents of Slavyansk, which is the centre of the Yuzivska deposit, within several past year organised protests against development of the deposit. They even planned to organise a referendum on the issue.
Ecologists are concerned about consequences from hydrofracturing used in production of shale gas. 
They say the chemicals used are highly poisonous and may affect not only water, but also the air. Experts say utilisation of poisonous substances is still an overdue issue worldwide. The media report many countries have refused from developing deposits of the kind in their own territories - the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and France.

 http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/74530516/8/14
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Related:

• America could hold answer to Putin's pipeline pinch on Ukraine. -- Chevron to drill for shale gas in western Ukraine

• Ukraine’s Shale Gas Plans Pose Danger for Russia – WWF. -Russia cannot compel Ukraine to present an international assessment of the project’s risks because Russia has not ratified the United Nations’ Espoo Convention.

• Germany asks Ukraine not to block Russian gas and oil supplies to Europe

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• US Officials Urge Ukraine to Reform Naftgas Market (to encourage investment by international energy companies)

US Using Diesel in Fracking Poses Health Threat

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) -A report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) on August 13 discloses that 351 wells across 12 states in the United States were fracked with the unauthorized use of diesel fuel that pose severe risk to human health.

“EIP identified numerous fracking fluids with high diesel content for sale online, including over a dozen products offered by Halliburton [a US oilfield services company]. 

Operators are clearly buying these products without obtaining permits to use them,” the EIP report released Wednesday read.

EIP, an NGO that advocates the enforcement of environmental law, investigated 33 companies across 12 states based on data provided by the industry to FracFocus, a fracking chemical disclosure registry, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

As recently as February the fracking industry insisted that diesel fuel is no longer used in fracking without authorization, yet closer inspection showed that 351 fracking wells used diesel without possessing Safe Drinking Water permits. In June, the US Government Accountability Office also compiled a report indicating the lack of permits.


Texas, Colorado and North Dakota were among the states with the highest volumes of diesel fuel used.
“Fracking with diesel fuel can pose a risk to drinking water and human health because diesel contains benzene, toluene, and other chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other health problems,” the EIP report reads.
While a mandate under the Safe Drinking Water Act allows the EPA to regulate the use of diesel fuel, US Congress exempted fracking fluids from the act in 2005, referred to as the “Halliburton Loophole.”

According to the EIP report, up to 30 explosions from a fracking-related mishap at a well site in Clarington, Ohio on June 28 led to the uncovering of 9,000 gallons of diesel among the fracking supplies at the site.

“Unfortunately, diesel fuels are not the only fracking fluids that pose significant threat to human health, which is why the Halliburton Loophole is both wrong and potentially dangerous,” the EIP report states.
The report calls upon the EPA to further investigate the 351 fracking wells identified and urges operators to voluntarily agree to disclose information on their fracking products, stating that “companies that continue to supply diesel-containing fracking products should be required [by states] to label their products and notify operators of the need to obtain permits prior to fracking.”

Fracking in the US is going through a boom, causing great environmental concern. 

In the first half of this year the United States overtook Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s largest oil producer, with 11 million barrels of oil extracted every day, according to News Week statistics reported this July.
http://en.ria.ru/world/20140814/191998814/US-Using-Diesel-in-Fracking-Poses-Health-Threat.html
14/8/14
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***Fracking

 

FEATURE: As climate talks heat up, experts debate if natural gas, fracking will turn ‘brown’ economies ‘green’

UN, 1 August 2014 – The world faces a looming energy problem. There’s not enough of it. It also faces a looming climate change problem. Too much of it. Could natural gas and fracking technology be part of the solution to both challenges?

