{ "id": "R43148", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43148", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 440640, "date": "2015-04-22", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:10:27.029486", "title": "An Overview of Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas: Resources and Federal Actions", "summary": "The United States has seen resurgence in petroleum production, mainly driven by technology improvements\u2014especially hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling\u2014developed for natural gas production from shale formations. Application of these technologies enabled natural gas to be economically produced from shale and other unconventional formations and contributed to the United States becoming the world\u2019s largest natural gas producer in 2009. Use of these technologies has also contributed to the rise in U.S. oil production over the last few years. In 2009, annual oil production increased over 2008, the first annual rise since 1991, and has continued to increase each year since. Between January 2008 and May 2014, U.S. monthly crude oil production rose by 3.2 million barrels per day, with about 85% of the increase coming from shale and related tight oil formations in Texas and North Dakota. Other tight oil plays are also being developed, helping raise the prospect of energy independence, especially for North America.\nThe rapid expansion of tight oil and shale gas extraction using high-volume hydraulic fracturing has raised concerns about its potential environmental and health impacts. These concerns include potential direct impacts to groundwater and surface water quality, water supplies, and air quality. In addition, some have raised concerns about potential long-term and indirect impacts from reliance on fossil fuels and resulting greenhouse gas emissions and influence on broader energy economics. This report focuses mainly on actions related to controlling potential direct impacts.\nStates are the primary regulators of oil and gas production on non-federal lands. In recent years, many oil and gas producing states have revised laws and regulations governing oil and gas production in response to changes in production practices as producers have expanded into tight oil, shale gas, and other unconventional hydrocarbon formations. However, state rules vary considerably, leading to calls for more federal oversight of unconventional oil and gas extraction activities and hydraulic fracturing specifically.\nProvisions of several federal environmental laws can apply to certain activities related to oil and gas production, and proposals to expand federal regulation in this area have been highly controversial. Some advocates of a larger federal role point to a wide range of differences among state regulatory regimes and argue that a national framework is needed to ensure a consistent minimum level of protection for surface and groundwater resources and air quality. Others argue against more federal involvement and point to the long-established state oil and natural gas regulatory programs, regional differences in geology and water resources, and concern over regulatory redundancy. \nThe federal role in regulating oil and gas extraction activities\u2014and hydraulic fracturing, in particular\u2014has been the subject of considerable debate and legislative proposals for several years, but legislation has not been enacted. While congressional debate has continued, the Administration has pursued a number of regulatory initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas development under existing statutory authorities. \nThis report focuses on the growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production driven primarily by tight oil formations and shale gas formations. It also reviews selected federal environmental regulatory and research initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas extraction, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hydraulic fracturing rule (finalized in March 2015) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43148", "sha1": "733dc676ad390cc7cddce81b1bc356f540414345", "filename": "files/20150422_R43148_733dc676ad390cc7cddce81b1bc356f540414345.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43148", "sha1": "4aaa91f654d75e03a0b5868a5e92cc30ab41829c", "filename": "files/20150422_R43148_4aaa91f654d75e03a0b5868a5e92cc30ab41829c.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2481, "name": "Oil and Natural Gas Markets" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc505471/", "id": "R43148_2015Apr07", "date": "2015-04-07", "retrieved": "2015-05-29T05:37:21", "title": "An Overview of Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas: Resources and Federal Actions", "summary": "This report focuses on the growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production driven primarily by tight oil formations and shale gas formations. It also reviews selected federal environmental regulatory and research initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas extraction, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hydraulic fracturing rule (finalized in March 2015) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150407_R43148_0ffbdf7deff632412506a4993b9d20aacf10d936.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150407_R43148_0ffbdf7deff632412506a4993b9d20aacf10d936.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Fossil fuels", "name": "Fossil fuels" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Liquefied natural gas", "name": "Liquefied natural gas" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Natural gas", "name": "Natural gas" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Natural gas reserves", "name": "Natural gas reserves" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc501821/", "id": "R43148_2015Jan05", "date": "2015-01-05", "retrieved": "2015-03-30T22:03:27", "title": "An Overview of Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas: Resources and Federal Actions", "summary": "This report focuses on the growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production driven primarily by tight oil formations and shale gas formations. It also reviews selected federal environmental regulatory and research initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas extraction, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed hydraulic fracturing rule and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150105_R43148_ecf039bd2c6d26c441ff9353d7ef93208bda3563.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150105_R43148_ecf039bd2c6d26c441ff9353d7ef93208bda3563.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Fossil fuels", "name": "Fossil fuels" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Liquefied natural gas", "name": "Liquefied natural gas" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Natural gas", "name": "Natural gas" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Natural gas reserves", "name": "Natural gas reserves" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc491316/", "id": "R43148_2014Nov21", "date": "2014-11-21", "retrieved": "2015-01-27T19:40:46", "title": "An Overview of Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas: Resources and Federal Actions", "summary": "This report focuses on the growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production driven primarily by tight oil formations and shale gas formations. It also reviews selected federal environmental regulatory and research initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas extraction, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed hydraulic fracturing rule and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20141121_R43148_b3636096df54ee35ac1c987e6a45b493dc8f72f2.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20141121_R43148_b3636096df54ee35ac1c987e6a45b493dc8f72f2.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Natural gas", "name": "Natural gas" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Natural gas reserves", "name": "Natural gas reserves" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Fossil fuels", "name": "Fossil fuels" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Liquefied natural gas", "name": "Liquefied natural gas" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc462162/", "id": "R43148_2014Jan23", "date": "2014-01-23", "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41", "title": "An Overview of Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas: Resources and Federal Actions", "summary": "This report focuses on the growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production driven primarily by tight oil formations and shale gas formations. It also reviews selected federal environmental regulatory and research initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas extraction, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed hydraulic fracturing rule and EPA actions.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140123_R43148_0011e60934467969afb3602c64e833d1cab815ff.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140123_R43148_0011e60934467969afb3602c64e833d1cab815ff.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Natural gas", "name": "Natural gas" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil and gas law", "name": "Oil and gas law" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Fossil fuels", "name": "Fossil fuels" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Environmental protection", "name": "Environmental protection" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Environmental law and legislation", "name": "Environmental law and legislation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc805804/", "id": "R43148_2013Jul15", "date": "2013-07-15", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "An Overview of Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas: Resources and Federal Actions", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130715_R43148_fd6933e1a2bc2d14f8e5626e8bae5309781c521a.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130715_R43148_fd6933e1a2bc2d14f8e5626e8bae5309781c521a.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Energy Policy" ] }