Last Updated: September 4, 2014 Over the past decade, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has provided access to large volumes of oil and natural gas that were previously uneconomic to produce from low permeability geological formations composed of shale, sandstone, and carbonate (e.g., limestone). Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock that forms from the compaction of silt and clay-size mineral particles. Black shale contains organic material that can generate oil and natural gas, and that can also trap the generated oil and natural gas within its pores. Where are shale gas and oil resources found? Shale oil and natural gas resources are found in shale formations that contain significant accumulations of natural gas and/or oil. The Barnett Shale in Texas has been producing natural gas for more than a decade. Information gained from developing the Barnett Shale provided the initial technology template for developing other shale plays in...

August 18, 2014 China relies heavily on domestic coal (and to a lesser extent oil) to meet rising energy consumption. To reduce air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, the Chinese government is attempting to replace some of the country's coal and oil use with natural gas. Natural gas accounted for only 4.9% of China's total energy consumption in 2012, but large investments in domestic natural gas production and infrastructure, along with growing imports, are likely to underpin a significantly larger role in the future. The Chinese government anticipates increasing its natural gas share of total energy consumption to around 8% by the end of 2015 and 10% by 2020. China more than tripled natural gas production since 2003, producing 3.8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2012, and the government is targeting production to reach about 5.5 Tcf of natural gas per year by the end of 2015. Most of the anticipated...

EIA projects that natural gas-fired electric power sector generation in the contiguous United States will increase to 1,600 million megawatthours (MWh) by 2040, a 1.3% average annual increase. This growth is spread throughout the Lower 48 states, and the reasons for the growth vary by region. For the United States, increasing natural gas supply results in unexpected future growth in natural gas-fired electric generation, particularly after 2020. Total U.S. natural gas production increases 56% from 2012 to 2040, largely because of the development of shale gas, tight gas, and offshore natural gas resources. The three regions with the highest growth in natural gas-fired generation, SERC , RFC , and WECC , also have the highest overall amounts of coal-fired generation. Coal-fired generation still grows significantly in SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC) and ReliabilityFirst Corporation (RFC), despite significant retirements of coal-fired capacity, and the increased cost of building new coal-fired facilities. In the...

August 14, 2014 India's dependence on imported fossil fuels rose to 38% in 2012, despite the country having significant domestic fossil fuel resources. India ranked as the fourth-largest energy consumer in the world in 2011, following China, the United States, and Russia. The country's energy demand continues to climb as a result of its dynamic economic growth and modernization. India is the third-largest economy on a purchasing power parity basis and has the world's second-largest population, according to World Bank data. As India modernizes and the population moves to urban areas, the country has shifted from using traditional biomass and waste to relying on other energy sources, including fossil fuels. India's newly elected government, with the Bharatiya Janat Party as the majority party, faces challenges to meet the country's growing energy demand, to secure affordable energy supplies, and to attract investment for domestic hydrocarbon production and infrastructure development. Petroleum and other...

August 13, 2014 Steam coal imports at electric power plants have fallen significantly from their peak level of more than 30 million tons in 2007 to less than 7 million in 2013. The number of plants using imported coal similarly fell from a peak of 48 in 2006 to 13 in 2013. Preliminary data for the first five months of 2014 indicate an increase in both imports and the number of plants taking imports, but both are still well below 2007 levels. Coal imports, mainly from Colombia but also from countries including Venezuela, Indonesia, and Canada, remain a small component of overall U.S. coal consumption—only 3% during the peak year of 2007 and less than 1% in 2013. Although the United States has abundant supplies of domestic coal, some power plants along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast receive imported coal. Imported coal accounted for between 25% and 50% of...

Last winter, high propane prices, low inventories and logistical and infrastructure challenges prompted emergency measures to address propane supply shortfalls in the Midwest. Given the severity of last winter's supply challenges, market participants are paying close attention to the adequacy of propane supplies to meet agricultural and heating demands this coming season. While the high-demand season is still some months away, an analysis of propane inventory levels, along with an assessment of propane prices and changes in infrastructure and supply flows, provides some insight into the emerging supply picture. .... Original link

August 12, 2014 The Utica Region in eastern Ohio, one of the fastest growing natural gas production areas in the United States, has been added to the Drilling Productivity Report (DPR). Total natural gas production in the Utica Region, which includes production from the Utica and Point Pleasant formations as well as legacy production from conventional reservoirs, has increased from 155 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) in January 2012 to an estimated 1.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in September 2014. Utica formation drilling activity has been primarily focused in eastern Ohio since mid-2012, although the geologic formation extends into Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Some producers are successfully targeting the Utica formation in northern West Virginia, but these wells fall within the existing DPR Marcellus Region. The DPR analyzes all drilling and production within geographic areas in order to capture total production volumes supplied to the...