Links of the Day 4/8/15: More Court Rulings Impact Shale Development, Oil Price May Stay Down for Decades, and More

Energy & Environmental Law Blog:  U.S. District Court Certifies Question to Supreme Court of Ohio Relating to Deduction of Post-Production Costs   -   "The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio recently certified an important question of law concerning the deduction of post-production costs to the Supreme Court of Ohio: Does Ohio follow the “at the well” rule (which permits the deduction of post-production costs) or does it follow some version of the “marketable product” rule (which limits the deduction of post-production costs under..."

Fox News:  Study: End crude oil export ban or say goodbye to U.S. shale revolution   -   "The explosive growth in the production of U.S. shale oil in recent years has been credited for giving the economy a much-needed boost.  But a just-released study from Bentek Energy asserts that unless the nation’s crude oil export ban is lifted, the shale energy revolution will come to..."

Brookings:  Welfare and distributional implications of shale gas   -   "Technological innovations in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have enabled tremendous amounts of natural gas to be extracted profi tably from underground shale formations that were long thought to be uneconomical. In this paper, we provide the first estimates of broad-scale welfare and distributional implications of this..."

SNL:  EPA proposes formal ban on flowback discharged to public water treatment facilities   -   "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will propose a ban on the discharge of water used for fracking into municipal water treatment facilities April 7, a move that reflects current practice in the industry.  Using local water treatment plants to treat flowback water from fractured wells did not become an issue until 2010 and only in Pennsylvania where the geology of the state doesn't..."

Energy in Depth:  New EPA Report Refutes Activists’ Claims on Fracking Fluid   -   "New research from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making it difficult for anti-fracking activists to continue making their oft-repeated claims about the composition of hydraulic fracturing fluid.  The new report from the EPA provides a detailed look at the makeup of fluid composition and water volumes used in..."

Shale Play:  Gastar Investigating Storage Tanks Fire in Moundsville   -   "Gastar Exploration officials continue investigating the cause of a fire that consumed four to five storage tanks at the company's Armstrong drilling pad along Birch Ridge Road near the Wetzel County line..."

24/7 Wall St:  Really Big Insider Buying in Chesapeake Shares   -   "Archie W. Dunham, chairman of the board, was reported as having purchased 1 million shares of Chesapeake Energy’s common stock. While the filing was listed as being March 31, the transaction date for the purchases was listed as March 27, 2015. The average price (VWAP) was listed as $13.9793. Tuesday’s SEC filing..."

Bloomberg:  Reckoning Arrives for Cash-Strapped Oil Firms Amid Bank Squeeze   -   "Lenders are preparing to cut the credit lines to a group of junk-rated shale oil companies by as much as 30 percent in the coming days, dealing another blow as they struggle with a slump in crude prices, according to people familiar with..."

Stanford Report:  The global oil price drop may last for the next couple decades, Stanford economist says   -   "Global oil prices may stay low for the next 10 or 20 years, according to Stanford economist Frank Wolak. The most likely medium-term outcome is $50 to $70 per barrel, according to..."

Energy & Environmental Law Blog:  Court Holds Lessee Not Required to Negotiate with Lessors For Extension of Lease   -   "On March 30, 2015, the Seventh District Court of Appeals decided Kenney v. Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., 7th Dist. Columbiana No. 14CO24, 2015-Ohio-1278, a case involving the interpretation of an extension clause in an oil and gas lease. The lease provided that “[u]pon the expiration of..."

U.S. Energy Information Administration:  U.S. oil production growth in 2014 was largest in more than 100 years   -   "U.S. crude oil production (including lease condensate) increased during 2014 by 1.2 million barrels per day (bbl/d) to 8.7 million bbl/d, the largest volume increase since recordkeeping began in 1900. On a percentage basis, output in 2014 increased by 16.2%, the highest..."

Sustainable Cities Collective:  Burlington, Vermont: A City Powered by Renewable Energy   -   "Burlington, Vermont, located in the American Northeast, became the first city in the country to be completely powered by renewables at the start of 2015. This is a small revolution in a country where carbon levels remain particularly high. This is the culmination of a project that was initiated..."

Wall Street Journal:  How Much U.S. Oil and Gas Comes From Fracking?   -   "Hydraulic fracturing has unleashed vast new quantities of crude oil and natural gas. The percentage of fuel flowing from shale-rock compared with traditional oil and gas fields has been steadily rising. But lackluster energy demand and low prices are expected to curb growth later this year. Here’s a graphic that helps..."

Bloomberg:  Obama’s UN Climate Vow Needs Court Wins, Cheap Natural Gas   -   "President Barack Obama’s pledge to the United Nations Tuesday to sharply cut greenhouse-gas emissions relies on being able to rebuff legal and legislative challenges -- and the continuing availability of cheap natural gas. It’s no slam dunk. A coal-industry suit over the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to force..."


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