Shale oil & gas - Aug 15

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Shale oil everywhere… for a while
Kate Mackenzie, FT Alphaville blog
The US is going to be free from the tyranny of imported crude oil soon, according to just about everyone...

You can probably guess what’s coming next…

Bernstein Research’s Bob Brackett (H/T Steve Levine) has an interesting note which examines the performance of shale oil wells in the Bakken formation. While the formation is in both Montana and North Dakota, Brackett narrowed his analysis to those in the former state.

There are high hopes for future output of the Bakken shale, which is why a graph like the below is disconcerting...
(13 August 2012)

Fracking Hazards Obscured In Failure To Disclose Wells
Benjamin Haas, Jim Polson, Phil Kuntz and Ben Elgin, Bloomberg
Seeking to quell environmental concerns about the chemicals it shoots underground to extract oil and natural gas, Apache Corp. (APA) told shareholders in April that it disclosed information about “all the company’s U.S. hydraulic fracturing jobs” on a website last year.

Actually, Apache’s transparency was shot through with cracks. In Texas and Oklahoma, the company reported chemicals it used on only about half its fracked wells via FracFocus.org, a voluntary website that oil and gas companies helped design amid calls for mandatory disclosure...
(14 August 2012)

Carbon Briefing: The coming PR battle over shale gas
Robin Webster, Carbon Brief
Although the shale gas industry is a big deal in the US, shale gas development in the UK is at a fairly preliminary stage. But with the government divided over gas policy, and industry and environmental groups positioning themselves over the issue, the PR battle blazing over shale gas in the States may be on its way over here.

Although there are many more energy conferences than it's possible for any one person to attend, one in particular caught our eye last week, because it offers an interesting insight into what's preoccupying the embryonic UK shale gas industry.

According to its webpage, the London-based Unconventional Gas and the Environment Conference, to be held in September, will discuss:

"Combating misconceptions and communicating opportunities: unblocking obstacles to [shale gas] project approval by engaging stakeholders on the environmental impact of unconventional gas"...
(13 August 2012)