Denmark Suspends Fracking Over ‘Hazardous’ Chemicals

Published in Oil Industry News on Sunday, 10 May 2015

Denmark has suspended the first exploratory drilling for shale gas which lasted only one day after it discovered that French gas-giant Total, in charge of the project, had used “unauthorized” chemicals.

"They used a product that was not part of those authorized" for the procedure, Ture Falbe-Hansen, a Danish Energy Agency spokesman told AFP Wednesday. 

The type of defoamer known as Null Foam is used in fracking to extract shale gas and is considered hazardous to the environment, according to Danish public broadcaster DR.

The chemical is not illegal, according to Henrik Nicolaisen, who leads the drilling project for Total.
 
"We have been in dialogue with both the municipality and the Danish Energy Agency since February and we felt that we had a common understanding that the substance could be used," he told DR, as cited by AFP. 

Environmental committee chairman of Frederikshavn Council Anders Brandt Sørensen said Total’s use of the non-approved product “makes [him] very mad”. 

“We will simply not accept this kind of violation of our EIA [environmental impact assessment],” he told broadcaster DR.

Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a process of extracting shale gas by injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals under high pressure deep underground in order to release hydrocarbons from between layers of rock. 

Total’s unit in charge of the project said drilling on the northern tip of Jutland had started only on Monday. The Danish Energy Agency, which is part of the energy ministry, said Total was told to stop exploration on Tuesday. 

Total’s shale gas project was given the go-ahead in June despite strong protests from the local community and environmentalists. 

The project’s cancellation came as another blow to Total's shale plans, having previously suffered protests over its Danish project, faced a fracking ban in its own home country of France, and exited its Polish licenses. 

It is unclear when, if ever, Total could resume operations; first needing to explain its actions to the Danish authorities.
Source: rt.com

Gazprom, Ankara Agree to Start Turkish Gas Deliveries

Published in Oil Industry News on Sunday, 10 May 2015

The Turkish Stream pipeline will become operational in December 2016, said head of Gazprom Aleksey Miller.

"An agreement [between Russia and Turkey] has been reached on operational commissioning and the start of gas deliveries via Turkish Stream in December 2016,” said Miller, according to a statement released by Gazprom.

The agreement was signed by Miller and Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz during a meeting on Thursday.

“Gazprom will regard today’s agreements as a basis for the schedule of its work on the Turkish Stream project,” the head of Gazprom said.

The pipeline’s construction was agreed between Russian Gazprom and Turkish Botas in December 2014. The pipeline with an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters will replace the South Stream, which was suspended over the EU’s stance on Russia.

Turkish Stream will travel from Russia, transit through Turkey, and stop at the Greek border, giving Russia access to the Southern European market.
Miller and Yildiz have also discussed modernization of the existing Blue Stream gas pipeline, Gazprom said in its statement.

Blue Stream, which possesses annual capacity of 16 billion cubic meters, runs under the Black Sea and provides direct delivery of gas to Turkish consumers.

In the first four months of 2015 Blue Stream delivered about 5.4 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia to Turkey, which is 4 percent more than in the same period of 2014, according to operational data. Consumption of natural gas has more than doubled over the past 10 years, and the Turkish market is interested in a further increase in energy exports from Russia, the negotiators said.

The Turkish Stream was also discussed on Thursday by Russian president Vladimir Putin and Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Putin said Russia is ready to consider providing finance to Greek companies that will participate in the construction of a gas pipeline continuing the Turkish Stream, the press service of the Kremlin confirmed in a statement.

"In this connection, the Russian side reaffirmed its readiness to consider the provision of funding the Greek public and private companies that will be involved in this project," the statement reads.
Source: rt.com

OXI: US Urge Greece to Reject Russian Turkish Stream Pipeline

Published in Oil Industry News on Sunday, 10 May 2015

Washington is pushing Athens not to abandon a Western-backed Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project in favor of the Russia-proposed Turkish Stream, a pipeline that would bring Russian gas to Europe via Greece.

Greece should consider joining the TAP, which will link Europe to natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan via Turkey, Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, top US energy diplomat Amos Hochstein said after talks with Greek officials, Reuters reported on Friday.

