Barnett Shale

Shale critic Deborah Rogers named to advisory board

Fort Worth resident Deborah Rogers, who has been critical of natural gas drilling and the economics of shale gas production, has been named to a 21-member advisory committee to the Department of Interior. The group will "guide and oversee implementation of the United States Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative," which DOI describes on its website as "a voluntary, global effort designed to increase transparency, strengthen the accountability of natural resource revenue reporting and build public trust for the governance of these activities." DOI said President Barack Obama committed the U.S. to the international effort in 2011. Advisory committee members include representatives from environmental organizations, academia and industry.

Rogers, in a prepared release, called the committee's work "a tremendous opportunity to address financial issues with respect to natural resource extraction in this country." She was a 2008-2011 member of an advisory council to the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, serves on the committee that advised the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as it located air monitors in the Barnett Shale, and is a board member of Earthworks' Oil and Gas Accountability Project, according to the release. The release said she will appear in the upcoming documentary "Gasland 2"

In 2011 she founded Energy Policy Forum, "a consultancy and educational forum dedicated to policy and financial issues regarding shale gas and renewable energy." In an October blog post on her site, Rogers argued that shale gas is a money-loser driven by Wall Street. "There is no doubt that the investment banking community has been the driving force behind shale production since the economic downturn. Shale should have unravelled long before now. But Wall Street saw an opportunity to generate massive fees and so shale was taken to new heights... ." In 2009 she paid for air quality tests at her Westworth Village farm that showed elevated levels of several chemical compounds associated with natural gas production and flaring. The same year, which saw a sharp decline in the price of natural gas as supply surged, she concluded that shale gas wells "are depleting so quickly that the operators are in an expensive game of 'catch-up,' " according to an e-mail quoted in a New York Times report.

 

 

 

Dallas Fed tracks Eagle Ford economic impact

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas takes a look at South Texas' Eagle Ford Shale in its latest issue of Southwest Economy. Economists at the Fed say the 23-county area has added more than 15,000 jobs since Jan. 1, 2010, and also has seen wages rise. The study is here.

-- Jim Fuquay

Study: Eagle Ford economic impact was $25 billion-plus in 2011

Oil and gas development in South Texas' Eagle Ford Shale added more than $25 billion in economic impact to the region, according to a new study by the University of Texas at San Antonio. The school's Center for Community and Business Research said the oil-rich formation supported 47,000 full-time jobs and provided $257 million to local governments. Also in the numbers were $3.1 billion in salaries and benefits and $358 million to state government. It predicts the field will be responsible for 117,000 full-time jobs by 2021. To see the study, click here. (This will open a dialog box to download a PDF file.)

-- Jim Fuquay

Study pushes natural gas use for power generation

Texas electricity producers' move away from natural gas  as a fuel is costing the state billions, a new  study says. University of Houston professor  Michael Economides and consultant Philip Lewis maintain that even as the nation is using more natural gas for power, Texas generators' use of wind is rising much faster than the U.S. trend and their use of coal is declining more slowly than the U.S. The study's authors calculate that the differences from 2005 through 2011 translated into a $7.7 billion economic loss to the state.

 A copy of the study is availablehere:  Download Economides-Texas NatGas-fuelforgrowth. 

-- Jim Fuquay

Burnishing Chesapeake's public image

Chesapeake Energy's been working overtime on its public image in North Texas.

The company is paying for newspaper ads and it purchased six hours of television time to air a 30- minute "newsmagazine" it's calling "Citizens of the Shale." The ads refer to the research of economist Ray Perryman, who is quoted saying "the payoff is there for everyone, and people are all seeing the benefit."

"Citizens of North Texas are talking about the Barnett Shale and its vast supply of natural gas," the advertisements say. "Some people are skeptics, some are opposed to any development. Many have concerns but simply need to learn more."

"Catch all sides of the Barnett Shale debate," Chesapeake says in its ads. Here's the schedule for the show:

• Saturday April 5. Noon-12:30 p.m. Channels 5 and 27; 5 p.m.-5:30 p.m., Channels 5 and 8
• Sunday April 6. 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Channel 11
• Monday April 7. 6:30 a.m.-7 a.m., Channel 33
• Tuesday April 8. 5:30 a.m.-6 a.m., Channel 33
• Wednesday April 9. 5:30 a.m.-6 a.m., Channel 33
• Saturday April 12. 5 a.m.-5:30 a.m., Channel 11; noon-12:30 p.m., Channels 5, 11, and 27

Chesapeake's Jerri Robbins says the company paid noone to appear, including Perryman, "nor did we coach them on what to say. It was an independently produced program."

As a tuneup to the programs, check in at star-telegram.com at noon Thursday for an unusual take on the story (We here in Business News had absolutely nothing to do with this, and we'll see it at the same time you do.) from S-T video blogger Kristin Campbell (that's her, pictured right) and multimedia guy John Metz, hosts of the Star-Telegram's new DaFoWo Show.

-- Scott Nishimura

(Photo: Star-Telegram archive)

S&P says Shale means cities will pay less to borrow

Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency, is out with an interesting report. At the 30,000-foot level, S&P is interested in how Barnett Shale revenues will affect municipalities' ability to repay debts. In its report, at www.standardandpoors.com, S&P reviews a number of everyman (and everywoman) questions about the impact of the Shale. Among them:

• What's the significance of the Barnett Shale's gas reserves?
• What's the economic impact of the Shale?
• Have these windfalls led to any credit rating changes for municipal debt?
• How are these municipalities using their windfalls?
• What's the effect on residential property values?
• What does the future of the Shale hold for the quality of debt issued by area municipalities?

Click here to read the full report.

Click here to read our previous posts on how Fort Worth and Arlington have dealt with their windfalls.

