Friday, March 27, 2015

Hydraulic Fracturing: Mergers, Oil and Gas Politics


In recent news, American Energy Partners, an Oklahoma-based energy company issued a statement announcing the upcoming merger of American Energy Utica and American Energy Marcellus. Both affiliates own more than 300,000 acres in the Utica and the Marcellus shale formations. American Energy Utica (AEU) and American Energy Marcellus (AEM) operate in Ohio and West Virginia and once the merger is complete, will create one of the largest natural gas and oil exploration and production companies in the Eastern United States. Both AEU and AEM will continue to be wholly owned by their current shareholders, and the new company will be known as American Energy Appalachia Holdings, LLC. The merger allows the company to take advantage of the complementary nature of the two shale areas. The merger allows the company to maximize its advantages and returns by combining its administrative, operational and downstream marketing efforts so that they can take advantage of more opportunities. With the upcom
http://www.shaledirectories.com/blog/hydraulic-fracturing-mergers-oil-and-gas-politics/

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

George Stark to Speak at Upstream PA 2015


George Stark, Director of External Affairs, at Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, will be a presenter at Upstream PA 2015 where he will provide an overview for Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation’s drilling activity in 2015. More importantly, he will review Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation’s accomplishments over the last seven years and what it has meant to communities and businesses in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania where Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation has been drilling. The benefits of Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation in the community may be jeopardized by oil and gas severance tax being proposed by the governor.   Stark will update attendees on how best to make sure their voice in hear during this tax policy debate. In addition to Stark, Marcellus Shale Coalition President David Spigelmyer will be the featured speaker at Upstream PA 2015. Spigelmyer will provide an overview of upstream activity in PA in 2015 with a special focus on the challenges facing the natural gas industry. The two primary cha
http://www.shaledirectories.com/blog/george-stark-to-speak-at-upstream-pa-2015/

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Two Speakers Added to Utica Upstream


Two dynamic speakers have been added to the list of presenters for Utica Upstream – Congressman Bill Johnson, representing Ohio’s 6th congressional district, including most of the state’s Utica shale counties, and Shawn Bennett, Executive Director of OOGA. Congressman Johnson has been one of the Congressmen who wrote the bill to export LNG overseas. His presentation will focus on the legislation to support the oil and gas industry. Learn what is being done to help the industry during this difficult period. Shawn Bennett will provide an overview of the drilling account in Ohio. Many of the E&P Companies are cutting their CAPEX budgets. He will provide a perspective on the impact of the budget reductions on drilling in Ohio in 2015. Utica Upstream will be 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 8 at the Barrette Center at Walsh University. Other confirmed speakers include: Rick Simmers, chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management. Rick Stouf
http://www.shaledirectories.com/blog/two-speakers-added-to-utica-upstream/

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Can Prolonged Low Oil Prices Derail the Local Oil Companies in Texas?


When oil prices dropped last year, everyone was surprised and somewhat relieved. And even though some economists were not too happy about the drop, none of them were too concerned about prices remaining low for too long, until now. To many economists, the drastic reduction in price is only going to create a short impact that can be buffered by the strength of other industries, such as tourism and healthcare. Impact on Small Oil Production Companies If you were to take a look at some of the local oil producing communities in Texas, you might start to notice a little tension in the air. Many small time oil producers are concerned about the potential negative effects on their businesses. To minimize the impact, many of those businesses have started to scale back their operations. Now those businesses are starting to lose revenue. Some small businesses are not going to be able to ride out the storm without going into debt. And too much debt means the end of business. For small crude oil p
http://www.shaledirectories.com/blog/can-prolonged-low-oil-prices-derail-the-local-oil-companies-in-texas/

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Can the Shale Industry Jumpstart Economic Growth?


With oil and gas production at an all-time high in the United States, many people are wondering if low oil prices will burst a hole in the bubble. The prolonged decline in oil prices has left many economists in fear as to whether or not the shale revolution can continue to carry the economy. Temporary or Long Term Growth Contrary to popular belief, the shale revolution is not a temporary trend. It is a revolution that is still in the beginning stages. When economists projected that the annual GDP would be boosted by $380 billion to $690 billion by 2020, they did not expect for domestic oil and gas production to be so high. Thanks to hydraulic fracturing, the United States is expected to hit the high end of that projection. Although continued low oil prices could to impede growth, many large producers of shale oil and gas will continue to make profits. According to the United States EIA (Energy Information Administration), shale oil and gas production has grown by 51 percent each year
http://www.shaledirectories.com/blog/can-the-shale-industry-jumpstart-economic-growth/

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Midstream Throttling Back a Little


The US is in the initial phase of a roughly three-year “pause” in midstream pipeline additions, linked to the price decrease for both crude oil and natural gas liquids, and the subsequent drop in NGL production/availability, a pair of midstream experts said Friday, March 6. Speaking during the Internet webinar “US Midstream at a Crossroad,” Dan Lippe, President and Founder, Lippe Consulting, and Lesa Adair, CEO, Muse Stancil, agreed the breakneck construction of midstream lines witnessed during the 2011-2014 period will slow looking forward. “We are at the beginning of a pause for midstream pipeline additions due to lower crude oil and natural gas liquids production, and the subsequent availability of NGLs,” Lippe said. “I would agree there will be a pause in construction of big artery infrastructure pipeline systems, but there still will be build-out of gathering systems,” according to Adair. The webinar was sponsored by Leidos Engineering and presented by Oil & Gas J
http://www.shaledirectories.com/blog/midstream-throttling-back-a-little/

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Shale Directories Rig Count Update


Shale Directories is the only online directory for the six major shale plays in the U.S. which are the Marcellus, Utica, Eagle Ford, Permian, Bakken and Niobrara. We have been reporting the rig count in activity of these six major shale plays in our weekly newsletter, Facts & Rumors. In reviewing the price declines of oil and natural gas, we think December 5th is date for a stake in the ground to analyze the price change and rig count declines by shale play. On December 5, 2014, the price of crude WTI was $66.25 and natural gas was $3.70. Since that time we’ve seen a rollercoaster of price variations with crude dropping in the low $40’s range and going as high as $55. The movement of natural gas prices has been primarily downward despite one of the coldest winters on record. The impact of the price declines on rig counts (Baker Hughes) has been significant in some shale plays and minor in others. State Shale Play Rig 12/5/2014  Rigs 2/27/2015 % Change PA Marcellus/Utica 52/4 52/1
http://www.shaledirectories.com/blog/shale-directories-rig-count-update/

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Shale Energy Business Briefing’s daily newsletter


The off-the-table drop in crude oil prices, coupled with producers in North America pretty much keeping production steady—at least until price hedges run out mid-year—begs a very important question: With demand remaining somewhat lackluster, what are we, as a nation, going to do with all this crude? One answer is found surrounding a proverbial sleepy little town in Oklahoma, known as the “Pipeline Crossroads of the World.” Cushing, OK, is home to the nation’s largest oil storage facility, a massive complex of tanks and pipes capable of holding more than 80 million barrels of crude. The town also is the price point for domestic benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude. Can Cushing Handle the Glut? Can Cushing handle the continuing inflow of crude, which has been pushing roughly 2.2 million barrels per day (MMBPD)? Three experts recently addressed the question/problem during a webinar sponsored by Genscape and monitored by Shale Energy Business Briefing (SEBB). The trio,
http://www.shaledirectories.com/blog/shale-energy-business-briefings-daily-newsletter/