“Turkish Stream doesn't exist. There is no consortium to build it, there is no agreement to build it. So let's put that to the side, and wait until there's some movement on that and see if that's relevant or not relevant and in the meantime focus on what's important - the pipeline we already agreed to, that Greece already agreed to”, Hochstein claimed. He didn’t give any details on the meeting with Greek officials, saying that they “more agreed than disagreed.”

Greek Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, however, responded that the country would continue supporting the Russian gas pipeline.

“We are backing this project because we think it will be useful for our country,” the minister said in a statement after the talks.

The US envoy said that the US position was the best way for Europe to secure its energy supply by diversifying its sources and ensuring competition. He also added that having other gas sources would “help with price, reliability of supply, and that will help take the political element out of the supply system.”

Meanwhile, on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during a phone conversation that Russia was ready to consider providing financial support for Greek companies that join the Russian pipeline project. Tsipras confirmed his country’s readiness to participate in the Turkish Stream project.

Earlier in April during the Greek PM’s official visit to Moscow, Putin and Tsipras agreed to collaborate in the construction of a new pipeline, to be part of the Turkish Stream project, which would deliver Russian gas to Europe via Greece. 

The Russian president said at that time that by joining the project Greece could become one of the main power distribution centers in Europe, and earn hundreds of millions of euros annually from gas transit fees. The Greek PM voiced interest in the proposal, claiming that the project could be a way to boost jobs and investment in the Greek economy. Cash-stripped Greece can also use revenues from potential joint projects with Russia to pay off debt to international creditors.

In December, Gazprom’s CEO Aleksey Miller announced a plan to construct the Turkish Stream pipeline, replacing the South Stream project. Russia was forced to withdraw from South Stream due to EU objections over its construction. South Stream was supposed to connect pipelines running under the Black Sea to a network in Eastern Europe, with Bulgaria as the entry point.

The Turkish Stream pipeline will have an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters. Around 14 billion cubic meters of gas are to be supplied to Turkey, with the rest being pumped to a hub on the Turkish-Greek border for customers in Europe.
Source: rt.com

WITH MORE NATURE FURY IN STORE FOR TODAY, AT LEAST 2 DEAD, DOZENS INJURED, SIGNIFICANT PROPERTY DAMAGE, AFTER TORNADOES HIT TEXAS, ARKANSAS THIS PAST WEEKEND

MAY 11, 2015

VAN, TEXAS (AP)

Emergency responders searched the wreckage of communities in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas early Monday, after a rash of tornadoes slammed the area, killing at least two people and leaving dozens injured.

Howard County Sheriff Brian McJunkins said two victims who lived in adjoining mobile homes in Nashville, Arkansas, died after several tornadoes were reported in the area late Sunday. McJunkins told KLSA-TV that two other people in the town about 50 miles north of Texarkana were critically injured.

In neighboring Texas, a likely tornado pummeled the small city of Van in Van Zandt County around 8:45 p.m. Chuck Allen, the Van Zandt County fire marshal and emergency management coordinator, said about 30 percent of the city was damaged in the storm.

Allen said in an email early Monday that a triage area was established at a church and about 26 residents were taken to hospitals. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.

"Damages range from completely destroyed homes, damaged homes, to trees and power lines down," Allen wrote.

Allen said authorities were going door to door in the city about 70 miles southeast of Dallas, hunting for injured people. Van has about 2,500 residents.

Utility companies are working to restore "vital infrastructures," and road and bridge crews are working to open streets and highways to allow for first responder access, he said.

The American Red Cross planned to open a shelter at First Baptist Church in Van, Allen said. Calls to the church rang unanswered early Monday.

The Van Independent School District said on its website schools would be closed Monday.

The National Weather Service believes at least one tornado hit Van on Sunday night, senior meteorologist Eric Martello said. Weather service crews were surveying the area Monday.

The storm was part of severe weather that stretched across North Texas on Sunday.

Further north, in Lake City, Iowa, a suspected tornado tore the roof from a high school as about 150 students, family and faculty attended a baccalaureate and senior awards ceremony inside Sunday night.

