http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/business/energy-environment/28shale.html It looks like nat gas won't be the only thing getting fracked! Welcome to west Texas. Let the fracking begin.
Interesting Mav, thanks! It's amazing that all this once worthless land is bringing in a fat cash crop for the landowners. It's like hitting the lottery for some of these people. surf
KXVID: There was a BIG front page story in today's NY TImes (6/26/2011) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/us/26gas.html?_r=2&hp=&pagewanted=all The gist of the piece was that the estimates for the productivity of shale fracking are overstated and won't be generating as much NG as previously thought. This is the first in a series of articles so I was wondering where this series is going to lead to. but... What's your take? Is the NY Times correct? Wrong?
Thanks everyone for your PMs, the info has been very helpful I hope the ny times is wrong. Turns out my grandfathers estate owns substantial land above the Marcellus shale formation and various entitities have been making leasing offers etc. I thought this land was near worthless, but apparently not with the fracking operations.....
I don't think that NY Times article is far off the mark. I have spoke to industry people about the inability of their E&P companies to make money in certain shale plays such as the Haynesville. In my opinion the potential of some of the shale plays is overblown. Shale oil & gas is here to stay, although some fields (or geographic portions of fields) are not economic at today's drilling costs & commodity prices. The Bakken, Eagle ford and Marcellus are broadly some of the most economically attractive "plays" right now. Keep in mind a few of these plays have multiple hydrocarbon bearing layers, so once one formation is developed another may be tested at a later date. Since the infrastructure such as pipelines will already be there, new development is less expensive. Old wells may also be "refraced" and thus production stimulated once again. Nobody is questioning the profitability of plays like the Bakken (est 500,000 barrels crude recoverable per well).