The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has added four countries to its assessment of technically recoverable shale resources, resulting in a 13% increase in the global assessed total resource estimate for shale oil and a 4% increase for shale gas. A total of 26 formations within 11 basins were analyzed in Chad, Kazakhstan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), though “there is currently no shale exploration underway in any of the four countries, meaning the new assessed resources are not yet economically recoverable,” EIA said. All current production of oil and natural gas in the countries is from non-continuous resources (from high-permeability formations). Chad produced an estimated 78,000 b/d of oil in 2014; Kazakhstan 1.7 million b/d of oil and 1.9 Bcf/d of gas; Oman 943,000 b/d and 2.8 Bcf/d; and UAE 3.7 million b/d and 5.6 Bcf/d.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Colorado held the first of three public information open houses Monday in Glenwood Springs, CO, to gain feedback from local citizens on its draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for 65 existing oil/gas leases in the White River National Forest, including ones in the Thompson Divide. Release of the DEIS has spurred concerns in the industry of future development being blocked (see Shale Daily, Nov. 19). Similar meetings will be held Tuesday and Wednesday in DeBeque and Carbondale, respectively. The DEIS presents five alternatives, ranging from no changes in the leases to canceling all of them. Written comments on the DEIS will be taken through Jan. 8, a BLM spokesperson said.