The U.S. has been drilling for oil and gas for more than 160 years, and what to do with those wells once they are no longer productive has long been an issue, as they can also be significant emitters of methane, a major greenhouse gas. Today, we discuss a new approach that aims to address both issues.
Since its beginning in western Pennsylvania 166 years ago, the oil and gas industry has been on a relentless quest to unlock more hydrocarbons. And for years, the focus has been on drilling more productively, not just drilling more wells. The techniques that have evolved since the start of the Shale Revolution have led to rapid increases in the length of horizontal laterals, boosting initial production (IP) rates — a critical development but posing new challenges for drillers. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss why longer laterals in horizontal wells aren’t the answer in every shale play, the advantages of the two types of tubing used in those wells, and how they can help boost productivity.
Much like a cowboy venturing into uncharted territory, E&Ps are roaming Northeast Texas and the far-western sections of the Haynesville Shale in search of more natural gas. It’s a challenging adventure, and while there’s a lot of hope and hype, the recent history of developments outside the Haynesville’s main producing areas shows that success is far from guaranteed. In today’s RBN blog, the second in a series on the Western Haynesville, we’ll discuss how some companies are handling the high-pressure, high-risk environment.
The boundaries of what we typically think of as the Haynesville Shale in Northeast Texas and Northwest Louisiana are expanding. E&Ps are increasingly moving out from the core producing acreage and exploring new frontiers, including the far western part of the dry-gas shale play. Wrangling gas from this prospect is challenging, with deeper, high-pressure reservoirs, temperatures up to 450°F and wells drilled to extreme depths of up to 19,000 feet. But with new technology, tenacity and a little bit of luck, it could be quite promising. In today’s RBN blog, Part 1 of a miniseries, we’ll discuss what’s happening in the far western part of the Haynesville.
Faced with sustained sub-$2/MMBtu natural gas prices and dim prospects for significant gas-demand growth until sometime next year, a number of major gas-focused E&Ps have been tapping the brakes on production and trimming their planned 2024 capex. But one company — Chesapeake Energy, slated to become the U.S.’s largest gas producer thanks to a recently announced acquisition — has taken a more dramatic step, implementing a novel strategy that will slash production by 25% but leave the E&P ready to quickly ramp up its output as soon as demand and prices warrant. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll review the 2024 guidance of the major U.S. gas producers and delve into the analysis of Chesapeake’s unusual approach.
The energy industry’s upstream products — crude oil, natural gas and NGLs — are commodities, so the lowest-cost producers generally do best, especially if they are well-connected to downstream markets. Due in large part to the intensity of competition, finite drilling locations, the constant need for capital investment and the chilling effect of political headwinds, the industry is in the middle of a consolidation cycle that has enabled a select group of top-tier E&Ps to build scale — and longer-lasting inventories — in the most productive parts of the most lucrative shale plays. That scale, in turn, helps these Shale Era winners reduce their costs, gain market share and — important in 2023 and beyond — return a big slice of their free cash flow to investors as dividends and stock buybacks. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss what’s driving that “urge to merge” and what it means for industry players large and small.
The Biden administration’s first foray into reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations, released in November 2021, promised to reduce emissions from hundreds of thousands of existing sites, expand and strengthen emission-reduction requirements, and encourage the use of new technologies. It was clear about one other thing too, namely that more was already in the works. And sure enough, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently followed up with a proposal that significantly broadens the initial plan. In today’s RBN blog we look at that supplemental proposal, its targeting of so-called “super-emitters,” and why third-party groups will play a bigger role in mitigating methane emissions in the years ahead.
Whether it’s crude oil, natural gas or some other buried treasure, there’s one piece of advice from Indiana Jones that still rings true — finding it is never as easy as “X marks the spot.” Well-site preparations and drilling can take long enough on their own, but that doesn’t account for the time it takes to ensure — or at least raise the odds — that those all-important hydrocarbons will actually be found. In today’s RBN blog, we look at how seismic surveys are conducted and the key steps in permitting and well-site preparation.
The gradual increase in Western Canada’s natural gas production in recent years has been powered by the highly prolific Montney formation, a vast unconventional resource that straddles the Alberta/British Columbia border. With Western Canadian gas price benchmarks at multi-year highs and producers enjoying their best financial position in ages, it would seem logical to expect more gas production growth from the Montney in the future. However, a recent ruling by the BC Supreme Court could negatively affect the pace of well developments and jeopardize future growth in the Montney formation. In today’s RBN blog, we consider this possibility.
