US shale resources are exciting. My friends and colleagues can attest, I get overly excited about the potential of US shale.
Marcellus, Haynesville, Barnett, Fayetteville, Woodford, Utica, Eagle Ford, Bakken -- they are on the tip of my tongue and the forefront of my mind (and those of investors).
US shale gas resources are huge! Trillions and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas -- right under our feet. That means energy independence. That means jobs right here in the US, lots and lots of jobs related to drilling, producing, transporting, processing and exporting domestic natural gas. That means billions of dollars to help our economy and bolster local, state and federal government. That mean gas-generated power plants galore.
While prices for natural gas aren't the best on the Henry Hub today, companies are still investing in US shale and in natural gas in general. (Think of the billions of dollars being invested in Western Australia's massive LNG projects, like Gorgon, Wheatstone, Bonaparte, Ichthys and Gladstone.) To me, that says, they know something laymen don't. (After all, they've got analysts and economists and mathematicians and industry experts ... who study these things for a living.)
In fact, Wood Mackenzie just reported that in the first half of 2010 alone US shale gas M&A expenditures reached $21 billion. That's a lot of money to change hands, and they predict that the mergers and acquisitions market will continue its hot streak.
Translation: Natural gas is going to pay off, and prices are going to climb.
Ol' T. Boone Pickens is on to something, and natural gas-fueled cars may be just around the corner if he has anything to do with it.
In fact the US may very well become the largest exporter of clean energy because of our natural gas resources. Three LNG import terminals have started the ball rolling on switching to being export terminals, and pipelines have begun the process of both building and becoming bi-directional.
Natural gas is clean-burning. It's domestic, and it's plentiful. Jump on the natural gas/shale bandwagon with me. It's taking off around the corner!
..........................................
Phaedra
Friend Troy is the content director for PennEnergy.com, an all-energy website that
provides oil and gas, power and infrastructure news, analysis, reports and more.
Sign up for a free
daily enewsletter today.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Is it brainwashing or ignorance? Activists gain glory, but miss the point
Really? Greenpeace has stopped offshore drilling again. This time, two activists have climbed the anchor chain of the Stena Carron drillship, which was bound to drill for Chevron offshore the Shetland Islands.
The environmentalist group claims that they are protesting, asking North Sea governments to stop deepwater drilling, spewing fear propaganda to scare the public into thinking that the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico could happen anywhere.
First off: The BP disaster is just that -- a disaster. No one meant for the well well blow-out, 11 people to lose their lives, the rig to sink or the well to spill oil and gas into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It was an accident, and companies and regulatory agencies across the globe are trying to learn from the events surrounding the Macondo well and enact change and safety measures to ensure it doesn't happen again.
While the activists may be acting with good intentions, their actions are pretty misguided. To think that the world can stop its reliance on petroleum products today is very simple-minded.
In fact, the photo of the two activists "training" for the action shows the likely numerous petroleum products required to safely achieve their mission, including an inflatable sea vessel, plastic safety helmets and various nylon ropes.
One of the activists said, "Instead of drilling for the last drops in places like this, the oil companies should be developing the clean energy technologies we need to fight climate change and reduce our dependence on oil."
The oil and gas industry is doing just that. Oil and gas companies are at the forefront of investments into green energy; they are aware of peak oil and not only ensuring energy for the future, but I'm sure ensuring a future for their companies.
....................................
Phaedra Friend Troy is the content director for PennEnergy.com, an all-energy website that provides oil and gas, power and infrastructure news, analysis, reports and more. Sign up for a free daily enewsletter today.
The environmentalist group claims that they are protesting, asking North Sea governments to stop deepwater drilling, spewing fear propaganda to scare the public into thinking that the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico could happen anywhere.
First off: The BP disaster is just that -- a disaster. No one meant for the well well blow-out, 11 people to lose their lives, the rig to sink or the well to spill oil and gas into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It was an accident, and companies and regulatory agencies across the globe are trying to learn from the events surrounding the Macondo well and enact change and safety measures to ensure it doesn't happen again.
While the activists may be acting with good intentions, their actions are pretty misguided. To think that the world can stop its reliance on petroleum products today is very simple-minded.
In fact, the photo of the two activists "training" for the action shows the likely numerous petroleum products required to safely achieve their mission, including an inflatable sea vessel, plastic safety helmets and various nylon ropes.
One of the activists said, "Instead of drilling for the last drops in places like this, the oil companies should be developing the clean energy technologies we need to fight climate change and reduce our dependence on oil."
The oil and gas industry is doing just that. Oil and gas companies are at the forefront of investments into green energy; they are aware of peak oil and not only ensuring energy for the future, but I'm sure ensuring a future for their companies.
....................................
Phaedra Friend Troy is the content director for PennEnergy.com, an all-energy website that provides oil and gas, power and infrastructure news, analysis, reports and more. Sign up for a free daily enewsletter today.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Scare tactics and misinformation
Death and destruction -- and fear -- sells. It sells magazines and movies and news.
Because of this, our news sources have become sensationalistic. I catch news trailers that are downright scary. "Is poison lurking in your fridge? Tune in tonight."
Yikes! What if I eat it before the 10 p.m. news program starts?
The same thing has happened with media coverage of our petroleum industry. Scare tactics make for devoted listeners/watchers/readers -- but really, are we posting the news or misinforming (and scaring) our public?
Take yesterday's accident offshore Louisiana. I got word in the morning that an oil rig had exploded, ala Deepwater Horizon; and my heart sank.
No! Please don't say it's true -- I thought of our already embattled offshore industry, laid off because of the moratorium, still mourning the losses of the Deepwater Horizon crew. I thought of the book-throwing environmentalists who use fear and misinformation to enact change. I thought of the drilling moratorium, the Rally for Jobs campaign by the API, the Save US Jobs campaign by the AEA, the National Taxpayers Union's campaign to support domestic energy companies.
