Latest news with #fracking
Bloomberg
7 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
The Shale Revolution Has Been Very, Very Good to America
Thanks to fracking, the US now pumps more than a fifth of the world's total oil.
ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
Activists concerned as SA government offers South East for gas exploration
The South Australian government has offered land for onshore gas exploration in a move that has angered activists in a key agricultural region. The government is offering exploration licenses for the Otway Basin in the state's South East and Polda Basin on the Eyre Peninsula. SA Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the Cooper Basin and parts of the state's west also had the potential for gas extraction. "We're very keen to try and exploit that as much as we possibly can to try and put downwards pressure on prices and back up our renewable-generation fleet," he said. But the potential for exploration on the Otway Basin is a cause of concern for activists in the South East, where a 10-year moratorium on fracking will be in place until 2028. Limestone Coast Protection Alliance chair Angus Ralton, who was part of the initial opposition to fracking, said he was "disappointed" in the direction the government was heading. "The climate crisis is only accelerating and governments need to be moving away from fossil fuel," he said. The acreage releases come as the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) projects a shortfall in gas supply for south-east Australia from 2029. Mr Koutsantonis said renewables were sufficient "90 per cent of the time, even 95 per cent", but gas peaking plants were still needed as back-up. "Gas is an important fuel for firming our renewable resources by having reliable gas-fired generators," he said. "The more gas you have in the system, the more industry you have and the more prices drop in the National Electricity Market. "[The south-east is] an area with existing infrastructure, so it'd be cheaper to restart. "It's got distribution with the SEA Gas pipeline, which gets us to the Victorian market and the South Australian market, so there's lots going for it." Australian company Beach Energy mothballed its Katnook processing plant near Penola in 2022. "While no decisions have been made regarding the South East, Beach holds tenure close to significant infrastructure in the region and the delivery of local gas to market aligns with Beach's vision to become Australia's leading supplier of domestic gas," a Beach spokesperson said. Mr Koutsantonis said SA farmers were struggling financially in the midst of a drought and that reducing energy prices by increasing gas supply was a way to provide relief. "The drought's having a real-life impact, especially on farming communities, and a lot of people rely on industry," he said. Ken Baldwin from the Australian National University said the shortfall required action by the government to secure supply. "This could come through a number of means — by increasing the amount of gas that is produced in the district, reduce the amount of demand in the region … or to implement a gas reservation policy," he said. "As we move forward and decarbonise the economy we need to really be focusing on reducing the demand in the first instance and, if all else fails, increase the amount of supply to match the diminishing gas reserves by finding new sources of gas." Professor Baldwin said there were very few industries that could not switch to electrical forms of energy supply. "That's a very small fraction of the total demand," he said. Mr Ralton said the alliance planned to raise its concerns with the state government. "We would urge the government to reconsider their position … and not take this any further," he said. Department for Energy and Mining chief executive Paul Martyn said staff had "extensively engaged" with the community. "We've, I think, got a very good understanding of the community's views," he said. "We will expect any company that's undertaking exploration in the area to thoroughly engage with the community and to meet the highest standards." Mr Koutsantonis said community sentiment was taken into account. "Those activists didn't want fracking, so there'll be no fracking in the South East," he said. "They argued you can extract gas conventionally — this is exactly what that is." Mr Koutsantonis said the government considered fracking in the region to be "finished as a concept". "We have no plans to allow fracking in the South East," he said.
