Since 2008, foreign companies have entered into 21 joint ventures with U.S. acreage holders and operators, investing more than $26 billion in tight oil and shale gas plays.
More at Energy Information Administration.Eagle Ford Shale
Tools for the Geologist
Need a new rock hammer, chisel, field bag, hammer holster, field book, hardness set, hand lens, topo map, gold pan or other geological tool? Check out the Geology.com store.
More at .
Eagle Ford Output is Up 70%
Crude oil production from the Eagle Ford Shale of Texas was up 70% in November 2012, over the same month in 2011. Statewide, oil production in Texas was up to 2.1 million barrels per day – the highest level since 1987.
Related: Eagle Ford Shale [1]
[1] http://geology.com/articles/eagle-ford/
More at Bloomberg.
Japex Buys Stake in the Eagle Ford
Gas shale [1] plays in the United States continue to attract investments from worldwide companies. Japex (Japan Petroleum Exploration Company)
[1] http://geology.com/gas-shales/
More at Bloomberg.
AASG on Hydraulic Fracturing
“After decades of hydraulic fracturing-related activity there is little evidence if any that hydraulic fracturing itself has contaminated fresh groundwater. No occurrences are known where hydraulic fracturing fluids have moved upward from the zone of fracturing of a horizontal well into the fresh drinking water.” Quoted from the Association of American State Geologists statement.
More at Association of American State Geologists.
Truthland
The natural gas industry has prepared a movie, “Truthland”, that responds to the HBO movie “Gasland”.
More at Truthland@YouTube.
Water Quality Where Hydraulic Fracturing is Used
The United States Geological Survey has published: “Water Quality Studied in Areas of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development, Including Areas Where Hydraulic Fracturing Techniques are Used, in the United States.”
More at United States Geological Survey.
Production Profiles: Shale Play Wells
The EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2012 report includes information about projected average production profiles for shale gas wells in major United States shale plays by years of operation.
More at Energy Information Administration.
Economic Impact of the Eagle Ford Shale
The San Antonio Economic Development Foundation has produced a report titled: Economic Impact of the Eagle Ford Shale. It contains a lot of information about production trends, comparing the Eagle Ford to other shale plays in the United States. (Download the Report [1])
[1] http://bit.ly/EagleFordShale
More at San Antonio Economic Development Foundation.
Activity in the Eagle Ford Shale Doubles
A report on drilling activity in the Eagle Ford Shale on the FuelFix.com website says that the number of new wells drilled in the first quarter of 2012 is double the number drilled in 2011.
More at FuelFix.com.
Economic Impact of the Eagle Ford Shale
An article on the MySanAntonio.com website explores the success and economic impact of the Eagle Ford Shale which produced nearly 5 million barrels in 2010 and over 20 million in 2011.
More at MySanAntonio.com.
Objections to Natural Gas Flaring
Drilling for oil in the shale formations of Texas and North Dakota often results in the flaring of natural gas – as some of these areas are not served by natural gas pipelines. Although this practice is somewhat of an industry tradition it is drawing increasing criticism because it wastes a non-renewable energy resource, is an economic loss, produces air pollution and contributes to climate change.
More at FuelFix.com.
State Crude Oil Trends
Five states account for over 50% of the USA’s crude oil production with production rapidly increasing in Texas and North Dakota.
More at Energy Information Administration.
Hydraulic Fracturing Isn’t the Problem
“Hydraulic fracturing of shale formations to extract natural gas has no direct connection to reports of groundwater contamination [...] many problems ascribed to hydraulic fracturing are related to processes common to all oil and gas drilling operations, such as casing failures or poor cement jobs.” Quoted from the University of Texas at Austin press release.
More at University of Texas at Austin.
Dry Shale Gas Production Trends
The EIA Natural Gas Weekly Update has an interesting graph that tracks the month-by-month dry gas production growth from various shale gas fields in the United States. For example, it shows that production from the Haynesville Shale started to increas…
More at Energy Information Administration.
Eagle Ford Shale
The Eagle Ford Shale is a black shale with a high organic carbon content in central Texas. I has become one of the most important economic generators in central Texas.
More at Geology.com.
Texas: Fracking Chemicals and Water Consumption Reports
A new regulation will require drillers in Texas to report the chemicals in their hydraulic fracturing fluid and the amount of water used to frack each well.
More at The Texas Tribune.
US Gas Shales Attract Worldwide Investors
In just the past few weeks companies from China, France and Japan have purchased large holdings in the Eagle Ford, Utica and Marcellus Shales.
More at Bloomberg.
Declining Royalty Payments from Natural Gas Wells
Many property owners are very surprised when the royalties that they receive from a natural gas well on their property decline sharply. They are learning about production decline curves.
More at Geology.com.
Natural Gas Liquids are Hitting the Bottom Line for Drillers
Chesapeake Energy reports that natural gas liquids contributed 17% of their total production but 40% of their natural gas and liquids revenue. This is part of what is fueling interest in plays such as the Utica Shale [1] and Eagle Ford Shale [2].
