Shale Natural Gas and Oil Resources

Energy Department approves expanded LNG exports
The Washington Post - 2013-05-18
About $10 billion would be invested to convert what had been built as an LNG import facility to an export terminal. The US Department of Energy conditionally has authorized exports of as much as 1.4 billion cubic feet a day. See links to tables for measurement conversions.

The story links to a US DOE statement: WASHINGTON – "The Energy Department announced today that it has conditionally authorized Freeport LNG Expansion, L.P. and FLNG Liquefaction, LLC (Freeport) to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States from the Freeport LNG Terminal on Quintana Island, Texas. Freeport previously received approval to export LNG from this facility to FTA countries on February 10, 2011. Subject to environmental review and final regulatory approval, the facility is conditionally authorized to export at a rate of up to 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day (Bcf/d) for a period of 20 years. The Department granted the first authorization to export LNG to non-FTA countries in May 2011 for the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana at a rate of up to 2.2 Bcf/d."

3 Foreign Companies Invest in U.S. Project to Export Liquid Gas
NYTimes.com - 2013-05-18
An investment of between $6 billion and $7 billion is planned at Hackberry, La., where a facility is projected to produce 12 million metric tons of LNG a year.

Judge rules administration overlooked fracking risks in California mineral leases
Reuters - 2013-04-09
The decision delays fracking in two tracts of the Monterrey Shale Formation. The two tracts are 2,500 acres, but the formation as a whole may hold 15 billion of oil.

Frackers Are Losing $1.5 Billion Yearly to Leaks
Mother Jones - 2013-04-05

Chesapeake Opens Drill Site to EPA Fracking Study
WSJ.com - 2013-01-24
Chesapeake will permit the EPA to study a fracking site. The EPA will study other sites where water contamination has been reported.

Ukraine set to sign landmark $10 bln shale gas deal with Shell
Reuters - 2013-01-24
The Energy Information Administration says that Ukraine in 2011 had 39 trillion cubic feet of reserves, production of 699 billion cubic feet and consumption of 2,281 billion. It is heavily reliant on Russia for its imports and signed a controversial natural gas deal with its neighbor.

WPX hits major natural gas resevoir in western Colorado
Tulsa World - 2013-01-23
An early well in the Piceance Basin produced 16 million cubic feet at 7,300 pounds per square inch of pressure. However, shale gas reservoirs tend to release a great deal of natural gas in the first years of production and then taper off rapidly.

Digging into the practice of fracking
CBS News - 2012-12-30

Total: Oil Production to Peak at 98M Barrels per Day
Dow Jones Newswire via Rigzone - 2012-12-13
The French oil company increased its estimate of the peak oil plateau up from 95 million barrels per day. THe introduction of tight oil and shale oil from the US will help, but not give the US energy independence Total CEO Christophe de Margerie said.

In a Natural Gas Glut, Big Winners and Losers
NYTimes.com - 2012-10-23
With hydraulic fracturing producing so much gas, natural gas has fallen to decade lows. This has left many producers, who often entered the market when natural gas was double its present price, operating at a loss. These firms have been their rigs out of production over time.

Natural Gas Rises to 10-Month High as Power Plants Buoy Demand
Businessweek - 2012-10-19
The switchover from coal in the electric sector is showing its effect on natural gas supply and price.

Natural Gas Rigs: Headed Towards A Shortage, Part II
Seeking Alpha - 2012-10-17
This gives short profiles of a few publicly-traded natural gas producers and gives a list of the top 20 gas producers in the U.S.

Natural Gas Rigs: Headed Towards A Shortage - Part I
Seeking Alpha - 2012-10-16
As the weekly count of natural gas rigs falls, this essay argues that the count may have fallen too low. It also makes a brief assertion that this winter will test the forecasts of quick depletion rates of horizontal, hydrofractured wells.

U.S. Natural Gas Resources Bigger Than Estimated, Analyst Says
BusinessWeek - 2012-10-08
A Canadian firm estimates that the US has 890 trillion cubic feet of gas, much more than the 317.6 trillion the Dept. of Energy estimates. However the estimate does not include the potential rate of production over the life of a well, nor does the report state the confidence level of the estimates.

Pa. charities: $19M for gas drilling research
Associated Press - 2012-10-07
Opponents of tracking say the private grants are filling holes left by tepid regulations.

Natural Gas Pipelines to Expand U.S. Supply, Especially of Shale Gas
Businessweek - 2012-09-26

Shale Fracking Makes U.S. Natural Gas Superpower. Now What?
Bloomberg - 2012-09-26

Natural-gas pipeline to start in NE Ohio
Youngstown News - 2012-09-06

An American bonanza of oil and natural gas
chicagotribune.com - 2012-07-28
The Chicago Tribune gives an overview of unconventional oil in the Dakotas.

