Barnett Shale Energy Education Council
Throughout the United States, especially in communities with existing or potential oil-and-gas development, outside groups have moved in with a vengeance and agitated the population—resulting in bans against all exploration for hydrocarbons and/or the use of hydraulic fracturing. Expensive lawsuits have been filed and courts have repeatedly declared such bans as “unconstitutional.” The newest domino to fall is in Texas where Governor Greg Abbott, on May 18, signed House Bill 40 (HB40)—also known as the Denton Fracking Bill—which clarifies that an “oil and gas operation is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state.
Read MoreA battery of air tests during the simultaneous hydraulic fracturing of 5 Barnett Shale natural gas wells and the subsequent initial flowback period is one of the largest scale air testing projects of its kind. Modern Geosciences, a respected environmental testing firm that has been doing quarterly and monthly air testing for the Town of Flower Mound for 6 years, conducted the project. The air studies in Mansfield were requested by the operator of the wells, Beacon E&P, a Colorado-based company that has offices in Fort Worth and operations in the Barnett Shale region in North Texas.
Read MoreIn recent years, North Texas has experienced an apparent increase of earthquakes – all low in magnitude – and scientists have been quick to blame underground wastewater injection activity as being responsible. However, Energy in Depth recently reported that the wastewater injection wells in North Texas are rarely the cause of earthquakes in the area – that even though there are thousands of injection wells throughout the Barnett Shale region, academics and U.S. Geological Survey researchers believe fewer than two-dozen could be sources of felt seismicity.
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