New "Fracking" News.....

[MrMachine]

Just when we were getting all warm and cozy about Natural Gas, along comes a new Bubble Theory warning us about investing in it.
Makes my dream of getting rich off Haliburton or Chesapeake a "pipe dream", lol.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/us/26gas.html?exprod=myyahoo

I'm not so sure that prices will be affected at the consumption level, except if the economy starts to overheat which could take years.
No matter what happens to the gas industry, we as consumers will just have to go with the flow.

[Adamski]

Paul,

I don't think I ever saw so many puns in a single post before :D!

The outlook for Natural Gas may be good or bad depending on where you're sitting. With gas supplies high and consumption low due to the worst recession since the Great Depression; consumer prices are at an all time low (adjusted for inflation). That's good for us and our customers :) (except Case's customers :rolleyes:).

On the other hand, those who are invested in natural gas pipeline, exploration and drilling companies may find staqnant returns for quite some time. But then again, the whole S&P has a zero return YTD :(.

[MrMachine]

Paul,

I don't think I ever saw so many puns in a single post before :D!





Larry,

I guess you didn't know that I'm a laundry comic, but I only have "clean" jokes and "dry" humor, otherwise my customers may get over "agitated".

As far as that article is concerned, I think they're just blowing a lot of "gas".

[laundry8me]

Larry and Paul,

My best guess, investment wise, is to buy the pipelines that transport the gas. They have already made the bulk of capital costs to construct the pipelines and now collect on every cf of gas going through them, regardless of current gas prices or whether the explorers are profitable. MLPs utilize pass-through income to avoid corporate taxes, passing through the tax responsibility to the owners, along with the bulk of the income.

[Adamski]

Gary,

Thanks for the tip but I don't do individual stocks. I'm a mutual fund kind of guy but I do have a pretty large stake in an Energy fund.

[Howard]

I would stick with verizon or ATT stock right now, you shoud get appreciation and the divident yield is better than 5%.

[MrMachine]

Gary, Larry and Howard,

I'm thinking that if New York's moratorium against Fracking is lifted this summer, then it's full speed ahead.

I like Halliburton because they just came out with fracking fluids that are non-toxic because they're food based.

So let's get on with this fracking business ;)

http://www.halliburton.com/public/projects/pubsdata/hydraulic_fracturing/CleanSuite_Technologies.html

[KJ]

I heard last night on the news a well drilled in Dimmock township (just south of me) has reported 30 times the expected estimated daily draw on one of its recent wells.

[laundry8me]

I read yesterday that Haliburton released the ingredients of their fracking fluids, which has been a closely guarded secret by the entire industry, up until recently.

[surfflite]

How come nobody is mentioning the fact that fracking greatly increases the possibility of contaminating aquafers thus making your kitchen sink water ignitable, your newborns mutated and your friends and relatives cancerous?

http://www.propublica.org/article/buried-secrets-is-natural-gas-drilling-endangering-us-water-supplies-1113

http://www.propublica.org/article/epa-fracking-study-to-focus-on-five-states-but-not-wyoming

http://conservationreport.com/2009/10/20/natural-gas-drilling-contaminating-drinking-water-supplies-companies-like-halliburton-fighting-aggressively-to-keep-chemical-recipe-used-in-controversial-drilling-technique-secret/

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/28/news/economy/_shale_drilling/index.htm


I could list 100's more similar articles......I say sell, sell, sell your NG stocks quick.

[MrMachine]

How come nobody is mentioning the fact that fracking greatly increases the possibility of contaminating aquafers thus making your kitchen sink water ignitable, your newborns mutated and your friends and relatives cancerous?

http://www.propublica.org/article/buried-secrets-is-natural-gas-drilling-endangering-us-water-supplies-1113

http://www.propublica.org/article/epa-fracking-study-to-focus-on-five-states-but-not-wyoming

http://conservationreport.com/2009/10/20/natural-gas-drilling-contaminating-drinking-water-supplies-companies-like-halliburton-fighting-aggressively-to-keep-chemical-recipe-used-in-controversial-drilling-technique-secret/

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/28/news/economy/_shale_drilling/index.htm


I could list 100's more similar articles......I say sell, sell, sell your NG stocks quick.

Kerry,

There is a lot of hysteria being generated by environmentalists, most of which are falsehoods or gross exaggerations.
Fracking is here to stay. They've been doing it for 60 years, only now it's gotten a lot more attention because it's being combined with horizontal drilling. God forbid that America actually gets a huge source of clean fuel, rather than buy oil from shieks who hate us.

Have you considered that fracking is a huge threat to OPEC, and that THEY may be behind a lot of the misinformation that's out there? Especially since we are now discovering how to "frack" petroleum as well.
Fracking could make America (and Europe) energy independent for the next 100 years. OPEC will NOT take that sitting down.

Even your own money.cnn article admits that fracking is here to stay.

Here are a couple of articles:

http://percolatorblog.org/2011/06/27/the-truth-about-fracking/

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/37966

I too, could list more articles....I say buy buy buy Haliburton and Chesapeake, next month, after NY State's dog and pony show of a fracking moratorium is lifted.