CBC
12-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Another earthquake felt in the Fort St. John region
Earthquakes Canada reported a 4.4 magnitude quake in the Fort St. John area on Wednesday morning. It occurred about 74 kilometres northwest of the city just before 11:30 a.m. PT at a depth of five kilometres and was "lightly felt," according to the earthquake database. No damage was reported. It's the latest in a series of minor earthquakes that have struck northeastern B.C. this year, after four quakes of magnitude 3.1 or higher were detected in a single week in February. The quakes are "suspected industry-related" events, according to Natural Resources Canada — in other words, related to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the area. In this case, the B.C. Energy Regulator (BCER) has linked the quake to fracking in the Wonowon area. Fracking is a process that blasts water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure more than two kilometres underground to release natural gas trapped in rock formations. "Earthquakes can be induced by ... mining, by oil and gas extraction," Natural Resources Canada earthquake seismologist John Cassidy said in a February interview. Earlier this year, the BCER announced it had begun tracking all seismic events of magnitude 1.5 or higher to further understand the links between industrial activity and earthquakes. So far, it shows a seismic event nearly every day this year, though the vast majority were not felt.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine plots fracking revolution
Ukraine is working to unleash natural gas fracking with the goal of becoming a major exporter and revolutionising Europe's energy market. In plans critical to Volodymyr Zelensky's hopes of a post-war economic recovery, ministers in Kyiv are scrambling to lure private investment and gain access to new drilling technology to access the country's vast untapped shale gas resources. According to sources close to Kyiv, officials are racing to attract 'foreign technology and highly experienced subsoil users', with a focus on unconventional shale resources in western Ukraine. The hunt for cash - as revealed by the independent news platform Energy Flux - is being conducted in parallel to the rare earth minerals deal struck between Donald Trump and President Zelensky in April, which will allow the US to exploit Ukraine's natural resources, including aluminium, graphite, oil and natural gas. The priority is to rapidly revitalise Ukraine's ailing gas sector after a gruelling winter saw roughly 40pc of production capacity taken out by a fierce Russian campaign of drone and missile strikes. The attacks forced Ukraine to draw heavily on its gas stocks, which ended winter almost entirely depleted. But Ukraine's Ministry of Energy believes it is possible to refill the country's cavernous underground storage facilities and even produce a surplus for export 'within 18 months', according to a senior government source. Ukraine already has some experience with advanced drilling technology for old wells and has since carried out experimental trials that 'confirm its potential' for fracking, they said. However, to unlock Ukraine's shale reserves, the country needs to attract more investment and newer kit, primarily from America. 'Development and production can be quickly developed using available gas infrastructure with connections to the EU gas market that make it very attractive,' the source added. 'Ukraine has enough deposits of traditional gas to cover its own consumption and to become a net exporter, and shale gas production has quite a profound effect on its development.' Such a turnaround would help transform the fortunes of Europe's energy markets, which remain on edge following the loss of Russian pipeline gas exports via Ukraine at the start of 2025. Refilling Ukraine's depleted gas storage – the largest in Europe, at 32bn cubic metres – is one of the main factors tightening energy markets in Central and Eastern Europe ahead of next winter. Ukraine's gas stocks are today just 7pc full compared to the EU average of 50pc. Efforts to pipe natural gas from Southern and Eastern Europe into Ukraine have also been thwarted by red tape and a lack of market cohesion. However, if Ukraine could unleash its own shale revolution and create a surplus for export, the need to keep pumping European gas into Ukraine would effectively disappear overnight. It would also help reduce Europe's reliance on costly liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from overseas. Gas-starved Europe leaned heavily on LNG after Gazprom, the Kremlin-backed energy giant, halted exports to the EU following Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian shale gas exports, if scaled up quickly, would erase a large chunk of European energy demand currently being met by LNG, potentially sparking a sharp drop in energy prices around the world. However, Kyiv's proposed fracking revolution hinges largely on the country's ability to secure overseas investment. Officials from Ukraine's Ministry of Energy are tapping Western diplomatic ties to find private capital funds with a high tolerance for risk to bankroll drilling and bring in technology partners. A senior government team attended the Baku Energy Forum in Azerbaijan last week in part to promote Ukraine's potential as a shale hub. Speaking at the event, one high-ranking statesman said the Lviv-Lublin geological area that straddles the Ukraine-Poland border is 'superior on the Ukrainian side' thanks to higher porosity and lower clay content, making it 'better for fracking'. The most promising prospect is the Oleska (Olesskaya) shale block, which contains an estimated 0.8 to 1.5 trillion cubic metres of shale gas resources – enough to meet Ukraine's domestic needs for decades. How much of this resource is economically recoverable is an open question. Chevron walked away from a 50pc interest in the Oleska project in 2014 before drilling could begin. Chevron's stated reason for leaving was not because of political instability or lack of resources, but rather Kyiv's failure to enact specific tax reforms necessary to enable shale gas foreign investment. Now, the Zelensky administration is moving to streamline operations and reduce bureaucratic hurdles that previously deterred foreign investors. Ownership of the Olesskaya production sharing agreement (PSA) was transferred in April 2025 from government holding company Nadra Ukraine to Ukraine's largest oil and gas producer, Ukrnafta. The move signalled a strategic shift in the country's approach to fracking, particularly in the Oleska block. Ukrnafta is a state-owned enterprise following the nationalisation of strategic industries and declaration of martial law in 2022, which remains in force to this day. Attracting significant private capital into Ukrainian shale exploration would normally be impossible under these circumstances. However, the source said there are laws in place to ensure they can be overwritten. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine plots fracking revolution
