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Crude oil and natural gas infrastructure problems, from pipeline oil spills to train derailments and fires, have been in the news recently. Though these problems are not new, public concern is growing. Think tanks and government agencies have been considering the problems and potential solutions for some time and are now reporting the results of their studies. Here are reports of one oil and one natural gas infrastructure study.
In 2011, President Obama released his Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future, which called for an all of the above energy strategy, including the expansion of safe and responsible oil and gas development.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) methane-hydrate program is making a giant leap forward in 2015 with a new field test. But, why should we care about methane hydrates? First, the world will continue to depend on fossil fuels well past 2040 and natural gas is the cleanest option. Second, some countries that do not have sufficient indigenous energy have potentially large methane hydrate resources. Finally, methane hydrates occur in low concentrations over vast areas of the seafloor and shallow subsea sediments around the world, including the Arctic. If these areas warm, the hydrates could dissociate, releasing methane.
As 2015 begins, the oil and gas industry is preparing itself for a plethora of regulatory activities.
In January several long-awaited actions are likely: The Nebraska Supreme Court should rule on a suit challenging the right of the governor to approve the pipeline route; President Obama may decide whether to issue a presidential permit; and the House and Senate plan votes on legislation to approve the pipeline without a presidential permit.
On November 21, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would postpone setting requirements for the volume of renewable fuels that must be blended into motor fuels until some point in 2015.
Russia, Denmark (through Greenland) and Canada all claim that their territories extend to the North Pole. This is despite the fact that the Pole is well over 400 miles from the shores of any Arctic country. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Treaty provides a mechanism for recognizing national territorial claims beyond the traditional 200-nautical-mile limit if a country’s continental shelf extends further. The United States is not a party to the Convention so it will not be staking a claim.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the number of earthquakes greater than magnitude 3 in Oklahoma is increasing exponentially. There were 20 in 2009 and 427 through the first 10 ½ months of 2014. The Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) has now documented a temporal connection between hydraulic fracturing and nearby felt earthquakes, although more research is needed to prove a causal relationship.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will soon announce the results of its review of the existing regulations and possibly announce tightening of ozone limits. The current limit—75 parts per billion (ppb) averaged over 8 hours—was set in March 2008. New limits are expected to be 60 to 70 ppb. Lower limits will certainly force many state and local governments to impose additional requirements to reduce emissions of the compounds that form ozone, oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds.
Although most political pundits predicted that Republicans would likely take the Senate, the election results exceeded expectations.
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