An article in the Denver Post discusses horizontal wells being drilled by Nobel Energy in the Niobrara Formation of Colorado. The wells go horizontal for about 9000 feet and cost about $8 million each.
Sustained, natural oil seepage from the seafloor is common off southern California, and is of great interest to resource managers, who are tasked with distinguishing natural from anthropogenic oil sources. The major purpose of this study was [...] enable differentiation of the highly similar Monterey Formation oils from Outer Continental Shelf production and adjacent natural seeps.
“Algeria is an important oil and natural gas producer and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Algeria’s hydrocarbons sector accounted for 60 percent of its budget revenues, 36 percent of its GDP, and over 97 percent of its export earnings in 2010.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration country report.
El Paso Corporation seeks government authorization to export up to 1/2 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas per day from its Elba Island, Georgia terminal.
The United States has a glut of natural gas and prices are much higher in other parts of the world – especially Asia. Should the United States begin exporting natural gas as LNG. That would generate income but would also raise the price of gas in the United States.
Instead of using 5 to 6 million gallons of water to fracture a well in the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio, a company plans to use LPG (liquid petroleum gas or propane).
Although Vermont is one of the last places that might be drilled for oil or natural gas, Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill that will ban hydraulic fracturing.
At the same time a bill in the North Carolina legislature would legalize hydraulic fracturing.
Falling natural gas prices have reduced the value of acreage acquired with the intention of producing natural gas. Some companies could decide to write-down the value of those assets in their accounting statements.
“Vietnam is an important oil supplier to regional and domestic markets and may emerge as a significant natural gas supplier in the next decade. Vietnam’s oil production has declined overall since 2004, after several years of steady increases and became a net oil importer in 2011.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration country analysis brief.
After a long moratorium on Marcellus Shale drilling in New York, a variety of proposed regulations and local bans on drilling could render millions of leased acres as worthless.
Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron may receive rights to develop shale gas fields in Ukraine. The country currently imports most of its natural gas from Russia.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could earn an estimated $1,154 billion of net oil export revenues in 2012 and $1,117 billion in 2013. Last year, OPEC earned $1,026 billion in net oil export revenues, a 33 percent increase from 2010. Quoted from the Energy Information Administration Fact Sheet.
A study done by Geoscience Australia estimates Australia’s natural gas resource at about 390 trillion cubic feet. The country’s offshore resources is being aggressively developed by projects that are expected to produce LNG that will be exported to Asia.
USGS is working on a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide. Their publication: Geologic Framework for the National Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources─Bighorn Basin, Wyoming and Montana is part of that effort.
The Oil On My Shoes website provides an introduction to petroleum geology and information about career opportunities in the oil and gas industry. Check it out.
Four geologic provinces along the east coast of Africa recently were assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids resources as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) World Oil and Gas Assessment. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimated mean volumes of 27.6 billion barrels of oil, 441.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 13.77 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.
Power companies are using record amounts of natural gas to produce electricity. In February 2012, 34% more gas was used than in February 2011. Even with that level of use, natural gas prices remain low.
An AP article reports that drillers produced about $4.7 billion worth of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia during 2011.
The leading states for natural gas production during 2011 were: Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Colorado. Together they produced 65% of US natural gas.
Natural gas from shale currently costs half as much as coal per BTU. Producing electricity with natural gas from shale is more efficient than coal. Natural gas from shale produces less CO2 than coal when it is used to generate electricity. What’s the problem?
In their Natural Gas Weekly Update, the Energy Information Administration reports that “the natural gas rotary rig count, as reported by Baker Hughes Incorporated on April 27, decreased by 18 to 613 active units. Meanwhile, oil-directed rigs decreased by 9 to 1,328 units.” Rig counts are approaching their lowest levels since the shale gas boom began.
Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Financial Officer, Simon Henry, reports that Chinese gas shales can be more challenging than shales in the United States, however, they can produce gas at well below the liquefied natural gas import price.
