Energy News Roundup: Study Links Oil Extraction to Earthquakes

A big story in a light news week…a study in the online edition of Earth and Planetary Science Letters suggests that removal of substantial volumes of oil from the Eagle Ford shale is driving increased seismic activity in the area. Other studies examining links between oil and gas production – specifically hydraulic fracturing – and earthquakes have attributed seismic activity to the injection of wastewater into the ground. “The current study is the first large study to link oil reservoir depletion with an increase in earthquakes.” [Wall Street Journal]

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn is outspoken about being a global warming denier. “As a physician and a man of science, Coburn said he thinks the evidence points that the Earth is moving into a ‘mini-ice age’.” There’s a certain logic to including all sciences under one umbrella, but I wouldn’t want a climate scientist to remove my appendix. [Huffington Post]

It’s hard to envision much objection on the industry side to Ernest Moniz’s latest DOE appointment, though environmentalists might not be so happy. Paula Gant is the new deputy assistant secretary for oil and natural gas. “Gant has spent the last seven years working on federal and state regulatory issues for the American Gas Association and was a vice president of government affairs for Duke Energy Corp. before that.” [Fuel Fix]