PA DEP Announces 1 Year Study on Air Quality in Marcellus
Marcellus Drilling News - 2012-07-24

U.S. natural gas rig count slips to a 13-year low
Reuters - 2012-07-20

Natural-gas prices force down number of Marcellus drilling rigs by 29 percent
Philadelphia Inquirer - 2012-07-08

Pa./N.J. Basin May Have 876 BCF of Shale Gas, But Drillers Doubt Profitability of the Deposit
Allentown Morning Call - 2012-06-30

EPA issues first rules on air pollution from fracking - latimes.com
- 2012-04-18

Officials warn lack of rain leading to drought
The Times-Tribune - 2012-04-18

Gas Producers' Credit Lines Shrink With Price: Corporate Canada
Bloomberg - 2012-04-11

Explosion rocks natural gas compressor station
The Times-Tribune - 2012-03-30

$1B Marcellus pipeline proposed
Philly.com - 2012-03-15

Estimates Clash for How Much Natural Gas in the United States
National Geographic News - 2012-03-15

Fourth year brings Haynesville Shale slowdown
Shreveport Times - 2012-03-11

The Uncertain Future of American Shale Gas
DailyFinance - 2012-02-18

Rural loophole curbing Pennsylvania pipeline inspections
- 2012-02-12

Fracturing natural gas wells requires hundreds of tons of chemical liquids
Akron Beacon Journal Online - 2012-02-12

Examining America's Natural Gas Supply
Business Insider - 2012-02-08

New Data Not So Sunny on U.S. Natural Gas Supply
NYTimes.com - 2012-01-29

Boom in shale drilling slows Pa. crude oil industry -
York Dispatch - 2012-01-29

EPA may retest PA. water near fracking
Reuters - 2012-01-06

Delaware Highlands Conservancy announces natural gas guidelines
- 2012-01-06

China Invests $2.2Bin US Shale, Including Utica, Through Devon
Marcellus Drilling News - 2012-01-04

Schuyler-Seneca Town Talk: Ovid weighs in on hydraulic fracturing
The Ithaca Journal - 2011-12-26

W.Va. Legislature approves Marcellus shale bill
Charleston Daily Mail - 2011-12-14

E.P.A. Implicates Fracking in Pollution
Associated Press - 2011-12-08

Shale Gas May Be a Mexican Mirage -
IPS ipsnews.net - 2011-12-05

Shale gas opens door to U.S. LNG exports
MarketWatch - 2011-12-05

Drilling Down - Fighting Over Oil and Gas Well Leases
NYTimes.com - 2011-12-02

North Dakota Oil Boom Creates Camps of Men
NYTimes.com - 2011-11-25

Officials Push for Clarity on Oil and Gas Leases
NYTimes.com - 2011-11-25

Insight: Bakken plans first U.S. refinery in 35 years
Reuters - 2011-11-25
$200 million dollar investment first refinery in region in years.

Landowners hope to profit from Utica Shale gas boom
The Marion Star - 2011-11-25
One landowner reports lower lease value than anticipated.

The Bakken Formation: How Much Will It Help?
The Oil Drum - 2011-11-24

Situation Normal All Fracked Up
NYTimes.com - 2011-11-17

UPDATE 1-Argentina's YPF reveals big new shale energy find | Reuters
- 2011-11-16

YPF announces a billion barrels shale-oil discovery in Argentina — MercoPress
- 2011-11-16

The DRBC's Newly Proposed Natural Gas Regulations Explained
StateImpact Pennsylvania - 2011-11-10

GlobalResourcesNews stories on the search term: shale

Canada Clears China's $15.1B Bid for Nexen Oil Firm

IEA: Natural Gas Must Meet 'Golden Rules'

Marcellus Shale Impacts Pennsylvania Economy

Tight Oil Adds Energy Security, Has Local Impact

Shale Advisors Call for Disclosure of Chemicals

Advisory Report on Shale Gas

Pennsylvania Gears Up for More Shale Gas

Efficiency is 'First Fuel' FERC Chair Tells Forum

Maps of Shale Gas and Oil

Obama Admininstration Calls for Review of Keystone XL Pipeline and Will Delay the Project Past 2012 Election.

Shale Gas Has Challenges, But Study Group Holds Out Hope

DOE International Energy Outlook Sees Big Energy Use Increase by 2035

Unified, Long-Term Renewable Energy Policy Needed, says Sen. Murkowski

Marcellus Shale - Facts, Figures, Maps

British Industry Group Examines Peak Oil

Links for the search term: shale

Natural Gas and Coal Measurements and Conversions

Economic effects of shale hydrofractruring in Ohio counties
Ohio job growth has been almost as strong (1.3% increase) in fracking-free counties as in strong fracking counties (1.4% job growth).

Forbes Columnist forecasts $8 Natural Gas
Describes below-average injections into storage during the spring and summer of 2012.

Marcellus Shale and Philadelphia's watershed

Shale gas EROI: Preliminary estimate suggests 70 or greater by Michael Aucott

Oil Shale's Energy Return on Energy Investment Findings show oil shale is, at best, a marginal energy source

DOE Office of Petroleum Reserves – Strategic Unconventional Fuels Fact Sheet: U.S. Oil Shale Resources

Green River Oil Shale Formation - Green River Shale Map

Green River shale oil in place put at 1.45 trillion bbl

Ohio Dept of Natural Resources page on shale development

Analysis of Alaskan oil from a small cap energy investor
Discusses how Prudhoe Bay peaked in 1989 after about 12 years of production and has been declining ever since.

Chesapeake Loads Up On Fracking Land, Stock Going To $35

Shale Oil

Lessons from the Barnett Shale suggest caution in other shale plays
Study suggests that useful life of a hydrofractured natural gas well is 8-12 years and that it has yielded 75% of its economic output by year 5.

Will shale gas fulfill future U.S. natural gas demand?

Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board

USGS August 2011 estimate of natural gas in Marcellus Shale formation (84 trillion cubic feet)
The US Geologic Survey gave an average-valued estimate of 84 trillion cubic feet.
USGS estimated with:

95% probability (P95)    42 TCF
50% probability (P50)    78 TCF
 5% probability  (P5)    144 TCF