State officials say drilling not releasing
harmful chemicals in Fort Worth

State officials say preliminary tests show no evidence that drilling is releasing hazardous chemicals in Fort Worth. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) did three days of sampling at 126 well sites in the city last month; read more about it in the Star-Telegram and the Wall Street Journal.

Clearing the air on the Barnett Shale

By Ed Ireland
First published in Star-Telegram, 2/2/2010

In the 29 years since the first well was drilled in the Barnett Shale, the natural gas industry has taken steps to ensure that it is a good neighbor. Paramount among those efforts is to operate in a safe, clean and environmentally friendly manner.

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Facts About Benzene

What is benzene?
Benzene is an organic chemical compound widely used in the United States. It ranks in the top 20 chemicals for production volume, and is used to make some types of lubricants, dyes, detergents and pesticides. Volcanoes and forest fires are natural sources of benzene.

Low levels of benzene can usually be found outdoors from tobacco smoke, gas stations, and motor vehicle exhaust. Indoor air usually contains higher levels of benzene from glues, paints, furniture wax and detergents. You can learn more about benzene on the Centers for Disease Control website.

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National energy policy must include natural gas

By Ed Ireland, Ph.D.

Huge supplies of natural gas exist in the Barnett Shale and other shale plays around the United States, and we know how to tap it. So it is surprising that, to date, national policy legislation is not encouraging its production.

Instead, proposed energy policies seem to be aimed at reducing our domestic supply of natural gas and oil by imposing new taxes and regulations. One proposal would eliminate the expensing of "intangible drilling costs," an important tax incentive for the oil and gas industry.

» Read EnergyCurrent Article


Bill promoting natural gas vehicles goes to the Senate Committee on Finance

Senators Robert Menéndez, Orrin Hatch and two other sponsors unveiled a bill July 8 designed to jump-start the production of natural gas vehicles. The bill has since been referred to the Committee on Finance.

Senate Bill 1408, otherwise known as the NAT GAS Act, would boost natural-gas-fueled vehicles through significant tax incentives and grants, including allowing new natural gas vehicle manufacturing plants to write off 100 percent of the costs to build the plant.

Given its bipartisan support, the legislation will most likely pass. This will be good news on several fronts. The measure will ultimately improve our air quality because natural gas vehicles emit fewer pollutants and run on an energy source that is in abundant supply here in the U.S. Moreover, it will boost demand for natural gas, and this will be good for the economy, starting right here in the Barnett Shale.

» Read the Legislation