Bishop Hill Mixed media
Mar 5, 2014 Energy: gas There are some mixed messages on the shale gas front this morning. The FT is reporting that the brakes are being put on the nascent industry in the UK, although there doesn't seem to be anything new here - the story covers some of the dodgy old stories about UK shales being more heavily faulted than US ones and sounder ones about the regulatory burden in the UK - so I'm not quite sure what prompted it.
Meanwhile, the BBC is reporting that Cuadrilla reckon the amount of gas in the Bowland may have to be revised upwards from the figure that astounded the country last year.
Based on data from two wells that it had fracked in 2011, Cuadrilla estimated that there was around 200 tcf in its licence areas.
Now a more detailed analysis of seismic and well data suggests a significant upgrade to the gas potential of the area.
"In terms of the resource in place, we originally came out with 200 tcf," said Huw Clarke, a geologist with the company, told a conference in London.
"That was just off one well, that was ratified by the BGS, and we were very happy about that. Since then we've drilled two extra wells and we've shot 100sq km of 3D seismic information and I believe there's closer to 330 tcf in place just within Cuadrilla's licence area alone."
Interestingly, Lord Oxburgh gets quoted at the end of the story, still whiffling on about the idea that the decline rates in shale gas wells is something we should worry about. As Chris Wright pointed out in his evidence to the Lords' Economic Affairs Committee, getting most of the gas out at the start of the well's lifetime is a feature, not a bug.
Reader Comments (44)
"...whiffling on about the idea that the decline rates in shale gas wells..." is not dissimilar to the comments I read from greenies when they talk about 'peak oil' - that we should leave it in the ground for future generations. Duh?
Which prompts me to repeat the true story of a secretary in my office in the 80s. She was responsible for stationery and I wanted an A4 pad. There was one left in the cupboard. 'No', she said, 'you can't have that one because if I let it out I won't have any left for anyone else who wants one'.
Maybe, by some miracle.............. even the jackass warmists in the bbc [and the DECC] have come to the realization that fossilized British hydrocarbon resources need to be fully explored and realized! What with, the ongoing Ukraine crisis and the impending threat of Russia closing the stopcocks of their gas pipeline...........but then again do they do joined up thinking in the corridors of the running dogs of the EU aka the bbc-DECC?
Probably not.
considering that march 2013 brought the uk down to a 6 hour gas reserve, and it didnt run out then due to russian supplies, a domestic supply might be a good idea. EU forign something Cathy Ashton allready said some strong words, and a 6 hour reserve with no russian supplies would be....interesting.
Oxburgh says:
This is the first time I heard the claim that fracking is extremely noisy. Is it? Does anybody have any references for the noise generated by fracking?
@TerryS - Maybe he is referring ot the "endless loud traffic" during the development phase. Apparently lorries transporting materials to Windfarms run on tyres created by hand knitted recycled wool donated by Graun readers when their pullies start to unwind, and are therefore silent. Oh, and they also run on Unicorn pee which emits no CO2 at all...
Oxburgh speaks for his masters in Milan.
TerryS:
Last I heard, as far as controversial wind turbines are concerned, there are other limiting factors in the UK, including the size and density of the population. And the process of generating electricity from the wind is extremely noisy.
One has to wonder if the Environment Agency are foot dragging or what - *nothing* about fracking on their web site for nearly four months. One might expect a list off "applied for" permits - OK, I suppose it might be "Swampy magnet" territory - but the silence is not reassuring as is the FT assertion that a UK well is 2.5 times the cost of a US well (is that a multi-well site, or individual wells?) - also that 2.5X does seem an extraordinary difference and one that they aren't keen it seems to subject to analysis....
Given the general media bias against fracking and shale gas, one can only conclude that if information like this is being released, the real situation on reserves is even more rosy.
Its an ill wind etc, but the current Ukraine crisis might have a positive effect on the remaining grown ups among the people who actually run the country (senior Civil Servants basically) to decide that shale gas is something we should be proceeding with at full speed.
