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On the heels of selling off much of its Barnett Shale assets to focus on the liquids-rich Eagle Ford Shale and Niobrara Formation, Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. is reporting record production rates from the second quarter of the year.

Shale gas is already impacting the Northwest; the question is whether it can realize its full potential, said a regional gas industry trade group head.

A state legislative committee decided Tuesday to try to have Wyoming state funding help underwrite a study of the potential for turning rich natural gas and coal resources into gasoline. Lawmakers were prompted to act by a pitch by a Casper, WY-based company.

Activity in natural gas shale plays has tended to heat up fast, especially when producers get a whiff of liquids-rich gas. Besides buying up acreage, producers are committing to gathering, processing and transportation services, and buyer’s remorse can result from moving too fast, a Range Resources executive warned recently.

Breakeven shale play economics in a low-gas price environment have driven a migration to liquids-rich and oil plays. “Being in liquids is not only cool; it’s profitable,” an investment banker said in Houston last week. “You can produce gas even if you don’t make money on the gas because the liquids are worth so much more.” But maybe now is the time to be a contrarian, she suggested.

Breakeven shale play economics in a low-gas price environment have driven a migration to liquids-rich and oil plays. “Being in liquids is not only cool; it’s profitable,” an investment banker said in Houston Tuesday. “You can produce gas even if you don’t make money on the gas because the liquids are worth so much more.” But maybe now is the time to be a contrarian, she suggested.

Petrohawk Energy Corp. has gone west in pursuit of oil and liquids-rich gas production from the Permian Basin, adding to its established holdings in the Eagle Ford and Haynesville shales.

Natural gas transmission companies have been keeping FERC busy with project paperwork, as the industry segment tries to adjust to a marketplace being altered by shale gas.

Petrohawk Energy Corp. has gone west in pursuit of oil and liquids-rich gas production from the Permian Basin, adding to its established holdings in the Eagle Ford and Haynesville shales.