A big story in a light news week…a study in the online edition of Earth and Planetary Science Letters suggests that removal of substantial volumes of oil from the Eagle Ford shale is driving increased seismic activity in the area. Other studies examining links between oil and gas production – specifically hydraulic fracturing – and… Keep reading →
Fracking-related earthquakes are back in the news, with a new study suggesting large overseas quakes triggered seismic activity in parts of the US where oil & gas drilling wastewater is disposed in deep injection wells. The findings, published in the Journal Science, are not limited to fracking, but appear to include any oil and gas… Keep reading →
The potential for underground injections to cause earthquakes was thought to be a problem for natural gas, but a new National Research Council study says the impacted sector will not be gas. It’s a problem for coal.
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), pulling carbon out of emissions from coal-burning and storing it deep underground, has been prominent in clean energy planning over the last decade as a way to keep taking advantage of coal resources to meet energy demand while tackling climate change. Keep reading →
In what may be the nation’s next boomtown, the ground is, literally, booming. Residents here in northeastern Ohio are receiving up to $5,000 an acre from energy companies that lease their land — plus monthly royalties. But they have also experienced at least 11 earthquakes since last March, state officials say. Scientists say the region’s quakes are likely tied to the burgeoning oil and gas industry. At 3:05 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, the people of Youngstown, Ohio, felt their homes shake. “I thought a jetliner crashed into the side of my house,” said resident Jim Bunosky. He was one of 300 to 400 local residents who attended a community meeting last week to discuss the quake’s origin, which some believe is linked to a local well used for wastewater disposal from oil and gas drilling.