South Central Calhoun girls' basketball coach Dave Birks said they were able to evacuate to the school's basement and locker room area about two minutes before the twister hit.

"The lights went off, and everyone's ears kind of popped," Birks said, adding that school windows were blown out and insulation was scattered nearby. He also said the high jump pit from the school's outdoor athletic complex was missing and hurdles were scattered everywhere.

Much earlier Sunday, storms struck the small town of Delmont in South Dakota, injuring nine people there.

"Our house is flat. There is nothing left," said Stephanie Lunder, 34, who was sheltering with her husband and four children in the basement when the storm hit. State Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Kristi Turman said the town's 200-plus residents were asked to leave for safety reasons.

Also early Sunday, another likely tornado ripped roofs off buildings and damaged trees near Denton, about 40 miles northwest of Dallas, according to weather service meteorologist Tom Bradshaw. There were no immediate reports of injuries or fatalities.

The area also experienced torrential rains that led to widespread flash flooding. Authorities in Denton County said Sunday that two groups of people had to be airlifted by helicopters to safety.

THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF OIL SPILL AT INDIAN POINT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, AFTER THE EXPLOSION AND FIRE. OIL OVERFLEW INTO HUDSON RIVER THROUGH A DISCHARGE DRAIN.

MAY 10, 2015

BUCHANAN, N.Y. (AP)

Part of a New York nuclear power plant remained offline Sunday after a transformer fire created another problem: thousands of gallons of oil leaking into the Hudson River, officials said.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said emergency crews were out on the water near Buchanan trying to contain and clean up transformer fluid that leaked from Indian Point 3.

"There's no doubt that oil was discharged into the Hudson River," Cuomo said. "Exactly how much, we don't know."

It could be weeks before Indian Point 3 is reopened again, said a spokesman for Entergy Corp., the plant owner.

The transformer at the plant about 30 miles north of midtown Manhattan failed on Saturday evening, causing a fire that forced the automatic shutdown.

Cuomo revealed Sunday that even after the blaze on the nonnuclear side of the plant was quickly doused, the heat reignited the fire that was again extinguished.

The governor said oil in the transformer had seeped into a holding tank that did not have the capacity to contain all the fluid, which then entered river waters through a discharge drain.

Joseph Martens, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said measures were taken to keep the oil from spreading, including setting up booms over an area about 300 feet in diameter in the water.

The cleanup should take a day or two, Cuomo said.

A spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said several thousand gallons of oil may have overflowed the transformer moat.

The reactor itself was deemed safe and stable, said Entergy spokesman Jerry Nappi. The plant's adjacent Unit 2 reactor was not affected and remained in operation.

The Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan supplies electricity for millions of homes, businesses and public facilities in New York City and Westchester County.

"These situations we take very seriously. Luckily this was not a major situation. But the emergency protocols are very important," Cuomo said Saturday. "I take nothing lightly when it comes to this plant specifically."

The transformer at Indian Point 3 takes energy created by the plant and changes the voltage for the grid supplying power to the state.

The blaze, which sent black smoke billowing into the sky, was extinguished by a sprinkler system and on-site personnel, Nappi said.

He said a foam-like substance containing animal protein and fat was used to put out the fire, leaving an oily sheen on the water that does not harm the environment. He said he cannot confirm that fluid from the transformer leaked beyond the holding tank until a probe is conducted.

It was not immediately clear what caused the initial failure.

Officials did not know how long the 1,000-megawatt reactor would be down. Nappi estimated it could be "a few weeks" before Indian Point 3 reopened.

Cuomo said there had been too many emergencies recently involving Indian Point. Unit 3 was shut down Thursday morning for an unrelated issue — a water leak on the nonnuclear side of the plant.

"We have to get to the bottom of this," the governor said.

In March, Unit 3 was shut down for a planned refueling that took about a month.

Diane Screnci, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said an agency inspector was at the site Sunday and the agency would follow up as Indian Point assesses the affected equipment.

She said there was no impact on the public.

The environmental watchdog group Riverkeeper issued a statement Sunday saying the latest Indian Point accident proves that the plant should be closed for good.

Source:ap.com