Targeting

Shale development currently accounts for about half of the total rigs targeting natural gas development in the United States, a top executive with ICF International said.

In Arkansas, home to the Fayetteville Shale, state Rep. Kathy Webb (D-Little Rock) has introduced a quintet of bills targeting the natural gas industry for greater scrutiny of drilling operations. The content of the proposed legislation shows that the lawmaker has hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on her mind.

In Arkansas, home to the Fayetteville Shale, state Rep. Kathy Webb (D-Little Rock) has introduced a quintet of bills targeting the natural gas industry for greater scrutiny of drilling operations. The content of the proposed legislation shows that the lawmaker has hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on her mind.

The persistently sharp contrast between expensive oil and cheap gas has had dramatic effects on Western Canadian drilling, boosting activity and accelerating a trend to targeting oil rather than gas.

Fort Worth, TX-based Quicksilver Resources Inc. — which makes a specialty of targeting unconventional reservoirs, including gas shales — said more than half of its capital budget for 2011 of $455 million will be spent in Texas.

Fort Worth, TX-based Quicksilver Resources Inc. — which makes a specialty of targeting unconventional reservoirs, including gas shales — said more than half of its capital budget for 2011 of $455 million will be spent in Texas.

Falling in line with the recent trend of producers targeting more liquid shale plays due to the better economics, Hess Corp. announced it is paying $1.05 billion in cash to acquire 167,000 net acres in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota from TRZ Energy LLC.

Houston-based Swift Energy Co.’s 2011 capital budget includes an accelerated drilling program to increase production and reserves, primarily targeting its liquids-rich acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale and the Olmos Sands in South Texas, the company said.

Well completions are on an upswing from levels of last year, with activity targeting oil rather than natural gas charting the largest gains, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API).