By IAN URBINA, New York Times, December 30, 2011

KAROO, South Africa — When a drought dried up their wells last year, hundreds of farmers and their families flocked to local fairgrounds here to pray for rain, and a call went out on the regional radio station imploring South Africans to donate bottled water.

by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, Dec. 29, 2011

This is part of our year-end series, looking at where things stand in each of our major investigations.

This was the year that "fracking" became a household word.

Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, December 5, 2011

Americans have never met a hydrocarbon they didn’t like. Oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, tar-sands oil, coal-bed methane, and coal, which is, mostly, carbon—the country loves them all, not wisely, but too well. To the extent that the United States has an energy policy, it is perhaps best summed up as: if you’ve got it, burn it.

By Andrew Maykuth, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 13, 2011

The shale-gas bonanza is fueling a hot competition among businesses that want to claim a share of what is promoted as an abundant long-term energy source.

Rich Coleman and Vaughn Palmer, Voice of BC, Oct 27, 2011

Minister of Energy, Mines and Housing talks to Vaughn Palmer about an array of interesting topics about electricity, natural gas, shale gas, mining, smart meters, carbon neutrality, deferral accounts, BC's GHG.
 

By Edward McAllister, Reuters, October 26, 2011

• Cheniere to supply 3.5 mln tonnes a year to BG
  
• Deal will run for 20 years
  
• BG will ship LNG to markets across the globe

By Gordon Hoekstra, Postmedia News, September 29, 2011

VANCOUVER — B.C.'s energy regulator says it will investigate a link between hydraulic fracturing and new earthquake activity in the extreme northeastern corner of B.C.

News Release, MLAs Vicky Huntington & Bob Simpson, October 6th 2011

This week it was revealed that the BC government has approved yet another major water licence, despite an explicit promise to consult with the public before doing so. This second licence will allow upward of 7.3 billion litres of water per year to be removed annually from the Williston Reservoir.

By Reuters, Calgary Herald, October 7, 2011

Enbridge to invest up to $900 million in Cabin gas plant

Enbridge Inc. said it would buy a majority stake in the Cabin gas plant in British Columbia’s Horn River Basin from Encana Corp. and some other sellers for $250 million Cdn, as it looks to strengthen its Canadian midstream business.

By Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun, September 9, 2011

Public can inspect drilling locations, chemicals used in fracking, Clark says

Premier Christy Clark on Thursday announced new rules that will increase transparency around hydraulic fracturing methods used in British Columbia's natural gas industry.

By Bloomberg News, Pittsburgh Tribune, August 24, 2011

The United States will slash its estimate of undiscovered Marcellus shale natural gas by nearly 80 percent after an updated assessment by government geologists.

Marc Lee, CCPA Policy Note, July 11th, 2011

Any day now the BC government should be releasing the latest greenhouse gas data for the province, and we will see if any progress is being made towards a legislated 33% reduction in emissions by 2020 (relative to 2007 levels; data will be for 2009 and we know that emissions rose in 2008).

By Brian Morton, Vancouver Sun, May 28, 2011

Teck Resources' plan to reopen Quintette mine just one of several projects moving ahead

The tiny community of Tumbler Ridge is poised for a new lease on life with several industrial projects in the works, including the reopening of Teck Resources' Quintette coal mine.

J. David Hughes, Post Carbon Institute, May 2011

San Francisco, CA (May 12) A detailed new energy report argues that the natural gas industry has propagated dangerously false claims about natural gas production supply, cost and environmental impact. The report, “Will Natural Gas Fuel America in the 21st Century” is authored by leading geoscientist and Post Carbon Institute Fellow J. David Hughes.

By Lou Kilzer and Andrew Conte, Tribune-Review (Pittsburgh), April 10, 2011

Drilling companies rapidly expanding their U.S. operations in places such as Pennsylvania's vast Marcellus shale formation repeatedly tout they are providing American jobs and securing the nation's energy future.

Ben Parfitt, The Tyee, March 30, 2011

A local citizens' initiative aimed at highlighting the health threats posed by sour gas wells in B.C.’s energy-rich Peace River region appears to be gaining momentum, but whether or not it will result in a public inquiry remains to be seen.

Nathan Vanderklippe, Carrie Tait, Andy Hoffman, Globe And Mail, Feb. 09, 2011

PetroChina International Investment Co. Ltd. (PTR-N135.04-0.24-0.18%) has agreed to pay $5.4-billion in a natural gas investment with Encana Corp. (ECA-T30.45-0.28-0.91%) that promises to be the largest Chinese investment in Canadian energy assets.

SHAWN McCARTHY, Globe and Mail, Dec. 20, 2010

South Africa’s Sasol (SSL-N48.830.070.14%) is paying $1-billion to Talisman (TLM-T21.891.004.79%) for a stake in the Montney shale gas play, as global energy giants increasingly pour capital into the promising British Columbia area in a quest for long-life reserves.

Arthur Berman, The Oil Drum, October 28, 2010

Shale Company Cost, Debt and Undeveloped Reserves

By Ben Parfitt, September 15, 2010
For the Program on Water Issues
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto

Will Canada’s Water be Protected in the Rush to Develop Shale Gas?

SCOTT SIMPSON, Vancouver Sun, September 15, 2010

Province's oil and gas reserves in the spotlight at international conference

The World Energy Congress taking place this week in Montreal has been an eye-opener for British Columbia Energy Minister Bill Bennett.

Les Perreaux, Globe and Mail, August 30, 2010

In most places west of Manitoba, the arrival of yet another oil or gas drilling rig is cause for little notice or concern. In Quebec, a half dozen gas wells and the potential of hundreds more may be about to set off a new kind of identity crisis.

HBO Canada is showing Gasland this coming week. Don't miss it.

http://www.hbocanada.com/details/?id=51407

http://gaslandthemovie.com/

When a theatre director is offered a large sum for the gas rights to his family property, it sparks his investigation into the experiences of other property owners, with startling results captured here in documentary footage.

Mark Jaccard and Brad Griffin, Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, July 2010

Shale gas development in northeast B.C., is associated with high concentrations of CO2, which is normally vented to the atmosphere. To meet provincial GHG reduction targets, this CO2 will all need to be captured. This paper recommends policy steps the government must take.

Nathan VanderKlippe, Globe and Mail, July 14, 2010

Calgary — Faced with prices that could remain mired at low levels for another three years, a growing number of natural gas companies are working to boost oil production, using technology perfected in new gas fields to discover new volumes of crude.