American Petroleum Institute's Take on Hard Rock Gas Production

ByRod Adams

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is a trade association that represents the interests of more than 400 diverse entities involved in the exploration, extraction, distribution, and sales of oil and gas. The API has recently begun publishing a blog called Energy Tomorrow with a stated goal of encouraging a productive debate on energy issues.

On June 4, 2009, Jane Van Ryan, one of the two primary authors for the site, published an informative post on shale gas extraction titled Hard Rock Gas. The post includes a short video that clearly describes the process of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling and provides a pictorial explanation of industry standard terms (aka jargon) as “perfing” and “fracking”.

I encourage you to go and read the post and watch the video. After I followed my own advice, I posted the following comment:

Jane:

Thank you for the post and the explanatory video. Both provided thought provoking information about hydraulic fracturing.

One thing that I do not quite understand, however, is the notion that this well established technique should not be subjected to a consistent, federal regulation regime instead of a fragmented approach by 50 different states with varying levels of experience in understanding the technique.

I visited the web site of the Ground Water Protection Council and found a listing of the states involved in Underground Injection Control. (http://www.gwpc.org/uic/uic.htm)

That list indicates that there are some missing members that are the home of new exploration areas – states like New York and Pennsylvania are not listed.

That seems to indicate that the regulators in those states are ill equipped to monitor the industry and are at risk of environmental damage by the less competent or careful drillers. State regulation might be adequate in experienced states like Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas or Louisiana, but how does a state that has not had much drilling activity develop the expertise required?

Wouldn’t it be beneficial for the industry to have a consistent, competent regulator that could help prevent damage from operators that do not take all of the precautions for environmental protection described in your video.

Rod Adams
Publisher, Atomic Insights
Host and producer, The Atomic Show Podcast

Rod Adams
Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

Similar Posts

  • Four companies in bidding for Westinghouse

    ByRod Adams

    Four companies, two with headquarters in the United States – General Electric and Shaw Group – and two with their headquarters in Japan – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toshiba – are viewed as the front runners in the growing bidding war for Westinghouse. Westinghouse is a wholly owned subsidiary of BNFL, an integrated nuclear plant…

  • Scots discuss energy and independence

    ByRod Adams

    The Scottish National Party (SNP) leader, Alex Salmond, has made it clear that his party does not support the idea of building any new nuclear power stations in Scotland. British Energy has stated that this position, along with some physical and economic considerations, makes it unlikely that there will be any new projects initiated as…

  • More details about Fresno Nuclear Group LTD

    ByRod Adams

    One of the things that I love about the Internet is the ability to find articles from local newspapers about topics that get little attention in the national media. Those local sources often provide layers of details and information about the people involved in the activity that are key to a full understanding of what…

  • Atomic Show Number 19 – Canada's nuclear power prospects

    ByRod Adams

    On episode 19 of The Atomic Show, Shane Brown and I chat about the prospects for new nuclear power plants in Canada, the choices that Ontario will be making for new nuclear power plants, and the possibility that CANDU reactors might be good choices for providing the steam and hydrogen needed to produce useful products…

  • Another Green Converts to Nuclear – Mark Lynas Now Accused of Heresy

    ByRod Adams

    A friend sent me a link to a well-written expose of the treatment given to a card carrying UK Green Party member after his “Damascene conversion” from an opposer to a supporter of nuclear power. As he says, …the Green case against nuclear power is based largely on myth and dogma. My tipping point came…