Hydraulic Fracturing

North Dakota oil workers live in spartan 'man camps'

Becky Kramer profiles oil workers in North Dakota who live in housing that allows them to focus on work: “The man camp really simplifies your life,” said Clay Ness, 49, of Billings, who lived in an apartment before he moved …

Chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing must be released: U.S. Department of the Interior

Hydraulic fracturing companies must publicly disclose the chemicals they use, according to new regulations announced by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Five billion dollar loss expected at BHP Billiton after shale gas misplays

Sunday Times (paywall) reports that collapsing natural gas prices will probably cost mining giant BHP Billiton upwards of $5 billion in writedowns.

Gold can now protect us from both economic and environmental collapse

While gold's primary use these days is a hedge against Europe going belly up or paper currency becoming debased, researchers at MIT found that a little gold added to copper can also act as a strong catalyst and convert carbon dioxide into methane or methanol.

'Promised Land': Matt Damon's fracking film to highlight controversial drilling process

Environmentalists are giddy over the news that Matt Damon is starring in an anti-fracking film.

King coal faces a usurper and an accomplice

While the U.S. gets most of its electricity from coal, the EPA has enacted restrictions that are starting to sunset industry.

Don't drop anything down the hole: Q&A with a roughneck

A roughneck can net $7,000 a month in northern Alberta, just don't drop anything down the hole.

The upside to a natural gas downturn

The energy market is a complex beast, its many parts interconnected through a multitude of linkages.

Lots of oil, lots of work but no women

Business Insider profiles Williston, North Dakota, a town that is booming due to the North American oil rush, but suddenly the town finds that it has very few women due to an inflow of men rushing in to fill heavy industrial jobs.

Fracking "probable cause" of Ohio earthquakes in 2011

Several small earthquakes that affected the northwest region of the United States during 2011 were probably caused by hydraulic fracturing or "fracking,” concludes the latest report by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), which regulates the oil and gas industry in the country.

Even with zero experience there's a place you can instantly find a job paying $120,000

Fracking risks overstated, say U of Texas researchers

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin say the controversial practice of "hydraulic fracturing," or "fracking", may not be to blame for environmental problems such as water contamination.

Fracking explained negatively

In an escalating media war, the makers of the movie Gasland put together a good looking infographic to get out their message that hydraulic fracturing is bad.

A how-to video on hydraulic fracturing

EnergyfromShale released a good, basic video showing how hydraulic fracturing is carried out.

Daiichi Chuo targets boom in coal export from US

Bloomberg reported that Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha, a Tokyo-based shipping line, is targeting a boom in coal exports from the US as the development of shale gas reserves in the world's biggest economy frees up the fuel for sales overseas.

Live blogging from VRIC Day Two: Turning rocks into money and fun uranium facts

The three presentations I attended provided some good advice for investors looking to invest in gold and uranium companies.

Don't frack me up

To many walking the planet, fracking has a seriously bad reputation. Thanks to hyperbole and misinformation, fracking opponents have convinced a lot of people that the operators who drill and then hydraulically fracture underground rock layers thumb their noses at and even hate the environment.

Drill baby drill! The last time US mining jobs were added this fast Reagan had just taken office

US Labor Department figures released on Wednesday show the country's mining sector added more jobs in 2011 than at any other period since the early 1980s.

Finding growth in a flat energy market: Tim Murray

Clean balance sheets, cash flow visibility and trading liquidity in oily stocks are the cornerstones of investment success in junior E&Ps, according to Oil and Gas Analyst Tim Murray of Desjardins Securities.

Scientists worry about a greenhouse feedback loop as the permafrost warms up

Given that the earth's temperature is rising, sciencetists are investigating if gases trapped in the permafrost are going to be released and what effect it will this have on the climate.

Greenhouse gases released from coal or hydraulic fracturing: researchers tussle over which is greater

A Pennsylvania research group has challenged the findings from Cornell University, which found that the carbon footprint of natural gas derived from shale is greater than the production of coal.

Older, dirtier coal plants about to take their last bow

In a ruling that will be felt most heavily by older coal-burning power plants, the United States Environmetal Protection Agency announced new regulations last week to limit emissions of toxic air pollutants like mercury, arsenic and metals.

Canadian regulator approves Enbridge's $180 million Bakken pipeline

Canada's energy and pipeline regulator has approved an application by Enbridge to build a $180 million pipeline to move oil out of the pipeline-constrained Bakken oil play.

EPA now unsure of link between between water contamination and hydraulic fracturing

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, who was appointed by Obama in 2008, says that the Pavillion study in Wyoming that found water contamination from hydraulic fracturing may need another look.

Putin's plan for world dominance: oppose hydraulic fracturing

At a news conference in early November, Overheard reports that Vladimir Putin became quite critical of hydraulic fracturing claiming that the practice causes too much damage to the environment.