Shale Daily

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said China is projected to pass the United States and become the world’s largest net importer of oil on a monthly basis by October, and on an annual basis by 2014.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to drop its previously proposed effort to develop effluent guidelines for coalbed methane (CBM) extraction, according to a notice in theFederal Register.

Lauding General Motors Corp. and the Chrysler Group, Range Resources Corp. senior officials on Wednesday declared their fleet operations in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and other states now operate almost entirely on natural gas.

Rail transport of oil is in for a long-term ride in moving burgeoning U.S. crude supplies and other liquids, according to Rick Bott, president of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources Corp., the largest producer in the Bakken Shale, where railroad shipments in recent months have accounted for more than 70% of the oil moved to market (seeShale Daily,July 11).

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has finalized its air quality permit criteria, and said it will no longer unconditionally waive operators from the requirement that they submit an air quality plan prior to regulatory approval of unconventional drilling sites.

After capturing a healthy and growing share of Canadian natural gas consumption with shale production from the United States, exploration and production companies are poised to repeat the feat in oil markets.

Rosetta Resources Inc., a leading Eagle Ford Shale producer, has adopted what it says is an innovative and more efficient multi-well pad drilling strategy on its Briscoe Ranch acreage: column development.

At a torch-passing of sorts Wednesday, both outgoing and incoming CEOs for Marathon Oil Corp. had plenty to say about the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale plays, but new CEO Lee Tillman spoke more loudly about future opportunities during a second quarter earnings conference call in which results were said to be up sharply.

Strong growth in oil production — especially in the Permian Basin — propelled Devon Energy Corp. to record the highest average daily production rate in its history during the second quarter of 2013, as the company also saw positive test results in the Woodford Shale.