[MrMachine]

New York will be lifting the ban on Fracking which means full speed ahead.
This will undoubtedly lower naural gas prices for the whole country because it's the last major roadblock for access to clean, cheap natural gas.

It also means that fracking will open up oil reserves in this country as well. They estimate that fracking for oil will give us an equivalent to the entire reserves of Kuwait.

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/york-state-lift-fracking-moratorium-report-165453230.html

[laundry8me]

Fracking is contaminating the water in some areas. That is a fact. The geology of each area must be taken into account to safely use this method. Obviously contaminating ground water so it is not safe to use is not acceptable. Aquifers can take 100's of years to replenish themselves, which makes the cost of getting a few years worth of gas out of that particular type of geological area beyond reason to the local population. But there seems to be plenty of areas that can be safely fracked when it is done with benign fluids and at levels far below the aquifers and in the type of geology that will keep the ground water and the fracking fluids separate.

In other words, it needs to be done responsibly after gaining a thorough understanding of the local geology.

As far as oil is concerned, check out this astounding technology out of Michigan State University: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42460541/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/t/new-engine-sends-shock-waves-through-auto-industry/

If this can be manufactured in large scale it will be a game changer for global warming, vehicle manufacturing and peak oil!

BTW, it is research like this that makes it worth our tax dollars to fund universities. If this one research project successfully makes the transition to the mainstream it will be worth trillions of dollars over it's lifespan, not only in fuel savings and vehicle maintenance savings, but also in pollution control savings around the world. In 2007 over 260 billion gallons of gas and diesel fuel was consumed around the world. This engine is 3.5 times more efficient than typical combustion engines, so that comes to a savings of over 186 billion gallons of fuel yearly. At todays prices that is worth $3.75 x 186 billion. Approximately $698 Billion annually, using 2007 fuel consumption numbers! Remember, that is only taking into consideration the fuel savings alone.

[Adamski]

Gary,

I checked out the link referenced in your post. I was surprised and impressed to hear the engineer talk about putting this new engine in hybrids in just 3 short years. Interestingly, this time frame closely meshes with the introduction of the Second Generation Lithium-Ion battery which is scheduled to go into production in about 2 years. These Second Generation batteries will be produced in Muskegon, Michigan and, as you might expect, the entire community is patiently awaiting the construction of this new plant. These Second Generation batteries are not just for cars, however, but will be used in conjunction with wind, solar and nuclear power generators.

Picture a huge, utility scale wind farm covering 400 acres located on the Muskegon Wastewater Treatment property just east of Muskegon. Now imagine a 50,000 sf building in the center of the wind farm. This building contains hundreds of Second Generation Lithium-Ion batteries that store wind-generated electricity for use during peak-demand periods. This advanced wind farm could become a reality within the next 5 years.

[laundry8me]

Larry,

I checked out an article about the lithium-ion plant you referenced. If they meet the possible 745 employee goal it will be a nice economic boost to your area.

A big wind farm will require trained maintenance technicians. Hopefully the local community college has a program up and going to train the local workforce.

As the lithium use ramps up, the rush to find new sources of lithium will become critical. Bolivia has 50% of the known deposits in the world and they are going it alone in attempting to develop the manufacturing of it. Unfortunately they don't have any experience. :eek:

I am a little skeptical about the Wave Disk Generator mass production timeline of three years. People are generally over optimistic when they are excited about a project. I would love to see a car size prototype by the end of the year, as is their goal.

[MrMachine]

Well the DEC released it's report today and as expected, Fracking will be allowed in NY State but monitored and controlled by the DEC.

This makes so much sense. Fracking will be allowed in 85% of the Marcellus Shale, but it will be regulated to protect the environment. A win-win situation.

This is a boon not only for industries like ours, but for the country as a whole.
Thousands of good paying jobs will be created, and our economy will get a huge boost in lower energy costs for all.
We will get an uninterupted supply of clean natural gas at cheap prices, and oil will also become much more readily available, also at lower prices eventually.
Most importantly, our energy dollars will STAY HERE in the USA, not exported to make other countries rich, which will greatly help with our national debt.

Here's the scoop:

http://www.newschannel34.com/news/local/story/Gas-Drilling-Revisions/lMjCm8pN8UCXyu7Ch6Ouuw.cspx

[KJ]

First thing I caught in the DEC report "No drilling within 500' of a water well.
My driveway is 900' and that would be too close for me.

[MrMachine]

First thing I caught in the DEC report "No drilling within 500' of a water well.
My driveway is 900' and that would be too close for me.

KJ,

I agree. I would not be happy with them drilling that close to my water well.
However, it just points out that the DEC investigated and has found this acceptable.

The DEC would NEVER allow it if they thought it harmed the environment, or was a danger to people. They are very strict when it comes to stuff like this.
Just a couple of months ago, the DEC was going to shut down a Stop & Shop supermarket near my house for simply letting storm runoff (rain) from the supermarket's parking lot flow into a protected wetlands area.
They made the supermarket install an elaborate horizontal drywell system under the parking lot. I heard it cost them 2 million.

Here's what they made the supermarket install:

http://www.stormtech.com/