The answer to this question is especially relevant for developing countries. Nearly half the world’s population lacks reliable access to modern energy services and more than 20 per cent of the global population – 1.4 billion people – remains without access to electricity, according to a recent UN Development Programme (UNDP) report. Household air pollution from the use of biomass fuel is expected to cause more than 1.5 million deaths a year by 2030.
Could natural gas, whose production is boosted by hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” – the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside – be a bridge to greener economies and to new, more-efficient energy technologies?
“Is fracking, by providing natural gas, giving us a cleaner energy source? The answer is yes, perhaps, if you regard natural gas as a cleaner energy source,” said Elizabeth Thompson, senior advisor for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. 

She spoke at a panel organized by the UN Academic Impact. “However, if the methodologies used are dirty, or environmentally harmful, then some of the beneficial impacts are significantly eroded.”................................http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48389#.U9vrtaPm7gw
1/8/14
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Related;

• University of Colorado Boulder Scientists Link 10,800-Foot-Deep Fracking Wastewater Well to More Than 200 Earthquakes

• Seven earthquakes in the US state of Oklahoma over the weekend

• Europe Considers Fracking to Cut Russian Gas Imports (That would be beneficial for both Europe and Russia)

• Europe focuses on shale gas amid Ukraine crisis. -Exploration of S.G. in the EU as a tool to further diversify its energy supply

• Gaz de schiste: la Commission européenne ouvre la voie à l'exploitation

University of Colorado Boulder Scientists Link 10,800-Foot-Deep Fracking Wastewater Well to More Than 200 Earthquakes

When the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission ordered NGL Water Solutions to stop fracking wastewater injection operations a month ago, a team of University of Colorado Boulder researchers began conducting its own investigation.

NGL, formerly known as High Sierra Water Services, was given permission to resume its activities at a 10,800-foot-deep well a few weeks later, but the CU findings suggest that shouldn’t have happened. Anne Sheehan and her team found that the well is linked to more than 200 earthquakes, the geophysics professor in the CU Department of Geological Sciences told Boulder County Business Report.

She said the group found “quite a few” earthquakes with epicenters within two miles of the well.
 
Two earthquakes—with magnitudes of 3.4 and 2.6—took place within mere miles of the well. Shemin Ge and Matthew Weingarten, also of CU, also found that activity within fracking wastewater injection wells likely caused earthquakes in central Oklahoma.

NGL operates 11 of the 29 fracking wastewater injection wells in Weld County, CO. When the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission allowed NGL to resume activities, it began injecting 7,500 barrels per day at maximum pressure.

“We’ll continue to closely monitor and accumulate all available information at this location,” Colorado Department of Natural Resources spokesman Todd Hartman told the Report, “and work with partners to continue understanding how best to limit and prevent potential seismic impacts related to deep injection generally.”
ecowatch
25/7/14
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Related:

• Colorado Regulators Halt Fracking Wastewater Injection Operation After Earthquake Strikes Area For Second Time in One Month

• Residents in Colorado Town File Class-Action Lawsuit Against State and Governor to Uphold Fracking Ban

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• Seven earthquakes in the US state of Oklahoma over the weekend

• Europe Considers Fracking to Cut Russian Gas Imports (That would be beneficial for both Europe and Russia)

Les USA fourniront du gaz en France.

On apprend que le 17 juillet une filiale du groupe d'énergie « Cheniere » a signe avec EDF un contrat pour la livraison de gaz naturel liquéfié, 770 000 tonnes par an, et ce pour la durée de 20 ans.

Donc, la question se pose: en France, on ne permet pas l’extraction du gaz de schiste par la méthode de coups hydrauliques, mais, derrière, on signe un contrat avec les Etats-Unis qui ont proposé leurs services aux pays européens.

Comment peut-on alors considérer cette décision de la compagnie nationale énergétique française? Nous adressons cette question à Henry Hude, écrivain et philosophe.

Henry Hude. Nous avons la même chose entre la France et l’Allemagne : l’Allemagne a banni le nucléaire et, en même temps, ils importent de l’électricité française qui est produite en grande partie par des centrales nucléaires. Il y a dans tout cela une part d’hypocrisie et peut-être aussi de nécessité politique. Mais il ne faut pas exagérer. J’ai regardé les chiffres : pour EDF, c’est un petit contrat. Cela représente 1,5% de notre consommation dans 2 ou 3 ans et 0,5% aujourd’hui, en supposant qu’on puisse importer cette énergie. Cela reste relativement marginal.

