Better

The Marcellus Shale is not only the most economic natural gas basin in the country, it is producing better returns than many oil plays, an energy industry analyst told an audience in Philadelphia last week.

The Houston arm of Royal Dutch Shell plc and the University of Texas at Austin (UT) are teaming up to work on new and better ways to extract natural gas and oil from unconventional rock formations.

Enterprise Products Partners LP, Enbridge Energy Partners LP and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. are partnering on a new natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from Skellytown, TX in Carson County to NGL fractionation and storage facilities in Mont Belvieu, TX. The new system would benefit takeaway capacity from the Barnett Shale as well as from other plays.

Estimates now used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and independent researchers to determine greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from upstream shale gas production likely are “significantly overstated” because they are based on assumptions that don’t reflect current industry practices, according to IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS CERA).

Federal officials said the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will begin a two-year study of the Bakken Formation in October to obtain a better estimate of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas contained in Montana and North Dakota portions of the shale play.

Federal officials said the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will begin a two-year study of the Bakken Formation in October to obtain a better estimate of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas contained in Montana and North Dakota portions of the shale play.

Results from Talisman Energy’s North American shale plays continue to be positive, but the impact of increased taxes in the United Kingdom and a loss on held-for-trading financial instruments and the timings of liftings led to negative overall earnings in 1Q2011, the Calgary-based producer said Wednesday.

In the early days of Barnett Shale drilling in North Texas it would have been nice to have better communication among area residents, municipal governments, regulators and energy companies, Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Commissioner David Porter told NGI. To make that happen in the fast-emerging Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas, Porter would like to see a task force focused on the play.

In the early days of Barnett Shale drilling in North Texas it would have been nice to have better communication among area residents, municipal governments, regulators and energy companies, Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Commissioner David Porter told NGI’s Shale Daily. To make that happen in the fast-emerging Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas, Porter would like to see a task force focused on the play.