Barnett Shale

XTO's Williams says industry at "decisive moment"

Low natural gas prices are lifting the U.S. economy even as "many citizens are asking questions" about environmental impacts, producing "a decisive moment" in the nation's energy policies, XTO Energy's CEO Jack Williams told an industry meeting in Fort Worth today. Industry needs to continue to pursue more disclosure, such as the FracFocus website listing chemicals used in wells around the country, further monitor wells after drilling and completion and address new issues such as earthquakes near oil and gas operations to meet those concerns, Williams said. He applauded President Barack Obama's support for an "all of the above" solution to meeting U.S. energy needs, while asserting that "sound energy policies do not pick winners and losers" or include "punitive tax policies."

Williams said a similar picture exists in much of the rest of the world, where oil and natural gas shale deposits are providing relatively common. Today's low prices present a challenge to the continued development of natural gas, he said, but XTO will continue parent Exxon Mobil's historical long-term approach to development. He said XTO has completed 16 acquisitions since Exxon bought it nearly two years ago.

-- Jim Fuquay

Most in U.S. still unfamiliar with hydraulic fracturing, UT survey says

More than six in 10 Americans either haven't heard of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," or say they're unfamiliar with it, according to a new online survey by latest University of Texas at Austin Energy Poll released today. But among the 32 percent who say they're familiar with the process, used to boost production of oil and natural gas from shale and other hard-to-produce underground formations, 60 percent favor more regulation or think existing regulations need to be better enforced.

Domestic energy production, especially natural gas development, received wide support, with 61 percent of the poll's 2,371 respondents saying they would support a presidential candidate who backs policies that would boost U.S. output. In a change from UT Austin's first Energy Poll, taken last fall, more consumers said they preferred economic growth to environmental protection. Six months ago respondents were more evenly split, poll sponsors said. Still, more than twice as many respondents (47 percent to 20 percent) said they would be less likely, not more likely, to support a candidate who advocated eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency. Respondents also said they supported candidates who back incentives for renewable energy

A link to the poll is here.

-- Jim Fuquay

 

New USGS study ties petroleum production and small earthquakes

The U.S. Geological Survey is the latest to weigh in on the issue of earthquakes and their tie to oil and gas production, saying an increase in small quakes is "almost certainly man-made." Here's the Associated Press story.

-- Jim Fuquay

The NY Times goes to Midland

Clifford Krauss, The New York Times' knowledgable Houston-based correspondent, and colleague Eric Lipton take a road trip to West Texas for a nice report headlined "US Inches Toward Goal of Energy Independence." Here's a quick exerpt from an extensive story:

•  Across the country, the oil and gas industry is vastly increasing production, reversing two decades of decline. Using new technology and spurred by rising oil prices since the mid-2000s, the industry is extracting millions of barrels more a week, from the deepest waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the prairies of North Dakota.

To read the rest, click here.

-- Jim Fuquay

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