La Voix de la Russie. Je comprends très bien. Mais ce n’est pas seulement la quantité qui est importante. Ce qui compte, c’est le geste. La France est beaucoup critiquée pour être à la merci ou à l’écoute des Etats-Unis, même si c’est difficile à mesurer. Ne pensez-vous donc pas que c’est un geste qui pourrait déclencher une avalanche de critiques vis-à-vis de la France et de ses relations avec les Etats-Unis ?

Henry Hude. Ecoutez, je pense qui y a déjà un problème interne à la France au départ, à l’intérieur de la majorité gouvernementale, un désaccord entre les écologistes et les autres, car la France ne permet pas l’exploitation des gaz de schiste. Mais ce geste s’inscrit aussi a l’intérieur de la politique internationale, c’est certain. EDF est contrôlé par l’Etat à 85% donc ce sont des décisions d’Etat. Il y a l’affaire du Mistral, l’affaire des « sanctions », l’affaire BNP, l’affaire de la Deutsche Bank, … La France comme l’Allemagne est sous pression américaine pour durcir ses positions face à la Russie… Il est possible que cette affaire de gaz soit une concession qui ne coûte pas trop cher. C’est comme ça que je le vois, mais je n’ai pas les moyens de le prouver.

Ces contrats interviennent à un moment ou le PDG d’EDF a des problèmes fiscaux à cause de sa très jeune femme. Je vous passe les détails, mais il faudrait être journaliste d’investigation pour savoir quels sont exactement les tenants et aboutissants de cette affaire.

LVdlR. Faut-il systématiquement rattacher un problème quelconque économique (et là, on parle de fourniture d’électricité ou d’énergie tout simplement) à un aspect politique ? Par exemple, il y a beaucoup de reproches vis-à-vis des Verts qui disent « Il ne faut pas utiliser le gaz de schiste. Il ne fait pas utiliser l’énergie nucléaire. Il ne faut pas ceci, pas cela… » Je sais qu’il y a des voix qui disent : dans la conjoncture actuelle de difficulté économique, il faut essayer par tous les moyens de produire l’énergie, d’être indépendant dans cette production et il faut qu’ils comprennent. En France, a votre avis, où est le futur de ces productions d’énergie entre les éoliennes, la production atomique, les barrages d’EDF dans les Alpes ?

Henry Hude. Vous posez la question à un philosophe, donc ce ne sont pas des questions sur lesquelles je peu avoir un avis. Tout ce que je peux dire, d’un point de vue moral, c’est que l’exploitation du gaz de schiste semble avoir des conséquences sur l’environnement, potentiellement sur la santé publique, qui sont très importantes et qui n ont pas été explorées suffisamment. Aux Etats Unis, il est pratiquement impossible d’avoir des études objectives sur le sujet. Par contre, je pense qu’il est urgent d’attendre, et si d’autres pays veulent faire des expériences, tant mieux ou tant pis pour eux, nous verrons bien après. En tout cas c’est ma position. Par ailleurs il y a pour l’instant le nucléaire ou dans des pays comme la France, qui ne sont pas sismiques, parait être une solution dont de toute façon on ne peut pas se passer dans l’immédiat. Apres, on peut imaginer des révolutions énergétiques, mais je ne sais pas…

LVdlR. Je vous pose cette question, car justement ce qui m’intéresse, c’est le point de vue d’un philosophe. Dans les années 70, vous mentionnez une foule de ces romans fantastiques dans lesquels on disait qu’en l’an 2000 on vivrait un communisme ou une autre organisation planétaire qui serait toujours pour l’homme et qui le rendrait heureux, qu’on volerait sur d’autres planètes, etc. Au lieu de ça on se retrouve avec des petites guerres d’énergie entre les pays qui avaient des relations tout à fait fiables à l’époque.

