Bloomberg News Extracting natural gas from shale requires forcing in water and some chemicals to crack the rock open, worrying residents about pollution. Range Resources Corp. says it plans to disclose the chemicals used to hydraulically fracture natural-gas wells in Pennsylvania, confronting rising pressure from environmental groups worried that drilling could contaminate drinking water. The decision, which Range [...]

Oil companies’ dash for gas Vapour trails In hot pursuit of a fuel that is less risky and more accessible Jul 1st 2010 “THE bad news is we didn’t hit oil,” ran the old wildcatter’s joke. “The good news is we didn’t find gas.” Potentially dangerous and always more difficult to manage than pouring liquid into a barrel, natural [...]

UPDATE: A congressional committee has requested information on the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, setting up what looks to be a showdown over the technology used to extract natural gas from the Barnett Shale, the Marcellus Shale and other gas-bearing formations. Meanwhile, two major oilfield services companies say that they’ve used diesel fuel and other dangerous chemicals [...]

BY JOHN-LAURENT TRONCHE Fort Worth Business Press March 15, 2010 Though the conference sought to cover all forms of energy, the conversation frequently turned to natural gas. Speakers at the 29th IHS CERA Week in downtown Houston last week fawned over the prospects of natural gas – greater supply, greater demand and new technologies that make rectifying the two [...]

SHREVEPORT, La.—A mounting backlash against a technique used in natural-gas drilling is threatening to slow development of the huge gas fields that some hope will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and polluting coal. The U.S. energy industry says there is enough untapped domestic natural gas to last a century—but getting to that gas requires injecting [...]