Injections

Texas natural gas production during July was up about 7% from the July 2012 level, and oil production was up about 30%, according to preliminary data from the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).

As drilling increases in the Marcellus and Utica shales, researchers from the Battelle Memorial Institute are studying the geology and operations of wastewater injection wells in four states, with the hope that the data collected will ensure that future wells are drilled in safe locations.

Nearly 100 small earthquakes that hit northeast Ohio throughout 2011 and into early 2012 were triggered by a now-shuttered wastewater disposal well in Youngstown, according to a Columbia University researcher.

While earlier research in Texas’ Barnett Shale linked drilling waste injection into underground storage wells with increased seismic activity, new work in the Eagle Ford by the same geologist suggests that drawing liquids out of the ground can induce earthquakes there.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday morning that while end-of-refill-season working natural gas storage levels are expected to be ample, inventories could enter November at the lowest level in three years.

Despite strict rules governing wastewater disposal wells, enacted after a dozen small earthquakes were possibly caused by the injections, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is on pace to receive a record number of permit applications this year for new injection wells.

Canadian producers are riding shale gas technology imported from the United States to complete an about-face in drilling targets next year by switching over to tight oil formations.

Merchant Energy Holdings LLC’s East Cheyenne Gas Storage LLC began pad gas injections at its facility in northeastern Colorado. The independent natural gas storage facility is interconnected with Kinder Morgan’s (KM) Trailblazer Pipeline in Logan County, CO with plans to interconnect to KM’s Rockies Express Pipeline in the future. East Cheyenne’s backers tout it as the first operational independent gas storage facility in the Rocky Mountain region, and through its interconnect with Trailblazer they contend it will be able to serve customers in Colorado’s Front Range along with shippers on other pipelines in the area. Initial withdrawal capabilities are scheduled for the first quarter. At an industry conference in Los Angeles last month, Merchant Energy Holdings CEO Andy Lang said the project will eventually have 14-20 Bcf of total capacity by 2015 (see Daily GPI, Oct. 14).

Columbia Gas is deeming Thursday as a Critical Day for storage, which means no interruptible storage injections are expected to be available. Upstream affiliate Columbia Gulf said no AutoPAL (Park and Loan) services nor due-pipe imbalance resolution nominations will be allowed effective Thursday.