Deposits

The United States could produce 5 million b/d from shale oil deposits by 2017 and may become the world’s largest oil producer — reaching up to 16 million b/d in just a few years by combining shale with conventional oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biofuels, according to a researcher at Harvard Kennedy School.

A report by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research says personal income for the residents of 28 counties in New York that overlay the Marcellus Shale could grow by 15% or more over the next four years, if the state lifts a moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF).

ProPublica, a nonprofit corporation that pursues investigative journalism on matters of public interest, is criticizing former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and the New York Daily News for failing to disclose Rendell’s ties to natural gas-related businesses in a pro-industry editorial.

America’s “shale revolution,” combined with increased Gulf of Mexico oil production, the potential for major deposits in the Arctic, and growth in tight and heavy oil, including oilsands, makes North America’s energy picture much brighter than it was not that long ago, Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser said recently at the Chief Executives Club of Boston.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell urged New Yorkers — and, by extension, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — to embrace high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in their state, adding that they have “the chance to play a major part in [the] revolution” of U.S. energy independence.

America’s “shale revolution,” combined with increased Gulf of Mexico oil production, the potential for major deposits in the Arctic, and growth in tight and heavy oil, including oilsands, makes North America’s energy picture much brighter than it was not that long ago, Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser said recently at the Chief Executives Club of Boston.

Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc. is considering a plan to exit shale development in Poland, a move that helps the company focus elsewhere but is also a blow to what was once considered Europe’s best source for shale natural gas and a hedge against pipeline gas supplies from Russia.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized groups that support high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in the Empire State for focusing on “hallway chatter” and said he doesn’t think two bills calling for a two-year moratorium on the practice will pass the legislature.

With an eye on economic development, still relatively untapped shale natural gas deposits in southern Illinois carry the potential to create $9.5 billion in new investment and 45,000 jobs, according to a report by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.