First Time Ever: U.S. Oil Reserves Pass Saudi Arabia, Russia
MDN has long pointed out that the United States has more natural gas reserves than any other country on earth, dethroning Russia years ago on that score–thanks to the shale revolution and the miracle of hydraulic fracturing. We’ve often heard the phrase that “the U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas.” But what’s this? A new research report issued by the respected Rystad Energy, an independent oil and gas consulting service, finds that the U.S. is now the Saudi Arabia of oil too! That is, the U.S. has more oil reserves, because of shale, than Saudi Arabia. Fracking has handed the U.S. what we’ve wanted for years–total energy independence from the tyrants in OPEC…
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We hear it time and again when visiting rallies and talks by fossil fuel haters: The U.S. could transition to so-called renewable energy sources (like solar and wind) TODAY, right now, if we only had the “will” to do it. Having the will to do it typically means mass starvation and death, turning thermostats down to 50 degrees in the winter and the like. But these nutjobs conveniently leave out that part when they talk. The bare naked truth is that fossil fuels are here to stay for AT LEAST the next two generations, and perhaps longer. How do we know? Try this fact on for size (from the U.S. Energy Information Administration): Three fossil fuels–petroleum, natural gas, and coal–have provided more than 80% of total U.S. energy consumption for more than 100 years. In 2015, fossil fuels made up 81.5% of total U.S. energy consumption. It is beyond ludicrous to declare that we can end fossil fuel use any time within the next 100 years–and people who say otherwise are either lying, or delusional. Here’s an update on fossil fuels and their continuing dominance in the U.S….
Last December MDN ripped the mask off a group of extremely partisan, virulently anti-drilling Democrats who call themselves the innocent-sounding Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative (see 
Don’t worry, you stupid farmers in Belmont County, OH. A really really smart liberal from Yale University (who believes in the fairy tale of man-made global warming) has arrived in your midst and is willing to pay you big money–$20 (yes, twenty dollars)–to participate in a “study” with a pre-determined outcome that you’re being poisoned by fracking. The latest laughable “research study” by a small group of Yale “researchers” is underway in Belmont. The researchers are looking for 100 local yokels who are willing to tell them how they’ve been harmed by fracking, so the researchers can plaster the Yale name on yet another fraudulent study funded by Big Green organizations. We’ve seen this movie before. In 2014 Yale researchers released a similar study of 180 people in Washington County, PA, funded by Heinz Foundation and other Big Green funders (see 
On Monday MDN brought you the latest quarterly production numbers for the Ohio Utica Shale, direct from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (see 
The legal beagles of top energy law firm Babst Calland recently released their sixth annual energy industry report called, “The 2016 Babst Calland Report – An Unprecedented Time for the Oil & Gas Industry: Price Down, Supply Up, Reform Ahead; Legal and Regulatory Perspective for Producers and Midstream Operators.” This annual review of energy and natural resources development activity acknowledges the continuing evolution of this industry in the face of economic, regulatory, legal and local government challenges. In an MDN exclusive, we have the first six pages of the 68-page report (see below), along with details on how you can request a full copy. Worth the read!…
LNG, or liquefied natural gas, is an increasingly important part of the natural gas ecosystem in the U.S. We’ve imported natgas for years–and we’re not beginning to export it as well. Each month the U.S. Dept. of Energy issues a report tabulating both imports and exports of LNG–who shipped it in and out, from where, and how much. It’s a good picture. The April report was recently released (takes a few months before the number crunchers are done). What do we find in the latest report (full copy below)? We find that the U.S. imported 34.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas in the first four months of the year–all of it from Trinidad. We exported 28.9 Bcf during the same period. The vast majority of exports were from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, although a small amount of LNG was exported from American LNG’s export facility in Miami, Florida…
We now know why the oil and gas industry has laid off some 200,000 people over the past few years–they’re not spending money. A new research report from powerhouse consulting firm Wood Mackenzie finds that global upstream development (i.e. drillers) have cut their spending from 2015-2020 by 22%. If you role in cuts to conventional drilling, the total amount cut from budgets (worldwide) from 2015-2020 is a staggering $1 trillion! One of the biggest expenses in a drilling operation is human resources–people. Unfortunately we don’t have a copy of the £1000 (~$1,500) report to share with you. But we do have a high level overview provided by Wood Mackenzie…
