Panels and presenters will explore the practice of hydraulic fracturing at a forum designed to examine the issues surrounding its use in Wyoming, Sept. 26-27 at the University of Wyoming Conference Center at the Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie.
The increased use of hydraulic fracturing in Wyoming and across the United States to recover natural gas and oil from unconventional geologic formations has spurred an increase in domestic energy production and has garnered increased public concern about potential environmental impacts.
Co-hosted by the UW School of Energy Resources (SER) and Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, "Hydraulic Fracturing: A Wyoming Energy Forum" will explore technical issues and environmental concerns related to hydraulic fracturing technology and activities directly linked to its use.
"We'd like everyone to have a better understanding of the role it plays in developing natural gas and oil in Wyoming," SER Director Mark Northam says.
Forum sessions will review existing state and federal regulations governing hydraulic fracturing, examine potential environmental impacts and concerns, develop an inventory of worker safety and environmental mitigation best practices and identify a list of specific research topics that are important to Wyoming.
"This forum will bring together the most current thinking about hydraulic fracturing in Wyoming," says Ingrid Burke, director of the Haub School and Ruckelshaus Institute at UW.
The UW Energy Resources Council directed a steering committee of stakeholders to develop the forum through a collaborative planning process that outlined session topics and chose the speakers to promote greater understanding of the issue.
For more information about the forum, visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/SER/conferences/hydraulic-fracturing/index.html.
