Earth Day: A Celebration of Energy Awareness
Joe Wilson is CEO of Infinity Resource Group, Inc., a professional mineral rights consulting firm in Parkersburg, W.Va., and a Registered Landman. David Pearl is managing director of a CNG patent holding company and president of a CNG fuel island development company. Your questions are welcomed by calling 412-535-9200 or by e-mailing joe@irg-energy.com.
Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970. Dave was in ninth grade. Joe wasn鈥檛 born yet. Dave recalls thinking that Earth Day was a pretty cool idea, but also thought it was a passing fad like bell bottom pants and tie-dyed shirts. Luckily, Dave was wrong. Earth Day is going strong in its 44th year, and with each passing Earth Day the consciousness of millions of people around the world is raised about how fragile and beautiful our planet is.
This column is what we hope will be the first in a longstanding series devoted to discussing the ABC蘑菇视频 of mineral rights and natural gas in the US 鈥� starting right here, in Greene County. All aspects will be discussed, from local landowners selling their mineral rights, to transporting the gas through pipelines, all the way to having automobiles and trucks fill up at the local filling station with Appalachian natural gas.
So why, you must be thinking, are these guys writing a column here, in Greene County? Because Greene County is blessed in being located in the heart of it all, sitting squarely on top of the Marcellus and Utica shale. After all, Appalachia is where the action is鈥�.
And again, you are probably thinking, why are you writing this column? Because we are in the gas business and we have found that most people do not have an understanding of mineral rights and natural gas. We would like to educate the general public on how the raw gas goes from the earth to a consumer for sale at the pump. We believe that an informed public is not only good for the community, but it is also good for business.
Yes, we are in the natural gas industry. Joe is a Registered Landman and has been responsible for servicing the pipeline, seismic and drilling side of the business. Joe is the CEO of a mineral rights consulting firm, where he helps mineral rights owners evaluate, sell or lease their minerals. Joe is also an active member of the local chapters of the MLBC, AAPL, & IRWA organizations. Joe蘑菇视频 introduction to the business was when he apprenticed under his grandfather in the late 1990蘑菇视频 when his granddad was securing mineral rights for major gas companies. Plus, Joe蘑菇视频 wife, who is also an active member of the AAPL, is a title abstractor, which is a critical occupation when determining mineral rights ownership and easement rights. The gas business runs deep in Joe蘑菇视频 blood.
Dave is a retired lawyer who spent most of his career working with inventors and engineers, transforming new ideas into businesses. Dave蘑菇视频 experience includes managing a patent portfolio in 22 countries worldwide for over 17 years. He also served a four-year term as board member of the Maryland Board of Professional Engineers, by appointment of the Governor. Dave fell into the natural gas business about five years ago when he was given the opportunity to manage patents designed around improving gas station design and the dispensing of compressed natural gas (CNG). About two years ago, Dave became president of a fuel island development company that specializes in the dispensing of CNG in cars and trucks.
We met about 10 years ago through a mutual friend, and although there is a 27-year age difference between us, an immediate friendship was born. Dave and Joe work in mutual collaboration with one another helping each other pave the way for the future of CNG and mineral rights. We are colleagues and friends, and we are passionate about the gas business and believe that more people need to know what we are doing and where the gas industry is heading. It蘑菇视频 good for Greene County and it蘑菇视频 good for the country.
The technology of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is the reason why mineral rights owners can now get exceptional value for their mineral rights. But is this technology consistent with the Earth Day message?
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, natural gas is far cleaner than gasoline and diesel. It is an odorless, nontoxic, gaseous mixture of hydrocarbons 鈥� predominantly methane. Natural gas has lower emissions of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and 20 percent less carbon dioxide emissions that gasoline or diesel. Plus, with CNG, there is no danger of polluting groundwater or soil because it is lighter-than-air and dissipates quickly into the atmosphere, whereas gasoline or diesel sink and puddle. CNG is also safer because it has a higher ignition temperature than gasoline or diesel thus lowering the chance of accidental ignition. CNG ignites at 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, while the flashpoint for gasoline and diesel is approximately 250 degrees. Firing a bullet into a CNG tank will not cause an explosion because the temperature of the bullet is not hot enough.
Popular Mechanics Magazine sets the record straight:
鈥淭here is no question that hydraulic fracturing uses a lot of water: It can take up to 7 million gallons to frac a single well, and at least 30 percent of that water is lost forever, after being trapped deep in the shale. And while there is some evidence that fracking has contributed to the depletion of water supplies in drought-stricken Texas, a study by Carnegie Mellon University indicates the Marcellus region has plenty of water and, in most cases, an adequate system to regulate its usage. The amount of water required to drill all 2,916 of the Marcellus wells permitted in Pennsylvania in the first 11 months of 2010 would equal the amount of drinking water used by just one city, Pittsburgh, during the same period, says environmental engineering professor Jeanne VanBriesen, the study蘑菇视频 lead author. Plus, she notes, water withdrawals of this new industry are taking the place of water once used by industries, like steel manufacturing, that the state has lost.
Hydro-geologist David Yoxtheimer of Penn State蘑菇视频 Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research gives the withdrawals more context: Of the 9.5 billion gallons of water used daily in Pennsylvania, natural gas development consumes 1.9 million gallons a day (mgd); livestock use 62 mgd; mining, 96 mgd; and industry, 770 mgd.鈥�
We鈥檇 like to thank the Greene County Messenger for giving us the opportunity to write this column. We hope you, the reader, find the column useful. Don鈥檛 be shy about reaching out to us with questions and comments. We鈥檇 love to hear from you.