Ohio Anti-fracking activists address Muskingum Watershed district

[limpyhobbler]

Anti-drilling activists this morning urged the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District to halt all water sales to natural gas drillers and to stop leasing public land for drilling.

The request came from a national environmental group, Food & Water Watch, and a local grass-roots group, the Freshwater Accountability Project, at a protest and press conference at the Tuscarawas County Courthouse in New Philadelphia.

"This is an issue of public trust," said Alison Auciello of Food & Water Watch.

Later, about 25 activists attended the meeting of the district's governing board. About 15 of them addressed the board.
...

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/drilling/ohio-utica-shale-1.291290/anti-drilling-activists-today-address-muskingum-watershed-district-1.343375

Montage:

[GitRDun]

1. I participate in this industry

I participate in oil and gas drilling as a working interest owner.

I DO NOT participate in these massive frack shale wells.

Not only are there yet to be completely understood environmental risks which cannot be insured OR, more devastatingly CORRECTED, but they cost too damned much:

http://www.aapg.org/explorer/2011/04apr/shale0411.cfm

We are the problem, though. The government has assisted these large producers chase these controversial oil and gas fields by allowing them to book more reserves:

http://blogs.oilandgasinvestor.com/leslie/2008/07/01/sec-reserves-revamp-will-boost-unconventional-players/

The activist community needs to start fighting these fields on multiple levels, not just environmental risks.

[grntuscarora]

2. Are the changes in the SEC reporting rules

the reason for headlines like this recent HP article?

Marcellus reserves larger than expected
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121020/us-gas-drilling-marcellus-trends/

I didn't think there could suddenly, magically be more gas, but maybe the reporting changes in the articles you referenced are the explanation.

eta: Just noticed the dates on your links are 2008 and 2011, so they're not likely to explain the HP headline, I guess.

[GitRDun]

3. You can see in the second half of the article you posted

a discussion of the US downgrading Marcellus reserves.

Here is one of the original articles on the downgrades:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-23/u-s-reduces-marcellus-shale-gas-reserve-estimate-by-66-on-revised-data.html

The Huffpost article does not address the rapid decline rates head on. In fact, the source is "two independent financial firms", hahahahahaha maybe Bain and Blackstone. I'll take my chances on the EIA scientists over the finance folks, thanks.

Everyone I have ever talked to in the industry says that these shale plays only work financially from a drill and produce perspective in the "sweet spots", which are in limited areas. The rest of the plays are nothing more than various firms pounding out wells to fence in an area of reserves, then packaging them up using an all too aggressive formula to estimate those reserves, selling them to some poor sap at an inflated price and cashing out. Sound like an eventual bubble to you? And at what cost?

I don't invest in those kind of wells because they do not cash flow, e.g., make money ON TOP OF the environmental risks.

And another thing, this false comparison of gas' cleanliness compared to coal is just a mirage. All they are looking at is CO2, not methane. Check this out:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fracking-would-emit-methane

Let me say this, conventional drilling, with much smaller fracks is relatively safe. These large fracks could be made much safer, but that would mean more cost. The industry fights these changes, in my mind because the wells are already too costly.

This is just another public policy area that is full of talking points and misinformation. If we could agree on the facts, we could make some practical changes to improve on the environmental issues (which adds cost) and move on down the road. Instead the financial zealots fight every negative word with BS and propaganda to keep their profits high. Theocrats on the environmental side keep easy wins like ANWR and incremental safety improvements from happening.