Tight

The North American drilling services market is tight and getting tighter, squeezed by increased activity in liquids-heavy and emerging shale oil plays, Baker Hughes Inc. CEO Chad Deaton said Tuesday.

El Paso Corp. has decided to go it alone in developing its profitable Eagle Ford Shale acreage and has scuttled plans to take on a joint venture (JV) partner.

Active rigs in U.S. shale and tight sands basins gained 1% in the week ending April 1 to hit 981 rigs, up from 972 the previous week, according to NGI’s Shale Daily Unconventional Rig Count.

Active rigs in U.S. shale and tight sands basins gained 1% in the week ending April 1 to hit 981 rigs, up from 972 the previous week, according to NGI’s Shale Daily Unconventional Rig Count.

More than two years after a spectacularly expensive takeover called attention to Alberta’s vast Duvernay geological formation, drilling is beginning — and the deep shale target is turning out to be expensive to hit.

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.

More than one-third of the global increase in natural gas production by 2035 will come from unconventional shale gas, coalbed methane and tight gas, according to the World Energy Outlook 2010 (WEO-2010), which was issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA) last week.

More than one-third of the global increase in natural gas production by 2035 will come from unconventional shale gas, coalbed methane and tight gas, according to the World Energy Outlook 2010 (WEO-2010), which was issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday.

December natural gas futures traded in a tight 10-cent range on Friday before closing the regular session at $3.937, up 8.1 cents from Thursday’s finish but 10.1 cents lower than the previous week’s close.