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.

How long will the new natural gas shale plays be producing gas? 20 years? 40? More? This topic was discussed at IHS CERA conference last week in Houston. Some believe that they will be producing gas for a long time.

“The U.S. Department of Energy announces the release of Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: A Primer. The Primer provides regulators, policy makers, and the public with an objective source of information on the technology advances and challenges that accompany deep shale gas development.” Quoted from fossil.energy.gov. Download the .pdf

Ziff Energy Group has a press release on their website predicting that unconventional gas plays now active across North America will account for 53% of the continent’s gas production by 2020.

Trilogy Energy has four horizontal wells planned in the Montney Formation for the first quarter of 2009. A report at StockHouse.com gives test rates of 8.7 MMcf/d at 14.3 Mpa and 7.5 MMcf/d at 12.4 Mpa for two of the wells.

This article from the Calgary Herald reviews some of the Montney Formation and Muskwa Shale natural gas projects in play in British Columbia. The  author of this article clearly understands that there has been a sea change in the natural gas industry over the past two or three years.

Here is an article in the Globe Investor that tells a story about how lumber workers and businesses in British Columbia are jumping to serve the natural gas business as drilling activity in the Horn River and Montney plays heats up.

Canadian Spirit Resources has drilled two wells into the Montney Formation in the Farrel Creek area of British Columbia.  The wells penetrated multiple zones with potential for natural gas production.  Horizontal sections on the wells were not completed.  More at Rigzone.com.

Orleans Energy has drilled eleven horizontal wells in its Montney Formation properties in west central Alberta, Canada. This follows nine vertical wells and one horizontal well drilled during 2007. They have approval to drill up to three wells per section across 27.5 sections of properties in the Kaybob area. More at MarketWire.com.

The British Columbia government just took in $610 million in an oil and gas rights sale in the northeastern part of the province. The previous record was set in May, 2008 at $441 million. The income is from bets that gas producers are making on tight sandstones in the Montney Formation. More in the Calgary Hearld.