Month: April 2015

Maryland lawmakers gave final approval Friday to a more than two-year fracking ban, marking the legislature’s most aggressive move yet to curb the controversial natural gas extraction process.

The legislation forbids drilling any wells until October 2017, and also requires the state to enact regulations next year to monitor the practice.

The plan drew accolades from opponents of hydraulic fracturing. They hope it gives them more time to build a case against the practice. But fracking supporters praised the legislation as well, saying it sets a clear timetable for when drilling could begin.

Gov. Larry Hogan has not said if he will sign the bill, which passed both chambers by veto-proof margins. The governor has said he supports fracking as a way to bring jobs to economically depressed Western Maryland as long as the process can been done safely.

Environmentalists had backed another bill that would have imposed a three-year moratorium and called for further study of the health and environmental impacts of fracking, but lawmakers instead passed a compromise that grants a shorter moratorium and forgoes another study.

Read More Here:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-fracking-moratorium-20150410-story.html

The plunge in the price of oil has hit demand for frac sand in the US, just as many companies approach record output in the wake of the North American fracking boom. Meanwhile, fracking has come under renewed criticism in Maryland and California, while ONSOL Energy and Halliburton are seeking to improve the industry’s image with new low-emissions technology.

Low oil prices and reduced drilling in US shale exploration regions like North Dakota are pinching growth in the nation’s $4.2bn fracking grade silica sand (frac sand) industry, slashing demand and prices and forcing some frac sand producers to cut jobs.

According to a report by the Star Tribune, US sand mines, including 63 in Wisconsin and six in Minnesota, are projected to ship significantly less sand to oil drillers in 2015, compared with last year.

This pullback in deliveries comes at a time when producers including Fairmount Santrol, US Silica and Superior Silica Sands expect to set annual production records, having aggressively ramped up capacity in the last two years to meet demand from the North American fracking boom.

“This whole ripple effect has taken hold and it is going to continue,” Richard Shearer, CEO of Texas-based Superior Silica Sands, which operates mines in Wisconsin, told the Star Tribune. “There are peak cycles and trough cycles, and we have hit a trough.”

The US oil and gas sector now buys about 72% of the country’s silica sand output, which has more than doubled in the last five years, leaving the industry vulnerable to fluctuations in the price of hydrocarbons.

Read More Here:  http://www.indmin.com/Article/3443245/Low-oil-prices-hurt-US-frac-sand-producers-as-more-states-sour-on-fracking.html

The Maryland Senate approves legislation that would introduce a fracking moratorium until October 2017.

The bill, which was approved by a 45-2 vote, has been passed onto the House of Representatives.

The House sanctioned a bill last month that would introduce a three-year fracking moratorium, but that would also require investigation of the health and economic impacts of the technique.

The motion passed by the Senate does not require this measure.

Senator George Edwards of Garrett County, who voted in favour of the bill, described it as a “good first step” and noted that companies would have to wait at least two years for a fracking permit even if they applied immediately.

Read More Here:  http://www.shaleenergyinsider.com/2015/04/08/maryland-senate-approves-fracking-moratorium/

FRIENDSVILLE, Md. — The Garrett County Commissioners say they want an objective study of the potential economic impact of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in western Maryland.

The Cumberland Times-News reports that board members expressed support for such a study Monday after hearing from some businesses near Deep Creek Lake that depend largely on tourism and second-home buyers.

More Information Here:  http://bakken.com/news/id/236498/md-county-wants-more-info-on-frackings-economic-impact/