If you follow the news about natural gas from shale you might appreciate the presentation of information in “Frac Attack: Risks, Hype, and Financial Reality of Hydraulic Fracturing in the Shale Plays”. View the report.
Drilling Activity
Frac Attack Report
The Impact of Shale Gas on Energy Markets
An explosion of natural gas from shale is swamping the market with an abundance of new gas, upsetting investment models for LNG terminals and making gas cost-competitive with coal. More at The Hill.
Driller’s Rights vs. Landowners Rights
Who owns the mineral rights beneath your property? That can determine what drilling companies can do and what rights a landowner has when drilling begins. More in an article on the ArkTimes.com website.
Rapid Response Team for Drilling Emergencies in Pennsylvania
An article at Platts.com reports on the 17-person emergency response team that will be located in Pennsylvania to respond to natural gas well emergencies.
Target Natural Gas Liquids for Profits
“Since March 2009, the premium for natural gas liquids over the price of natural gas has grown. NGLs, which include propane, ethane, butane, pentane and natural gasoline, are produced in conjunction with natural gas, and the quantity of liquids varies from basin to basin and often from well to well. To take advantage of the NGL price premiums, producers are now seeking out liquid-rich shale plays—such as the Eagle Ford and the Marcellus.” Quoted from the EIA Natural Gas Update.
New York Senate Passes Nine-Month Ban on Marcellus Drilling
The New York Senate passed a bill that will further delay the approval of permits for drilling the Marcellus Shale. The state assembly and the governor must approve before it would go into effect. More at Reuters.
Talisman Energy Increases Shale Activity
Talisman Energy is increasing its activity as a producer of natural gas from shale with growing production in the Marcellus Shale and several wells drilled in the Utica and Montney Shales.
Horizontal Drilling / Hydraulic Fracturing Video
Encana has an informative video on their website that illustrates and explains the horizontal driling / hydraulic fracturing techniques used for many natural gas wells drilling in shale. Look for the video link on the right of the page – the video file is very large but worth waiting for the long download.
A Focus on Natural Gas Liquids
An article on the Gerson Lehrman Group website by Michael Lynch suggests that some companies are responding to low natural gas prices by drilling in areas where a high liquids content will provide additional income.
Natural gas liquids include: propane, butane, pentane, hexane and heptane.
EIA 2009 Natural Gas Review
During 2009, the economic downturn cut the use of natural gas by commercial and industry customers while the amount of gas used for electricity generation increased. Production levels continued to increase even though prices remained weak. See the review at the Energy Information Administration website.
Marcellus Shale Changes Landscapes and Lives in Bradford County, PA
An article on the PressConnects website explores how drilling for the Marcellus Shale is changing the landscape and lives of people in rural Bradford County, Pennsylvania. A few years ago no wells were being drilled, but 119 wells were drilled in 2009. So far this year 81 have been drilled and 367 drilling permits have been granted.
Horizontal Rig Count Climbing
“The number of horizontal natural gas rigs totaled 605 as of May 14, 2010, according to Baker Hughes Incorporated data. This level is the highest over the last roughly 2½ years for which data are available. Currently, horizontal rigs comprise 64 percent of the natural gas rig count, which totaled 951 as of May 14. Vertical and directional rigs account for 20 percent and 16 percent of this total, respectively. ” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration’s weekly natural gas update.
Poland: Conoco Shale Gas Drilling
ConocoPhillips plans to drill their first shale gas well in Poland next month in partnership with Lane Energy Poland. More at SFGate.com.
North Dakota Drilling and Production Records
North Dakota now has a record number of active oil and gas wells and is producing record volumes of oil and gas each day. The state will probably displace California as the #3 state for oil production. More in the Washington Post.
Oil and Gas Shales Drive Service Activity
Haliburton CEO, Dave Lesar, says that activity in the oil and gas shale plays is allowing his company to increase prices. However, he sees uncertainty in natural gas prices that could reduce the current increase in activity. More at NASDAQ.
Natural Gas Rig Count – Highest in 13 Months
Natural gas rigs are at their highest level in more than 13 months. Much of the increase in the natural gas rig count over the past several months has been attributable to growth in the number of horizontal rigs. As of March 26, horizontal natural gas rigs totaled 567, an increase of about 24 percent since the beginning of 2010. Directional and vertical natural gas rigs totaled 159 and 215, respectively. Horizontal natural gas rigs comprised about 60 percent of natural gas rigs, while directional and vertical rigs accounted for 17 and 23 percent, respectively. The portion of natural gas rigs attributable to horizontal rigs has steadily increased over the last 2 years for which data are available. For example, horizontal rigs in January 2008 totaled 25 percent of the total number of natural gas rigs. Growth in horizontal rigs is related to growth in natural gas production from shale formations. More at the EIA website.
Obama’s Offshore Drilling Plan
This video describes President Obama’s offshore drilling plan that will open certain Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters to oil and gas drilling.
Rig Counts Rising Steadily
“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.
Jobs in the Fayetteville Shale Gas Play
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.
Water Injection Correlates with Texas Earthquake Activity
A study of seismic activity near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by researchers from SMU and UT-Austin reveals that the operation of a saltwater injection disposal well in the area was a “plausible cause” for the series of small earthquakes that occurred in the area between October 30, 2008, and May 16, 2009.
Land Rig Count is Rising Rapidly
An article in MetalMiner explores how the recovery in land rig utilization is moving at a faster than expected rate. Although the rig count is still significantly below the 2008 peak it is climbing at the most rapid sustained rate in more than a decade.
Pennsylvania Legislators: Step on the Gas or the Brake?
Some legislators in Harrisburg are trying to raise more revenue from the Marcellus Shale while others are trying to put on the brakes to reduce environmental impacts. More in an article at Philly.com.
Rig Count as a Lagging Indicator
A short segment in EIA’s Natural Gas Weekly Update explains how rig counts lag changes in the price of natural gas by several weeks. The good news for now is that rig counts have been generally rising for the past few months.
