The Wall Street Journal reported today that the Energy Information Administration will revise the way it estimates U.S. natural gas supplies, after concluding that its current method significantly over-estimates supply. An analysis has concluded that there are discrepancies of as much as 12% between the total gas supply (gas produced…
Speaker of the House Joe Strauss has charged the House Committee on Energy Resources as follows for the next legislative session: “Survey current local ordinances governing surface use of property in oil and gas development. Recommend changes, if any, to the authority of the Railroad Commission to regulate the operation…
In a previous post I reported on the application of Devon Energy asking the Texas Railroad Commission to include in the new Field Rules for the Carthage (Haynesville Shale) Field a provision allowing it to drill horizontal wells across lease or pooled unit boundaries. These new rules apply to wells…
Chesapeake Energy Corporation summarized its activities in the country’s “Big 6” shale plays in its Operational Update issued on February 16. The report reveals the huge impact Chesapeake has had on shale plays from New York to South Texas. Chesapeake is the eighth largest E&P company ranked by total assets…
The debate over the safety of hydraulic fracturing continues. The Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based non-profit environmental advocacy organization, has issued a white paper, “Drilling Around the Law,” calling for fracking to be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act and to require public disclosure of chemicals used in frac…
The Mayor of tiny Dish, Texas, north of Fort Worth, continues to stir up controversy with his claims of air pollution from oil and gas activities causing health concerns in his community. The mayor appeared at the RRC’s January 12 open hearing. You can watch his testimony here (go to item 17…
The information below is from the Energy Information Administration. Note the wide variation in City Gate and Wellhead Prices among different states: Below is the same information in graph form. Why would average residential gas prices in Texas be $12.88 per mcf, while residential prices in California and Minnesota —…
Exxon Mobil announced that it would acquire XTO Energy in an all-stock deal worth $41 billion. The acquisition is viewed as Exxon’s decision to enter the domestic onshore gas shale play, which to date has been developed almost exclusively by independent producers. But the deal includes an exit clause in…
Dish is a town of about 200 residents north of Fort Worth, Texas. The mayor and town council have recently become concerned about emissions from gas compressors in and around the town, from the Barnett Shale gas development. Large compressor stations are located near Dish; these stations have big internal…
On December 15, the Railroad Commission adopted new field rules for a newly designated field, the Carthage (Haynesville Shale) Field, in East Texas. It also consolidated several previously designated fields in East Texas that produce from the Haynesville and Bossier formations into this single RRC-designated field. These rules will govern…