• Henry Hude. Oui. De toute façon, l’Europe a joui de paix pendant longtemps parce que l’Union Soviétique et les Etats-Unis étaient décidés à ce qu’il n’y ait pas de guerre en Europe et nous n’avions de toute façon pas la liberté de prendre des décisions de ce type la. C’est pour cela que la situation européenne (si on exclue la Russie de l’Europe) est extrêmement préoccupante car cette tension entre la Russie et le Etats-Unis est très contrariante pour nous et très dangereuse à terme.

LVdlR. Espérons que la raison triomphe.

Henry Hude. Elle peut en effet triompher.
 http://french.ruvr.ru
26/7/14
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• EP committee examines EU energy security plan. --Six EU countries depend on Russia as the supplier for their entire gas imports.

• Russia’s Europe-bound energy supplies should stay outside sanctions (Günther Oettinger)

• EU, US to intensify cooperation on energy security concerns

• US mulling ways to use natural gas resources in Ukraine crisis. - official

Seven earthquakes in the US state of Oklahoma over the weekend

Seven earthquakes took place within the last weekend in the central part of the US state of Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City. As reported by the US Geological Survey, the magnitude aftershocks ranged from 2.6 to 4.3.

There are no victims or destruction caused by earthquakes. The centers of earth shocks were at relatively shallow depths, reports ITAR-TASS.

According to experts, the number of earthquakes has increased several times in the last several years in Oklahoma and other oil and gas producing states in the US - Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. So, in Oklahoma from 1978 to 2008 was recorded approximately two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or more per year, and from January 1 to June 19 of this year were registered 207 such tremors. Thus, Oklahoma has already left behind the most earthquake-prone state - California, where 140 earthquakes have taken place from January 1 to June 16.

Scientists believe that the increase in the number of tremors may be connected with shale gas production by means of fracking. Gas is extracted using injection of water with chemicals at high pressure into shale formations. Fracturing technology allowed the US to dramatically increase natural gas production and reduce oil imports.
[voiceofrussia.com]
14/7/14
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Related:

• Europe Considers Fracking to Cut Russian Gas Imports (That would be beneficial for both Europe and Russia)

• Colorado Regulators Halt Fracking Wastewater Injection Operation After Earthquake Strikes Area For Second Time in One Month

Europe Considers Fracking to Cut Russian Gas Imports (That would be beneficial for both Europe and Russia)

WASHINGTON —The political crisis in Ukraine, including its dispute with Moscow over the flow of Russian natural gas, has forced many European nations to reconsider their reliance on Russia for energy. Some nations are looking at new options for extracting natural gas at home, including the controversial process of hydraulic fracking. Although much of Europe is dependent on Russian energy imports, the continent is believed to be sitting on 13 trillion cubic meters of shale gas, a significant reserve.
France, Poland and Ukraine share the largest amounts of shale gas, but reserves have been found in Romania, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom.

The presence of large shale gas reserves and the current crisis in Ukraine have sharpened the focus on Europe’s shale gas potential, according to Lucia Seybert, at the Wilson Center in Washington.

“With energy security it’s not just a matter of supply, it’s also a question of reliability. And one thing this thing may do, what might happen is, it may expedite some of these explorations of shale gas within the European Union,” Seybert said.
Still, Europe is believed to be years away from commercially exploiting shale gas. Poland, the United Kingdom and Romania are the farthest along - and expect to start exploration by 2020.

But extracting shale gas - using a technique called hydraulic fracking, is controversial. Most drilling sites in Europe are near populated areas and environmental groups have raised concerns about water and air pollution.

There also are political issues. European taxes on the industry and strict regulations create a challenge for extraction companies.
“It is much more complex extracting the gas in places like Poland and Central Europe than it is in the U.S. So we really need to better understand how much is there and how easily we can actually get it out of the ground,” said Eric Stewart, president of the Romanian-American and Polish-American Business Councils.

