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.Utica Shale
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.
Total Spends $2.32B for Utica Shale Assets
Total has an agreement to purchase a 25% stake in 619,000 acres of Utica Shale in eastern Ohio from Chesapeake Energy for $2.32 billion. That is an average price per acre of $14,991.
More at San Francisco Chronicle.
Electric Power from the Marcellus and Utica Shales
As environmental regulations hasten the closure of coal-fired power plants American Electric Power plans to build a 1bcf/day pipeline to deliver gas from wells in the Marcellus [1] and Utica Shales [2].
[1] http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml
[2] http://geology.com/articles/utica-shale/
Refinery for Utica Shale Crude Oil
Marathon Petroleum is preparing to refine oil produced from the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio and western Pennslyvania. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates that the Utica Shale could yield between 1.3 and 5.5 billion barrels of crude.
More at West Virginia Business Journal.
Economic Opportunities in the Utica Shale of Eastern Ohio
Josh Mandel, Treasurer of the State of Ohio and Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money discuss some of the economic opportunities in the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio.
The Era of Aggressive Natural Gas Leasing is Ending
Some industry experts believe that onshore natural gas leasing is winding down and major plays like the Marcellus and Utica are unlikely to be found in the future.
More at Bloomberg.
Competition for Acreage in the Utica Shale of Ohio
Chesapeake Energy, Exxon Mobil and Hess are all working to acquire acreage in the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio.
More at .
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.
Podcast: Who Should Regulate Natural Gas Drilling?
Some local governments would like to have greater control over where, when and how natural gas drilling can be done in their areas of jurisdiction. This podcast explores the division of regulation between state and local governments in Pennsylvania.
More at National Public Radio.
States Compete for Natural Gas Drilling?
An article on the PittsburghLive.com website explains how regulations and costs of doing business in neighboring states can stimulate or deter the development of a resource such as natural gas. Not mentioned in the article is how a moratorium on Marce…
More at PittsburghLive.com.
Utica Shale Gas Boom in Eastern Ohio
Natural gas companies have drilled a number of highly successful wells into the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio. Now, drilling, permitting, and acquisition activity is starting to boom.
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/
$15,000/Acre – Utica Shale Deal
An article on the FuelFix.com website explains how Utica Shale Formation [1] assets in eastern Ohio are being valued at up to $15,000/acre. Just a few years ago landowners were leasing for just $10/acre.
[1] http://geology.com/articles/utica-shale/
More at FuelFix.com.
Huge “No Drilling” Buffers Around New York’s Waterways?
Proposed drilling regulations in New York could take enormous amounts of land that has already been leased out-of-play for natural gas development.
More at Reuters.com.
Who Will Get the Marcellus and Utica Shale Ethane?
Parts of the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale contain worthy amounts of ethane which is a valuable feedstock for the plastics industry. Will it be shipped by pipeline to distant manufacturers or will local manufacturing industries develop?
More at Reuters.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Case Could Overturn Lots of Natural Gas Leases
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is considering a case on how mineral rights [1] are defined that could overturn lots of natural gas leases that have been signed over the past century.
[1] http://geology.com/articles/mineral-rights.shtml
More at Business Week.
Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale in Ohio
The Ohio Geological Survey has an online presentation that summarizes the Marcellus Shale [1] resource in Ohio. It also contains lots of information about the Utica Shale [2] in Ohio.
[1] http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml
[2] http://geology.com/articles/utica-shale/
Severance Taxes or Drilling Fees?
Pennsylvania is one of the few states that does not levy a severance tax on oil and gas extraction. However, in need of revenue, government leaders are proposing severance taxes and drilling fees.
More at ABC News.
Surprising Utica Shale Well Production!
“Chesapeake Energy Corporation disclosed initial horizontal well drilling results in the wet gas and dry gas phases of the Utica Shale play in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
The Buell 10-11-5 8H in Harrison County, Ohio was drilled to a lateral length of 6,418 feet and achieved a peak rate of 9.5 million cubic feet (mmcf) per day of natural gas and 1,425 barrels (bbls) per day of natural gas liquids and oil (liquids), or 3,010 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day.” Quoted from the Chesapeake Energy press release.
More at Chesapeake Energy.
Natural Gas Potential of the Upper Devonian Shale
A sequence of rocks above the Marcellus Shale, known as the “Upper Devonian Shales” might hold significant amounts of recoverable natural gas and natural gas liquids. From top to bottom the Upper Devonian Shales, Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale are the “stacked plays of the Appalachians”.
More at Platts.com.
Utica Shale Speculation?
Although data is only available for 16 wells drilled into a Utica Shale resource that has a geographic extent of 170,000 square miles, that is not stopping oil and gas companies from spending billions of dollars on acreage.
More at Wall Street Journal.
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.
Unconventional Natural Gas and Oil in Ohio
An article on the Cleveland.com website reports that unconventional natural gas and oil in Ohio could create over 200,000 jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic activity.
More at Cleveland.com.
Who Has the Power to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing?
Communities in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have passed bans on hydraulic fracturing within their political boundaries. In some instances these bans have been overturned because the power to regulate of oil and gas drilling belongs to Stat…
More at Business Week.
Who Knows the Potential of the Utica Shale?
With just a small number of wells drilled into the Utica Shale using current technology, the potential of that rock unit remains unclear. However, a number of companies are placing big bets on the Utica – especially in Ohio.
More at Seeking Alpha.
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.
Public Support for Natural Gas Drilling in New York?
A New York public opinion poll revealed that more people in that state support natural gas drilling than oppose it. Seventy-five percent believe that it will bring more jobs to the state.
More at YNN.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.
