Fracking

A high-pressure gas line spanning a canal in an oil field over the Monterey Shale formation near Lost Hills, Calif., in 2014. Credit David McNew/Getty Images

CLICK HERE - EPA's Study of Hydraulic Fracturing and Its Potential Impact on Drinking Water Resources

cnbc.com - by Robert Ferris | Tom DiChristopher - December 13, 2016

The Environmental Protection Agency's final report on a five-year study finds hydraulic fracturing can in fact contaminate drinking water in some cases.

The EPA's presentation of the final assessment marks a significant change in the way the report was initially presented in 2015. Energy companies seized on that presentation because it said the EPA found no "widespread, systemic impact" on drinking water supplies.

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CLICK HERE - EPA - Executive Summary, Hydraulic Fracturing Study - Final Assessment 2016

Photo: El Paso Times - (CLICK HERE to view additional photos)

texashillcountry.com - by Spring Sault - May 30, 2016

The existence of a number of aerial photos showing flood-related oil spills on a state-run website was revealed in an El Paso Times story by Marty Schladen last month, followed shortly by state officials ordering the photos removed from the website operated by the University of Texas at Austin.

Until the Times’ story was published, the photos weren’t common knowledge to the public and identified possible environmental damage caused by flooding in oil drilling areas, including fracking sites. . . .

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, file photo, oil pumps work at sunset in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. Oil prices have further to drop with no signs of slowing production in the U.S., according to the International Energy Agency, Friday, March 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File) - Associated Press

ABC News - AP - March 13, 2015

Oil prices have further to drop with few signs of slowing production in the U.S., according to a global energy agency.

The International Energy Agency, a watchdog group based in Paris that represents the world's main oil-importing nations, said in its monthly report Friday that the recent stabilization in oil prices is "precarious."

"Behind the facade of stability, the rebalancing triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course," it said.

That may be playing out right now. Oil prices tumbled 10 percent this week, including a 5 percent drop Friday.

The IEA cautioned that risks of oil supply disruptions are growing. Low prices could raise the risk of social disruption in some countries dependent on oil, the agency said, and the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Libya hasn't slowed down.