Energy companies also must battle a strong environmental movement and public opposition.
The process can help meet Europe’s energy needs if it complements conventional and renewable sources of energy like solar and wind, said
Keith Smith, a former U.S. ambassador to Lithuania, now a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis and an expert on fracking technology.
“I think hydraulic fracturing is one element that can help bring energy security to Europe, but it will take a long time. I think it can happen but it’s only one factor. There are a lot of other things that need to be done," he said.

Much of Europe’s gas flows through a pipeline that runs from Russia across Ukraine. But Ukraine has had trouble paying its gas bill to Russia’s Gazprom energy company. And earlier this year, Ukrainian protesters ousted the country’s pro-Russia president. The new government has signed economic agreements with the European Union, over Moscow’s objections. Moscow has signaled it may cut off gas to Kyiv, and thus to much of Europe.
With winter approaching, the current dispute looks similar to the crisis in 2009, when Russia stopped the natural gas flow to Europe in January, leaving millions of homes and businesses in the cold.
"The European Union has got burned - or, frozen, I should say - with the 2009 crisis so they really worked hard to prevent something like that from reccurring, and there has been much talk about the interconnection of pipelines, alternative sources and reverse flow mechanism, so we will see,” Seybert said.

Shale gas exploration will not achieve complete energy independence from Russian imports, but will lessen that dependence long-term.

• That would be beneficial for both Europe and Russia, a country that needs a more diversified economy and less dependence on energy exports, she said.

Ana Hontz-Ward
[voanews.com] 
12/7/14
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Related:

• Europe focuses on shale gas amid Ukraine crisis. -Exploration of S.G. in the EU as a tool to further diversify its energy supply

• Using sand for fracking: pros and cons

• La crise avec la Russie brouille les ambitions climatiques de l'UE

• Kiev's threat to confiscate Gazprom property will lead to chain reaction, from wich Ukraine will not benefit

• More than 30 earthquakes hit Texas towns after start of fracking 

• Study links fracking with methane-contaminated drinking water (+2video RT)

• Shale revolution a la Russe: Shell, Gazprom Neft start fracking in Siberia

• Günther Oettinger: Wir brauchen in Europa die Option des Fracking“.

• Ukraine’s Shale Gas Plans Pose Danger for Russia – WWF. -Russia cannot compel Ukraine to present an international assessment of the project’s risks because Russia has not ratified the United Nations’ Espoo Convention.

 

Fracking: Major Scientific Document Shows Why NY Fracking Moratorium Is Imperative

Less than two weeks ago, local communities triumphed over the fracking industry in a precedent-setting case decided by the New York Court of Appeals. The court ruled that the towns of Dryden and Middlefield can use local zoning laws to ban heavy industry, including oil and gas production within municipal borders.

While the court decision is a victory for the two towns, many New Yorkers continue to rally and push for a statewide fracking moratorium. In this vein, Concerned Health Professionals of New York (CHPNY) today released a major resource to the public, including public officials, researchers and journalists—the Compendium of Scientific, Medical and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking................................http://ecowatch.com/2014/07/10/major-scientific-document-ny-fracking-moratorium-imperative/
10/7/14

Colorado Regulators Halt Fracking Wastewater Injection Operation After Earthquake Strikes Area For Second Time in One Month

Thankfully, two earthquakes proved to be too many.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COOGC) has directed High Sierra Water Services to stop disposing wastewater into a Weld County injection well as a result of a 2.6 magnitude earthquake striking the area Monday morning, about five miles away from Greeley, CO, the Colorado Independent reported. The earthquake marked the second one in just one month.

High Sierra agreed to a 20-day halt after University of Colorado seismologists found evidence of low-level seismic activity near the injection site, including a 2.6-magnitude quake.

“In light of the findings of CU’s team, we think it’s important we review additional data, bring in additional expertise and closely review the history of injection at this site in order to more fully understand any potential link to seismicity and use of this disposal well,” COGCC Director Matt Lepore said.

