GDF - Shale Drilling and the Environment

GDF voices a need for improvements before development and hydraulic fracturing move forward in Europe. I'm not sure if the CEO is saying fracking actually needs to improve or if the understanding of the technology and application needs to improve.

The technology used to extract oil and gas from shale rocks, a process that has revolutionized the U.S. energy industry, should be improved to protect the environment, the head of Europe’s largest gas company said.

“There are concerns about the environmental impact,” Gerard Mestrallet, chief executive officer of GDF Suez (GSZ) SA, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. “Probably it can be improved and probably it has to be improved.”

Hydraulic fracturing, a technique that uses water, sand and chemicals to break apart rocks and release trapped fuel, has made the U.S. the world’s largest natural gas producer. That success hasn’t quelled concern that fracking, as the process is known, risks polluting drinking water.

Read the full news release at bloomberg.com

Schlumberger - Service Demand Strong in the Eagle Ford

Schlumberger CEO Andrew Gould says the service market is supported by liquids production and pressure pumping demand in the Eagle Ford Shale. The Eagle Ford's liquid production demands more services than a typical gas well. The demand for pressure pumping equipment is helping hold prices in the service industry.

In particular, demand for pressure-pumping gear used to extract oil and natural gas liquids from U.S. shale fields such as the Eagle Ford of southern Texas will feed growth and keep pricing firm, Gould said .

These oil and gas fields require more equipment than others — a boon for services providers, he said.

Read the full news release at marketwatch.com

Energy Transfer Partners to Construct Two Eagle Ford Shale Pipelines

Energy Transfer is stepping up to deliver Eagle Ford Shale capacity.  ETP is adding 500 mmcfd of capacity through two pipelines in that originate in Webb County and DeWitt County Texas.

"The 50-mile, 24-inch Dos Hermanas Pipeline will have a capacity of approximately 400 million cubic feet per day. The pipeline will originate in northwest Webb County, Texas and extend to the Partnership's existing Houston Pipeline rich gas gathering system in eastern Webb County, Texas. The pipeline is expected to be completed by December 2010. As part of the project, approximately 6,000 horsepower of compression will be added to the Houston Pipeline system."

"The initial phase of the Chisholm Pipeline will consist of approximately 83 miles of 20-inch pipeline extending from DeWitt County, Texas to the Partnership's LaGrange Processing Plant in Fayette County, Texas. The pipeline will have an initial capacity of 100 million cubic feet per day, with anticipated capacity expansion exceeding 300 million cubic feet per day. The project will utilize existing processing capacity at ETP's LaGrange Plant. After processing, the residue volumes will be transported on the Partnership's Oasis Gas Pipeline system. This phase of the pipeline is expected to be in service by the second quarter of 2011."

Read the full press release at EnergyTransfer.com