Barnett Shale

Drilling on federal lands could face new rules from Interior Department

 The Interior Department is on track to impose new rules on hydraulic fracturing of natural gas and oil wells on public lands early next year, including disclosure of chemicals used at the sites and detailed plans for water disposal, an Obama administration official said Monday. A Houston Chronicle report says the government’s forthcoming proposal also likely would extend existing rules governing the integrity of wells on roughly 700 million acres of public lands in a bid to better protect nearby groundwater supplies, said Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes.

Many western states, but not Texas, have extensive federal landholdings with petroleum production. Although Interior Department officials are still drafting the plan, the government is looking to learn more about the chemicals used during hydraulically fracturing, the technique of pumping water, sand and other chemicals to breat up rock formations and unlock trapped oil and natural gas. 

For more, see Tuesday's Star-Telegram.

-- Jim Fuquay

 

Union Drilling

 Union Drilling, based in Fort Worth, said Monday it earned $600,000 on revenues of $66.7 million in the third quarter, compared to a net loss of $4.4 million on revenues of $52 million in the same period a year ago. The most recent quarter included an $800,000, non-cash charge related to the pending sale of six drilling rigs.

Union said it plans to sell 31 rigs, which it said are smaller, older rigs in its fleet. As of Sept. 30 it had 51 rigs, not counting the rigs scheduled for sale in December. The company said it kept its rigs busy 59.4 percent of the time in the third quarter, compared to 54 percent the previous quarter and 53 percent a year earlier.

-- Jim Fuquay

Gas drilling in N.Y. pits neighbor against neighbor

This, from today's New York Times. Sound familiar? - Scott Nishimura

Tarrant, Johnson still tops in natural gas output

Tarrant and Johnson counties, in the heart of North Texas' Barnett Shale, are easily maintaining their No. 1 and No. 2 rankings among Texas' 254 counties in terms of gas production.

Two other North Texas counties, Denton (No.5) and Wise (No. 7) also make the list of the top 10 producing counties.

Here are Texas Railroad Commission preliminary production figures for August for the Top 10, expressed in billions of cubic feet of gas production :

1. TARRANT - 59.8

2. JOHNSON - 40.4

3. PECOS - 22.5

4. WEBB - 20.6

5. DENTON - 20.2

6. PANOLA - 18.9

7. WISE - 18.9

8. FREESTONE - 17.9

9. ZAPATA - 14.2

10. ROBERTSON - 14.0

--Jack Z. Smith

Chevron posts strong earnings

Chevron Corp. posted its biggest quarterly profit in three years, outperforming other major oil companies, as it benefited from higher oil prices and the sale of a refinery.

Click here for the Bloomberg News report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Barnett Shale drilling rig count drops to 53

Fifty-three rigs were drilling today in North Texas' Barnett Shale, down four from a week earlier, according to Rig Data.

The leading counties were Tarrant, 19 rigs; Wise, 7; Johnson, 6; Denton, 5; and Parker and Jack, 4 each.

The most-active operators were Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy, with 11 rigs each.

Devon, the top Barnett producer, had four rigs in Johnson County, three in Wise, and two each in Denton and Parker.

Chesapeake, the No. 2 Barnett producer, had nine rigs in Tarrant and two in Johnson.

XTO Energy, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, had seven active rigs, all in Tarrant.

EOG Resources had five rigs, three in Cooke County and two in Montague County.

The number of rigs drilling in the U.S. rose by eight this week to 2,021, according to Houston-based oilfield services firm Baker Hughes.

There were 1,078 rigs exploring for oil and 934 for natural gas, with nine listed as miscellaneous.

There were 917 active rigs in Texas, up seven from a week earlier, with the state accounting for 45.4 percent of U.S. drilling activity.

--Jack Z. Smith

Federal appeals court overturns key clearance for nation's first offshore wind energy farm

A federal appeals court today rejected the Federal Aviation Administration's ruling that the Cape Wind project's turbines present "no hazard" to aviation, overturning a vital clearance for the nation's first offshore wind farm.

Click here for the Associated Press report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Energy Future Holdings posts $710 million loss

Dallas-based Energy Futures Holdings--the debt-riddled corporate parent of TXU Energy, Luminant and Oncor Electric Delivery--posted a net loss of $710 million in the third quarter as interest costs rose and sales fell 11 percent.

It was the third consecutive quarterly loss for EFH.

Click here for the Bloomberg News report.

--Jack Z. Smith

GOP presidential contenders: "Drill, baby, drill"

When it comes to domestic oil and natural gas drilling, Republican presidential candidates are fervently in the "Drill, baby, drill" camp.

Click here for the Associated Press report.

--Jack Z. Smith

PUC sets floor price for electricity reserves

A split Texas Public Utility Commission has put a floor under wholesale electricity prices for power reserves that would be called upon in emergencies, but industry representatives said the prices are still too low.

Click here for the Austin American-Statesman report.

--Jack Z. Smith