Chesapeake Energy has ten rigs focusing on the wet gas window of the Utica Shale in Ohio. “On a post-processing basis, peak rates from the wet gas window of the play have averaged approximately 415 bbls of oil, 260 bbls of NGL and 3.9 mmcf of natural gas per day, or approximately 1,325 boe per day.’ In their first quarter summary they report details on several Utica wells.
“Although most Caribbean countries are energy importers, the Caribbean has important centers for oil refining and storage, and Trinidad and Tobago is one of the largest LNG exporters in the world.” Quote from the Energy Information Administration country analysis brief.
“Peru is currently a net oil importer and a natural gas exporter, but rising exploration and development may lead to increased production and exports of both oil and gas in the next few years.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration country analysis brief.
Several major natural gas drillers have developed a set of standards for hydraulic fracturing in the Appalachian Basin. The standards recommend practices for drilling, well design, water use, equipment use and public outreach.
For the past four years the Haynesville Shale has generated economic growth in parts of Louisiana. Declines in natural gas prices have drillers moving their rigs to more profitable targets.
With the price of natural gas at $2 or below lots of coal-fired power plants are converting to natural gas – and the price of Wyoming coal has fallen by 45 percent.
A total of $168 billion is expected to be invested on offshore wind farms in the North Sea. Oil is being depleted there and energy companies are changing their focus to wind.
“The chances of rogue fractures due to shale gas fracking operations extending beyond 0.6 kilometres from the injection source is a fraction of one percent, according to new research led by Durham University. The analysis is based on data from thousands of fracking operations in the USA and natural rock fractures in Europe and Africa.” Quoted from the Durham University press release.
Although the natural gas boom in the United States lured many small and large oil companies to invest heavily in the shale plays, Chevron concentrated on oil and didn’t touch natural gas until it recently acquired Atlas Energy.
A report on drilling activity in the Eagle Ford Shale on the FuelFix.com website says that the number of new wells drilled in the first quarter of 2012 is double the number drilled in 2011.
“A team of U.S. Geological Survey scientists recently completed an assessment of the potential for additions to oil reserves that could result from applying improved oil-recovery technologies in 18 large oil fields in the Permian Basin in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet.
“The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an estimate of volumes of technically recoverable, conventional oil that could eventually be added to reserves in nine selected major oil fields in the San Joaquin Basin in central California.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
Just a few years ago terminals to import liquefied natural gas were being built on the eastern and Gulf coasts of the United States. Now, these terminals are idle or operating at fractional capacity. Some companies are interested in converting them into LNG export facilities.
Missouri University of Science and Technology is launching a new geothermalenergy project intended to eliminate the need for an on-campus coal and woodchip-fired power plant. In addition to saving up to $2.8 million/year in energy costs, the new system will eliminate the need for $26 million deferred maintenance costs and cut campus water usage by 8 million gallons per year.
There is an interesting article on the ExxonMobil Perspectives website titled “How many gallons of gasoline would it take to charge an iPhone?“. It compares the energy density of various fuels and demonstrates why it will be difficult to replace the use of liquid fuels like gasoline in certain uses.
“The law provides for the imposition of a drilling impact fee and the expenditure of the funds generated by that impact fee to local and state purposes specifically outlined in the law. The law also contains a mechanism as to how the fees shall be distributed. A significant portion of the fees generated will be used to cover the local impacts of drilling while several of state agencies will also receive funding for a variety of other purposes.” Quote from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
An article on the Bloomberg.com website explains how some states are responding to the correlation between wastewater injection and shallow earthquake activity. Injection well disposal of hydraulic fracturing wastewater is declining rapidly as natural gas drilling operations are recycling more of their wastewater instead of sending it to injection wells.
An article on the MySanAntonio.com website explores the success and economic impact of the Eagle Ford Shale which produced nearly 5 million barrels in 2010 and over 20 million in 2011.
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