The Coming Glut

OPEC says they will keep pumping. OPEC says they see no plans to cut pumping despite over-supply right now.

Russia supply exceeding demand, bringing down prices.

US crude oil and natural gas reserves up by a third -- LA Times reporting:

Reserves of oil and gas that can be developed using current technology are 35% greater in 2013 than in 2011, according to a new report by the Energy Information Administration, the research branch of the Energy Department.

The rise in estimated domestic reserves to 223 billion barrels of oil equivalents, which include crude oil and gas, stems in large part from the inclusion of reserves found in shale formations. Increased use of production methods such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have made oil and gas trapped in tight geological formations economically recoverable.

The article includes the boiler plate conclusion:

But the energy boom has unlocked controversy along with opportunity. Dozens of communities around the country have passed limits on fracking  because of concerns about possible air and water pollution and heavy truck traffic. 

Now, they've added "truck traffic" to the mix.

It could be added that fracking has been done safely for 60 years without one reported significant problem. Even micro-earthquakes, reportedly caused by fracking, according to some, are relieving stress preventing the "big one."

At the link, there is a photograph of a flare at a fracked well. OMG. It really looks scary. If you look really, really hard, you can see the headless horseman in the background, upper right.