Are you looking forward to the 3rd Annual Marcellus Shale Water Business Update in Pittsburgh next week as much as we are?
Over 100 regional water executives are expected to be there next Thursday. Great networking opportunities are happening around the conference, including an E&P water manager group meeting and baseball game outing the day before.
There’s still time to register… here is a link to details and registration>
Here is this week’s industry news & analysis…
News Digest
PERMIAN QUAKE SWARM: Nearly 85 earthquakes have rattled Scurry County in less than a week
Scurry County has been struck by nearly 85 earthquakes since July 22, according to Jay Callaway, the City of Snyder emergency coordinator.
PERMIAN QUAKE SWARM: Magnitude 5.1 West Texas earthquake felt in Downtown Dallas
The earthquake that rattled homes in West Texas was felt by many people in North Texas too...
PERMIAN QUAKE SWARM: Disaster declaration
Scurry County Judge Dan Hicks has declared a disaster and is requesting assistance from the state...
PERMIAN QUAKE SWARM: Snyder officials weigh in
City of Snyder issued a statement on Facebook...
PERMIAN QUAKE SWARM: RRC is responding
Texas regulators launch investigation into latest series of dozens of Permian Basin earthquakes.
PERMIAN QUAKE SWARM: The Railroad Commission shuts in 2 disposal wells after earthquakes
MRT reports...
PERMIAN QUAKE SWARM: Damage being assessed...
Scurry County emergency crews assess damage after a series of earthquakes
PERMIAN QUAKE SWARM: Midland highrise swayed for 15 seconds
Midlander says Wilco Building swayed for 15 seconds as temblor felt in Tall City
PERMIAN QUAKE SWARM: Laura Capper's Analysis
The RRC announced they are investigating a 2.5 Mile area around the quakes, according to a USA Today article, which also shared that two deep SWD injectors will be shut in. However, our own investigation showed no deep wells injecting in the area currently or recently, the active SWD wells around the earthquake are all relatively shallow.
ANOTHER BIG E&P M&A WEEK: VItal Delaware Deal...
Vital Energy expands their Delaware Basin position through a bolt-on acquisition of Point Energy Partners...
ANOTHER BIG E&P M&A WEEK: Permian Resources Announces Strategic Bolt-On Acquisition of Core Delaware Basin Assets
Assets include substantial midstream assets, including >100 miles of oil and natural gas pipelines, robust water infrastructure system with a ~25,000 Bbls/d water recycling facility and >10,000 surface acres.
ANOTHER BIG E&P M&A WEEK: Post Oak Minerals Acquires $475 Million of Permian Basin Focused Minerals & Royalties
The acquired assets include over 28,400 net royalty acres ("NRA") of mineral & royalty interests, with 27,400 NRA located in the Permian Basin and the remaining NRA located in the Eagle Ford and Haynesville shale trends.
ANOTHER BIG E&P M&A WEEK: US oilfield firms slash prices as mega-mergers shrink customer base
A wave of mega-mergers among oil producers is forcing the U.S. service companies that drill and hydraulically fracture wells to slash their prices, merge, or risk bankruptcy as they compete for a dwindling number of customers.
BIG E&P M&A WEEK: Upstream M&A sails on with $30 billion in 2Q24
Upstream M&A activity notched its third consecutive quarter of heightened value with more than $30 billion transacted. That brings year-to-date activity, including July deals, to nearly $90 billion and nearly $250 billion transacted in the last 12 months. Prior to the latest run of consolidation, quarterly M&A value had only topped $30 billion three times since the start of 2017.
H2O EARNINGS SEASON: Range Resources Highlights Water Sharing Success On Earnings Conference Call
Key quote from page 4: "Supporting our frac efficiencies is Range's water sharing program which contribute approximately $1 million in cost savings above levels a year ago. Looking forward, we believe we will see similar savings from third-party water utilization, given our blocky acreage position and existing water infrastructure. Cash lease operating expenses finished the quarter better than anticipated, at $0.11 per mcfe, shaped by strong well performance from optimized gathering and efficient water logistics."
H2O EARNINGS SEASON: CNX Highlights Third-party Water Service On Earnings Call
Key quote: "We had a pretty good quarter on water revenue. So, we made some investments over the last couple years in terms of water handling. We've been able to offer those services to third parties. So, we had a really good quarter supplying water to some third-party fracs which drove that number."
H2O EARNINGS SEASON: CHK Highlights Falling Haynesville Water Disposal Costs
Key Quote: "In Haynesville, efforts to lower production expense continue to pay dividends, as evidenced by a 25% decrease in saltwater disposal cost per barrel since the third quarter of last year. This improvement is due to the team optimizing routes, increasing the utilization of owned assets, strategic partnerships with vendors and deflation."
