Plays

ExxonMobil Corp. and Russia’s OAO Rosneft on Friday clinched a partnership agreement to develop oil reserves in tight, low-permeability formations in Western Siberia using advanced drilling technologies that ExxonMobil has employed successfully in North America’s onshore.

Revenues from natural gas liquids (NGL) — particularly those from liquids-rich shale plays — have been like a mega vitamin for anemic dry gas economics, but it’s not the fourth quarter of 2011 anymore, and currently depressed NGL prices are expected to stick around for a while.

The burgeoning development of shale gas plays in the United States “has changed the playing field for long-haul pipelines,” diminishing the need to move natural gas along traditional west-to-east routes and leaving large stretches of pipeline underutilized, according to a new report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).

The burgeoning development of shale gas plays in the United States “has changed the playing field for long-haul pipelines,” diminishing the need to move natural gas along traditional west-to-east routes and leaving large stretches of pipeline underutilized, according to a new report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).

British Columbia (BC) natural gas supplies in both proposed export terminals and burgeoning shale plays hold out the potential for substantial power demand growth over the next 20 years, according to a draft 2012 integrated resource plan (IRP) by BC Hydro. Along with mining, natural gas carries the potential for “very substantial demand growth,” the BC provincial utility officials said.

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.

In an attempt to bring uniformity to the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the shale plays of the Appalachian Basin, a consortium of 11 producers last Tuesday released recommended standards and practices on everything from the preparation of a regional spill and emergency response plan to the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids, as well as on community engagement and well site selection.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and CEO Aubrey K. McClendon have been notified by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the Fort Worth, TX, regional office has begun an informal inquiry and “requested that the company and Mr. McClendon retain certain documents,” the company said after the stock market closed on Thursday.

In an attempt to bring uniformity to the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the shale plays of the Appalachian Basin, a consortium of 11 producers Tuesday released recommended standards and practices on everything from the preparation of a regional spill and emergency response plan to the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids, as well as for local relations and well site selection.