A Houston investment bank finds that a new front has been opened in the Obama Administration's war on shale gas and hydraulic fracturing. In its most recent monthly publication[1], Parks Paton reports:
... the SEC recently asked a gas shale producer in the registration process for an initial public offering (IPO) to disclose the volume of fracturing fluids used per well. They also requested information on the "additional chemicals" present in the fracturing fluids used.
The lawyers involved indicated that the producer was not planning on disclosing any of this information, but what the lawyers worried about is why the SEC would be asking these questions. There is no federal disclosure requirement about hydraulic fracturing chemicals so who is behind this request? The belief is that the EPA is encouraging the SEC's inquiry, but that is only speculation.
Tuesday the President set out to "reclaim the initiative on the economy, promising a new effort to spur job creation while seeking to position himself as a proven voice of reason...." The President claims to want "to turn the page," yet maintains an active campaign of suppressing shale drilling, freezing offshore oil and gas development and quarantining carbon.
One would think that with the debt limit fiasco, there was hardly time available to the President to spread his plague elsewhere. Unfortunately, he is the energizer bunny of economic doom, finding time to steer the EPA's shale gas attack through the SEC, the agency formerly dedicated to the protection of widows and orphans.
The man and his party are waging war on the energy industry, an industry that is one of the three largest in the country and represents 10-15% of our economy, resulting in massive damage to this country's energy independence, cost of living and employment. Forget "turning the page," let's close the book.
[1] PPHB Energy Investment Banking, "Musings From the Oil Patch," August 2, 2011.
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