The beginning coverage of what’s going on in the American and World economy: /employment/#Economics
More articles and videos will be presented as they are submitted, screened, and linked in the above webpage.
The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) adopts amendments to §§3.5, 3.31, 3.38, 3.40, 3.45, 3.51, 3.52 and 3.86, relating to Application To Drill, Deepen, Reenter, or Plug Back; Gas Reservoirs and Gas Well Allowable; Well Densities; Assignment of Acreage to Pooled Development and Proration Units; Oil Allowables; Oil Potential Test Forms Required; Oil Well Allowable Production; and Horizontal Drainhole Wells, respectively. Sections 3.5, 3.31, 3.38, 3.40, 3.45, 3.51 and 3.52 are adopted without changes, and §3.86 is adopted with changes from the proposed text as published in the November 6, 2015, issue of the Texas Register (40 TexReg 7766).
The RRC adopts the amendments to establish a procedure for designating certain fields as unconventional fracture treated fields (“UFT fields”). A UFT field is a field in which horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing must be used in order to recover resources from all or part of the field and which is developed using either vertical or horizontal drilling techniques. This designation includes shale formations, such as the Eagle Ford and Barnett Shale, in which the drainage of a wellbore is based upon the area reached by the hydraulic fracturing treatments rather than conventional flow patterns. The substantive amendments to incorporate this concept are adopted in §3.86(i) – (l), with supporting and conforming amendments proposed in the other sections.
The AIPG Texas Section Officers, 4 District Representatives, and Councilor- and Member-at-Large, have begun evaluations on how to best assist recent graduates in gaining employment (here), and the members of the AIPG Texas Section and other geologists in Texas who have recently become unemployed only because they were very good at discovering vast shale gas resources in Texas and all over the world for the oil and gas industry. In the meantime, we have provided some guidance (here).
The TCEQ has announced updates to the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) Tier 1 Protective Concentration Levels (PCLs) are now available. You can access these tables at: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediation/trrp/trrppcls.html
On Sept. 24, 2015, the EPA signed the final rule which requires NPDES regulated entities to electronically submit specific permit and compliance monitoring information instead of filing paper reports. This rule will be implemented in two phases. Phase I becomes effective on Dec. 21, 2016, and Phase II becomes effective on Dec. 21, 2020. The following is a brief summary of the Phase I and Phase II requirements as they apply to NPDES regulated entities.
Michael D. Campbell, AIPG-TX Vice President – Eastern Texas, and James R. Conca, Member of the Advisory Group of the EMD Uranium (and Nuclear and Rare Earth Minerals) Committee have just published a section in the “Unconventional Energy Resources: 2015 Review” in the Journal of Natural Resources Research, Vol. 24, No.4 entitled: “Energy Competition in the Uranium, Thorium, and Rare Earth Industries in the U.S. and the World,” updated and summarized from the 2015 Annual Report of the EMD Uranium (and Nuclear and Rare Earth Minerals) Committee, see pp. 8-16, (here).
Mr. Henry M. Wise, President of the AIPG Texas Section announced today that he has made three new appointments to the AIPG Texas Section Board during the recent monthly teleconference of the Board last week. Mr. Rick Greiner has been appointed as the new Secretary-Treasurer of the Texas Section. Mr. Matt Cowan has been appointed as the Texas Section Representative for District IV. And, Mr. Doug Hall has been appointed as the Member-at-Large for the Texas Section of AIPG.
The Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) is proposing rule amendments to Chapters 850 and 851 concerning the licensure and regulation of Professional Geoscientists. Many of the changes are for consistency and clarity.
A new report has been released under Mineral Commodities under C. Texas Aquifers:
It was prepared by Dr. Rima Petrossian, P.G., C.P.G., the Vice President, West Texas, of the AIPG Texas Section. It is intended to be a dynamic report, in that, the contents may be updated from time to time as new information becomes available. Your comments are invited.
The following information was provided by the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG):
On September 18, 2015 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to amend the new source performance standards (NSPS) for the oil and natural gas source category by setting standards for both methane and volatile organic compounds (VOC) for certain equipment, processes and activities across this source category.
