Philip Lloyd, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Fracking presents a better alternative to coal mining. Finding a way to produce the gas economically is the first challenge to getting fracking underway.
Texas: leading the ‘Shale Revolution.’
Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters
Derailed train cars carrying oil have more communities concerned about spills. What’s behind the oil-by-rail boom and a federal agency’s ‘urgent’ call last week for better safety?
Pennsylvania has added thousands of new gas wells over the past decade.
Les Stone/Reuters
Plaid looks left as energy manifesto fuels talk of a Green-SNP alliance.
The debate around coal seam gas exploration is highly politically charged, so it’s important to have an accurate picture of what exactly is proposed.
Dean Lewins/AAP
Is Christian Democratic Party leader Fred Nile correct when he says that 53% of Australia’s landmass is under current exploration licence for unconventional mining?
Mission accomplished? Protesters outside the European parliament in Brussels.
Greensefa
As tensions run high over Russia’s gas supplies to the Ukraine, and by extension parts of Europe, the reality for the EU is less than perfect: it will need Russian gas for the foreseeable future.
Is fracked gas greener than imported oil?
Gareth Fuller/PA
MPs in the UK recently voted against a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing but Lancashire, the local county council under most pressure, agreed it needed more time to make a decision. MPs also agreed that…
Have fracking opponents over-estimated Cameron’s enthusiasm for fracking?
Jeff J Mitchell
David Cameron might have been forced into accepting several restrictions on fracking to avoid a Commons defeat, but one thing that has never appeared in doubt is the Conservative party leadership’s commitment…
A natural gas well in Bradford County, PA.
Reuters
In a surprise decision that led to consternation in the oil and gas industry and elation among fracking opponents, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in December banned fracking in the state. He attributed…
The debate over fracking in New York state was especially polarized.
Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Drilling in the Marcellus Shale, and in other unconventional oil and gas formations across the US, has led to a boom in domestic natural gas and oil production -– largely due to advances in high volume…
Oil prices have dropped to levels not seen in years. It’s not all good news.
Reuters
The recent drop in crude oil and gasoline prices in the United States is a nice stocking stuffer for consumers this holiday season, but it could turn into a lump of coal. A global oil glut has caused the…
Coal seam gas is only one issue for managing one of Australia’s most important geological resources.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
Sara Bice, The University of Melbourne; Mike Sandiford, The University of Melbourne e Will Howard, The University of Melbourne
In a recent article on The Conversation, Queensland coal seam gas (CSG) researchers argued that the industry is progressing faster than the science, leading to concerns over fugitive emissions and impacts…
Aerial image of gas fields in the Darling Downs. Can science keep up with coal seam gas expansion?
Google Earth
One of the key questions about the coal seam gas (CSG) industry, which is now being developed at breakneck speed across Australia, is how much methane is released as “fugitive” emissions. Three weeks ago…
Downgrades to shale gas estimates are hardly surprising.
Calin Tatu
The recent confidence in shale gas was likely premature, according to several new reports published in the US. In particular a study from the University of Texas claims the US boom will tail off by 2020…
Tensions ran high in Balcombe last summer.
EPA/ Facundo Arrizabalaga
Damien Short, School of Advanced Study, University of London e Jessica Elliot, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Although only a small area of land has been offered to companies exploring the potential for fracking in the UK so far, much more is likely to come. But opposition to fracking is growing – and growing…