Plays

New Brunswick should require a portion of any natural gas found in its shale plays be set aside for use in the province and should put in place a water use strategy for the shale gas industry, but it should not place a moratorium on the industry, according to a report by Louis LaPierre, a professor emeritus in biology at the University of Moncton.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is looking for buyers for some land in Western Oklahoma’s emerging Granite Wash and Hogshooter plays, according to Meagher Energy Advisors.

U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. and S.H. Bell Co. are planning a new silica sand storage facility in East Liverpool, OH, to support growing demand from oil and natural gas customers in the Marcellus and Utica shales, the companies said.

Shale gas plays generally, and the still-fledgling Utica play specifically, are promoting the potential for a reemergence of the U.S. industrial sector, according to industry experts who spoke Monday at the opening of the LDC Gas Forum Midcontinent meeting in Chicago.

Beefing up its Atlantic Rim Project area acreage in the Washakie Basin of Wyoming, which includes shallower coalbed methane (CBM) targets and the Niobrara Shale below, Warren Resources Inc. is exercising its preferential rights to acquire additional oil, natural gas and midstream assets from subsidiaries of Anadarko Petroleum Corp for approximately $21 million.

The fourth iteration of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) biannual production report issued last week indicated that natural gas production from unconventional wells totaled 894.8 Bcf during the first six months of this year, a figure that includes Marcellus Shale wells along with some targeting the Utica Shale and other formations. Operators also reported producing 672,550 bbl of condensate and 49,194 bbl of oil from January through June.

Reserve growth from 70 oil and natural gas accumulations in the United States — excluding both federal offshore areas and the nation’s burgeoning shale plays — has the potential to add 291 Tcf of natural gas, 32 billion bbl of oil and 10 billion bbl of natural gas liquids (NGLs) to domestic reserves, according to an estimate by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Reserve growth from 70 oil and natural gas accumulations in the United States — excluding both Federal offshore areas and the nation’s burgeoning shale plays — has the potential to add 291 Tcf of natural gas, 32 billion bbl of oil and 10 billion bbl of natural gas liquids (NGLs) to domestic reserves, according to a new estimate by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

New England must acknowledge the significant role that the natural gas transmission system plays in its electricity system, and the gas and electric industries “must make adjustments to ensure the reliability of both systems and the efficiency of both markets,” according to a draft white paper recently completed by independent grid operator ISO New England (ISO-NE).