Drill Baby Drill
In this landmark report, PCI Fossil Fuel Fellow David Hughes takes a far-ranging and painstakingly researched look at the prospects for various unconventional fuels to provide energy abundance for the United States in the 21st Century. While the report examines a range of energy sources, the centerpiece of “Drill, Baby, Drill” is a critical analysis of shale gas and shale oil (tight oil) and the potential of a shale “revolution.”
| Executive Summary | Full Report | Shale Maps | Shale Graphs |
Fracked Gas Won't Solve Energy Crunch
Andrew Nikiforuk, TheTyee.ca, Feb 23 2013
Conserving key to energy independence concludes geologist David Hughes.
Bob Simpson: LNG snake oil for B.C.’s economic woes
Bob Simpson, Georgia Straight, Feb 14 2013
Forestry, mining, and agriculture all made cameo appearances in this week’s throne speech, but liquefied natural gas (LNG) had the starring role.
Is B.C.'s gas like Alberta's tar sands? Yes, in many ways, so it's about time we talked about it
Derrick O'Keefe, rabble.ca, Jan 31 2013
Earlier today in Vancouver, top officials of the B.C. government joined a day-long seminar -- or, more accurately, a love-in -- with the fossil fuel export industry organized by the Vancouver Board of Trade.
Methane leaks erode green credentials of natural gas
Jeff Tollefson, Nature, 02 January 2013
Losses of up to 9% show need for broader data on US gas industry’s environmental impact.
Northwest Territories oil play big as Bakken
Dina O?Meara, Calgary Herald, July 19, 2012
Shale oil play success hinges on strong crude pricing and infrastructure
How Fracking Boosts the Tar Sands
Andy Rowell, OilChange International, July 4 2012
The energy revolution sweeping the United States is now taking up serious column inches in the nation’s papers. Last week, the Wall Street Journal ran with with the headline: “Expanded Oil Drilling Helps U.S. Wean Itself From Mideast.”
Drillers face first class-action suit for triggered temblors
Mike Soraghan, E&E EnergyWire, July 5, 2012
What may be the first class-action suit against oil and gas companies for unleashing earthquakes is working its way through the federal courts in Arkansas.
Apache calls new discovery in northeastern BC “best shale gas reservoir in North America.”
Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, June 14 2012
One of the energy companies planning a liquefied natural gas terminal at Kitimat announced Thursday “an outstanding” new shale gas discovery, the best in North America, in British Columbia’s remote and largely unexplored Liard Basin.
Schlumberger outlines future roadmap for fracking
By John Kemp, Reuters, Calgary Herald, April 20, 2012
LONDON — Hydraulic fracturing has already transformed the North American gas industry, and has the potential to revolutionize gas production and eventually oil output worldwide.
Oil companies rush to Bakken-fuelled boom
By Dan Healing, Calgary Herald, April 21, 2012
Workers flock to North Dakota
In the overheated Williston oilpatch, no one asks where you live.
Instead, they ask, "Where are you staying?" and then, "Where are you from?"
New Baaken Shale Pipeline to Cushing OK in the Works
Steve Horn, DeSmogBlog, April 20 2012
The controversy over TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline has raged on for years now, with no end in sight.
Fracking causes earthquakes, studies confirm
The Canadian Press, CBC News, Apr 17, 2012
Two separate studies are providing insights into the earth-shaking consequences of the controversial gas extraction process known as fracking.
A world awash in oil
Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post, April 2, 2012
Middle East will go back to being an obscure backwater
Shale oil boom drives down prices versus rest of world
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, Feb. 19, 2012
OTTAWA— North America’s crude market is increasingly diverging from the international scene, as rising U.S. production and weak demand pose long-term challenges for Canadian-based oil companies.
After the gold rush: A perspective on future U.S. natural gas supply and price (updated February 9)
by Arthur E. Berman, The Oil Drum, Feb 8 2012
On January 23, 2012, Chesapeake Energy announced that it would curtail drilling in shale gas plays in the United States. Subsequently, other operators have followed suit. While the outcome of this announcement is unclear, it is a signal that the industry is in distress. One can argue that this distress stems from a lack of discipline as market price began to decline.
Hunt for Gas Hits Fragile Soil, and South Africans Fear Risks
By IAN URBINA, New York Times, December 30, 2011
KAROO, South Africa — When a drought dried up their wells last year, hundreds of farmers and their families flocked to local fairgrounds here to pray for rain, and a call went out on the regional radio station imploring South Africans to donate bottled water.
Fracking Cracks the Public Consciousness in 2011
by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, Dec. 29, 2011
This is part of our year-end series, looking at where things stand in each of our major investigations.
This was the year that "fracking" became a household word.
Burning Love
Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, December 5, 2011
Americans have never met a hydrocarbon they didn’t like. Oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, tar-sands oil, coal-bed methane, and coal, which is, mostly, carbon—the country loves them all, not wisely, but too well. To the extent that the United States has an energy policy, it is perhaps best summed up as: if you’ve got it, burn it.
The heated competition for shale gas
By Andrew Maykuth, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 13, 2011
The shale-gas bonanza is fueling a hot competition among businesses that want to claim a share of what is promoted as an abundant long-term energy source.
Energy and Mines Minister Rich Coleman on Voice of BC
Rich Coleman and Vaughn Palmer, Voice of BC, Oct 27, 2011
Minister of Energy, Mines and Housing talks to Vaughn Palmer about an array of interesting topics about electricity, natural gas, shale gas, mining, smart meters, carbon neutrality, deferral accounts, BC's GHG.
Cheniere and BG ink $8 bln deal to export US LNG
By Edward McAllister, Reuters, October 26, 2011
- Cheniere to supply 3.5 mln tonnes a year to BG
- Deal will run for 20 years
- BG will ship LNG to markets across the globe
B.C. agency probes possible link between gas 'fracking' and earthquakes
By Gordon Hoekstra, Postmedia News, September 29, 2011
VANCOUVER — B.C.'s energy regulator says it will investigate a link between hydraulic fracturing and new earthquake activity in the extreme northeastern corner of B.C.
Another Major Water Pipeline Approved Without Promised Public Consultation
News Release, MLAs Vicky Huntington & Bob Simpson, October 6th 2011
This week it was revealed that the BC government has approved yet another major water licence, despite an explicit promise to consult with the public before doing so. This second licence will allow upward of 7.3 billion litres of water per year to be removed annually from the Williston Reservoir.
Enbridge to buy Encana’s 52% stake in Horn River Basin gas plant
By Reuters, Calgary Herald, October 7, 2011
Enbridge to invest up to $900 million in Cabin gas plant
Enbridge Inc. said it would buy a majority stake in the Cabin gas plant in British Columbia’s Horn River Basin from Encana Corp. and some other sellers for $250 million Cdn, as it looks to strengthen its Canadian midstream business.
