Yearly Archives: 2013
Dart Energy dumps extraordinary levels of benzene into Firth of Forth
Nov 2014 UPDATE – For a full round-up of the situation in Scotland click here… Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith is a senior adviser to the National Toxics Network (NTN) and recently coauthored NTN’s report on the chemical impacts of hydraulic fracturing in the Australian shale and coal seam gas industry. Mariann has been visiting communities and […]
Cuadrilla boss gave $30m bribe to Azerbaijan strongman
Lord Browne, president of UK fracker Cuadrilla Resources, paid an illegal $30m “sweetener” to an Azerbaijani oil company in the early 1990s, according to the Guardian’s investigative journalist Greg Palast. In his book, Vulture’s Picnic, Palast documents how an associate of Lord Browne accompanied ex-prime minister Margaret Thatcher on a “business trip” to Azerbaijan (see […]
Wells, Wells And More Fracking Wells
- Fracking requires large numbers of wells
- Conventional well can drain large area
- For impermeable rock many wells required
- Often 8 wells per square mile or more
- Tens of thousands drilled in US already
- Largest onshore gas field in UK was 8 wells
- Fracking companies play down the scale
- What they say to investors most accurate
- Well numbers can be estimated from reserves
- Adds up to tens of thousands of wells across UK
- Plus pads, pipelines, compressor stations etc.
Fracking Greenwash: Revenge Of The Frackademics
- Second frackademic scandal in UK
- Following Durham University one
- Pro-fracking report by Grantham Institute
- Cuadrilla Chairman Lord Browne on board
- Several other members have fracking links
- Funded by ex-Shell investment strategist
- Heavily invested in fracking companies
- Including UK fackers Cuadrilla and IGas
- Supports pro-fracking spin in US
44 percent of wells leaking at UK Treasury director’s gasfield: Australian government
Over 44 percent of wells are leaking in an Australian gasfield overseen by UK Treasury director Baroness Hogg, according to the Queensland government (see p4 of linked pdf). Almost half the wells tested at the Tara field in Queensland show some sign of leakage, reports the Queensland Mines Department. Over 5,000 coal bed methane (CBM) […]
First UK fracking leak as Dart Energy wells fail
The Scottish Herald today reported the UK’s first fracking leak – at Coal Bed Methane (CBM) wells near Canonbie in Scotland. The leak – at wells owned by Dart Energy – confirm anecdotal evidence from locals who have – over the last two years – periodically noticed gas in their water supply. The leak is […]
Frackademics In UK Pushing Industry Spin
- New Durham University Pro-Shale Gas Report
- Highlights University’s Hijacking By Industry PR
- Authors Have Multiple Fracking Industry Links
- Durham Energy Institute Controlled By Industry
- ReFINE: Durham Fracking Propaganda Group
- Links To Similar Organisations Across Europe
- Parallels With Frackademic Scandals In US
- Report Carefully Avoids All The Real Issues
- No Hint Of The Scale Of Fracking Threat
Browne waves willy: but can Cuadrilla progress with just one borehole?
Cuadrilla Chairman and government employee John Browne has been out in public recently. In an interview with the UK’s Guardian, the Cabinet Office non-executive said he would invest “as much as it takes” to launch shale gas in the UK. Unsurprisingly, the Fracking Czar began blowing his trumpet just as Cuadrilla entered final negotiations with […]