Please sign this PETITION to enact an immediate moratorium on fracking in Colorado.
We can expect supply disruptions which will lead to higher prices. Higher prices will lead to more fracking.
Please see previous posts: Is there a media blackout on the fracking flood disaster in Colorado? Not long after I posted this question, the residents started receiving phone calls from media. There is a lot of coverage now.
Also see: Shocking photos and an update from the Colorado fracking flood zone
I received this information in an email last night.
My intrepretation: natural gas transport company is saying it can’t deliver product due to the acts of nature beyond their control. We should brace for natural gas disruptions to homes, especially in rural areas and small communities in much of the West, since the priority will be to deliver gas to large cities and power plants. Will we face electricity shortages, too? Too soon to tell.
“El Paso Pipeline Partners’ Colorado Interstate Gas (CIG) unit declared force majeure on a natural gas Interesting map HERE. To the left of the map there are links about supply constraints and Force Majeure
lateral pipeline due to the floods.”
Colorado flooding disrupts oil, gas production
At this link you can read about the supply disruption in New Mexico in 2010.
UPDATE: You know the industry commenters have been telling us that all the wells were shut in so we don’t need to worry about them leaking? Noble Energy news from Drilling Ahead.
Houston-based Noble Energy, the largest operator in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, said that as of Tuesday 5 percent to 10 percent of its wells were shut in. Noble has 7,600 wells in Weld County.
On Tuesday, Noble crews saw a natural-gas release from two damaged wellheads. The release was reported to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the company said.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the second-largest operator in the basin, has shut about 10 percent of its operations — 250 tank batteries and 670 wells.
Maybe Noble’s employees need to stay off my blog’s comments and get their butts busy instead.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
- Web |
- More Posts(5121)
flooding is an actual “force majeure” – and there is no doubt in my mind that this extensive flooding will affect the production and distribution of gas (and oil). THIS use of “force majeure” puts all of Chesapeake’s claims of force majeure in NY into perspective. In NY, the gas companies are trying to extend leases beyond their expiration because they can’t use horizontal hydrofracking – although they can drill vertical wells into any number of strata. So they are distorting the whole concept of “force majeure” to mean “if we can’t drill where & how we want to….” instead of the original intent which is: natural disasters or labor strikes making it impossible to fulfill the contract. Thanks for your reporting!
Sue Heavenrich recently posted..Colorado Floods Break Pipeline and Engulf Gas Wells
Excellent point!
“Force majeure” has been abused a bunch by the energy industry. Try doing a web search for “refinery force majeure”, for example, note the refinery failures were NOT caused by lightning, earthquakes, winds. Equipment failure from lack of maintenance is often a culprit. Funny that the FAA & NTSB won’t let airlines off the hook when a plane crashes from lack of maintenance.
The bar for safety is still too low.
http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/article/336144/81/Colorado-flooding-triggers-oil-spills-shutdowns
“Besides the possible environmental impact, flood damage to roads, railroads and other infrastructure will affect the region’s energy production for months to come. And analysts warn that images of flooded wellheads from the booming Wattenberg Field will increase public pressure to impose restrictions on drilling techniques such as fracking.”
While flooding is considered an “Act of God” by insurers, expect some pointed questions about flood planning by drillers.
“Maybe Noble’s employees need to stay off my blog’s comments and get their butts busy instead.”
Actually, Noble employees and many of the employees of the smaller O&G groups based in Colorado are working alongside Red Cross and the National Guard to help our neighbors.
As with most trades, management and industry leaders are entrenched in the old school way of doing business. In O&G this means management prefers not to clean up and take preventative measures utilizing new technology to help offset disasters. It is cheaper to pay out after the fact through marketing and such, which is the case in many trades. (I call this short sighted management and marketing practices… but that is just my opinion..) (See here: http://www.ncbr.com/article/20130916/NEWS/130919946?goback=%2Egde_1402287_member_274533652#%21)
Clearly, the fracing conversation and exposure to the dangers needs to continue. The Colorado flood will provide much over the next few years by way of lessons for a variety of industries.
Denigrating individuals who take a right to share their version of the truth serves no good purpose especially during a disaster when every hand of rescue is valuable. For the coming months, every person in Colorado needs to suspend the tem vs us attitude and get to the task at hand; helping our neighbors and ourselves get as close to normal recovery as possible.
May I suggest that the efforts on this blog focus on how these fracing wells are truly affected by this 1,000 flood event? The immediate event is over. This is an excellent opportunity to study and observe exactly how the wells help up, what percentage failed, why they failed, accurately assess and segregate the environmental damage, and prepare for the residual breakdowns that will almost certainly occur.
Then, the citizens of Colorado will be armed with the evidence needed to have our Governor and State Senate to enact appropriate industry controls. (This flood is an unusual event, but all industries need to prepare for any contingency in how they operate.)
This blog should absolutely keep up the good work of blasting away at the “machine” and the ‘dinosaur method’ of pillaging our precious natural resources, but please understand that even the employees of these guilty companies have also lost much in this event.
Respectfully,
Colorado Pearl
Dear Pearl,
Some of Nobel Energy’s employees have made MANY comments spreading false information on this blog while the flood was ongoing. They/he spent hours, all day and for several days commenting. EnCana has done the same. Those are the people I was addressing in my comment.
My main focus is Texas. I only posted about the CO Fracking Flood because the residents asked me to help them get media attention. From time to time I may post updates on the situation but my main focus is Texas and that keeps me plenty busy.
Good luck!
Pearl, maybe you missed this post where there are over 300 comments, mostly from industry and mostly denigrating anyone who expresses a concern.
http://www.texassharon.com/2013/09/15/is-there-a-media-blackout-on-the-fracking-flood-disaster-in-colorado/
Oh, Sharon! I did not see the 300 or so comments you refer to. I am well aware though that Blogs offer an opportunity for anyone to comment without thinking about the whole picture. I can only imagine the ‘quality’ of thoughts you must be receiving. Blogs are polarizing….
Still, I ask you to keep up the good work of offsetting the media machine of the O&G trade regarding fracing. To use marketing and PR as a method of pulling the wool over the eyes of the public and public trust is as old as snake oil. Even some of the employees in the O&G trade believe the tripe that their own special interest spew.
I have faith in the works of Governor Hickenlooper. Watched him as Mayor of Denver for 7+ years. If “the Hick” has the citizen tools and support for a topic, he has a history of bucking even the largest and most powerful of industry machines. Your petition for the moratorium on fracing ops is one tool in that quest.
Its amazing how this horrible flood gets labeled “fracing flood”! I saw the weather channel cover the flood and they did bring up the wells and amazingly they are holding up pretty good the biggest worry was your poop the sewer systems where really a problem!