Ukraine is working to unleash natural gas fracking with the goal of becoming a major exporter and revolutionising Europe's energy market. In plans critical to Volodymyr Zelensky's hopes of a post-war economic recovery, ministers in Kyiv are scrambling to lure private investment and gain access to new drilling technology to access the country's vast untapped shale gas resources. According to sources close to Kyiv, officials are racing to attract 'foreign technology and highly experienced subsoil users', with a focus on unconventional shale resources in western Ukraine. The hunt for cash - as revealed by the independent news platform Energy Flux - is being conducted in parallel to the rare earth minerals deal struck between Donald Trump and President Zelensky in April, which will allow the US to exploit Ukraine's natural resources, including aluminium, graphite, oil and natural gas. The priority is to rapidly revitalise Ukraine's ailing gas sector after a gruelling winter saw roughly 40pc of production capacity taken out by a fierce Russian campaign of drone and missile strikes. The attacks forced Ukraine to draw heavily on its gas stocks, which ended winter almost entirely depleted. But Ukraine's Ministry of Energy believes it is possible to refill the country's cavernous underground storage facilities and even produce a surplus for export 'within 18 months', according to a senior government source. Ukraine already has some experience with advanced drilling technology for old wells and has since carried out experimental trials that 'confirm its potential' for fracking, they said. However, to unlock Ukraine's shale reserves, the country needs to attract more investment and newer kit, primarily from America. 'Development and production can be quickly developed using available gas infrastructure with connections to the EU gas market that make it very attractive,' the source added. 'Ukraine has enough deposits of traditional gas to cover its own consumption and to become a net exporter, and shale gas production has quite a profound effect on its development.' Such a turnaround would help transform the fortunes of Europe's energy markets, which remain on edge following the loss of Russian pipeline gas exports via Ukraine at the start of 2025. Refilling Ukraine's depleted gas storage – the largest in Europe, at 32bn cubic metres – is one of the main factors tightening energy markets in Central and Eastern Europe ahead of next winter. Ukraine's gas stocks are today just 7pc full compared to the EU average of 50pc. Efforts to pipe natural gas from Southern and Eastern Europe into Ukraine have also been thwarted by red tape and a lack of market cohesion. However, if Ukraine could unleash its own shale revolution and create a surplus for export, the need to keep pumping European gas into Ukraine would effectively disappear overnight. It would also help reduce Europe's reliance on costly liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from overseas. Gas-starved Europe leaned heavily on LNG after Gazprom, the Kremlin-backed energy giant, halted exports to the EU following Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian shale gas exports, if scaled up quickly, would erase a large chunk of European energy demand currently being met by LNG, potentially sparking a sharp drop in energy prices around the world. However, Kyiv's proposed fracking revolution hinges largely on the country's ability to secure overseas investment. Officials from Ukraine's Ministry of Energy are tapping Western diplomatic ties to find private capital funds with a high tolerance for risk to bankroll drilling and bring in technology partners. A senior government team attended the Baku Energy Forum in Azerbaijan last week in part to promote Ukraine's potential as a shale hub. Speaking at the event, one high-ranking statesman said the Lviv-Lublin geological area that straddles the Ukraine-Poland border is 'superior on the Ukrainian side' thanks to higher porosity and lower clay content, making it 'better for fracking'. The most promising prospect is the Oleska (Olesskaya) shale block, which contains an estimated 0.8 to 1.5 trillion cubic metres of shale gas resources – enough to meet Ukraine's domestic needs for decades. How much of this resource is economically recoverable is an open question. Chevron walked away from a 50pc interest in the Oleska project in 2014 before drilling could begin. Chevron's stated reason for leaving was not because of political instability or lack of resources, but rather Kyiv's failure to enact specific tax reforms necessary to enable shale gas foreign investment. Now, the Zelensky administration is moving to streamline operations and reduce bureaucratic hurdles that previously deterred foreign investors. Ownership of the Olesskaya production sharing agreement (PSA) was transferred in April 2025 from government holding company Nadra Ukraine to Ukraine's largest oil and gas producer, Ukrnafta. The move signalled a strategic shift in the country's approach to fracking, particularly in the Oleska block. Ukrnafta is a state-owned enterprise following the nationalisation of strategic industries and declaration of martial law in 2022, which remains in force to this day. Attracting significant private capital into Ukrainian shale exploration would normally be impossible under these circumstances. However, the source said there are laws in place to ensure they can be overwritten.
