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Some Worry Colorado’s Gas Boom Could Go Bust
Morning Edition, March 9, 2009 · High prices and a push from the Bush White House to open public land to drilling fueled a natural gas boom in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains in recent years. Now that prices are lower — and the state is considering strict new industry regulations — drilling has dropped off dramatically and the local economy is suffering.
Urban Gas Drilling Causes Backlash In Boomtown
All Things Considered, August 5, 2008 · The Barnett Shale, a natural gas-bearing formation underneath 21 counties in north Texas, is a wildcatter’s dream: Wherever energy companies poke a hole, there’s gas. Now they’re scrambling to drill anywhere there’s vacant land — at country clubs, parking lots, city parks, school grounds and airports.
Oil Prices Rally on Pipeline Explosion
Morning Edition, November 29, 2007 · The price of oil was on the rise Thursday after news of an explosion and fire overnight at a major pipeline in northern Minnesota threatened to cause supply disruptions.
BP Pleads Guilty, Pays $373 Million
Morning Edition, October 26, 2007 · British oil giant BP Plc pleads guilty in a U.S. court to a string of crimes that include a fatal accident in Texas and a major oil spill in Alaska. It will pay $373 million in settlement fines. The move is part of the company’s restructuring plan.
Marketplace’ Report: High-Profile BP Disasters
Day to Day, May 16, 2007 · Investigators working for Congress say the root causes of a major oil spill in Alaska last year show are strikingly similar to the causes of a 2005 oil refinery explosion in Texas. Both were at facilities owned by BP, the company formerly known as British Petroleum.
Bob Moon of Marketplace talks to Madeleine Brand about the evidence against BP.
Congress Digs into BP Pipeline Problems
Morning Edition, September 8, 2006 · The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing Thursday on corrosion problems that forced BP to shut down of half the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska. The company admits making mistakes. But one former BP manager in Alaska refused to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment rights.
Gulf of Mexico Oil Difficult to Access
Morning Edition, September 6, 2006 · Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates and author of The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power, talks with Renee Montagne about news of Chevron’s successful pursuit of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Yergin says tapping the new field would not have been possible a decade ago
BP Weighs Answers to Alaskan Pipeline Corrosion
Morning Edition, August 11, 2006 · Operators of Alaska’s giant Prudhoe Bay oil field scramble to inspect pipelines for signs of corrosion, as they try to decide whether it’s safe to keep pumping oil from parts of the field.
BP Pipeline Maintenance Program Draws Scrutiny
August 8, 2006 · Questions are being raised about BP’s maintenance practices after a corroded pipeline forced the company to halt oil production at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. BP says it was surprised by the extent of the pipeline problem. Critics say the company is not as vigilant as it should be.
Alaska Oil Spill Blamed on Poor Pipe Maintenance
by Elizabeth Arnold
Day to Day, May 17, 2006 · Evidence suggests that a British Petroleum oil spill in Alaska earlier this year — at 200,000 gallons, the biggest spill ever on the North Slope — may have been the result of poor pipe maintenance. Now there are renewed efforts to hold the company accountable.
Who Pays to Repair Louisiana’s Wetlands?
Weekend Edition – Saturday, May 6, 2006 · Southern Louisiana’s wetlands, a buffer against hurricanes, are slowly disappearing. Oil exploration has contributed to the damage. But who should pay to repair the wetlands? The state government and oil companies are asking the federal government to foot a bill that will run into the billions.
Underwater Pipeline Damage Underestimated in Gulf
by Christopher Joyce
All Things Considered, May 4, 2006 · The federal government reports that far more underwater pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico were damaged by hurricanes last year than they realized. Weather and the pressure to find divers and oil-rig workers have overtaxed available resources. There are thousands of miles of pipeline that need to be inspected and tested before oil and gas can flow again.
Oil Pipeline Spill Blackens Alaska’s North Slope
by Elizabeth Shogren
Day to Day, March 16, 2006 · Workers are cleaning up more than 200,000 gallons of oil that leaked last week from a pipeline in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. It’s the largest oil spill ever on Alaska’s North Slope, and it has added fuel to debates over the wisdom of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Oil Companies Experiencing Record Profits
All Things Considered, September 29, 2005 · Strong global demand for energy combined with tight supplies has resulted in record oil company profits. Some politicians are crying foul, especially after Katrina. But most analysts say it’s the market at work.
Rita’s Impact on Oil Industry Less Than Feared
by Jim Zarroli
Morning Edition, September 26, 2005 · Oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remains largely suspended Monday after Hurricane Rita swept through the region on Saturday. The storm damaged several big refineries in Texas and Louisiana, but the impact appears to have been less than expected.
