Shell and PetroChina drilled two vertical wells to test the natural gas potential of shales in the Sichuan Basin. China is thought to have the largest recoverable shale gas resource in the world but it remains untested.
More at Reuters.Global Energy Demand Growth
The ExxonMobile 2012 Outlook for Energy has a chart that compares current demand for energy sources with the forecast demand in 2040. Demand for all sources of energy increases. Although wind and solar demand grows rapidly, in 2040 their total use is…
More at ExxonMobile.
Strong Increase in Natural Gas Production
Since January 2005 the daily production of natural gas in the United States has risen from about 55 billion cubic feet per day to nearly 75 billion cubic feet per day. The current edition of the EIA Natural Gas Weekly has lots of graphs illustrating p…
More at Energy Information Administration.
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.
Shale: 870,000 Jobs and $118B in Economic Growth
A report from IHS Global Insight forecasts that the production of oil and gas from shale will support 870,000 jobs within the next four years and produce $57 billion in tax revenue by 2035.
More at Bloomberg.
LNG Exports from the United States
An article on the MarketWatch website reviews how the United States has rapidly shifted from an importer of natural gas to an aggressive exporter.
More at MarketWatch.
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.
Thousands of Oil and Gas Leases for Viewing
The New York Times has placed thousands of oil and gas leases plus their related documents online for public viewing. They obtained these leases from public records. Be sure to look at the blue drop down menus to see the depth of this information.
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.
Sources of Energy in the United States
The Energy Information Administration has an article that explores the sources of primary energy in the United States. Primary energy includes petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear fuel, and renewable energy.
More at Energy Information Administration.
Use of Natural Gas for Power Generation is Rising
The Energy Information Administration has an article that reports on the rapid increase in the amount of gas being used in Pennsylvania for the generation of electricty. Gains in the use of natural gas offset the use of coal.
More at Energy Information Administration.
Fracking Shale with Propane Instead of Water
Reuters.com has an article that describes how a Canadian company is using a propane gel instead of water when fracking a natural gas well. It eliminates the need for water disposal.
More at Reuters.com.
Natural Gas Price Forecast is UP
An article on the FuelFix.com website explains why some analysts believe that natural gas prices might rise as high as $10 per million BTU over the next ten years.
More at FuelFix.
Anadarko Petroleum’s Largest Ever Natural Gas Discovery
Anadarko Petroleum estimates that their newly-discovered natural gas field off the coast of Mozambique could be the largest discovery in company history.
More at Financial Times.
Hunting Safely in Natural Gas Country
The Marcellus Shale Coalition website has an article that provides safety advice for people who will be hunting in areas where natural gas drilling is taking place.
More at Marcellus Shale Coalition.
North Dakota: Record Oil Production
There is still more than one month remaining in 2011, but oil production in North Dakota has broken the annual record set in 2010. The state is on-target to produce about 150 million barrels.
More at FuelFix.com.
USGS Blog Post on Oklahoma Earthquakes
This blog post by USGS from November 9th provides some background on the swarm of earthquakes that has occurred in Oklahoma. More in a recent news article on the New York Times [1].
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/us/oklahoma-continues-string-of-recent-mild-earthquakes.html
More at USGS.
Deer Hunting and the Marcellus Shale
Monday is the first day of deer hunting season in Pennsylvania and many hunters believe that natural gas drilling has not damaged their sport.
More at PennLive.com.
Fayetteville Shale: Shallow and Fractures Easily
An article on TheCityWire.com website reports on a presentation given by Mike Yeager, an executive with BHP Billiton. He explains why the company was attracted to invest in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas.
More at TheCityWire.com.
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.
Tips on Leasing Your Land for Natural Gas Drilling
An article on the Patch.com website includes some valuable advice to people who have an interest in leasing their land for natural gas development.
Related Article: Mineral Rights [1]
[1] http://geology.com/articles/mineral-rights.shtml
More at Patch.com.
US Oil and Gas Production at an All Time High?
Some people believe that oil and natural gas production in the United States on an energy equivalent basis could reach an all time high – surpassing record levels set in the early 1970′s.
More at Fuel Fix.
Is the Criticism of Hydraulic Fracturing Deserved?
In a NewsOK.com article, Larry Nichols, of Devon Energy says that hydraulic fracturing for natural gas and oil is receiving too much blame for contaminating ground water and causing earthquakes.
More at NewsOK.com.
Should US Natural Gas Be Exported?
Some people believe that the current abundance of natural gas in the United States creates an opportunity to export to locations where gas prices are higher. Others believe that the gas should be kept in the United States to reduce our energy dependan…
More at Reuters.
Pennsylvania Citizen Opinions on Natural Gas Drilling
The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan conducted a public opinion poll on “Fracking for Natural Gas”. One of their key findings:
“While fairly divided on this matter, more Pennsylvanians believe that natural gas drilling has thus far provided more benefits than problems for Pennsylvania. A larger number anticipate greater future benefits than problems for the state.”
A Post-Gazette article summarizes the findings and links to a PDF copy of the study.
More at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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.
Gulf of Mexico – Energy Infrastructure
The Energy Information Administration has an interactive map that displays energy infrastructure features in the Gulf of Mexico region. It includes power plants, transmission lines, LNG terminals, natural gas hubs, pipelines, oil ports, refineries, ac…
More at Energy Information Administration.
Future Global Electric Generating Sources
As part of their International Energy Outlook, The Energy Information Administration has released a chart showing the projected sources for electricity generation. Renewable sources are expected to move into the lead and the use of coal, natural gas a…
More at .
