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Pitt engineers using membrane distillation to recycle water used in fracking and drilling

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Engineers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering are using membrane distillation technology to enable drillers to filter and reuse the produced water in the oil and gas industry, in agriculture, and other beneficial uses. The method is already being tested in Texas, North Dakota, and most recently in New Stanton, Pa.

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Blackstone and Alta Resources partner to invest up to $1B to acquire and develop unconventional oil & gas assets in North America

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Alta Resources, LLC and Blackstone Capital Partners, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group have formed Alta Energy Partners which will invest up to $1 billion to acquire and develop unconventional oil and gas assets in North America. Founded in 1999 by Joseph G.

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USGS’ first assessment of shale gas resources in the Utica Shale: 38 trillion cubic feet

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The Utica Shale has a mean of 940 million barrels of unconventional oil resources and a mean of 208 million barrels of unconventional natural gas liquids. The Utica Shale assessment covered areas in Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Click to enlarge. Kirschbaum, M.A., Schenk, C.J., Ryder, R.T.,

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DOE awards $19M to 13 initiatives in fossil-fuel areas to produce rare earth elements and critical minerals

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San Juan River-Raton-Black Mesa Basin (Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico): New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology plans to determine the rare earth elements and critical minerals resource potential in coal and related stratigraphic units in the San Juan and Raton basins in New Mexico. DOE Funding: $1,499,999. DOE Funding: $1,483,787.

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American Refining Group taking 1/3 stake in Amyris/Cosan Novvi JV; accelerating commercialization of renewable base oil and lubricants

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formed in 2011 to produce renewable base oils and lubricants from Amyris’ Biofene—Amyris’s brand of a renewable, long-chain, branched hydrocarbon molecule called farnesene (trans-ß-farnesene). Base oils, currently derived from the crude oil refining process, are the building blocks of lubricating oils. Earlier post.)

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DOE launches $20M University Coalition for Fossil Energy Research at Penn State

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The Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has selected Pennsylvania State University as the lead institution to establish the University Coalition for Fossil Energy Research.

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Exxon Mobil Acquiring XTO Energy in $41B Deal; Enhances US Position in Unconventional Natural Gas and Oil

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The agreement, which is subject to XTO stockholder approval and regulatory clearance, will enhance ExxonMobil’s position in the development of unconventional natural gas and oil resources. XTO’s resource base is the equivalent of 45 trillion cubic feet of gas and includes shale gas, tight gas, coal bed methane and shale oil.

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