A terminal to ship liquefied natural gas from Canada to Asian markets is being built near Kitimat, British Columbia. The terminal will have a significant transportation distance advantage over natural gas projects being built in Australia and Indonesia.
More at CTV.ca.
Although the United States Geological Survey estimates that the Bakken Formation beneath parts of North Dakota, Montana and Canada might contain over 4 billion barrels of oil, Harold Hamm, believes that it might contain up to 24 billion barrels.
More at Wall Street Journal.
An article in the Houston Chronicle points to the rapidly rising rates of oil production in the United States and Canada. If current trends continue North America could be producing record amounts of oil by 2016.
More at Houston Chronicle.
An article in the Houston Chronicle points to the rapidly rising rates of oil production in the United States and Canada. If current trends continue North America could be producing record amounts of oil by 2016.
More at Houston Chronicle.
Natural gas prices in Asia are three times higher than prices in North America. Natural gas producers, Apache, Encana and EOG Resources hope to cash in on that by building a liquefied natural gas plant near Kitimat, British Colombia that will prepare …
More at Business Week.
Construction on the Kitimat LNG export terminal is about to begin. The facility on the northern coast of British Columbia is being built with an eye on the Asia-Pacific market. New terminals are also underway at Douglas Channel and Prince Rupert. Mo…
More at Edmonton Journal.
“Net imports of natural gas continue at much lower levels than in previous years, likely as a result of higher U.S. domestic production. [...] During the report week, net Canadian imports averaged 5.3 Bcf per day, which is 20.7 percent lower than the same week in 2010. Sendout from U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals averaged about 1.1 Bcf per day during the report week, or 8.2 percent lower than the same week in 2010.” Quote from the Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Weekly Update.
An oversupply of natural gas in the United States and the movement of natural gas drillers to more lucrative oil targets is expected to cause a drop in the amount of natural gas produced in Canada. More in the Calgary Herald.
An article on the OilPrice.com website reports on the Macasty Shale that occurs above the Trenton Black River on Anticosti Island, Quebec, Canada.
PetroChina plans to purchase half of EnCana’s Montney Shale assets in Alberta and British Columbia for $5.4 billion (Canadian). In the past 14 months Chinese oil and gas companies have acquired $46 billion in foreign resources. More at RigZone.com.
An article in the Montreal Gazette says that development of the Utica Shale in Quebec is encountering public opposition. In Quebec, landowners do not directly participate in natural gas royalties and lease payments as is customary in the United States.
Diverging estimates by three different organizations with significant expertise in oil and natural gas assessments leave one wondering how much oil really is in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations? Read the details on the Trib.com website.
Here are the estimates….
USGS…. 4.3 billion barrels
North Dakota Geological Survey…. 11 billion barrels
Continental Resources…. 20 billion barrels
Michael Binnion, CEO of Questerre Energy, is spending a lot of time meeting with citizen groups across Quebec, trying to convince them that drilling for the Utica Shale will be a safe development in their province. There has been very little energy activity in Quebec’s history. More at the Calgary Sun.
A rock layer below the Marcellus Shale could prove to be another incredible source of natural gas. The Utica Shale is thicker, more geographically extensive and has already proven its ability to support commercial production.
Sassol, a South African oil and gas company, will pay Talisman Energy $1 billion for a stake in the Montney Shale gas play of British Columbia. More in the Globe and Mail.
An article on the Financial Post website explores the Mackenzie Pipeline – a project to bring natural gas from the Canadian Arctic to southern markets. Some people say that it is no longer needed because of recent shale gas discoveries.
An article on the NBBusinessJournal.com website explores some positive and negative aspects of natural gas drilling in New Brunswick and compares it to the Marcellus Shale development in Pennsylvania.
A report by Bentek Energy LLC predicts that the United States will imports of natural gas from Canada will drop about 30% over the next five years. This is in response to new pipelines and abundant shale gas plays. More in the Calgary Herald.
Here is an article that profiles Canada’s two important shale oil plays, the Bakken Shale and the Cardium Shale. However, it also does a good presentation of the term “unconventional oil”. More at InvestingDaily.com.
In the past, natural gas pipeline projects were risky because natural gas prices were extremely volatile. Now, a large number of shale gas plays has produced an abundance of gas, a stable supply and most likely a stable low price. More at the Edmonton Journal.
The University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs published a report urging Canadian governments to promptly improve their oil and gas drilling regulations to protect water supplies from hydraulic fractuiring activities. More at the Winnipeg Free Press.
An article in the Calgary Herald pokes at a few recent natural gas shale transactions that seemed to go for an awful lot of money considering the current price of natural gas and the abundance of natural gas opportunities.
Some of the first government-sponsored environmental review hearings on natural gas production from shale and hydraulic fracturing are occurring in Quebec. Some have been rowdy others restrained. More at CBC News.
Producing natural gas from shale is getting a lot of early debate in Quebec. Some believe that the best solution is to manage activity from the start. More at CTV Montreal.
The Canadian Province of Quebec has a wealth of hydropower resources – enough that they export surplus electricity to Ontario and the United States. Many people there are not very excited that shales in the subsurface might yield a supply of natural gas that could last for decades. More at the Winnipeg Free Press.
The Montreal Gazette has published an article titled: A Guide to Quebec’s Shale Gas Controversy. It is a question-answer piece that might serve as a good introduction to people who are new to the topic.
Although Canada’s natural gas production has declined in the past few years, natural gas plays such as the Horn River Shale and Montney Formation are starting to boost production. More in the Calgary Herald.
Last week, imports of natural gas from Canada were about 13% lower than the same week in 2009. Imports of liquefied natural gas are also down sharply. Those LNG cargoes are going to Asia and Europe where LNG prices are higher. More in the Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Weekly Update.
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.