The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) has just issued production numbers for the first quarter of 2016. Compared with first quarter 2015, production numbers in 1Q16 continue to impress. Natural gas production from shale is up 80% year over year, and oil production is up 24% y/y. Below we have the ODNR’s high level overview of the numbers, along with MDN’s own exclusive analysis showing: the top 25 producing gas wells, the top 25 producing oil wells, and then the top 25 gas and oil wells as ranked by average production per day. There is a difference! The longer an oil or gas well is online, the less it produces. Newer wells produce more. So we show you which wells are not just producing the most quantity overall, but which wells are producing at the fastest (most productive) rates–even if they haven’t yet been online a full three months. We also include a link to the complete list of 1,351 wells included in the 1Q16 ODNR report–in a more usable format than that provided by the ODNR…
In 2011, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, PA began a new water testing and monitoring program for the Beaver Run Reservoir which supplies water to about 150,000 residents (see 
Last December we asked the question: 
Consulting and accounting powerhouse Deloitte has just issued an important new report that sounds the alarm that upstream (i.e. drillers) are not spending enough money to replace proved reserves. Deloitte says there is a “funding gap” of $2 trillion over the next five years! Natural gas is more at threat than oil, because natural gas “reserves shortfall is bigger than oil since the commodity is yet to see its best years of demand growth in the developing world.” The Deloitte report, titled “Short of Capital? Risk of underinvestment in Oil and Gas is amplified by competing cash priorities” is embedded below. An interesting read…
As a counter to onerous new regulations being pedaled by the out-of-control Obama Environmental Protection Agency, the American Petroleum Institute recently issued a statement pointing out the government itself–the Dept. of Energy and the EPA–have authored research reports that extol the virtues of hydraulic fracturing–i.e. “fracking.” The API’s statement says that the environment *benefits* from fracking, rather than suffering. After all, Uncle Sam says so in its own research…
Yesterday MDN’s favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), issued our favorite monthly report–the Drilling Productivity Report (DPR). The DPR is the EIA’s best guess, based on expert data crunchers, as to how much each of the U.S.’s seven major shale plays will produce for both oil and natural gas in the coming month. One observation from the June report: The worm has turned for natural gas production in the Utica Shale. Until this report, the Utica has stood alone among nation’s seven major plays in a trend of producing more natgas month over month. The EIA now predicts next month that trend will reverse and the Utica will begin to produce less natgas month over month. Not a lot less! Just 4 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d). But still, it’s worth noting. Another observation: When you combine all of the plays for both oil and natgas production, the rate of decrease for both is picking up. That is, month over month we’re now producing less and less of both oil and natgas from our shale plays. Which will likely be good for prices (less supply, the same or more demand equals higher prices). Here’s the latest from the EIA…
Last week BP released its annual Statistical Review of World Energy–the 65th edition! (We have a full copy embedded below.) A number of big energy companies, like Exxon Mobil, as well as government agencies, publish similar reports that characterize current and future world energy trends. However, one analyst we read says BP’s report is the best: “I have relied upon the BP World Energy report for years. It is not a report to be viewed with a partisan eye, but as merely one of the best, if not the best, energy trend device available anywhere. In comparison to government agencies like the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) the global International Energy Association (IEA) or OPEC’s own World Oil Outlook, the BP report has proven itself to be far more valuable in finding investable trends. I would never recommend any oil sector without having the statistical evidence of the BP World Energy Report behind me.” In scanning a summary of this year’s report, one statistic stands out for us. Environmental radicals constantly prattle on that renewable energy sources could replace fossil fuels, if we only had the will to change. What utter rubbish, as proven by this stat: In 2015 renewable energy, mostly used to generate power, reached 2.8% of global energy consumption, up 2% in the last ten years. Did you get that? Only 2.8% of the energy used in the world is generated by wind, solar, etc. Fossil fuels are here to stay through not only our own lifetimes, but the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren. Someday maybe we’ll be famous for having been prescient in penning these words (we’ll be long dead and gone)–but mark our words, fossil fuels are not going away any time soon…
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century. Recently CRS wrote and published a report titled “An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems” (full copy below). The report looks at federal, state and local activities to help control air pollution from oil and gas–both drilling and pipelines. Without taking sides, this report provides information on the natural gas industry and the types and sources of air pollutants caused by the industry. The report examines the role of the federal government in regulating these emissions, including provisions in the Clean Air Act and EPA’s onerous regulatory activities. The report concludes with a brief discussion of the issues. Worth a read…