To environmentalists, the connection between injection and earthquakes is as indisputable now as it was following the event on May 31.

“Better safe than sorry—injecting fracking wastewater has definitely caused earthquakes in other states and it could be the cause here too, so it’s smart of COGCC to halt this activity,” said Gary Wockner, an environmental activist based in Fort Collins, CO.

The COGCC will evaluate the baseline, historical seismic activity there, well injection rates, pressures and volumes and continue coordination with the team from Colorado University and the U.S. Geological Survey and Colorado Geological Survey. Other disposal wells in the area will also receive evaluation.

 There are more than 24,000 wells in Weld County. In the past 18 months, six cities with more than 400,000 citizens have approved fracking bans or moratoriums.
http://ecowatch.com
24-25/6/14
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Related:

• Residents in Colorado Town File Class-Action Lawsuit Against State and Governor to Uphold Fracking Ban

• Europe focuses on shale gas amid Ukraine crisis. -Exploration of S.G. in the EU as a tool to further diversify its energy supply

• Using sand for fracking: pros and cons

• More than 30 earthquakes hit Texas towns after start of fracking 

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   ****M 2.7 - COLORADO - 2014-03-26 16:23:09 UTC

  Magnitude    ML 2.7
  Region    COLORADO
  Date time    2014-03-26 16:23:09.0 UTC
  Location    37.62 N ; 105.49 W
  Depth    3 km
  Distances    659 km N of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico / pop: 1,512,354
  218 km N of Santa Fe, United States / pop: 67,947 / local time: 10:23:09.0 2014-03-26
  38 km NE of Alamosa, United States / pop: 8,780 / local time: 10:23:09.0 2014-03-26

Residents in Colorado Town File Class-Action Lawsuit Against State and Governor to Uphold Fracking Ban

Lafayette, CO residents passed a measure to ban fracking within city limits in November, yet they’re still fighting for clean air and water.

A month after elections, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association filed a lawsuit against the City of Lafayette to overturn the newly passed Community Bill of Rights. Now, residents are turning the tables back on the association, as well as the state and Gov. John Hickenlooper in a first-of-its-kind, class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in Boulder County District Court.


While the suit centers on fracking, it seeks to protect the citizens’ right to self-governance under the Community Bill of Rights. The residents allege that the Colorado Oil and Gas Act and the industry’s enforcement of it violate that right to local self-government under the U.S. Constitution.........http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/10/colorado-lawsuit-fracking-ban/
10/6/14
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• Les USA "nettoient" le marché de l'UE pour y vendre leur gaz de schiste...

Les Etats-Unis cherchent à affaiblir l'Europe et à "nettoyer" le marché européen pour y vendre du gaz de schiste américain, a déclaré mardi à Moscou le conseiller du président russe Sergueï Glaziev.
"Les Américains ont pour but d'affaiblir l'Union européenne, de provoquer la faillite de toute une série de banques européennes pour obtenir l'annulation de leurs dettes envers la Russie et l'Europe. Ils souhaitent affaiblir l'Europe et nettoyer le marché du gaz pour y vendre du gaz de schiste américain", a indiqué M.Glaziev lors d'une conférence de presse à RIA Novosti.
Selon le conseiller, les sanctions économiques que les Etats-Unis cherchent à faire adopter contre la Russie, serviront à affaiblir l'Europe ce qui permettra aux Etats-Unis d'imposer des conditions économiques désavantageuses à l'UE.
Fin mars dernier, le président américain Barack Obama a déclaré à Bruxelles que les Etats-Unis pourraient fournir plus de gaz à l'Europe qu'il ne lui en faut pour remplacer le gaz russe. En juin, les importations de gaz de schiste américain en Europe ont été évoquées lors du sommet du G7. Washington commencera à fournir du gaz de schiste à l'Europe à la fin de 2015, mais cela implique des investissements de plusieurs milliards de dollars.........................http://fr.ria.ru/world/20140610/201500541.html
10/6/14
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Related:

• Europe focuses on shale gas amid Ukraine crisis. -Exploration of S.G. in the EU as a tool to further diversify its energy supply

• Gaz de schiste: la Commission européenne ouvre la voie à l'exploitation

• Günther Oettinger: Wir brauchen in Europa die Option des Fracking“.

