U.S. Department of Labor program ShaleNET helpsconnect workers with the shale industry - "ShaleNET is a job-placement program funded through the U.S. Department of Labor that has helped men and women find work among the hundreds of coveted positions involved in the natural gas industry. The program, which has many training hubs and educational partners across Pennsylvania and other states, began in 2010 but recently received a new injection of federal funding. [Its website is shalenet.org.] So far, nearly 2,000 ShaleNET students have been placed in shale-related jobs nationally. More than 150 occupations are associated with drilling one well." (Erich Schwartzel/Post-Gazette)

Billionaire Wilks brothers move on Montana, buying land and political support - "Two billionaire brothers who made a fortune in the fracking industry and have begun buying up eastern Montana land were the top donors to successful 2012 legislative candidates, according to a new report from the National Institute on Money in State Politics...The Wilks brothers have gained attention in Montana for their land-buying spree that has made them among the largest owners of land in the state, collecting more than 200,000 acres of ranch and other land in the central and eastern parts of the state, according to a December profile in the Billings Gazette...Opponents of the process are worried that the Wilks brothers’ political largesse is aimed at preventing further regulation of the industry." (Associated Press)

Germany's environmental minister says fracking far off for Europe's biggest economy - "Environment Minister Peter Altmaier told Deutschlandfunk radio Monday that Germany's government is working to ensure the practice is subject to limits and he wouldn't advise anyone to seek drilling licenses soon. Altmaier said he "can't see fracking being used anywhere in Germany in the foreseeable future."

Hundreds of gas drilling permits awarded to companies allows drilling near many poor and minority communities  - "None of those permits for gas wells, wastewater impoundments or compressor stations has triggered intervention by DEP's Office of Environmental Advocate to inform residents of those communities about potential health and environmental impacts from proposed industrial developments.....A Post-Gazette review compared state permit data to the new DEP Environmental Justice Census Tracts map released last month. It found 228 Marcellus Shale permits were granted by the department from 2007 through 2011 in the environmental justice-designated communities. And 160 of those permits were granted in areas that were identified as environmental justice communities when the Office of Environmental Advocate opened over a decade ago."

Consol Energy Inc. paying $500 million to drill on 9,263 acres surrounding Pittsburgh International Airport - "Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said it would include an upfront bonus payment of $50 million and an estimated $450 million in royalties over the next two decades...Mr. Fitzgerald said Cecil-based Consol also plans to invest another $500 million in drilling-related infrastructure and other costs." (Mark Belko and Jon Schmitz/Post-Gazette)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel creates coalition to establish rules on fracking - "So-called fracking outside of water-protection areas should be permitted pending completion of environmental impact assessments that take into account possible flow-backs of fracking liquids, a paper drafted by government lawmakers in the environment and economy working group showed...The opposition-controlled upper house passed a resolution on Feb. 1 urging the government to ban the use of substances that might harm the environment until all the risks have been assessed, a demand that would block fracking for the foreseeable future." (Stefan Nicola and Rainer Buergin/Bloomberg)

Watchdog warns U.S. to reverse policy of restricting crude oil exports  - Reported by the Financial Times

Shale deposits exist across Europe, but many countries are still warry of fracking - "There are plenty of shale deposits over on the other side of the Atlantic. Yet countries like France and the Netherlands have put a moratorium on fracking, for fear that the chemicals used in the process could contaminate local water supplies."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is slated to make his decision on fracking...soon - "Gov. Cuomo is still trying to figure out how to get away with fracking New York. Shockingly, an administration so famous for its sharp political acumen somehow thinks it can thread the needle and allow fracking without infuriating the progressive base it needs for its future."

Summer construction near Pittsburgh includes Marcellus Shale pipeline - "Sunoco Oil Co. plans to construct an underground pipeline about 50 miles long, starting in Houston, Washington County, and stretching to Delmont, Westmoreland County. It will carry liquid products derived from natural gas, such as propane and ethane."

Obama chooses Sally Jewell, chief executive of Recreational Equipment Inc. and former oil company official, to lead the Interior Department - Mrs Jewell is a, "longtime advocate for conservation and outdoor recreation, will take over a department that has been embroiled in controversy over regulation of oil and gas on public lands and waters in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Arctic Ocean. She also will assume responsibility for the stewardship of hundreds of millions of acres of public lands, from the Everglades of Florida to the Cascades of Washington State." She will replaceColorado Democrat Ken Salazar who took the position in 2004. "She is expected to face vigorous questioning during confirmation hearings about her approach to resource development on public lands. Republicans in Congress have criticized the Obama administration for holding back public lands from oil and gas leasing and from imposing overly restrictive regulations on hydraulic fracturing and other extraction methods...[her] background and experience as a Mobil Oil executive could help blunt some of that criticism."

"Not one well!" rally in NY before DEC hearing draws Gandhi's grandson - "The state Department of Environmental Conservation has no projected date for finishing shale gas drilling rules, with completion dependent on recommendations from a health impact review, Commissioner Joe Martens said at a legislative budget hearing Monday...If regulations aren't finalized by Feb. 27, they'll expire and will have to be put out for public comment again, which would likely extend the drilling moratorium by months. Martens acknowledged that to meet the Feb. 27 deadline, the massive environmental impact review on which the regulations are based must be published by Feb. 13...Before the hearing began, Sandra Steingraber, a leader of New Yorkers Against Fracking, confronted Martens and demanded the environmental review and regulations be put on hold and a comprehensive health impact analysis be done by an independent investigator. She went to a seat after guards threatened to arrest her...At the end of Martens' testimony, the protesters stood and chanted "Not one well!" before heading to the Capitol for a rally. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, joined the protesters to sign a "pledge of resistance" to fracking and discuss utilizing civil disobedience if shale gas development is permitted.

U.S. Considering Oil Taxes to help boost economy - "In this Energy Brief, Daniel Ahn and Michael Levi model the potential consequences of substituting taxes on oil consumption for either higher nonoil taxes or reduced government spending, both as part of a larger deficit reduction package, and argue that doing so can improve economic performance while reducing oil consumption if done right."

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell pressed EPA in Range pollution case - "An EPA attorney wrote that Rendell, acting as a "spokesman for Range," met with Jackson in 2011 and "proposed certain terms to the administrator." But the case didn't settle for more than a year after that...The messages were included in more than 1,000 pages of emails obtained by EnergyWire in a Freedom of Information Act request from EPA Region 6. They offer behind-the-scenes insights in a case that has come to be seen as a major retreat by the agency amid aggressive industry push-back and support for natural gas drilling by President Obama.