-- Scott Nishimura

Shale spurs demand for offices, high-dollar homes

The Barnett Shale is fueling the need for more office space and spurring sales of high-dollar homes, market professionals speaking at the 2008 Tarrant County Commercial Real Estate Forecast said this week. Click here to read the full report from S-T staff writer Sandra Baker.

-- Scott Nishimura

Barnett Shale job fair Saturday

More than 20 oil and gas companies are meeting Saturday for the "World's Largest Barnett Shale Job Fair," 9 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel Fort Worth South, Interstate 35E at Alta Mesa Boulevard.

The employers need to fill "hundreds of positions," the organizers said in a release.

"Demand for jobs is climbing and the available work force is low," Gerry Schlegel, president of LKCM Radio, one of the organizers, said.

Among the exhibitors at the fair: XTO Energy, Key Energy, Encana Oil & Gas USA, Multi-Chem, Crosstex Energy, Weatherford International, Halliburton, Frac Tech Services, Quicksilver Resources, Premiere Inc., ARC Pressure Data, and RSC Rental Equipment.

Exhibitors will take resumes, conduct on-site interviews, and answer questions about jobs available in the Barnett Shale.

Job openings include: professionals, geologists, landmen, field techs, oilfield workers, tanker drivers, welders, concreters, clerical and administrative staff, right of way agents, security personnel.

"New exploration trucks and equipment" will be on display in the parking lot. Sponsors: 95.9 Ranch, XTO Energy, Radisson Hotel Fort Worth South, Country Legends 92.1.

-- Scott

Omni condo sales benefit from Shale money

Barnett Shale money continues to move into local real estate deals. Robert Rowling, the Omni Hotels owner, said Monday that empty nesters, cutting horse owners and "Barnett Shale people" are driving interest in the 89 condos the company plans in its new downtown convention center hotel that's under construction.

About 25 percent of the project's 89 luxury condominiums have been spoken for in the form of refundable deposits, Rowling told a Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce group. The condos are averaging about $500 per square foot, he said.

Costs to outfit the units are not cheap, Rowling said. High-end amenities include floor-to-ceiling glass, marble countertops and hardwood floors.

"We didn't know if there was a market for $500-a-foot condominiums in Fort Worth," he said. "We are positive there is now. That's a relief because I'll tell you, we are not cutting a fat hog on the condominiums."

If he sells all of the units at $500 per square foot, the Omni is projected to make a 9 percent return on its investment, he said.

Click here for the full Star-Telegram story on Rowling's remarks.

-- David Wethe

(S-T photos: Omni model condo in downtown FW, archive of Rowling)

Barnett Shale resources

CURIOUS ABOUT THE BARNETT SHALE? HERE ARE SOME USEFUL LINKS:

CORPORATE

Carrizo Oil and Gas

www.askchesapeake.com (Chesapeake Energy site)

Colt Exploration

Dale Resources

Fleet Oil and Gas

Harding Co.

Holland Acquisitions

Paloma Oil and Gas

Potestas Corp.

Western Production Co.

XTO Energy

DRILLING ORDINANCES

Arlington (includes city gas drilling resource page)

Bedford (city's gas drilling page, including ordinance and property owner Q&A)

Bedford  (city's comparison of provisions in several area drilling ordinances)

Colleyville (city web site)

Fort Worth (includes city gas drilling resource page)

Grapevine (Type "gas drilling" in the search bar to find the ordinance)

ECONOMIC IMPACT/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Barnett Shale Economic Impact Study, Ray Perryman, 2007

The Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Devon Energy in Denton, Tarrant and Wise Counties, Bernard Weinstein and Terry Clower, University of North Texas, 2004

Public Perception of the Natural Gas Industry: Insights from Two Barnett Shale Counties, Sam Houston State University, 2007 (Johnson County results, Wise County results)

Credit FAQ: Why the Barnett Shale Gas Basin Could Benefit Texas Municipalities, Standard & Poor's, 2008

LEASE FORMS

Leases negotiated by the Berkeley Place, Ryan Place, Mistletoe Heights, and Tanglewood neighborhoods in Fort Worth

NEIGHBORHOODS

Arlington Neighborhood Network, City of Arlington site. Includes updated contact info.

Arlington neighborhoods, neighborhoodlink.com. Spotty, but includes some info, such as neighborhood association email addresses, that isn't on the city site.

Bedford neighborhood associations, City of Bedford site, includes updated contact info.

Benbrook neighborhood associations, City of Benbrook site. Includes updated contact info.

Colleyville neighborhood associations, City of Colleyville site, includes updated contact info.

Fort Worth neighborhood database, City of Fort Worth site. Includes updated contact info.

Grapevine homeowner associations. City of Grapevine site. Includes contact info.

Neighborhoodlink.com

ORGANIZATIONS

Barnett Shale Energy Education Council

Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods Gas Drilling Resource Page, including "Tips for Neighborhoods Negotiating Gas Leases."

FWCanDo (Fort Worth Citizens Against Gas Drilling Ordinance)

Texas Land and Mineral Association (represents mineral rights owner)

Trinitytrees.org

PUBLICATIONS

pegasusnews.com

Powell Barnett Shale Newsletter (paid subscription)

Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University (oil and gas publications)

texasinsider.org

GOVERNMENT

Railroad Commission of Texas, includes Barnett Shale resource page, information on regulations.

Tarrant County public records site (Includes lease/lease memo lookup so you can check out how many leases energy companies are filing in Tarrant County, and where.)

ROYALTY CALCULATOR

Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods gas resource drilling page

CONTINUING EDUCATION

TCU Energy Institute's Petroleum Land Practices Program

KNOW OF A GREAT LINK THAT'S NOT LISTED HERE? Let us know about it! snishimura@star-telegram.com