Monday, April 12, 2010

Jobs and Economic Boost

The Perryman Group, an economic analysis firm based in Waco, estimated in a 2009 study that the Barnett Shale in North Texas will create about 108,000 jobs annually until 2015.

The same study found that in 2008 Barnett Shale activity was responsible for an estimated $13.7 billion in annual output and 132,497 jobs.

Partnerships and Pipelines

It started in 2008, when Chesapeake sold 32.5 % of its holdings in the Marcellus Shale to Statoil Hydro for $3.375 billion. Since then, there has been increasing interest in partnerships to develop the vast potential of the Marcellus, as the following datelines suggest. Of course, very little of this Marcellus activity is currently geared toward New York State, thanks to the governor’s drawn-out moratorium on horizontal drilling.

4/12/2010 - Source: Reliance to spend $1.7B for Marcellus Shale joint project
3/29/2010 - Statoil pays $253M to purchase more Marcellus Shale assets
3/25/10 - Enbridge seeks to construct pipeline from Marcellus to Chicago
3/22/10 - Chesapeake chief eyes more joint ventures for shale-gas properties
3/16/10 - Penn Virginia Resource to invest in Marcellus Shale pipelines
3/11/10 - EXCO Resources considering venture partners in Marcellus Shale
2/16/10 - Anadarko announces joint venture with Mitsui in Marcellus Shale
12/14/09 - Exxon to buy XTO and Marcellus Shale holdings in $41 billion deal

Friday, April 2, 2010

Exco & IP To Recycle Waste Water

Many environmentalists worry about where the large amounts of water needed to drill and frac a well will come from. Exco Resources, Inc., an energy company currently drilling in Louisiana, has recently partnered with International Paper to help solve this problem.

International Paper, who has been treating and dumping (legally) an estimated 12 million gallons of treated process water per day into the nearby Red River, will now supply Exco with all the water it needs for the drilling and fracing process. Apparently, a trial run has been completed by Exco and the water proved suitable for it’s new use. An estimated 4.2 billion gallons will be available for Exco, enough to drill and complete 700 wells.

We think there are opportunities of this sort in our own area and ... did you ever notice the Susquehanna River during those spring rains?