The California Oil and Gas Report

Prompted by concerns over hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” the City of Carson on March 19 imposed a 45-day ban on all oil drilling activity. The emergency moratorium could be extended for up to two years. It effectively blocks plans by Occidental Petroleum to drill more than 200 wells in the community, which is south of Los Angeles and adjacent to Long Beach.

Occidental has stated repeatedly that it does not plan to use fracking in the planned wells, and that the technique (pumping water, sand and chemicals into a well under pressure to fracture rock around the well bore) would not be effective for the wells. Continue reading →

February 28, 2014 – The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Friday to ban hydraulic fracturing, acidizing, gravel packing and other well stimulation techniques until the council decides that state and federal regulations adequately protect the city’s residents from the alleged risks associated with these methods.

The Council’s motion would affect “companies conducting fracking within the City or in areas providing drinking water to the City,” requiring them to “mitigate the effects on climate change, protect environmental quality and natural resources, [and] promote community awareness.” It would allow government access to and testing of chemicals used in well stimulation, regulate wastewater disposal, and require disclosure and testing of treated wells.

When the moratorium is enacted, Los Angeles would become the largest city in the nation to ban fracking, and the first oil-producing city in California to do so, said Rock Zierman, chief executive of the California Independent Petroleum Assn. Continue reading →

By Olman Valverde

President Obama’s references to energy policy during Tuesday evening’s State of the Union speech indicated that he remains committed to an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy policy. The President offered words of support for environmentalists, climate activists, the natural gas industry and solar.

For the oil industry, however, the President called for a change to tax policy that would reduce support for fossil fuel production, that is not being well received by industry. It is also far from clear that there is political support for this proposed change.

The President acknowledged the benefits to the U.S. economy from the production of natural gas. At the same time, it was clear from his comments that climate change will continue to dominate the discussion of fossil fuel energy.

One potential positive sign for the oil industry was that President Obama did not mention or directly attack hydraulic fracturing, the key reason for the growth in domestic energy and its consequent significant benefit to the American economy. However, his reference to “if extracted safely” indicates an awareness of the concerns of environmentalists.

Continue reading →