For the past four years the Haynesville Shale has generated economic growth in parts of Louisiana. Declines in natural gas prices have drillers moving their rigs to more profitable targets.
More at KLFY.com.Haynesville Shale
Rouge Fractures
“The chances of rogue fractures due to shale gas fracking operations extending beyond 0.6 kilometres from the injection source is a fraction of one percent, according to new research led by Durham University. The analysis is based on data from thousands of fracking operations in the USA and natural rock fractures in Europe and Africa.” Quoted from the Durham University press release.
More at Durham University.
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.
How Some Drillers Are Responding to Low Natural Gas Prices
An article in The Advocate explores who Encana Corporation and other natural gas drillers are responding to natural gas falling nearly $10 per thousand cubic feet since 2008.
More at The Advocate.
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.
Economic Benefits from the Haynesville Shale
An article on the NOLA.com website reports on the economic benefits that natural gas from the Haynesville Shale as brought to Louisiana. The Shreveport Times website reports on two new reality shows [1] that focus on lifestyle changes brought to the area by natural gas money.
[1] http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120120/ENT/201200324/2-new-CMT-reality-shows-feature-NW-Louisiana-residents?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE
More at NOLA.com.
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.
Learning about Oil and Gas Leases
An article in the New York Times reviews some potential rewards and problems that occur when a landowner decides to lease his property for oil and and gas development.
Related: Mineral Rights [1]
[1] http://geology.com/articles/mineral-rights.shtml
More at New York Times.
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.
Waste Water for Hydraulic Fracturing?
In Louisiana, a pipeline carries treated waste water from a paper mill to a natural gas field in the Haynesville Shale. The water is being recycled for hydraulic fracturing instead of being discharged into the Red River.
More at UpstreamOnline.com.
Arkansas: Natural Gas Severance Tax Act of 2012
Arkansas has two significant natural gas plays in the Haynesville and Fayetteville Shales. A proposal to significantly increase the natural gas severance tax to 7% has some companies threatening to drill in other states.
More at TodaysTHV.com.
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.
Over 100 Injection Wells and 1000 Water Trucks
An article on the ShreveportTimes.com website considers the industry activity and environmental impact associated with the injection of salt water waste produced by drilling for natural gas in the Haynesville Shale.
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”.
The Largest Fleet of LNG Trucks
Heckman Water Resources will become the operator of the largest fleet of LNG trucks in North America as they purchase 200 Peterbilt vehicles that will be used to haul water for Encana’s Haynesville Shale drilling operations. Encana will provide the LNG from a mobile refueling station. More in the Oil and Gas Journal.
Which is the Leader? Barnett or Haynesville Shale?
The Energy Information Administration recently reported that production from the Haynesville Shale had surpassed Barnett Shale production. Now, energy statisticians are arguing over the numbers. More at Platts.com.
Aerial View of a Hydraulic Fracturing Job
A photo on the NOLA.com website shows a natural gas drilling pad with twenty high pressure pumping trucks being connected to the well. Haynesville Shale near Mansfield, Louisiana.
Haynesville Shale is the Top Shale Gas Producer
According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, the Haynesville Shale of Louisiana is now producing more natural gas than the Barnett Shale of Texas, running at a rate of about 5.5 billion cubic feet per day.
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.
Haynesville Shale Well Drilled to 22,000 Feet in Mississippi
Mainland Resources announced that they spent $9.5 million to drill a Haynesville Shale well to 22,000 feet, recover 21 feet of Haynesville core from a depth of 20,415 feet and set production casing. This was one of the deepest on-shore wells drilled during 2010 and may be the deepest production casing ever set in a gas shale play. The well was drilled in Jefferson County Mississippi.
