Four years ago the Haynesville Shale began generating lots of jobs and income for northern Louisiana. Now many companies are redirecting their activities from dry gas to areas where natural gas liquids and oil can be produced from shale – walking away from the boom areas that previously experienced rapid growth.
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.
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.
The-Vug.com has an impressive listing of mineral clubs organized by state. You might be surprised at how many clubs are listed and there is probably one that meets within a short drive of your home.
Lots of factors contribute to the natural gas prices paid by residential customers. Long term contracts and distant supply sources can hold residential prices high even though natural gas is locally in abundance. Residential customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Texas are paying above average rates for their natural gas.
The folks at MyTopo.com are now printing supersized topo maps – large enough make a huge 5′ x 8′ (or 8′ x 5′) map that will look fantastic on the wall of your office, conference room, lobby, cabin or den. These maps are custom-centered on any location that you pick using their online map-making tool. Lots of smaller sizes are also available.
We are affiliates of MyTopo.com and receive a commission on sales.
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.
Raven Maps are beautiful examples of shaded-relief wall maps that display the elevation of a state in vibrant colors. These large maps look great in a classroom, den or office. Use one to mark the locations of your work or company.
Part of an exploration map - Wyoming Geological Survey
The United States is the world’s leading consumer of diamonds, spending billions of dollars per year on the gem. Although domestic production is currently just a few hundred carats, there is a potential for production in several states.
The Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Research has prepared: Taxation of Natural Gas: A Comparative Analysis. This publication reviews the many methods of taxing natural gas 19 different states. You might be surprised at how many ways natural gas is being taxed.
“The track site, found in southwest Arkansas, covers an area of about two football fields and contains the fossilized tracks of several species.” Quoted from the University of Arkansas news release.
“This poster summarizes a few of the more significant facts about the series of large earthquakes that struck the New Madrid seismic zone of southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, and adjacent parts of Tennessee and Kentucky from December 1811 to February 1812.”
Southwestern Energy has leased 460,000 net acres in the Upper Jurassic Brown Dense Shale, a potential unconventional horizontal oil play that straddles the border between southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana.
“Several of the largest historical earthquakes to strike the continental United States occurred in the winter of 1811-1812 along the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which stretches from just west of Memphis, Tennessee into southern Illinois. These earthquakes produced at least three temblors between magnitude 7-8, and hundreds of aftershocks.”
“Nearly 12 percent of the contiguous United States fell into the “exceptional” classification during the month, peaking at 11.96 percent on July 12. That level of exceptional drought had never before been seen in the monitor’s 12-year history, said Brian Fuchs, UNL assistant geoscientist and climatologist at the NDMC.” Quoted from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln news release.
An injection well used to dispose of waste water produced by natural gas drilling in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas was thought to be causing hundreds of small earthquakes. The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission voted to close the disposal well but continue to allow injection activities associated with hydraulic fracturing process.
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.
“This map summarizes approximately 300 years of earthquake activity in Arkansas. In addition to earthquake locations, other materials presented include seismic hazard and isoseismal maps and related text. Arkansas has undergone a number of significant felt earthquakes since 1811. At least two of these events caused property damage: a magnitude 4.7 earthquake in 1931, and a magnitude 4.3 earthquake in 1967.” Quoted from the USGS publication.
Hundreds of earthquakes have occurred near the communities of Greenbrier and Guy, Arkansas. The earthquakes started to occur when wastewater from Fayetteville Shale drilling operations was injected into deep rock formations and their frequency immediately declined when injection activities were halted. Now the state is considering a ban on injection wells in that area.
Scott Ausbrooks, of the Arkansas Geological Survey comments on the hundreds of small earthquakes that have been experienced near Guy and Greenbrier, Arkansas since waste water injection began at a nearby location.
“The potential effects of Fayetteville Shale gas extraction on Brewer Lake and Cypress Creek, Arkansas are being studied by the U.S. Geological Survey in partnership with Southwestern Energy and Conway Corporation.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
The SCINEWS teacher resource site has a new lesson titled: “Tornado Outbreaks in the Southern and Eastern US”. It includes a printable event overview, student worksheet, links to videos and links to additional information.
The New York Times has a United States map with tornado tracks and fatality locations for the recent tornadoes that occured in the eastern and central United States. Also a time line of deadly tornadoes from 1950 to present.
Nearly 300 people were killed by strong storms and tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Arkansas. This has been the worst series of storms to hit the southeastern United States in about forty years.
“The U.S. Geological Survey estimated 147.4 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas, 2.4 billion barrels of undiscovered oil, and 2.96 billion barrels of undiscovered natural gas liquids in Jurassic and Cretaceous strata in onshore lands and State waters of the Gulf Coast.” Enormous amounts of gas are reported for unconventional rock units such as the Haynesville Shale and Eagle Ford Shale. Quote from the USGS press release.
Leaders at the U.S. Department of Education and Homeland Security are urging schools to participate in the Great Central U.S. Shakeout – an event targeting schools in states surrounding the New Madrid Fault Zone.
Dozens of people were killed this weekend as deadly tornadoes tore through parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina.
Based upon reviews of historical accounts of the large earthquakes that occurred in the New Madrid, Missouri area in 1811 and 1812, experts now estimate that their magnitudes were significantly lower – down from magnitude 7.7 to about 7.0.
A few companies are building tornado-resistant homes that look like typical homes but have a structural steel frame. They cost just 5% more than a typical home.
In an effort to determine the cause of the earthquake swarm near Guy, Arkansas, companies operating waste disposal wells in the area were asked to stop injection by the state oil and gas commission. Early results show a decrease in earthquake frequency and strength.
The small seismic zone that has been producing an earthquake swarm near Guy and Greenbrier, Arkansas has now produced a 4.7 magnitude earthquake – the strongest so far. The earthquake occurred on Sunday, February 27 at about 11:00 PM local time and at a depth of about 3 kilometers. See the USGS “Did you feel it?” map.
BHP Billiton, the worlds largest mining company which also holds major oil and gas interests, has purchased a $4.7 billion stake in the Fayetteville Shale from Chesapeake Energy.
There is broad agreement in the scientific community that a continuing concern exists for a major destructive earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone. Many structures in Memphis, Tenn., St. Louis, Mo., and other communities in the central Mississippi River Valley region are vulnerable and at risk from severe ground shaking.
The Arkansas Geological Survey has a Google map that shows the location of earthquake epicenters associated with the recent earthquake swarm that has been occurring near the town of Guy.
We recently posted a video about the earthquake swarm near Guy, Arkansas. Now the NewYorkTimes has an article titled: “A Dot on the Map, Until the Earth Started Shaking”.
An article at Bloomberg.com explores why some people would like to see severance taxes on natural gas in Arkansas rise by up to 500%. That could slow the development of the Fayetteville Shale gas play. Some speculate that might be why Chesapeake Energy is selling their $5 billion Fayetteville stake.
An article on the ABCNews site reports that Chesapeake Energy hopes to sell $5 billion in assets during calendar year 2012. Included in the sale are all of Chesapeake’s holdings in the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas.
USGS is investigating what killed over 5000 red-winged blackbirds that fell from the sky on New Years Eve, landing on the streets and yards of Beebe, Arkansas.
NASA’s Earth Observatory has published an interesting satellite view of a rare snowfall on the ground in the southern United States. Parts of Alabama and Mississippi from the image are shown below.
Experts from the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study and the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center report that a “loud noise” (probably fireworks) was responsible for killing about 5000 red-winged blackbirds on New Year’s Eve in Arkansas.
On New Year’s eve about 5000 red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky above the community of Beebe Arkansas. What killed them is still a mystery.
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