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Transocean to pay record $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines and penalties for role in Deepwater Horizon disaster

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the owner of the drilling rig Deepwater Horion, agreed to plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) and to pay a total of $1.4 and related entities were filed in US District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana. and related entities were filed in US District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Louisiana 218
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UT Austin study finds no direct connection of hydraulic fracturing to reports of groundwater contamination

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The research team examined evidence contained in reports of groundwater contamination attributed to hydraulic fracturing in three prominent shale plays: the Barnett Shale in North Texas; the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, New York and portions of Appalachia; and the Haynesville Shale in western Louisiana and northeast Texas.

Austin 199
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Early results from Univ. of Texas hydraulic fracturing study show no direct link to groundwater contamination; contamination problems appear related to other aspects of drilling ops

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Hydraulic fracturing involves the high-pressure injection of water, sand and chemicals into a shale seam, which causes the rock to shatter, releasing natural gas. Researchers also would identify and document activities unrelated to shale gas development that have resulted in water contamination. —Charles Groat.

Texas 240
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Explosion and Fire on GOM Deepwater Drilling Rig

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central time in the United States Gulf of Mexico (GOM); the rig was located approximately 41 miles offshore Louisiana on Mississippi Canyon block 252. A Coast Guard MH-65C dolphin rescue helicopter and crew document the fire aboard the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon, while searching for survivors 21 April 2010.

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NRC report concludes hydraulic fracturing poses low risk for causing earthquakes, but risks are higher for wastewater injection wells; CCS impact undetermined

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Schematic diagram of a shale gas well following hydraulic fracture treatment, with the relative depths of local water wells shown for scale. Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) extracts natural gas by injecting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals in short bursts at high pressure into deep underground wells.

Oil-Sands 250
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Perspective: The UN Approval Process for Carbon Offsets

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Moreover, developers must show that the project would make no economic sense without CDM funds and that documentation exists to demonstrate that these factors were considered by the company’s board of directors in their decision to pursue CDM financing. On-site blending pumps, in lieu of splash blending, are used for this test.

Carbon 255
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Perspective: Regional Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Programs May be the Solution

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The WCI released a design document laying out its basic program parameters in September 2008. Field-to-Pump” maximizes rural development and job creation while minimizing feedstock supply risk, the burden on local water supplies, and the amount of energy necessary to process sugar into fuel ethanol. WCI covers seven U.S.

Gas 244