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Fracking fears expose confusion about risk
Posted by Reuters: John Kemp on August 28th, 2013
Reuters: Should oil and gas producers be allowed to hydraulically fracture wells even if there is a small but hard-to-quantify risk to the environment, property and human life?
That is the question politicians, environmentalists, local residents and the media are all grappling with across large parts of the United States, Britain and other countries.
For some environmental campaigners and local residents, the answer is No. Fracking should not be allowed unless and until it can be shown to pose no threat...
Facing high fuel costs, North Dakota plans new refineries: Kemp
Posted by Reuters: John Kemp on May 28th, 2013
Reuters: North Dakota's residents have received an enormous income windfall from the shale boom, but strong local demand for trucking and fracking fuel has left them facing the highest gasoline prices in the mainland United States.
Only insular Hawaiians pay more to fill up at the pump.
North Dakota needs more local refining capacity to turn its abundant, high-quality crude into gasoline and especially diesel for trucks and oilfield operations.
There are proposals for three new refineries, which...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Facing high fuel costs, North Dakota plans new refineries: KempU.S. crude oil exports may be inevitable: Kemp
Posted by Reuters: John Kemp on October 15th, 2012
Reuters: Requests from Shell, BP and Vitol, among others, to start sending substantial amounts of U.S. crude to refineries in Canada have hit the headlines, as oil producers try to find outlets for surging production of light oil from North Dakota and elsewhere by easing decades-old restrictions on exporting domestically produced crude.
Less well-known is that record volumes of light hydrocarbons such as propane, butane and pentane are already being exported, as oil and gas producers seek alternative markets...
Fracking complicates the climate debate
Posted by Reuters: John Kemp on January 25th, 2012
Reuters: Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have laid to rest concerns about peaking oil and gas supplies for a generation, but they have also made the search for comprehensive policies to restrain greenhouse gas emissions more urgent.
In a world where fossil energy remains abundant and relatively cheap the economy will combust increasing quantities. Oil and gas reserves will last long after the planet has been gently cooked unless governments enact deliberate policies to restrain consumption....