The Daily Digger

A few months after earthquakes shook the ground in the Youngstown area, the aftershocks are rumbling through the oil and gas industry in the form of stricter regulations on injection wells from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. As reported by many sources in our area and everywhere else, including The Globe and Mail and The Canton Repository , the DNR announced on Friday their conclusions in investigations of the earthquakes that occurred last year. "Specifically, evidence gathered by state officials suggests fluid from the Northstar 1 disposal well intersected an unmapped fault in a near-failure state of stress, causing movement along that fault," the DNR report states.  More after the jump...

New jobs keep pouring into the state from the shale exploration, and next week will bring more opportunities for those looking to find employment. According to an article on businessjournaldaily.com, a Swiss oilfield services company, Weatherford International, will hold a job fair at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center on Tuesday, March 13 and Wednesday, March 14.  The company is looking to recruit employees to work at a regional hub it is establishing in the area.  More after the jump...

Just how much drilling activity is going on in Carroll County?  The numbers indicate that there is nearly three times more Utica Shale drilling in the works there than anywhere else in Ohio. A recent post from the Utica Shale section of shale.typepad.com gives the full listing of Utica Shale drilling permits by county.  Carroll tops that list, with 49 drilling permits.  Columbiana is next with 18, then Jefferson with 17. The full list is after the jump:

In December the Environmental Protection Agency released a report which concluded that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was linked to contamination in wells that they had tested near Pavillion, Wyoming. Four months later, they are going back for more .  In a joint statement from EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, Gov. Matt Mead and the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes, it was announced that "[t]he EPA, the State of Wyoming, and the Tribes recognize that further sampling of the deep monitoring wells drilled for the Agency's groundwater study is important to clarify questions about the initial monitoring results."  More after the jump...

While the number of jobs that will be created in Ohio by the shale boom is being disputed by multiple studies, there can be no question that there have already been many jobs created for area residents. An article at vindy.com outlines the jobs that have already been created or will soon become available in the Youngstown area.  The reality of what has already happened is definitely a source of excitement for the area.  To date, local or locally based businesses have created or will soon create over 1,400 jobs in the Valley.  Nearly one-third have been created by Vallourec, owners of V&M Star and VAM LLC.   More after the jump...

With the shale boom and the associated economic impact there are plenty of people looking for jobs who need to connect with the many companies looking to hire employees.  The Daily Digger wants to help those two groups reach one another. If you are looking for work, just go to the "Offer Your Services" board on The Daily Digger Forum.  Register for free and post a description of your services. Any business looking to fill a job position can contact us to post an ad at a very low cost.  Just call 330-576-4809 Ext. 115 or email rmagee@cityscapesartwork.com. Click here or on the "Visit Our Forum" button to get connected! Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

Cartoon by Mike Keefe (The Denver Post) How dangerous is the mixture of chemicals and other substances that is used in fracking water?  People have been crying out for companies to disclose the complete makeup of fracking fluid for years, and the industry has complied...to a point.  While many chemicals have been revealed, some information is held back as some sort of trade secret.  However, the level of transparency granted is enough to give some idea of just why so many people are so concerned about fracking water finding its way into their drinking water. ProPublica posted a great article that gives a very easy look at what we know is in fracking water.  Some who have only read articles about fracking and never actually had the names and effects of some of the chemicals used in the process may be shocked to find out just what is being pumped into the shale.  More after the jump...