Europe focuses on shale gas amid Ukraine crisis. -Exploration of S.G. in the EU as a tool to further diversify its energy supply

England, Poland, Romania and Ukraine were the first countries to start distributing licenses for the exploration and exploitation of shale gas.

 

By E. Gurkan Abay 
ANKARA 
EU countries have started distributing shale gas licenses to private companies, aiming to reduce the dependence on Russian natural gas, amid the crisis in Ukraine that sparked EU’s efforts to increase its energy security.
Europe will try to formulate ways to reduce its "concerning" level of dependency on Russian natural gas, at the EU March 20-21 summit in Brussels, according to draft summit documents. Local energy sources such as shale gas should be further exploited, the papers also state. England, Poland, Romania and Ukraine were the first countries to start distributing licenses for the exploration and exploitation of shale gas.

• European Commission spokeswoman Sabine Berger told Anadolu Agency that the Commission acknowledges the potential importance of the exploration of shale gas in the EU as a tool to further diversify its energy supply.

• “But it’s a purely national decision by the EU member state to opt for shale gas or not,” she said, adding that the commission does not have any plans to assist the private sector financially for shale gas exploration and exploitation.

The Commission will continue facilitating the exchange of environmental information of shale gas projects, Berger explained, and from December 2014 onwards, member states will also inform the Commission each year about measures that they have put in place.
Recently, the European Commission has loosened regulations on shale gas and left the decision on environmental issues to member countries.
- Poland’s shale gas reserves are the largest in Europe
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Poland’s shale gas reserves are the largest in Europe, with a potential 4.1 trillion cubic meters. Keen to make use of this potential, Poland enacted a law in March 11, which exempts taxes on shale gas exploitation until 2020.
France, second only to Poland, has technically recoverable reserves of 3.8 trillion cubic meters. However, the hydraulic fracturing technique which is used in shale gas exploitation, is currently banned in France.
In 2012, France’s President Francois Hollande promised to reduce the share of nuclear power in electricity generation from 75 to 50 percent. Shale gas is seen as a potential candidate to fill the energy supply gap.
- Hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas  
Hydraulic fracturing, or commonly known as “fracking,” rocks under 2 to 5 kilometers under the soil are fractured by using high pressured chemical waters sprayed out of horizontally installed pipes. After the fracturing ends, the fractured rocks release gas that migrates to wells.
The fracking method is the main reason behind Europe’s hesitation on the extraction of shale gas. Experts fear that the fracking technique under the soil could pollute the underground water systems and the soil. Additionally, it is also feared that the fracturing process might trigger earthquakes.
Since EU environmental legislation developed at a time when high volume hydraulic fracturing was not used in Europe, certain environmental aspects associated with the exploration and production of fossil fuels involving this practice are not comprehensively addressed in current EU legislation.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
 aa.com.tr
21/3/14
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Related:

• Using sand for fracking: pros and cons

• La crise avec la Russie brouille les ambitions climatiques de l'UE

• Kiev's threat to confiscate Gazprom property will lead to chain reaction, from wich Ukraine will not benefit

• More than 30 earthquakes hit Texas towns after start of fracking 

• Study links fracking with methane-contaminated drinking water (+2video RT)

• Shale revolution a la Russe: Shell, Gazprom Neft start fracking in Siberia

• Günther Oettinger: Wir brauchen in Europa die Option des Fracking“.

• Ukraine’s Shale Gas Plans Pose Danger for Russia – WWF. -Russia cannot compel Ukraine to present an international assessment of the project’s risks because Russia has not ratified the United Nations’ Espoo Convention.