[Stoves] A bit about shale energy

[Carefreeland at aol.com]

Stovers, 
    Last Thursday I took a 200 mile trip to the  emerging Utica Shale oil/ 
gas fields in Eastern Ohio. My intent is to find work  to replace my 
landscaping work lost by the housing and construction  depression. I have been self 
employed as a landscaper for 32 years, but seeking  work in the oil fields 
is not new to me. In winter of 1981, I set up a drilling  rig in Wyoming, 
but my full time job in North Dakota as a deck hand was canceled  due to the 
crash in the price of oil. I've always wanted to return to the oil  fields, 
even if just to finance my search for alternatives. 
    Some on this list may see tight oil as just another  fossil fuel boom, 
set to crash the search for REAL alternatives like SOLAR,  WIND, and 
BIOMASS.  Some of us see it as a link to the new technologies,  transitions fuels 
which will save the western economies hard hit by rising oil  and gas prices. 
One thing is clear. The emergence of cheap shale fuels is a  global energy 
game changer. Cheap NG replacing coal will slow the saturation of  carbon in 
the atmosphere, and globally, shale oil will reduce the western  world's 
dependence on oil from rogue nations. SHALE OIL  is not to be  confused with 
OIL SHALE which needs heated to release the oil.
    My experience showed me that the latest boom nearly  in my backyard is 
real. The Utica Shale will be the next game changer. Latest  estimated 
surveys rate the Utica ( 34t cu ft.) in the same category as the giant  Marcellus 
shale (84t cu ft.) with nearly half the NG reserves already  projected at 
this very early point in exploration. As an oil producer, the Utica  is being 
talked about like the newest Eagle Ford or Bakkan.  shale oil  giants. 
Estimates range from a billion barrels ( USGS) to  more than 5 billion barrels 
(ODNR) of mostly light oil may be produced. The  reserves of these other 
basins have been continuously upgraded as techniques to  extract hydrocarbons 
are improved, and new wells produce new discoveries.  The Utica estimates have 
a lot of room to grow because it is such a large and  thick rock layer. 
Only the tightness of the formation is restricting it from  being estimated as 
bigger. These early estimates are based on just a couple  dozen producing 
wells out of tens of thousands of wells to be drilled. 
    The recent discoveries are producing large amounts  of wet gas or NG 
with condensates and gas liquids. This has accelerated the move  of rigs from 
dry gas Marcellus  areas east of Ohio, to the wet gas and oil  producing 
Utica. The gas liquids such as ETHANE, PROPANE and BUTANE will be  used to 
produce chemicals, plastics and synthetic rubber. These liquids are  found in 
the overlap zone where gas production in the east transitions to oil  
production in the west. The price of dry NG had crashed this winter below  
production costs due to a glut, but is now rebounding to marginally profitable  
levels. The Ohio big drilling rig count has risen from 17 this spring to 35 at  
latest count. I personally witnessed a brand new very large horizontal rig 
being  moved from a riggers staging yard to a drilling site.  
    What do us Stovers think of these developments? How  will tight oil and 
gas affect your lives, your projects, and your view of the  future of 
energy? I look forward to a robust discussion of this important topic. 
        
    Dan Dimiduk 
        Owner : Carefree Landscape,  since 1980
        Founder: Shangri- La  Research since 1990 
        
        Visit me at: _carefreelandscape.co _ 
(mip://04d04010/carefreelandscape.co) 
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