Driving

A winter drilling season with potential to fulfill Canadian northern oil visions has begun, with an adventurous spirit driving bits down into an all but untouched shale deposit known as the Canol.

A winter drilling season with potential to fulfill Canadian northern oil visions has begun, with an adventurous spirit driving bits down into an all but untouched shale deposit known as the Canol.

Liquids-rich gas and high initial production rates from oil wells are driving red hot interest in the Eagle Ford Shale, and this is only bolstered by the region’s established midstream infrastructure and proximity to energy markets, Fitch Ratings said in a new report. More isolated shale basins need costly “mega pipelines,” which are tougher on credit ratings, Fitch said.

Cash natural gas prices vaulted higher Thursday on average by 15 cents. Oppressive heat over much of the country was cited as driving prices higher, but on the West Coast traders attributed the higher quotes to a stronger screen. At the close of futures trading the August contract had gained 4.6 cents to $2.945 and September had posted an advance of 3.9 cents to $2.950. August crude oil slipped 44 cents to $87.22/bbl.

Shale plays globally are a very good long-term asset and the continuing hype about the under-explored Monterey Shale in California is worthy of most of the superlatives, according to two analysts at Wood Mackenzie’s Houston office.

Unconventional natural gas activity supported more than one million jobs in 2010, a number that is likely to grow to nearly 1.5 million by 2015. The industry is expected to generate significant job creation, economic growth and tax revenues nationwide — in producing and non-producing states alike — according to a new report from IHS Global Insight.

Naggingly low natural gas prices apparently haven’t dimmed prospects in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana, where the booming play is driving a surge in hiring, housing starts, infrastructure projects and more.

Naggingly low natural gas prices apparently haven’t dimmed prospects in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana, where the booming play is driving a surge in hiring, housing starts, infrastructure projects and more.

The Permian Basin in West Texas is the main engine driving Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) to record oil/gas production levels as its overseas operations continue to struggle in the Middle East/North Africa and Colombia, CEO Stephen Chazen said Thursday.