Oil Markets Exhale as Rita Passes By
by Jim Zarroli
All Things Considered, September 25, 2005 · Hurricane Rita damaged three oil refineries in Lousiana and Texas when it stormed ashore with winds topping 120 mph and more than a foot of rainwater. But most rigs, pipelines and refineries appear to have been spared.
Oil Patch in Direct Line of Storm
Weekend Edition – Saturday, September 24, 2005 · Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas, and Lake Charles, La., appear to be taking the brunt of Hurricane Rita’s wrath… and they’re also at the heart of the region’s oil industry. New York Times columnist Joe Nocera talks about the implications.
Revisiting Katrina-Ravaged Plaquemines
by John Burnett
All Things Considered, September 21, 2005 · Plaquemines Parish was one of the worst-affected areas in and around New Orleans. Thousands of people lost their homes and are desperately trying to cope with the storm’s aftermath. Also, an oil pipeline has broken open, spilling some of its contents into a fragile wilderness.
Katrina’s Impact on the Oil Industry
Talk of the Nation, September 2, 2005 · From rigs to refineries to the prices at your local pump: We look at how much damage Katrina has done to oil production in the Gulf Coast region.
Guest:Rayola Dougher, manager of energy market issues at the American Petroleum Institute in Washington, D.C.
Gulf Rigs and Refineries Face Cleanup
All Things Considered, August 29, 2005 · If the experience with Hurricane Ivan is any guide, oil companies will have to deal with a fair amount of damage in the wake of Katrina. Ivan turned the pipelines on the sea floor into spaghetti and damaged some platforms. Environmental damage was minimal.
U.S. Firm Invokes New Law in Pipeline Suit
by Nancy Cohen
All Things Considered, August 18, 2005 · Immediately after President Bush signed the energy bill into law, a Connecticut company went to federal court to try to revive its gas pipeline project. It’s the first known lawsuit filed as a result of the new law, which expands federal authority in utility disputes. State officials had denied the project over environmental concerns. From member station WNPR, Nancy Cohen reports.
Planning the First U.S. Refinery in 30 Years
by Ted Robbins
All Things Considered, June 15, 2005 · Arizona could be the home of the first new oil refinery to be built since the 1970s. Arizona Clean Fuels Co. has cleared one major hurdle: receiving a clean air permit from the state. Despite local opposition to the project, the highest hurdle may be raising the $3 billion needed to build it.
Underground Petroleum Leaks in Hartford, Illinois
All Things Considered, August 20, 2004 · Matt Sepic of member station KWMU profiles the refinery town of Hartford, Ill., near St. Louis, plagued with a decades-old problem. A layer of gasoline sits under the village. Leaky petroleum pipelines deposited it over the years. That’s left the town with bad smells, fires and even a few explosions. Government and industry officials say they’re doing something about it. But some residents say nothing can be done and want to be bought out.
Gas Shortage in Phoenix, Arizona
Day to Day, August 21, 2003 · NPR’s Madeleine Brand speaks with two people affected by the Phoenix, Ariz., gas crisis — Happy Singh, the manager of an Arco station in Phoenix, and Casey Hargett, a motorist who spent hours searching and waiting in line for gas.
Court Finds Navajos Were Underpaid for Land Use
All Things Considered, August 21, 2003 · A federal court investigation finds that oil and gas companies paid Navajo Indians a fraction of what they paid private landowners for the right to build pipelines across their property. The findings come as part of a class-action lawsuit that accuses the Interior Department of mismanaging Native American lands. Hear Associated Press reporter Robert Gehrke.
All Things Considered, August 26, 2000 · Mark Roberts reports on questions about the safety of the nation’s pipeline system in the wake of last week’s explosion in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Eleven campers were killed when a natural gas pipeline ruptured near their campsite.
All Things Considered, December 26, 1999 · A plan to run gasoline 700 miles across the state of Texas has residents there concerned. Proponents want to use an existing pipeline, built in 1949, that once carried crude oil across the state. They say once some work is done on the line, the gasoline can be delivered safely. But as Janet Heimlich reports from Austin, the pipe runs through areas that are now densely populated, and in the last few years, pipelines carrying gasoline and other so-called “hazardous liquids” have exploded.
Morning Edition, June 23, 1999 · NPR’s Wendy Kaufman reports on the aftermath of a gas pipeline explosion in Washington state earlier this month that killed three. The owner of the line, the Olympic Pipeline Company, had hoped for approval of a new line in the same area. That was controversial to begin with…many in the community are now more adamant that the proposal be declined. A state panel takes up the matter today.