Will the new shale plays still be producing natural gas ten to twenty or more years into the future? This topic was discussed at IHS CERA conference last week in Houston.
“A study of seismic activity near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by researchers from SMU and UT-Austin reveals that the operation of a saltwater injection disposal well in the area was a “plausible cause” for the series of small earthquakes that occurred in the area between October 30, 2008, and May 16, 2009.” Quoted from the Southern Methodist University press release.
Will the natural gas contained in America’s shale be providing energy for the next 100 years? The CERAWeek conference looks at the future of U.S. shale gas.
Drilling and hydrofracking a well in one of the natural gas plays such as the Marcellus or Haynesville requires at least a million gallons of water with chemical additives and will become salty when it comes in contact with subsurface brines. An article on the Reuters website explores this problem in New York.
The Shale Gas Drilling & Completions 2010 conference will be held in Houston, Texas on May 26 through May 28, 2010. The conference will deliver “key insight into applying cutting-edge drilling and completions techniques used throughout diverse shale projects in the US & Canada. Leading shale producers will share real life examples of their drilling and completions success and challenges – including experience from the Barnett, Haynesville, Horn River, Marcellus, Woodford and Fayetteville shale plays.” Quoted from the conference website.
Members of the House Energy and Commerce panel will examine Exxon Mobil’s plans to acquire significant acreage in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Barnett gas shale plays as part of a deal with XTO Energy. Exxon is concerned about future regulations that will limit the use of hydraulic fracturing to develop these assets.
If you have questions about mineral rights they can be posted at a new and growing forum at www.mineralrightsforum.com. They have active discussions for natural gas shales, oil and gas leasing and much more.
An article on the CNN website explores some of the potential environmental impacts of natural gas wells drilled into the unconventional shale formations such as the Marcellus, Barnett, Fayetteville, and Haynesville. Exxon has a clause in its deal to buy XTO that will allow the company to escape from the deal if federal regulations prohibit hydraulic fracturing or place severe regulations upon it.
Exxon’s intention to buy XTO, a leading producer of natural gas from shale, could provide inertia that will move natural gas into the position of a bridge towards renewable energy.
The American Petroleum Institute has a video that explains the horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing processes. It explains the drilling, fracturing, equipment, materials and environmental concerns.
This is an excellent video from an authoritative source.
A few years ago a number of LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminals were being planned to bring foreign natural gas into US markets. Then natural gas drillers began tapping shale reservoirs such as the Haynesville of Louisiana, the Barnett of Texas and the Marcellus of the Appalachian basin. The US natural gas and energy situations have been changed.
An article in the Star-Telegram explains how technology that was initially used to produce natural gas from the Barnett Shale of Texas is now employed or being planned in many parts of the world.
“Colorado School of Mines has announced the establishment of the Unconventional Natural Gas Institute (UNGI) for the upstream research and development of natural gas, which is clean-burning, helps minimize greenhouse gas emissions, and is in great supply in the United States.” Quoted from the Colorado School of Mines announcement.
An interesting article at the Financial Times website explores the topic of foreign companies investing in United States natural gas. Billion dollar investments have occurred in which foreign companies have bought major interests in the emerging shale gas plays.
The United States Department of Energy funded nine natural gas from shale projects. Most of them are intended to improve the management of hydraulic fracturing water at shale drilling sites or waste water treatment sites.
In response to a series of small earthquakes near the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, Chesapeake Energy has shut in two saltwater disposal wells that injected water into underground rock units. They say that their closing is a “precaution”. Scientists can’t say for sure if the earthquakes have any relationship with gas production or saltwater disposal.
The amount of natural gas in storage has skyrocketed above the historic five year range. There is a lot of new gas entering the market and stocks are 517 billion cubic feet above the 5-year range.
Natural gas producers have developed such a large production capacity and a deep resource base that the market now has an enormous overhang of natural gas that could take years to work off.
The natural gas supply situation of the United States has improved with a rise in reserves of about 35% between 2006 and 2008. Unconventional gas from shale accounts for most of the increase.
Natural gas is under $4 per million BTU, down from a high of $13 one year ago. The Houston Chronicle has an article that reports on natural gas producers cutting their output in an effort to cut the supply of natural gas and thus increase prices.
A few small earthquakes in Texas have some people asking if the deep natural gas wells drilled into the Barnett Shale have triggered the quake. A few geologists provided comments for the article.
Two members of Congress are working on a bill that would give the federal government regulatory authority over hydraulic fracturing. They are motivated by a concern for ground water protection. Drillers are concerned that new federal regulations will cause permitting delays and increased costs.
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