Slowed

Although drilling activity in the Marcellus Shale has slowed and some producers have dropped rigs, there is enough of a drilling backlog that, if wells were brought online over a one-year period, production would continue to grow but at a slower pace, energy analysts with Barclays Capital said.

In the midst of continued oil/natural gas production growth, albeit at a slower pace, North Dakota’s drilling activity has slowed significantly and the amount of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) even more so, according to the state’s top oil/gas official. Activity is projected to increase again next year, however, with continuing technology advances.

Glutted markets slowed natural gas trade between Canada and the United States in the first six months of this year — and inflicted severe price cuts on market participants, according to the latest import-export records released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Natural Gas Regulatory Activities.

Glutted markets slowed natural gas trade between Canada and the United States in the first six months of this year — and inflicted severe price cuts on market participants, according to the latest import-export records released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Natural Gas Regulatory Activities.

Natural gas and oil drilling could be slowed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed New Source Performance Standards, resulting in less production and royalties, according to a study funded by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that was released Friday.

Signs in the natural gas patch that drilling will be slowed or halted in some basins, and reports of decreased pipeline volumes flowing east are being watched out West, but California energy officials for are not concerned about shortages and price spikes on the horizon. Analysts at the California Energy Commission (CEC) said they are not ready to alter any of their forecasts for 2012.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued more Marcellus Shale drilling permits in September than in any other month of the year, but drilling slowed from summer highs.

In a day-long hearing Thursday before New York legislators that was at times slowed by audience jeers and shouting, regulators and business leaders urged the state to support expanding natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale.

The possibility of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) contaminating groundwater by leaking to the surface through natural fractures remains “very, very unlikely,” according to the forefather of Marcellus Shale geology.