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.Niobrara Shale
Colorado Oil Production at 50 Year High
In 2012 the Niobrara Shale helped propel Colorado to its highest annual oil production levels in 50 years.
More at Denver Post.
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.
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.
North Dakota Needs Pipelines
Record amounts of oil and natural gas are being produced in North Dakota. However, about 1/3 of the natural gas is being flared because of inadequate pipelines to carry the gas to market. This article explains why the state needs more pipelines to de…
More at CNBC.
Horizontal Wells are Costly
An article in the Denver Post discusses horizontal wells being drilled by Nobel Energy in the Niobrara Formation of Colorado. The wells go horizontal for about 9000 feet and cost about $8 million each.
More at Denver Post.
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.
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.
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.
Another Big Chinese Purchase of US Shale Plays
Sinopec, a major Chinese oil and gas company also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation Limited, will purchase a 1/3 share of Devon Energy’s holdings in five shale plays in the United States for $900 million in cash and contribute $1.6 billion towards future drilling expenses. Properties in the Utica Shale, Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Niobrara Shale are included.
More at Business Week.
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.
Anadarko Oil Estimate for the Niobrara Formation
Anadarko Petroleum estimates that the Niobrara Formation in the Wattenberg Field contains the equivalent of 500 million to 1.5 billion barrels of oil that can be tapped by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. (See slides 11-15 in the .pdf doc…
More at Anadarko.
Hiring Boom in North Dakota
Thousands of high-paying new jobs are unfilled in North Dakota where natural gas and oil are being produced from the Bakken Formation, the Niobrara Shale and other rock units.
More at MSNBC.
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.
Seismic Surveys of the Niobrara Shale
An article in the Casper Star-Tribune reports that companies interested in the Niobrara Shale of Wyoming and Colorado are using seismic surveys to understand the stratigraphy.
More at Casper Star-Tribune.
Wells in the Niobrara Shale are not Sure Bets
In most of the shale plays a newly-drilled well has a reasonable probability of producing the same mix of natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids produced by existing wells that region. However, wells drilled into the Niobrara of southeastern Wyoming are often dry – a problem that has drillers learning more about the geology or moving their activity to more predictable locations.
More at Trib.com.
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.
Australians Drilling the Niobrara Shale
Entek Energy Ltd., an Australian company is drilling vertical wells into the 1100-foot-thick Niobrara Shale in southern Wyoming. More in the Casper Star-Tribune.
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.
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”.
Niobrara Shale: Higher Risk Than Expected?
Some companies are starting to doubt the initially optimistic opinions about the Niobrara Shale that has produced oil and natural gas in the Colorado, Western Nebraska and Wyoming area. Some recent wells have not been commercially viable and that has generated uncertainty. More at GulfNews.com.
Manufacturing Oil and Gas Reservoirs in the Niobrara Shale
Mark Northam, director of the School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming says that horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing allow drillers to “manufacture a reservoir” in the Niobrara Shale. More in the Billings Gazette.
New Drilling Technology Opens the Niobrara Shale
An article in the Billings Gazette explains how horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are opening a bonanza of oil and natural gas from the Niobrara Shale in Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming.
China’s CNOOC Ltd. Buys 1/3 of Chesapeake’s Niobrara
An unusual entry into the Niobrara Shale is CNOOC Ltd., China’s largest offshore energy company. They are buying 1/3 of Chesapeake Energy’s Niobrara Shale assets for $570 million cash. More at Bloomberg.com.
