Ohio Communities Try to Balance Economy and Environment In Face of Shale Development

By -
From Columbus Biz Insider:
Eastern Ohio businessman Mike Sliva is hoping a balance can be struck between the economic benefits of the state’s shale gas boom and environmental issues raised by critics of the drilling process used to force oil and natural gas out of the ground. 
I heard Sliva make that point Wednesday at a shale gas forum sponsored by the Columbus Metropolitan Club. He is branch manager for PNC Bank in Cadiz, a little town in the center of the Utica shale play. He also is president of the Cadiz Community Improvement Corp. in Harrison County, which sits up in the hills about 25 miles west of Steubenville and the Ohio River. 
“We need jobs greatly,” Sliva said, “but we’re not going to sacrifice the environment at the same time.” 
But he doesn’t want to put the brakes on shale gas development like many environmentalists do. 
“Our concerns are we need to do it right,” Sliva said, “but we’re moving forward. We don’t want to slow the industry. We need an open dialogue and to solve these issues.” 
He was part of a discussion on environmental issues involved in horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the Utica shale play. Keith Dimoff, executive director of the Ohio Environmental Council, took up the side of environmentalists, saying oil and gas wells are being drilled in eastern Ohio even though the state is playing catch-up to ensure fracking doesn’t damage the land, air quality and groundwater. 
“There are real environmental and health risks to citizens of Ohio,” Dimoff said. “We need to take a step back and ask if this is the right way to go.” 
But Sliva countered that Harrison County, once dependent on coal mining, needs the help that oil and gas development can deliver now after 25 to 30 years of hard economic times in the region.
Read the rest of the article here.

Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Popular posts from this blog

Fracktivist in Dimock Releases Carefully Edited Video, Refuses to Release the Rest

By -
Image
From Energy in Depth: There is something very strange going on along Carter Road, in Dimock, Pennsylvania, and I’m not speaking of natural gas, methane migration, contamination, litigation or even the extensive water testing there by the EPA and others.  No, I’m talking about a new “Watergate” conspiracy, complete with 18 minutes of missing tape (well, video, actually). It seems the ever-present Green Party member and  naturist   Vera Scroggins  (a/k/a  Vera Duerga ) has posted a video of Craig Sautner meeting with the EPA.  Mysteriously, the video is but 14 seconds in length, cutting off conversation in what is obviously mid-stream.  It raises a question Craig Sautner, like  Ronald Reagan in Kings Row , might have asked, “Where’s the rest of me?’  Carter Road, isn’t Kings Row, of course, (at least not until you arrive at  the mansion Scott Ely, one of the Dimock litigants, is building with his royalty money ), but there appears to be...
Read more

The Second Largest Oil and Gas Merger - Cabot and Cimarex

By -
Image
       Due to investor pressure, the U.S shale drillers are being pushed to improve financial and operational performance after a few years of poor returns. Even though the industry has improved its numbers, when compared to last year, investors still want more to be done for them to earn more money.      That's why two mid-tier shale drillers, Cabot and Climarex, have decided to merge in order to eliminate $100 million in annual costs, which means more money for the investors. This all-stock transaction is valued at about $7.4 billion, which is relatively high for the oil and gas sector.      The new entity will be renamed and the headquarters located in Houston, Texas. Cabot shareholders will own 49.5 percent of the new entity, and Climarex the rest.       The Cimarex-Cabot merger will address the investor's demand for a higher amount of returning cash. The initial plan is to pay a 50-cent-per-share special dividen...
Read more

Do You Know The History of Fracking?

By -
Image
  In 2018, 59% of total oil production in the U.S came from hydraulic fracking, which means it accounted for more than two-thirds of domestically manufactured gas. By 2024, fracking will reach an astounding $68 billion market value! Of course, fracking is not a new drilling method as you can trace it back hundreds of years. That's why we want to consider the history of hydraulic fracturing (fracking). We will be stating historical facts about it and focusing on the major historical occurrences that have influenced modern-day fracking. Pre-Fracking Days The idea of fracking started back in 1862 when Edward A.L. Roberts (Civil War veteran) witnessed Confederate soldiers exploding artillery rounds into a canal that obstructed a battlefield. At the time, Edward A.L. Roberts called it superincumbent fluid tamping. On April 26th, 1865, Edward A.L. Roberts began experimenting with exploding torpedoes, which consisted of lowering a torpedo containing an amount of powder from fifteen to tw...
Read more