Posts under ‘Fracking’

by Bruce Fisher Anti-frackers have reason to despair. The New York Times recently editorialized that hydraulic fracturing of deep strata to release their hydrocarbons is “safe.” President Barack Obama looks upon the massive exploitation of shale-trapped fossil fuels as a major national opportunity. And now a new report from a Harvard-based researcher finds that hydraulic [...]

Courthouse News Service Landowner Can Sue Shell Over Fracking Hazards Thursday, May 3, 2012 WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (CN) – Shell Energy cannot dismiss claims that the controversial fracking technique to extract natural gas is an “ultra hazardous activity,” a federal judge ruled. The claim stems from a lawsuit Edward Kamuck filed against Shell Energy Holdings GP [...]

Western Cape, South Africa (CNN) — South Africa has an energy deficit on its hands. Too many people want fuel for their cars and electricity for their homes, and the country is struggling to keep up with demand. To help ease this perceived crisis the big companies want to start drilling for natural gas using [...]

I caught up with Peter Voser, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, this week at the IHS Cera annual energy conference in Houston, and he gave me an earful… March 9, 2012, 4:00 pm For a Shell Executive, Much Head-Scratching By CLIFFORD KRAUSS Europe is generally considered greener than the United States, but its [...]

Shell, which by energy output is now approaching 60% gas, has already backtracked and downsized its shale gas and oil programs… By: Andrew_McKillop Mar 09, 2012 – 09:51 AM Exxon, which by energy output is now 49% gas,  failed in its first two efforts to crack gas-rich shale fields in Poland… Shell, which by energy [...]

By Andres R. Martinez – Mar 3, 2012 12:57 PM GMT A study commissioned by Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) about the potential of shale gas in South Africa doesn’t consider the risks related to developing the deposits, according to an environmental group. “The findings are lacking in balance to the extent that one must [...]

A proposal to tap the world’s largest oil-shale deposits in the western U.S. by heating rocks until petroleum sweats out has become the latest election-year conflict over energy policy.

The Times: 3 February 2012 Tim Webb Energy Editor Ambitious plans to boost growth will cost too much and knock Shell off its top spot, the City warned yesterday. Unveiling disappointing results, the Anglo-Dutch oil group further unnerved investors when it said it planned to spend even more heavily on new oil and gas projects. [...]

Tom Bawden: Friday 03 February 2012 Shell’s chief executive, Peter Voser, called on Europe for a less “emotional” response to fracking, as he outlined plans to accelerate the oil giant’s use of the controversial technology used to release hydrocarbons from rocks. Mr Voser said Shell would invest $6bn (£3.8bn) to appraise, explore and develop gas [...]

Terry Macalister guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 February 2012 17.44 GMT Shell has been accused of “moral bankruptcy” by unions after unveiling a 54% rise in full-year profits less than a month after shutting its final salary pension scheme to new employees in Britain. The oil company reported global annual earnings of $28.6bn (£18bn) – more than [...]

Ohio Officials Putting In Place Earthquake Preparedness Plans January 4, 2012 5:11 PM PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — There were 11 earthquakes in eastern Ohio in 2011. Most of them were not very powerful and caused little damage, but some people are asking about emergency plans if a major quake hits the area. The new phenomenon of [...]

In July, the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa, an independent agency that sets guidelines for media companies, ruled that several of Shell’s advertised claims — including one that said fracking had never led to groundwater contamination — were misleading or unsubstantiated and should be withdrawn. Chris Hayward, a South African farmer, says, “If our [...]

Private company Cuadrilla Resources has admitted that its activities probably caused two “seismic events” that occured in Blackpool earlier this year. By Garry White 12:36PM GMT 02 Nov 2011 In April, a tremor measuring 2.3 on the Richter scale was felt in the Lancashire seaside resort, followed by an event in May that measured 1.5 [...]

By HENRY FOUNTAIN A version of this article appeared in print on December 13, 2011, on page D1 of the New York edition YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Until this year, this Rust Belt city and surrounding Mahoning County had been about as dead, seismically, as a place can be, without even a hint of an earthquake [...]

By Pierre Bertrand | December 12, 2011 5:47 PM EST China‘s natural gas industry is still developing, but already it is showing signs that worry some players in the U.S. Last week, Royal Dutch Shell and Chinese officials announced the company found shale gas in two wells in the Shichuan province, and that production was [...]