In a recent chat with analysts, the chairman and CEO of Schlumberger indicated that his company is willing to accept federal regulation of the widespread gas drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing.
Schlumberger is a French-American oilfield services company based in
That point of view is not shared by Bruce Vincent, incoming chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. Speaking on behalf of the IPAA before the House Natural Gas Caucus the same week, he said: "Those who seek to inhibit or prevent the development of natural gas recognize the linchpin role that fracturing plays in shale gas production."
"They regularly demean the effectiveness of the state regulators despite a history of success -- turning to a federal solution where none is warranted and would freeze the development of shale gas if it were imposed," said Vincent, who also is president of
According to Vincent, "the industry now has under development materials designed to provide producers with better guidance on managing the surface areas of our sites, on hydraulic fracturing techniques and on well casing and cementing procedures. We will be sharing these materials with state regulators to enhance transparency in the regulatory process. We work with state regulators to improve the efficiency of the process."
Whether the services companies like Schlumberger or the independent producers IPAA represents wins out remains to be seen as Congress debates the increasingly contentious issue this fall.
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