H2O EARNINGS SEASON: LandBridge Schedules 1st Public Co. Earnings Release
LandBridge will release its financial results for the second quarter 2024 after market close on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. LandBridge will host a webcast and conference call to discuss its results on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time / 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
The fight over brine spreading in Pennsylvania is a rural-urban tension
“Frankly, this is one more example of a policy that was made by a bunch of people that don’t have any dirt roads, don’t have this issue at all — but the idea of spreading something that’s a byproduct of the oil and gas industry on roads just sounds icky to them,” Venango County Commissioner Sam Breene said.
A majority of injection wells in Athens County, Ohio are suspended
A handful of Athens County injection wells were suspended after Ohio Department of Natural Resources determined they pose an “imminent danger to the health and safety of the public and is likely to result in immediate substantial damage to the natural resources of the state,” according to letters from Chief of the Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management Eric Vendel.
TECHNICAL PAPER: Role of Deep Fluid Injection in Induced Seismicity in the Delaware Basin, West Texas and Southeast New Mexico
"Rates of seismicity in the Delaware Basin of Texas and New Mexico increased from 10 earthquakes per year of local magnitude (ML) 3.0 and above in 2017 to more than 185 in 2022, coincident with increasing oil and gas production and wastewater re-injection into strata shallow or deeper than producing intervals. Events of large magnitude—up to ML 5.4 to-date—occur on faults extending into formations above the basement that have received more than four billion barrels of injection. Here, we demonstrate the link between injection geology, pore pressure evolution, fault stability, and induced seismicity in this region."
Permian Truck tractor semi-trailer carrying radioactive materials catches fire, DPS reports
In Rankin on July 19 around 7:45 p.m., a truck tractor semi-trailer, carrying radioactive materials that pose as a serious health threat, caught on fire.
U.S. crude oil jumps more than 3% after Hamas political leader assassinated in Tehran
“But now we’re moving into a phase of deterioration into the Middle East that we believe is going to capture oil traders’ attention and get them to return some material risk premium into the price of Brent. At least $5 [per barrel] to start, even before we see a potential physical supply disruption,” he said.
Texas Crude Oil Pipelines Full to the Brim, Getting Worse
Crude oil pipelines connecting the busiest Texas oil fields to a critical export hub across the state are nearly out of space, threatening to cap US oil exports at a time when the world needs more.
Shale Costs Forecast to Fall 10% This Year, Wood Mackenzie Says
The cost to drill and frack new wells in US shale basins is expected to drop about 10% this year as explorers look to get more for less amid record output, according to a report from Wood Mackenzie.
The Impact of Frac'ing on Groundwater Quality
Kraken Sense gives an overview of the produced water industry.
Can viruses help clean wastewater from fracking? It’s a “yes, but” from researchers.
Early research shows viruses can hijack and kill bacteria in oil and gas wastewater — and potentially offer big savings to the industry — but it’s not a cure-all, researchers say.
Harris Backs Off Fracking Ban as GOP Campaigns on Past Position
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign said she doesn’t support a ban on fracking, reversing a stance she took on the hot-button oil and gas extraction technique as a presidential candidate in 2019.
Technical Paper: Co-treatment of Cooling Blowdown Water and Produced Water
Taking advantage of the complementary chemistries of the cooling blowdown water (BDW) and produced water (PW) from shale gas production, this pilot study evaluated their co-treatment feasibility to generate useful products while reducing treatment footprints.
URTeC: Holistic Approach Needed To Handle Permian Basin’s Produced Water
The Permian’s produced-water challenge presents an opportunity for innovation to pave the way toward a more sustainable future for the industry.
Terra Energy Partners Highlights Their Use of 100% Recycled Produced Water in the Completions
Partnership with Shalestone seems to be working.
Frac'ing water use focus of public meeting in Alberta
Albertans concerned about the state of the watershed and prompted an upcoming public meeting on hydraulic fracturing and freshwater management.
Oil and produced water released in McKenzie County, ND spill
Roughly 798 barrels of produced water and two barrels of oil were spilled due to an equipment malfunction. All products were contained on location, and cleanup is underway.
Wyoming Oil And Gas Drilling Halted On 120,000 Acres By Federal Judge
A federal judge has told the Bureau of Land Management to temporarily halt issuing new oil and gas drilling permits on nearly 120,000 acres of public land in Wyoming until after a review of environmental impacts, including water, is completed by mid-January.
Overseas: Petroleum Development Oman produced water output to hit record 1.4 million m3/day by 2030
Faced with a daily deluge of produced water – highly saline oil-contaminated water that comes to the surface along with oil – Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has revamped its water management strategy to unlock value from this prodigious resource. Besides harnessing this resource for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) operations, potential applications for desert agriculture, notably in the cultivation of oil-bearing plants for biofuel production, are being explored as well.
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