USA, Oregon:

Oregon Legislation Would Exempt EGS Exploration from Fracking Ban (Statesman Journal)

An Oregon legislative committee will hear testimony Tuesday on a bill that would put a 10-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas exploration and production in the state. However, the legislation would recognize the essential differences between geothermal hydro-shearing and "fracking" and exempt EGS exploration from the ban.

In the United States, more than a million wells have been "fracked," a process that usually involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into rock under high pressure to fracture it and release trapped hydrocarbons.

The legislation would specifically exempt the Altarock Newberry Crater EGS Demonstration project already operating in Oregon, said Rep. Ken Helm, D-Washington County, who is sponsoring the bill, as it does not use traditional hydraulic fracturing techniques.

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