-A new study found that faulty well casings were to blame for contamination of drinking water near drilling operations in the Marcellus and Barnett shale plays. The researchers found no evidence that fracking itself caused contamination of eight water wells in Pennsylvania and Texas by methane and other hydrocarbons. Some gas was found to have leaked from gas-rich pockets located above the shale formations.
-Meanwhile, another study has identified a link between fracking wastewater injection and small earthquakes. Research shows there have been 16 earthquakes of 3.8 magnitude or greater in Colorado and New Mexico since 2001. The increase in earthquakes is limited to an area within 3.1 miles of wastewater injection wells. Similar results have been found in Ohio and Oklahoma.
-Houston-based Vanguard Natural Resources agreed to acquire 12,000 net acres in Colorado’s Piceance Basin from Bill Barrett Corp. for $525 million. The assets are currently producing 67 million cubic feet per day, with approximately 76% natural gas, 5% oil and 19% NGLs.
-Apache Corp. has hired Bank of Nova Scotia to help it sell as much as $840 million in oil and gas projects in Alberta. Via Bloomberg, the projects produce nearly 10,000 barrels of oil and natural gas. The Houston-based firm is under pressure from investors to focus on U.S. projects. It recently sold its interests in the Kitimat LNG project and another LNG export facility in Australia.
-The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers launched a new website to help inform military veterans and all other job seekers of opportunities in the fuel and petrochemical industries. The site provides information on career resources such as educational opportunities, scholarships, government initiatives, veterans programs and more.
