The Daily Digger

From the Washington Examiner: The oil and gas industry fears the Environmental Protection Agency may issue a new report that says fracking contaminates U.S. water supplies and is urging the agency to stick with the science of its original findings that shows no such risk exists.  The Independent Petroleum Association of America sent a letter Monday to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy pressing her not to give in to anti-fracking special interest groups that have been pressuring the agency to go against scientific precedent with a finding that fossil fuel production from shale poses systemic risks to the nation's water supply.  Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process used to extract oil and gas from shale rock formations deep underground. Known as the shale revolution, the production technique has made the U.S. a top global producer of oil and natural gas in a few short years. Read more by clicking here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @Ener...

From Columbus Business First: Energy companies are considering building up to three ethane cracker plants in Appalachia – one each in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  How likely is it that all – or even two – get built?  "I want one. I'm not greedy," said Shawn Bennett , executive vice president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association . "Do I think three will be built? No, there's not a chance. Two? Probably not. I do hope one does. I don't know which it's going to be … But I'll feel much better when I start seeing dirt turn on one of those projects."  Cracker plants take ethane found in some natural gas streams and "crack," or break down, the molecules. What comes from that is a common feedstock in many everyday plastic products. Click right here to read the whole article. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

From the Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio is on track to end 2015 with a record volume of drilling wastes going into the state’s injection wells.  Through nine months, Ohio’s 211 injection wells have taken in 20.0 million barrels of wastes, according to activist Teresa Mills of the Buckeye Forest Council who compiled the data from Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ records.  That’s enough to fill 1,275 Olympic-sized swimming pools, the forest group said.  That compares to 22.0 million barrels injected in all of 2014 and 16.3 million barrels for all of 2013.  Ohio has already accepted 9.7 million barrels of liquid wastes from Ohio drillers in 2015.  That compares to 10.7 million barrels in 2014 and 8.1 million barrels in 2013.  Ohio has also accepted 10.2 million barrels from out-of-state drillers, mostly in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Read the rest of the article by clicking here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @Energy...

From Forbes: It’s the continuation of a tradition at Hilcorp, owned by billionaire Jeffery Hildebrand . Five years ago, when Hilcorp achieved its goal of doubling its oil and gas production, Hildebrand gave every employee the choice of $35,000 cash or $50,000 towards a new car. This year, despite the downturn, Hilcorp doubled its output again, to more than 150,000 barrels per day. So Hildebrand doubled the bonus — to $100,000.  With about 1,400 employees, Hildebrand’s largesse will total more than $100 million (amounts are said to be prorated depending on how much of the past five years a worker was with the company).  Yes Hildebrand, 56, has been generous with his workers, but they have helped him make an incredible amount of money — $5.9 billion by FORBES’ latest count. (But we probably ought to knock that down to $5.8 billion after these bonuses.) His fortune has about trebled since the last big bonus in 2010.  It’s a wonderful way to inspire hard work and loya...

Gulfport Energy Fund Celebrates the Work of Schools and Nonprofits at Grantee Dinner Gulfport Energy President & CEO Mike Moore presents Cara Dingus Brook, president and CEO of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, with a $500,0000 gift to support the Gulfport Energy Fund and FAO’s work throughout the region.  Cambridge, OH – Those attending the Gulfport Energy Fund dinner last night were treated to stories of what grants from the Fund have made possible over the last year. Grantees spoke about the ability to provide vision screenings and to lead a school-age suicide prevention effort. Community members, elected and community officials, past grant recipients, and Gulfport Energy employees were all inspired by the stories and excited by Gulfport Energy’s CEO and President Mike Moore’s announcement of a half a million dollar gift to the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO). This new contribution will build upon Gulfport Energy’s existing partnership with FAO through the Gu...

From NGI: With a recent increase in interstate pipeline applications and an uptick in opposition, it will be a challenge for FERC to continue certificating those projects as quickly as it has in the past, said Commissioner Tony Clark.  Speaking at a breakfast roundtable hosted by ICF International in Washington, DC, Thursday, Clark said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been able to process about 92% of interstate pipeline applications within one year.  “I think it will be tough to keep that average up,” given the number of pending applications, the commissioner said. “You want to make sure that every one of those intervenors, every one of those cases is given the proper attention that it needs.”  Last week, Clark testified before the House Energy and Power Subcommittee on emerging issues in the development of new infrastructure amid a resource shift driven by cheap natural gas and stricter environmental regulations (see Daily GPI, Dec. 1 ). Clark told ...

After Clean Water Test, Ohio University Professor Pushes Debunked Activists Talking Points by Jackie Stewart, Energy in Depth Late last month, the Ohio University Voinovich School  reported  at a November 24 th  meeting with Athens county officials that water well testing results proved that there was no ground water contamination from injection wells, nor any signs of oil and gas influence. Despite these facts, five days later, Ohio University journalism professor, Dr. Bernhard Debatin, penned a  letter  to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) in protest of a proposed permit, citing that injection wells are “very likely to cause long-term harm to our community’s air, water, public health, and property values.” Debatin’s six page letter to ODNR includes a barrage of debunked activist talking points. Let’s take a look at some of the claims made by the professor, followed by the facts: Claim #1:  “Polluted fracking waste fluids may migra...