• A new CBS/YouGov poll of Pennsylvanians shows that a slight majority of the state now opposes fracking, with 52% of voters opposed and a corresponding 48% voting in favor of fracking. That goes against the conventional wisdom that politicians can’t run on anti-fracking policies in Pennsylvania. In fact, in fracking-friendly Allegheny County, three political candidates won their primary elections this year while running on strong criticism of fracking and its related industries. Two of those candidates are sure to win the general election in their Democratic heavy districts, and one, Lissa Geiger Shulman, is running in a Republican-held district.
• Source Energy Services Ltd. (together with its affiliates) has entered into an additional Support and Interest Deferral Agreement with noteholders holding approximately 74% of Source’s senior secured notes due Dec. 15, 2021. Under the agreement, the supporting noteholders have agreed to further defer the payment of the June 15, 2020, interest payment on the Notes until Sept. 30, 2020. ”The support from our noteholders and lenders has assisted Source’s efforts to navigate through the COVID-19-driven precipitous drop in completions activity in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and will provide Source the short-term liquidity required as completion activity resumes,” the company stated.
• St. Louis-based writer Dean Klinkenberg’s new mystery novel, “Letting Go In La Crosse,” follows the exploits of writer Frank Dodge as he gets caught in the middle of communities divided by frac sand mining. As Dodge researches his story, tensions erupt into open conflict after an explosion destroys part of the Mississippi River bridge at Winona, Minn. To get to the bottom of this explosive story, Dodge will have to negotiate his way around people with passionate but conflicting views about the industry’s economic benefits and its potentially severe environmental effects.