Quebec is a fossil fuel consumer with very little local production. However, some of the first wells are being drilled into the Utica Shale and hundreds more have already been permitted. More at The Globe and Mail.

Citizens in Quebec have environmental concerns because a company from Australia wants to drill for natural gas in the Utica Shale. More in The Star.

An article on The Motley Fool website reports that despite low natural gas prices Encana has a healthy cash flow and aggressive plans to double their gas production over the next five years.

The government of Alberta is offering royalty incentives to stimulate the development of their shale gas resource. More at Reuters.

EOG Resources is buying the shares of Galveston LNG, a company that hopes to build an LNG plant on the northern coast of British Columbia. EOG is also holds a major stake in the Horn River Shale Gas Play in the same area. More in an article at Reuters.com.

The new abundance of natural gas produced from shale plays in the 48 states is going to damage the economics of the North Slope, Alaska gas industry. An article in NewsMiner addresses the impact on production companies. An article on KTUU.com addresses the impact on pipeline projects.

An article on TheGlobeAndMail website reports on early results in the Utica Shale Gas Play in Quebec, Canada which could contain 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

An article in The Vancouver Sun reports on a Canadian shale gas play known as the “Duvernay” that is expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in auction revenues to the Province of Alberta.

A Houston Chronicle article reports that a proposed pipeline to carry natural gas from the North Slope, through Canada and on to markets in Alaska and the 48 states could cost up to $41 billion. A competing project would carry the gas to a proposed LNG facility at Valdez.

The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline could be a casualty of the abundance of natural gas flowing from organic shale plays in many parts of the United States and other countries. The abundance of gas in many areas may delay its construction for decades. More at the National Post.

An article in the Calgary Hearld reports that Boeing and Skyhook hope to use dirigibles to deliver drilling equipment and supplies to Arctic drilling and pipeline construction projects in the Canadian Arctic. Cost and environmental impact motivated this unusual approach.

An article on the Oil and Gas Journal website reports on a company in New Brunswick, Canada that has used propane instead of water to fracture a subsurface natural gas reservoir.

A Canadian Press article explains how horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have converted organic rich shales into viable natural gas plays.

In contrast to the report by Nexen (see below), EnCana is quoted in a Globe and Mail article saying that the Horn River Shale is uneconomic with current gas prices.

Quoted from a Nexen press release: “Nexen continues to make significant progress on its substantial Horn River shale gas position in north-east British Columbia following the conclusion of a recent three-well drilling and completion program. With five shale gas wells now on-stream, we are producing between 15-20 mmcf/d with the majority of production coming from the three new wells. Substantial cost savings and productivity improvements were realized with this drilling and completion program. We took advantage of improved equipment utilization, drilled longer wells, initiated more fracs per well and maintained an industry-leading frac pace of 26 fracs in 15 days while achieving a 100% success rate on our frac program. Two of the wells were completed with eight fracs, while the third well was completed with ten fracs.”