Youngstown earthquakes raise issues on oilfield wastes from shale exploration

Out-of-state oilfield fluid waste accounts for nearly 2 million barrels a quarter, which was roughly 57 percent of the total waste dumped into the ground during the third quarter of 2010, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/01/earthquake_raises_issues_on_oi.html

New York Fracking Advocates Say Local Bans Are ‘Kiss of Death’

New York, the third-most-populous state, may become the only one that allows municipalities to ban fracking, West said. So far, 20 towns have done so, said Karen Edelstein, a geographic information-systems consultant in Ithaca.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-17/new-york-fracking-advocates-say-local-bans-are-kiss-of-death-.html

Study on fracking health risks reinforces call for moratorium

In one heard of cows, 60 head were exposed to fracking chemicals in their drinking water. Of those, 21 died and 16 did not reproduce. The remaining 36 cows that were not exposed to the chemicals had no changes in health or reproduction.

http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-35813-study-on-fracking-health-risks-reinforces-call-for-moratorium.html

House hearing at YSU disappoints Rep. Hagan

State Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th, expressed disappointment Tuesday with a House Agriculture and Natural Resources subcommittee hearing in his district.

“The events that unfolded at [Youngstown State University] this morning lacked any substantive analysis or investigation into injection wells and recent earthquakes in Youngstown,” Hagan said in a statement.
“Instead, the hearing amounted to little more than the continuation of the oil and gas industry’s public relations campaign. Instead of thoughtful answers to probing questions, industry representatives were all too eager in seeking greater latitude for their industry to ‘do what they think is right.’

“Well, I remain unconvinced that the community’s questions are being taken seriously. ODNR still has answers to provide regarding seismic activity and injection wells all over the state, including communities like Marietta and Youngstown. It is almost shameful how brazen the industry is in pushing their agenda over public safety.”

http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/jan/17/house-hearing-at-ysu-disappoints-rep-hag/?nw

Fracking Companies Tap Military Psy Ops and Counterinsurgency Handbook to Make You Like Them

During a forum called “Designing a Media Relations Strategy To Overcome Concerns Surrounding Hydraulic Fracturing,” the communications director with Texas-based Range Resources, Matt Pitzarella, told the crowd his company had hired former military psy ops officers to further their cause in Pennsylvania, where the company has focused most of its fracking attention on the Marcellus shale deposits curving through the state's mid-section.

We have several former psy ops folks that work for us at Range because they’re very comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments. Really all they do is spend most of their time helping folks develop local ordinances and things like that. But very much having that understanding of psy ops in the Army and in the Middle East has applied very helpfully here for us in Pennsylvania.

If all Range is paying former psy ops folks for is working on local ordinances, they're not getting the right bang for their buck. Psy ops — shorthand for psychological operations — is a select section of the military specializing in mind games; one U.S. Army officer who led a team defined the practice toRolling Stone's Michael Hastings in a February 2011 article as follows: "My job in psy-ops is to play with people’s heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave.”

Hastings' article goes on to state that it's actually illegal for active military personnel to practice the tactics on American citizens.

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Pennsylvania DEP fines Talisman for gas well-control incident

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection fined Talisman Energy USA Inc. $51,478 for a January 2011 gas well-control incident during hydraulic fracturing in Ward Township, Tioga County.

“Equipment failure during fracing on Jan. 17 caused about 21,000 gal of hydraulic fracturing fluid and sand to be released for about 3 hr,” DEP North-central Regional Director Nels Taber said.

Fluid discharged from the wellhead under high pressure. Vacuum trucks recovered the fluid on the well pad. No streams, wetlands, or private drinking water wells were touched by the spill.

Regulators said the incident was caused by a needle valve that had failed and could not be shut off. To regain control of the well, the hydraulic valve above the master valve was remotely closed. Fluid was allowed to flow back through the production test separator. A new pipe connector called a hammer union was also installed and closed.

Recommend Total signs Utica shale JV with Chesapeake

Total E&P USA Inc. signed a joint venture agreement with Chesapeake Exploration LLC and affiliates of EnterVest Ltd. in which Total acquires a stake in the Utica shale in Ohio.

Terms call for Total to obtain a 25% share in the transaction signed Dec. 30 and effective as of Nov. 1, 2011. Total paid Chesapeake and EnerVest $700 million in cash.

In addition, Total agreed to pay up to $1.63 billion during 7 years in the form of a 60% carry of Chesapeake and EnerVest’s future drilling and completion expenditures.

http://www.ogj.com/articles/2012/01/total-signs-utica-shale-jv-with-chesapeake.html