Seismic

Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are unlocking the continent’s bountiful gas shale plays one by one, leading to a seismic shift in production economics — and prices will never be the same, a Calgary-based energy economist told NGI.

The domestic natural gas-directed rig count is at a two-decade high, gas well completions are at a record high, and the number of seismic crews searching for gas onshore has increased, but the production of dry gas in the United States has remained essentially flat at 50 Bcf/d since early 2002, an official with the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) said last Monday.

The domestic natural gas-directed rig count is at a two-decade high, gas well completions are at a record high, and the number of seismic crews searching for gas onshore has increased, but the production of dry gas in the United States has remained essentially flat at 50 Bcf/d since early 2002, an official with the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) said Monday.

Devon Energy Corp.’s Canadian subsidiary is looking for partners to share the risk in a hunt for natural gas offshore the Mackenzie Delta, a company executive said Thursday. The Oklahoma City-based independent hasn’t explored in the Far North region in more than 15 years, but is ready to become a player there once again.

In what the company listed as a “significant” increase to its total natural gas and oil production, Magnum Hunter Resources Inc. said last week that it has participated in three new oil and gas discoveries and commenced production from six additional lease blocks, all located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the Gulf of Mexico. The company said initial gross production rates from the six blocks aggregates approximately 97 MMcfe/d, or approximately 22 MMcfe/d net to Magnum Hunter.

Escopeta Oil & Gas and BBI Inc. of Houston reported that they have received new seismic reprocessing results that show estimated recoverable reserves of 12 Tcf of natural gas near the East Forelands area of Alaska’s Cook Inlet Basin, at depths of 18,000 to 21,000 feet. The companies said known producing horizons in the same structural trend would likely recover 1.35 billion bbl of oil and an additional 6.1 Tcf of gas.

Escopeta Oil & Gas and BBI Inc. of Houston reported that they have received new seismic reprocessing results that show estimated recoverable reserves of 12 Tcf of natural gas near the East Forelands area of Alaska’s Cook Inlet Basin, at depths of 18,000 to 21,000 feet. The companies said known producing horizons in the same structural trend would likely recover 1.35 billion barrels of oil and an additional 6.1 Tcf of gas.