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Geology News
Barnett Shale Current Events

United States natural gas production is on a new rise after many years of steady decline. The newly tapped plays such as the Barnett, Haynesville and Marcellus have the promise of replacing a lot of oil that otherwise would have been imported.

The United States is ramping up its natural gas production thanks to newly developed gas in formations such as the Marcellus Shale, Barnett Shale and Haynesville Shale. These organic shale deposits are not unique to the United States and this article explores the gas shale situation in Europe which is just starting to take off.

The Shreveport Times has a number of questions and answers that relate to the saltwater disposal wells used to get rid of the flowback water produced during the hydrofracing of Haynesville Shale gas wells.

Lots of people are being asked to sell the minerals beneath their property or sign a contract that gives a drilling company the right to explore their property for oil and natural gas. This article explores many aspects of mineral rights, and attempts to inform the potential seller/lessor that the transactions and agreements can be very complex and that advice from an expert is a good idea.

A lot of attention is going to the millions of gallons of water that will be needed for the estimated 1500 Marcellus Shale gas wells that will be drilled each year. An article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells what is done with water from the Barnett Shale wells in Texas.

All Things Considered looks at the Barnett Shale and how drilling amongst the homes and businesses of the Fort Worth area is causing some problems with noise, traffic, pollution, excavation for pipelines and more. Some people who were happy about the income at first are now getting tired of the problems.

Living Next Door To A Drilling Rig

Lots of people have leased their acreage for potential gas drilling and are curious about how much their royalties might amount to. We now have a tool to estimate gas royalty income based upon a few assumptions. You just type in your royalty rate, an assumed natural gas wellhead price, an assumed well production rate, the number of acres in the production unit and the number of production unit acres that belong to you - then push a button.

Most of the leasing and drilling in the United States gas shale plays have been done by smaller independent companies, but now some of the international oil companies are starting to buy in. BP just purchased $1.75 billion of unconventional shale assets from Chesapeake Energy.

More info on gas shales: Marcellus, Haynesville, Fayetteville, Barnett.

T. Boone Pickens has a plan to help America replace the use of foreign oil with domestic energy sources. His plan calls for a greater utilization of wind power and the use of domestic natural gas to replace gasoline as a motor vehicle fuel. With the many new natural gas discoveries made in the past few years the United States is in a better position to support natural gas vehicles.

I have seen numerous news articles that explain how government officials in Pennsylvania, New York, Arkansas, Louisiana and other states are going to Texas to meet with people who faced significant challenges as the Barnett Shale play developed in that state. An article in The Daily and Sunday Review details one example. This is generous of the folks in Texas and a smart idea for those in other states.

Map of Texas Counties

Wood Mackenzie has a video that presents the idea that productive area for the Barnett Shale can be successfully extended into counties on the perimeter of the current action.

Barnet Shale Basics

In most gas fields the reservoir rock is the target of drilling. However in this case the source rock is also the reservoir. Drilling for the Barnett is happening in parts of 15 counties, with many of the wells being drilled in the urban setting of the Fort Worth metropolitan area.