There could be up to 100 billion barrels of oil onshore beneath the South of England, says exploration firm UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG).
Last year, the firm drilled a well at Horse Hill, near Gatwick airport, and analysis … Read the rest
Tag: fracking
Ukrainian army leaves fracking equipment behind
On the outskirts of the village of Shishkovo under the snow and rain rusts the expensive equipment: four residential trailers for employees, diesel substation and equipment for conducting seismic surveys. Judging by the labels this equipment was certified in the … Read the rest
Fracking, climate change, solar in the security mix
The global oil market is going through an upheaval, with non-OPEC production led by North American producers surging while OPEC’s traditional price-setting role changes. First, US oil production and proven oil reserve growth over the past several years is astonishing. … Read the rest
Texans ban fracking in its birthplace
Voters approved a ban on hydraulic fracturing in the north Texas town of Denton on Tuesday, making it the first city in the Lone Star State to outlaw the oil and gas extraction technique behind the U.S. energy boom.
The … Read the rest
Shell pushes SA for shale
Royal Dutch Shell pushed SA on Wednesday to decide on its application, now nearly four years old, to explore for shale gas in the Karoo, a pristine semi-desert that may contain some of the world’s largest reserves.
Shell’s application in … Read the rest
Washington takes on ISIS, Iran, Russia
It was heinous. It was underhanded. It was beyond the bounds of international morality. It was an attack on the American way of life. It was what you might expect from unscrupulous Arabs. It was “the oil weapon” — and … Read the rest
Blame the environmentalists
Here’s The Script, in four despicable acts:
Act 1. Fracking boom goes bust as production from shale gas and tight oil wells stalls out and lurches into decline.
Act 2. Oil and gas industry loudly blames anti-fracking environmentalists and restrictive … Read the rest
Fracking associated with human hormone disruption
Many chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can disrupt not only the human body’s reproductive hormones but also the glucocorticoid and thyroid hormone receptors, which are necessary to maintain good health, a new study finds. The results were presented … Read the rest
Fracking could cause cancer
Shale gas exploration, currently planned in the Karoo, won’t only negatively affect the environment and water resources in that region, but could pose significant health risks to surrounding communities, a Cape Town academic has warned.
These include cancer and the … Read the rest
Drill, Baby Drill!
America is poised to displace Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer with fracking. With that could come a hobbling of Opec and unforeseen shifts in US foreign policy.
So rapid has been the change in its energy fortunes … Read the rest
Sasol to challenge Shell on Karoo shale gas
South African petrochemicals group Sasol Ltd is keen to invest in a domestic shale industry once it gets off the ground, its chief executive said, in a potential challenge to oil major Royal Dutch Shell.
South Africa’s cabinet proposed new … Read the rest
Ukraine signs $10 billion fracking deal with Chevron
Ukraine signed a $10 billion shale gas production-sharing agreement with U.S. Chevron on Tuesday, another step in a drive for more energy independence from Russia.
The deal to develop its western Olesska field followed a similar shale gas agreement … Read the rest
Fracking sites show increase in infant birth defects
Although fracking already attracts controversy as an allegedly bio-hazardous industry, a new study takes it up a notch by showing that the practice can badly impact the health of unborn children.
Babies still in their mothers’ wombs living within a … Read the rest
Drought ravages US after fracking
Some of the most drought-ravaged areas of the US are also heavily targeted for oil and gas development using hydraulic fracturing – a practice that exacerbates water shortages – according to a new report.
Three-quarters of the nearly 40,000 oil … Read the rest