I can't tell a lie -- I also thought about my job as a petroleum writer.
Initial media reports coming out of the major sources were scary, really very frightening.
When I got wind of the story, there was no official report, so I dug a little, just as a good journalist should. I called multiple offices in the US Coast Guard until I found the right one. I asked my source there what was going on.
Thinking back, he never said "rig." He called the facility the "Vermillion 380," which I automatically connected as a block, not a rig. I asked him about it, but he wasn't sure. (Mind you, this was VERY early on...)
Right off, I knew the initial reports were wrong, and I posted what I knew about the accident, facility and company.
I called Mariner. I called the BOEM. I checked websites and waited for more information. I updated my site when I found out more.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned that all offshore personnel were rescued and safe. I breathed another sigh of relief when I learned that there was no oil leaking into the Gulf.
I hoped that our media would quickly change it's tune -- stop connecting the Vermillion 380 accident with the Deepwater Horizon accident. Stop scaring our public into believing that offshore drilling is unsafe.
Yes, everyone wants to know that our waters are safe, but misinforming the public to win more readers or viewers is just wrong.
Even last night, when I watched the news about the Mariner accident, journalists continued to call the production platform a rig ... which is the word used to describe a drilling rig. "Rig" is not used in the industry to denote production facilities, and production facilities, for the most part, do not drill (although some do house drilling equipment or they may host a drilling rig via cantilever).
This morning, I was saddened by a statement released by the United Steelworkers supporting the fed's moratorium on drilling, connecting the Vermillion 380 production platform accident to a need to increase safety in offshore drilling.
Now, should our industry always strive to increase safety, protect the environment and strengthen ethics? Yes. HSES is such an important part of our industry, and it should and will remain so.
And I agree, our authorities really should make sure that our practices are safe. But are they doing that, or are they saving face? What's taking so long, and why have only four drilling permits been issued in the last four months (even in shallow waters)?
While images of a smoking production platform keeps people on the channel, what the media is not doing is informing its audience about the amount of petroleum the US consumes, how much we import, where we import it from, and what we'll have to do to support our society in the future -- and how much that will cost -- should oil and natural gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico get shut down.
.................................
Phaedra Friend Troy is the content director for PennEnergy.com, an all-energy website that provides oil and gas, power and infrastructure news, analysis, reports and more. Sign up for a free daily enewsletter today.
Because of this, our news sources have become sensationalistic. I catch news trailers that are downright scary. "Is poison lurking in your fridge? Tune in tonight."
Yikes! What if I eat it before the 10 p.m. news program starts?
The same thing has happened with media coverage of our petroleum industry. Scare tactics make for devoted listeners/watchers/readers -- but really, are we posting the news or misinforming (and scaring) our public?
Take yesterday's accident offshore Louisiana. I got word in the morning that an oil rig had exploded, ala Deepwater Horizon; and my heart sank.
No! Please don't say it's true -- I thought of our already embattled offshore industry, laid off because of the moratorium, still mourning the losses of the Deepwater Horizon crew. I thought of the book-throwing environmentalists who use fear and misinformation to enact change. I thought of the drilling moratorium, the Rally for Jobs campaign by the API, the Save US Jobs campaign by the AEA, the National Taxpayers Union's campaign to support domestic energy companies.
I can't tell a lie -- I also thought about my job as a petroleum writer.
Initial media reports coming out of the major sources were scary, really very frightening.
When I got wind of the story, there was no official report, so I dug a little, just as a good journalist should. I called multiple offices in the US Coast Guard until I found the right one. I asked my source there what was going on.
Thinking back, he never said "rig." He called the facility the "Vermillion 380," which I automatically connected as a block, not a rig. I asked him about it, but he wasn't sure. (Mind you, this was VERY early on...)
Right off, I knew the initial reports were wrong, and I posted what I knew about the accident, facility and company.
I called Mariner. I called the BOEM. I checked websites and waited for more information. I updated my site when I found out more.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned that all offshore personnel were rescued and safe. I breathed another sigh of relief when I learned that there was no oil leaking into the Gulf.
I hoped that our media would quickly change it's tune -- stop connecting the Vermillion 380 accident with the Deepwater Horizon accident. Stop scaring our public into believing that offshore drilling is unsafe.
Yes, everyone wants to know that our waters are safe, but misinforming the public to win more readers or viewers is just wrong.
Even last night, when I watched the news about the Mariner accident, journalists continued to call the production platform a rig ... which is the word used to describe a drilling rig. "Rig" is not used in the industry to denote production facilities, and production facilities, for the most part, do not drill (although some do house drilling equipment or they may host a drilling rig via cantilever).
This morning, I was saddened by a statement released by the United Steelworkers supporting the fed's moratorium on drilling, connecting the Vermillion 380 production platform accident to a need to increase safety in offshore drilling.
Now, should our industry always strive to increase safety, protect the environment and strengthen ethics? Yes. HSES is such an important part of our industry, and it should and will remain so.
And I agree, our authorities really should make sure that our practices are safe. But are they doing that, or are they saving face? What's taking so long, and why have only four drilling permits been issued in the last four months (even in shallow waters)?
While images of a smoking production platform keeps people on the channel, what the media is not doing is informing its audience about the amount of petroleum the US consumes, how much we import, where we import it from, and what we'll have to do to support our society in the future -- and how much that will cost -- should oil and natural gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico get shut down.
.................................
Phaedra Friend Troy is the content director for PennEnergy.com, an all-energy website that provides oil and gas, power and infrastructure news, analysis, reports and more. Sign up for a free daily enewsletter today.
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