Challenging Russia With Shale Gas, Horizontal Drilling And Hydraulic Fracturing

Here's one way for Europe to get out of debt.........a novel idea......produce something tangible.....like natural gas and sell it for more than it costs to produce.

Peter 

 

‎# Gator 2012-07-16 14:22
Yep, the evil capitalists of the evil empire are about to accidentally save the world, again!

Kermit said it best, 'It ain't easy being green'. No, and it must be highly embarrassing...

http://www.climatechangedispatch.com/home/10332-the-new-cold-war-over-shale-gas

The New Cold War Over Shale Gas 

• Written by Dr. Benny Peiser, GWPF | July 16 2012
  Almost all European countries have some shale gas deposits. If hydraulic fracturing can be used on a commercial scale in Europe, the price of natural gas there will plummet.  (Maybe...Peter) It could force Russia to start working for a living and would have radical political repercussions. The challenge facing Gazprom is to convince nations that pay it exorbitant sums of foreign currency to forgo a technology that can save them a lot of money, create local jobs and support their political independence. This time, the mobilizing ideology is not anti-capitalism but environmentalism. Russia’s Mr. Putin has become a great champion of other countries’ environments. Gazprom and Russia pay directly or indirectly, through public-relations firms and environmentalist groups, for the creation of grand coalitions with authentic environmentalist groups. --Aviezer Tucker, The Washington Times, 13 July 2012
• 
  Moscow will do everything in its power to prevent shale developments for those perched close to its borders. Obviously this is all being couched in ‘environmental’ terms, but the underlying political reality is that Central European states are buckling under Russia pressure, most of whom remain entirely dependent on Moscow to keep warm in the winter.  (The caring but naive environmentalists are being duped, fooled and used again......Peter)  But by failing to take the free European shale pass, Russia now stands every chance of winning a new long terms lease of life. When they do, they’ll start thinking about developing their own enormous shale reserves that some think are around ten times larger than the entire European map. And as it just ‘so happens’, Exxon et al are already working on exactly that prospect in the giant Bazhenov and Achimov Russian fields. Phew; European shale doesn’t matter after all. We’ll have tonnes and tonnes of expensive Russian gas to keep us warm instead. Matthew Hulbert, Forbes, 12 July 2012
• 
  Geologically, the chances of finding shale gas in Europe are every bit as good as in America. France, Poland, Britain and Ukraine look promising, and decent quantities may yet be found in other countries. America’s EIA puts Europe’s recoverable reserves on a par with America’s. But there the similarities end. Perhaps the most important difference is in property rights. In America individuals generally own the minerals under their property. Since a gas strike will make them rich, they will generally be enthusiastic about extracting the stuff. In Europe mineral rights mostly belong to the state. --The Economist, 14 July 2012
• 
  You may not have noticed, but there is something happening to the American electricity supply that we've never seen before. Not in 1973 or 1950 or even in 1900. As long as Americans have made electricity, they've gotten more of it from coal than from any fuel. While petroleum and natural gas have played huge roles in our energy system, coal's been responsible for more than 65 percent of the fossil-fuel electricity we've generated for most of the last 50 years. But natural gas is in the process of overtaking coal as the top fuel in America -- and fast. The energy system, as you can see in the chart, tends to change slowly. But just look at the last three years in the chart below. That's the kind of growth that you tend to see in the high tech industry, not energy. That's an honest-to-goodness hockey stick. --Alexis Madrigal, The Atlantic, 13 July 2012
• 
  Here’s a tester for you. Which raft of energy policies gets proven ‘greener’ results? Is it the anti-fossil fuel, cap-and-trade regulatory regimes of socialist Europe? Or is it the path of technological innovation set by the ‘evil’ capitalists in the Kyoto-eschewing Bush White House? In what has to be the irony of ironies, Europe’s consumption of coal grew by 3.3 percent in 2011. Over in the United States in 2012, however, coal burning to generate power continued to decline, primarily due to America’s switch to shale gas. U.S. levels of carbon emission are currently plummeting; a feat Europe has no chance of matching, not least as coal use is on the increase. It’s a situation that ought to bring the whole raft of EU market-interfering policies geared to reducing carbon emissions into sharper focus. Policies that can only be characterize by three S’s: sheer synchronized stupidity. --Peter Glover, Energy Tribune, 13 July 2012
• 
  With China having put shale gas near the top of the government agenda for energy security concerns, the scramble for this game-changing unconventional gas is gathering momentum. The Ministry of Land and Resources said that more than 70 companies have shown their interest in participating in the country's much talked about second tender for domestic shale gas blocks, which is estimated to kick off this month or next. The ever-growing shale gas fever in China, buoyed by the United State's revolutionary breakthroughs in the sector, has turned the new sector that has yet to take off into a new gold rush for companies in the country. --Zhou Yan, China Daily, 16 July 2012
• 
  The French government may review its position on shale gas as part of the planned mining code revision, Les Echos reported, citing unidentified industry ministry officials. Energy Minister Delphine Batho will hold talks with non- governmental organizations and there could be some progress on the issue by the end of the month, the daily business newspaper said. The previous French government passed a law last year banning hydraulic fracturing of shale though “experiments aimed solely at scientific research” are still allowed, the newspaper said. --Steve Rhinds, Bloomberg, 16 July 2012
• 
  Policies governing the European Union's drive towards a low- carbon economy should not lose sight of the need to retain the bloc's industrial base, Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in a newspaper column on Monday. Oettinger, a German national, echoed rising concern about runaway power prices in his home country, where subsidising of fast-expanding green power is burdening industrial and household consumers. --Reuters, 16 July 2012

