Shale oil & gas

UK’s Cuadrilla to begin shale gas fracking in NW England next week

October 05, 2018 | Company Operations, Fracking, North Sea & Western Europe, Shale oil & gas

London, UK | — UK shale gas pioneer Cuadrilla Resources is to begin hydraulic fracturing at the first of its two horizontal shale gas wells at its Preston New Road site in Northwest England “in the next week,” the company said Friday. Once the fracking starts, it will represent the first such activity in the UK since 2011. The UK is increasingly dependent on gas imports, with Cuadrilla and its peers saying shale gas can go some way to reducing that dependence. “The start of hydraulic …

Halliburton aims for push-button fracking

August 23, 2018 | Company Operations, Products, Services & Techniques, Shale oil & gas

Houston, Texas USA | –  Automation has brought robots into fields onshore and offshore in search of leaks and to perform small tasks. It has also been used to automate drillpipe handling and for monitoring and diagnostics. Now Halliburton Corporation is bringing automation to the hydraulic fracturing process. The company envisions completing a full fracturing treatment with the push of a button, putting its surface treatment data such as treating pressure and proppant quantity with diagnostic subsurface data using technology to enable real-time analysis and …

U.S shale producers renew challenge to OPEC

November 28, 2017 | Shale oil & gas, United States & Canada

London, UK | –  U.S. shale producers have started adding more drilling rigs in response to rising oil prices and improving confidence about the outlook for 2018. Experience shows changes in the number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States tends to follow changes in WTI prices with a lag of about 16 to 20 weeks. The active rig count peaked in mid-August and then declined through September and October, in response to the earlier peak and fall in prices between February and …

Nigerian government approves national gas policy

July 05, 2017 | Government & Regulations, Nigeria, Shale oil & gas

Abuja, Nigeria | – Nigeria’s federal  cabinet has approved a national gas policy that aims to reduce the country’s dependence on crude oil by increasing gas exploration and facilities, the oil ministry said in a statement. The policy was passed in last week’s cabinet session but only made public on Wednesday. Nigeria has for decades relied on its ample supplies of oil to power its economy. But despite having a wealth of crude, the vast majority was sent overseas for refining, and the country instead …

America’s Anadarko to sell Eagleford shale assets in South Texas for $2.3billion

January 13, 2017 | Asset Acquisitions & Divestitures, Shale oil & gas, United States & Canada

London, UK | – American petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company  Anadarko has signed an agreement to sell its Eagleford Shale assets in South Texas, US to a strategic 50/50 partnership formed by Sanchez Energy and asset manager Blackstone Group for about $2.3bn. The sale, which is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2017, includes about 155,000 net acres located next to Sanchez’s Catarina asset, about 100 miles southwest of San Antonio. Anadarko plans to use part of the proceeds …

Shell pulling back from shale projects in South Africa

March 17, 2015 | Shale oil & gas, South Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa | – Royal Dutch Shell is pulling back from its shale projects in South Africa due to lower energy prices although it is still seeking an exploration license for the onshore Karoo Basin, its country manager said on Monday. A more than halving of crude oil prices since June last year has put high cost projects such as shale gas exploration in jeopardy around the globe, Shell South Africa Chairman Bonang Mohale told Johannesburg station Talk Radio 702. “The reason to go …

BP’s 2035 outlook sees OPEC oil gaining ground as US shale slows

February 18, 2015 | Shale oil & gas

London, UK |  – OPEC will regain ground and exceed its historic record production levels by 2030 as U.S. shale oil growth flattens out in the coming years, energy company BP said on Tuesday. In the near term, demand for oil from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is likely to remain under pressure as U.S. shale oil production remains strong, BP said in its annual benchmark Energy Outlook 2035. Production of tight or shale oil in the United States has been the …

Algeria has world’s 4th largest shale gas reserve

February 01, 2015 | Algeria, Shale oil & gas

Algiers, Algeria | –  Surveys, conducted recently by Algeria’s Sonatrach Group in collaboration with energy companies working in Algeria, show that the country ranks fourth in terms of shale gas reserves after the US, China and Argentina. Algeria has a shale gas reserve of 4.940 trillion cubic feet, 15 percent of which or 740 trillion cubic feet are commercially feasible, the Ministry of Energy and Mining announced on Saturday. The shale gas reserves are located in the five Algerian Sahara basins of Ahnet, North Timimoun, …