Triangle Petroleum Corporation has been drilling deep wells for natural gas shales in the Kennetcook, Hants County area of Nova Scotia and has seen promissing results.  More information at The Chronicle Hearld.

Chief Oil and Gas is getting a new AC QuickSilver drilling system to use in their Marcellus Shale drilling efforts.  The rig is supposed to set-up quickly in difficult terrain, moving from one drill pad to another 100 miles away in under 48 hours. More at BizJournals.com

Chesapeake Energy is looking for a 25% partner in its Marcellus Shale natural gas leases.  They are in discussions with multiple partices and anticipate a close to the transaction by the end of year.  More details in their news release.

Chesapeake Energy lowered the estimated value of its natural gas production through the end of fiscal 2010.  This reduction mainly is a result of lower natural gas prices for the estimation period.  They also plan to reduce rig count from 157 to 140 by year-end 2008  and reduce capital expenditures in anticipation of a domestic glut of natural gas.  More details in their news release.

Early this summer natural gas prices were rising rapidly and utility companies warned their customers to expect higher gas bills this winter.  Now that gas prices have declined, the bills might not be as bad as expected.  More at Ohio.com.

USGS reports that recent email messages encouraging people to write to their congressional representatives about oil extraction from the Bakken Formation were part of a scam.  Read more in the Los Angeles Times.

Chief Oil and Gas is getting a new AC QuickSilver drilling system to use in their Marcellus Shale drilling efforts.  The rig is supposed to set-up quickly in difficult terrain, moving from one drill pad to another 100 miles away in under 48 hours. More at BizJournals.com

A Haynesville Shale EXPO will be held on November 21st at the Shreveport Convention Center. They will have lots of exhibitors and several educational presentations. Many of the events are free. More details at the Shreveport Times.

A negative article about natural gas shales is in the September 17th issue of the Christian Science Monitor. It focuses on potential water supply and contamination problems associated with natural gas production from shales.

Molopo Australia Limited is making a presentation at the WWCM Quebec Shale Gas Conference. Their Powerpoint Presentation contains interesting maps, data and information about the Utica Shale and Lorraine Shale.

Penn State School of Forest Resources has a document titled “Gas Well Drilling and Your Private Water Supply“. It explains how gas well drilling and gas wells might create issues with a private water supply. This matter has become a concern in Pennsylvania because of the Marcellus Shale gas drilling.

A relevant quote from the document: “Contamination of private wells and springs can occur from gas well drilling but it is not common. Data from various regulatory agencies responsible for enforcement
of gas well drilling regulations indicate that more than 95% of complaints received by homeowners suspecting problems from nearby gas well drilling are, instead, due to pre-existing problems or other land use activities.”

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has posted an FAQ of information related to drilling and leasing the Marcellus Shale on their website.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources has prepared a webpage of resources links related to natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. It includes fact sheets, Oil and Gas Summit links, industry resources, maps and links to other websites.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued 73 drilling permits that are suspected to target the Marcellus Shale in 12 counties. More information in an article on the MarketWatch website.

The Maryland Geological Survey has a webpage of information related to the Marcellus Shale activity that is occurring in the western part of the state. Leasing and drilling activity in Garrett and Allegany Counties has seen increased levels of activity since mid-2006.