More Evidence That Fracking Not Harmful

It is very important to understand that every oil and gas well is different.  It is equally, if not more important to realize the geology of every area where these wells are being drilled is different.  There are a great number of variables affecting an area's groundwater and its usage.  There are many naturally occurring "contaminants" in ground water.  It is far from perfectly pure like the TV advertisements.  Because of all these variables, there is no "one-size fits all" definition of how a well can be drilled, horizontally or otherwise, fracked (the process of hydraulic fracturing of the underground rock formation) and used to produce oil and or natural gas.

The fact is, millions of wells have been drilled all over the United States, not to mention the world, millions(?) have been fracked, and very little of this activity has harmed the ground water being used for human activity.  The few horror stories occurred in the early stages of development, decades ago.  Even the terrible accident in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago is a rarity and occurred under unique circumstances.  Facts are facts.  If we can get past the politically-motivated, ideological fear-mongering taking place in the mass media, we'll see that fracking can be done in a safe and productive manner.
Peter

Duke study determines hydraulic fracturing likely had no role in elevated salinity of Marcellus area water

The underlying geology seems likely to be the cause of brine and methane migration into drinking water, as the Duke team found elevated levels of methane contamination in drinking water wells located within a kilometer of hydraulic fracturing, but found no evidence of contamination from fracturing fluids."These results reinforce our earlier work showing no evidence of brine contamination from shale gas exploration," said Robert Jackson, co-author of the study.  Article here

 http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/119218/Duke_Study_Fracking_Not_Likely_Behind_Higher_Marcellus_Water_Salinity

Good News From The Marcellus

News of a great new well is always welcome.  Congratulations Consul!
Peter

Consol says Pennsylvania Marcellus well is its most prolific

Washington (Platts)--13Jul2012/323 pm EDT/1923 GMT

Consol Energy said Friday that a Marcellus Shale well it drilled in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, achieved a peak 24-hour production rate of 17,900 Mcf, the highest of any well in the company's history.
The Pittsburgh-based company also said it drilled 17 Marcellus wells in the second quarter and placed 18 online.

Consol said its 2012 gas production guidance is 157 to 159 Bcf net to Consol, with third-quarter gas production expected to be 40 to 42 Bcf.

The company, which is also a major Appalachian coal producer, said its gas division for the first time used water from coal mines for hydraulic fracturing. The three-well Morris 14 pad in southwestern Pennsylvania was fracked with a 10% blend of mine-sourced water. The pad came on line in early July and was producing at an initial rate of 18,000 Mcf/d.

--Rodney White, rodney_white@platts.com --Edited by Linsey Isaacs, linsey_isaacs@platts.com