[1] http://geology.com/articles/utica-shale/
[2] http://geology.com/articles/eagle-ford/
Oh No! Who Really Owns the Natural Gas in Shale?
Is natural gas part of the shale or is it a fugitive commodity that is not an integral part of any specific rock unit? Will a refined legal definition of natural gas in Pennsylvania overturn thousands of historic leases?
More at Business Week.
Oil Rig Count Exceeds Natural Gas Rig Count
The number of oil rigs drilling in the United States has surpassed the number of natural gas rigs for the first time in 18 years. Low natural gas prices discourage drilling and the discovery of oil in shale plays such as the Utica Shale, Bakken Shale and Eagle Ford Shale has attracted attention.
More in the Houston Chronicle.
Natural Gas Has Become the “Incidental Product”?
Natural gas was the initial target of horizontal drilling in the shale plays, however, natural gas liquids, condensates and oil are now attracting most of the attention. An article in Investing Daily calls natural gas the “incidental” product.
More at Investing Daily.
Shale Gas and U.S. National Security
The Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University has published a report titled: “Shale Gas and U.S. National Security”. “This study assesses the impact of U.S. domestic shale gas development on energy security and U.S. national security, with emphasis on the geopolitical consequences of rising supplies of U.S. natural gas from shale and the implications for U.S. foreign policy.” Quoted from the report summary.
BHP Billiton to Buy Petrohawk for $12 Billion
BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company headquartered in Australia, has agreed to purchase Petrohawk Energy for $12.1 billion. Petrohawk is an independent oil and natural gas company with a focus on exploration and production of shale plays within the United States. The company has significant activity in the Haynesville, Lower Bossier and Eagle Ford Shales of Texas and Louisiana.
More in the Petrohawk press release.
$3.5 Billion for Eagle Ford Acreage
According to a report on FuelFix.com, Marathon Oil will acquire 141,000 net acres of Eagle Ford Shale holdings in Atascosa, Karnes, Gonzales and DeWitt counties, Texas for $3.5 billion.
Eagle Ford Shale – Thousands of Jobs
The Houston Chronicle reports that oil and gas drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale of Texas has generated a need for workers – not only with the companies doing the drilling but also with the companies that provide technical services, materials, logistics support and more.
Eagle Ford Shale: Greatest Economic Driver in South Texas
In an article on the FuelFix website, David Porter, Texas Railroad Commissioner (the Railroad Commission regulates natural gas drilling for the State of Texas), says that the Eagle Ford Shale has the potential to be the greatest economic driver in the history of South Texas.
Chesapeake Energy: Land Acquisition Machine
A post on the Seeking Alpha blog details how successful Chesapeake Energy has been at rapidly leasing enormous acreages in all of the major natural gas shale plays in the United States. They author calls them a “land acquisition machine”.
Eagle Ford Shale Landowners vs Army National Guard
The Texas Army National Guard wants to buy 22,232 acres of land over the Eagle Ford Shale and owners of the land under consideration don’t want to sell because they want to keep the land for potential oil and gas royalties. More in the Houston Chronicle.
Eagle Ford Shale – An Economic Engine
The Houston Chronicle is a close watcher of the oil and gas industry – especially in Texas. Here is a quote from a recent HC article…. “Development of the Eagle Ford shale [...] shows promise of being the most important economic generator South Texas has ever seen.
EPA vs Texas Railroad Commission
The Railroad Commission has jurisdiction of natural gas drilling in Texas and the commission disagrees with the United States Environmental Protection Agency on the cause of domestic water well contamination in North Texas. EPA claims that Barnett Shale drilling has caused the problem. More in the Washington Post.
Eagle Ford Shale Generates $3B in 2010
The San Antonio Business Journal has an article titled: “Eagle Ford Shale produced $3 billion for South Texas.”
Side-effects of Shale Drilling
An article in the Houston Chronicle titled: “We Can Minimize Negative Side-Effects of Shale Drilling” explores some ways to mitigate some of the problems encountered in developing the Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford Shale and Haynesville Shale in Texas.
Eagle Ford Shale: One of the Nation’s Biggest Oil and Gas Fields
An article in the Houston Chronicle, a newspaper that closely follows the oil and gas industry in Texas and worldwide, refers to the Eagle Ford Shale as “one of the nation’s biggest oil and gas fields.”
Eagle Ford Shale Right-of-Way Classes
The American Right of Way Associates will hold an Eagle Ford Shale Training Class on Saturday, January 29th in San Antonio, Texas. The class is titled “Right of Way Acquisitions & Land Title Training Program”. It teaches the skills necessary for right of way agents and title agents to serve the various oil and gas companies working in the Eagle Ford Shale play. More at PR.com.
Acceleration of Activity in the Eagle Ford Shale
The successes of 2010 in the Eagle Ford Shale will probably make it one of the fastest growing oil and gas targets of 2011. Shell, BP, Statoil and CNOOC have all made major acquisitions in the Eagle Ford. More at FuelFix.com.
