The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Wednesday a subsidiary of Talisman Energy Inc. will pay more than $62,000 in fines to settle charges that the company violated hazardous chemical reporting requirements for the past three years at 52 natural gas drilling sites in Pennsylvania.
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Foreign Investors Eyeing Stake in Frac Tech, Sources Say
Texas-based Frac Tech Services LLC, a hydraulic fracturing (fracking) specialist, apparently is in talks to sell a stake in the company to one of three foreign oil giants for $2 billion-plus and also is close to completing joint ventures (JV) to work overseas on unconventional oil and gas prospects, sources told NGI’s Shale Daily on Thursday.
Haynesville Water Pipeline Enters Service
Heckmann Corp. has begun transporting fresh water to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) customers in the Haynesville Shale through a partially completed pipeline. When the system is completed, it will be the largest fresh water pipeline in the Haynesville area, the company said.
Industry Briefs
Air Liquide Industrial US LP plans to build an air separation unit in northwestern North Dakota to supply nitrogen to industrial customers, specifically those involved in growing Bakken Shale operations. The unit is expected to be operational by the end of 2012. The French company supplies gases that include nitrogen and carbon dioxide to North American producers to support drilling operations and increase resource recovery. “We are positioning ourselves to better serve existing customers and to capture new business opportunities in North Dakota, especially in the Bakken oil reserves,” said Air Liquide’s Mark Lostak, president of the company’s U.S. arm. “The potential throughout this region is significant, and we are prepared to meet the growing demand for nitrogen to develop these important domestic energy resources.”
Goldman: Haynesville Shale Does a Lot More with Less
In the world of shale gas plays, the Haynesville is rather long in the tooth compared to the Eagle Ford, Marcellus and others. However, wells in the play are running “faster” for longer, enough so that production has continued to climb while the rig count has dropped. Analysts at Goldman Sachs said they’ve figured out how the Haynesville does it.
Goldman: Haynesville Does a Lot More with Less
In the world of shale gas plays, the Haynesville is rather long in the tooth compared to the Eagle Ford, Marcellus and others. However, wells in the play are running “faster” for longer, enough so that production has continued to climb while the rig count has dropped. Analysts at Goldman Sachs said they’ve figured out how the Haynesville does it.
Industry Briefs
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved the proposal of Norway’s Statoil ASA, which already has significant holdings in the Marcellus and Eagle Ford shales, to acquire Austin, TX-based independent Brigham Exploration Co., which would give it access to the Williston Basin’s Bakken and Three Forks oily formations. The transaction has cleared the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period with the FTC imposing no restrictions. The transaction is valued at $4.4 billion (US$36.50/share) and is expected to close either later this year or early in 2012, Brigham said. The transaction would give Statoil access to more than 375,000 net acres in the Williston Basin, which holds potential for oil and gas production from the Bakken and Three Forks formations. Brigham also holds interests in 40,000 net acres in other onshore plays. In addition to the production assets, the transaction also provides Statoil with about 430 miles of oil, natural gas and water transportation systems in the Williston Basin, which not only secures wastewater offtake but reduces the environmental footprint in production operations.
Discovery Could Multiply Mexican Natgas Reserves Sixfold
Mexico’s energy secretary said Tuesday that the nation’s natural gas reserves could be multiplied as much as six fold after the discovery of large shale gas deposits in the country’s north and east, and could enable the country to stop importing natural gas.
Industry Briefs
Emergency responders were wrapping up their work Thursday afternoon at the site of a reported explosion at a drilling rig in the Eagle Ford Shale in Falls City in Karnes County, TX. According to press reports, two people had been hospitalized. The explosion reportedly occurred just before noon. The Karnes County sheriff was not available for comment, but a deputy said at 2:30 CDT that crews were preparing to leave the scene. The rig was reported to be targeting oil; the name of its owner/operator was not available at press time. Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Jason Reyes told the San Antonio Express-News that a truck driver who was transferring oil was injured when a truck was set on fire and ignited the explosion. The driver received second- and third-degree burns, he said. In a separate incident Monday night an explosion and fire occurred at a Continental Resources natural gas well in Oklahoma; there were no injuries (see Daily GPI, Sept. 21).
Midstreamers and Producer Plan Texas NGL Pipeline
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.