Enbridge, Inc. is interested in building a pipeline that will carry natural gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale gas field of western Pennsylvania to the high population and industry centers around Chicago, Illinois. More on the mjtimes.sk.ca website.
This video describes President Obama’s offshore drilling plan that will open certain Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters to oil and gas drilling.
Chevron has three natural gas fields in Bangladesh, the Moulvibazar, Bibiyana and Jalalabad, which produce about two billion cubic feet per day – from rocks other than shale. Studies on all three indicated that they have much larger reserves than their original estimates.
A group of property owners in Pennsylvania signed early leases for their Marcellus Shale gas properties then tried to wiggle out were foiled by a unanimous decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. More in the Washington Post.
An article in the Houston Chronicle reports that Royal Dutch Shell has leased 150,000 acres over the Eagle Ford Shale bringing their estimated gas holdings to a total of 21 trillion cubic feet.
Pennsylvania Governor, Ed Rendell, is promoting a severance tax on natural gas produced in the state while the industry dislikes the idea. An article at Philly.com explores the Governors position and industry response.
The Colorado Legislature has placed the state’s leading electric power producer in a position where it must decide to replace its coal-fired power generation units with natural gas or retrofit the plants with new coal-burning technologies. More at The Denver Channel.
The New York Times has an editorial titled “Finding Natural Gas, Safely” that summarizes legislative bills and federal studies related to natural gas and the environment.
An article in the Calgary Herald explores how several large oil and gas companies have recently taken big stakes in the natural gas shales (ExxonMobil, Total, Shell, Reliance) and a coal company, Consol Energy, is buying natural gas assets from Dominion Resources.
“Baker Hughes reported that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States has recovered since the low levels seen in June 2009. The rig count surpassed its previous post-1993 peak of November 2008 on February 1, 2010 (see Figure) and was 5 percent (24 rigs) higher as of March 12. Half of the overall increase in rig counts since June 2009 has been in the Permian Basin of West Texas, where rigs drill primarily conventional vertical wells. Just under one-fifth of the increase has occurred in the Williston Basin, straddling Montana and North Dakota, where horizontal drilling programs have rapidly increased production from the Bakken Shale.” Quoted from the EIA This Week in Petroleum.
MiningWeekly.com reports that Sasol Petroleum, Chesapeake Energy and Statoil ASA might be teaming up to explore for natural gas in the organic-rich shales of the Karoo Basin of South Africa.
Shale has been hot in the news over the past few years because of the numerous natural gas plays in the United States and other countries. An article on the Reuters website speculates that oil from shale will be the next big wave in the news with the Niobrara Shale of Colorado, the Bakken Shale of North Dakota and the Eagle Ford Shale of Texas making the initial headlines.
According to an article in the Dallas News, Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil, says refueling stations are the big problem for the widespread use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel. But, he also says that natural gas is becoming a much more important fuel for electricity generation.
An article at Market Watch reports that Exxon Mobil now has approval from both US and Dutch regulatory agencies for its purchase of XTO Energy. The significance of this deal is the entry of Exxon Mobil into the US onshore natural gas sector.
An article on the Houston Chronicle website explores the reasons why the United States Environmental Protection Agency plans to study the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing on human health and the environment.
Reliance Industries, one of India’s largest companies hopes to enter a partnership with Atlas Energy for a stake in their Marcellus Shale natural gas operations. More in an article at Reuters.
In this video CONSOL Energy CEO, Brett Harvey, talks about the company’s purchase of natural gas assets from Dominion Resources. He seems to think highly of the potential for natural gas. A quote: “Natural Gas will be the chosen fuel.” (Consol already owns a lot of coal mines between the surface and the Marcellus Shale which create conflicting land use problems when drilling for natural gas.)
In the past natural gas has been viewed by some in the electric power industry as a fuel with an especially volatile price. A article on NASDAQ.com titled: US Power Companies May Be Forced to Embrace Shale-Gas Boom considers past and potential future use of natural gas in electricity generation.
Natural gas is used as both a fuel and a feedstock in the chemical industry. An article on BusinessInsider.com explores what a new abundance of gas might mean for the chemical industry.
Although international oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP were not pioneers in the development of United States gas shales they are now working to acquire positions in Europe. More in a Financial Times article.
Will the natural gas contained in America’s shale be providing energy for the next 100 years? The CERAWeek conference looks at the future of U.S. shale gas. Details in a Reuters article.
Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil, says refueling stations are the big problem for the widespread use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel. But, he also says that natural gas is becoming a much more important fuel for electricity generation. More in a Dallas Morning News article.
A free webinar titled: “The Impact of Marcellus Shale: What Do the Economic Impact Studies Imply?” is scheduled for Thursday, March 18th at 1:00 PM and hosted by the Penn State Cooperative Extension. You can register on their website.
How long will the new natural gas shale plays be producing gas? 20 years? 40? More? This topic was discussed at IHS CERA conference last week in Houston. Some believe that they will be producing gas for a long time.
Joseph Aldy, special assistant to President Obama for matters related to energy and the environment says that there is not enough evidence to say if hydraulic fracturing fluids are damaging the environment , however, releasing the composition of the fluids would avoid regulation that might require it. More on the Reuters website.
Governor Mike Beebe points to the Fayetteville Shale Play and wind energy projects as bright spots in the Arkansas job climate. More in an article on BusinessWeek.com.
An article on the Reuters website explores the potential response of the LNG industry to the new abundance of natural gas from shale plays that are developing in many parts of the United States and throughout the world.
An article in the Houston Chronicle explains how the natural gas industry must now “make a case” because many lawmakers have a strong preference for renewable energy sources and those which are perceived to be more environmentally friendly.
A story at AOL News reports on company building a natural gas pipeline on the floor of the Baltic Sea. They discovered a dozen sunken ships that are thought to be between 300 and 400 years old.
A boost for development of the Fayetteville Shale is work starting on the “Fayetteville Express Pipeline” that will carry about 2 billion cubic feet per day from Conway County, Arkansas to the Trunkline Gas Company in Panola County, Mississippi. More on this at Market Watch.