@ Terry S
I suspect lorries travelling down a country lane are a damn-sight less annoying than car, vans & lorries slowing down, bouncing over speed humps, then accelerating away in residential streets.
I also suspect fracking causes less noticeable earth tremors to fear houses, than the above.
Who cares what Oxburgh thinks? The developers are spending their own money, not the taxpayers' money. I've never heard Oxburgh talking about the drop-off with time of the performance of wind turbines or solar panels.
"I also suspect fracking causes less noticeable earth tremors to fewer houses, than the above."
Considering the current problems in eastern Europe perhaps the accelerator should be pressed not the brake to speed the gas then we can tell Russia to go hang.
The pretence that they care (or really know anything) about the profitability or otherwise of shale gas companies is one of the more bizarre manifestations of the lunacy of anti-frackery.
Oxburgh no longer works for Falck, but he has a new role at an energy/water metering/monitoring company.
Lancashire County Council came up with a screening opinion for the Beccosnall Site. I haven't been able to find that document but I did find find a copy of it in a document submitted as part of the planning application for the Annas Road site.
The opinion is contained in Appendix A of the scoping report in the above planing application (it is parts 5 and 6). This is what it has to say about noise:
The joy of owning drilling rigs is that the demand is currently large and they are easily packed up and shipped all over the world. The crews are happy to go with them for the big bucks involved. With such a hostile environment in the UK from the press, DECC and the dramagreens, the rig owners can afford to wait it out until the Camerloon and his glove puppet Clegg, Red Ed Moribund, and any other would be King like Salmond, having been trodden underfoot by that master of aggressive diplomacy, Putin, are desperate and start waving the subsidy wand in their direction. A previously unsubsidized industry (In spite of what the Grauniads Carrington claims) will be only too happy to join the gravy train of guaranteed profits provided by our erstwhile political class out of the pockets of the proletariat.
A joyous future to contemplate.
TerryS
Somebody's been listening to the RSPB again!
Anyone who has ever spent time near a site where wildfowl winter in any numbers will know that the chances of the birds hearing any extraneous noise over their own endless bickering is approaching zero.
Jim 10:29 AM
those people that run the country seem to run as a herd / shoal of fish.... when was the last time you heard any hint of apostasy from one of them in a public statement? We've read here on BH about TPTB dinner parties where there's been some "spirited discussion" but there seems to be a three-line whip imposed - partly one has to assume as a result of the enormous and ongoing investment of time and money made across our public bodies in promulgating the climate scare / carbon game...
Presently "coming out" and displaying views of even mild sceptic persuasion would be career suicide at the higher levels - the occasional lower rank eccentric gets away with it...
Oxburgh is still a director of:
NEOS Resources PLC (I think this is a biodiesel company)
Green Energy Options Ltd
20C Ltd and 20C (Holdings) Ltd
Philip Bratby: I like the way you are using the BBC's own language (about fracking) when describing wind turbines. "Controversial" should be used by everyone when talking about these useless towers.
The bigger the potential for shale the bigger the plaudits our politicians will receive from green lobbyists if we are denied the use of it.
I hear the today program was at it again this morning. Some trougher in the UN claiming businesses should DEMAND more regulation of CO2 by the government.
A good image for Josh...a torture victim asking for more punishment.
One wonders how these people keep a straight face. Oh and the next big climate junket will be in Paris
Been waiting a few weeks for a shale thread...
UK shale gas potential and perspectives
I provide a bit of background on the Bowland and show how drilling 100 wells / year and 200 wells / year for a decade might impact UK gas production compared with the historic off shore production.
According to this page from the Shale conference linked to by the BBC article,
@ Bish.. GEO
Gotta get one, this sound more fun than blogging. Imagine watching a meter that displays the output of your array!
12:02 PM Euan Mearns
There are some folk pushing the idea of using existing offshore infrastructure to access underlying shale geology ... makes protesting that bit more difficult ;-p
re:Array watching - in the evenings you could look at the blank display by the light of a scented candle .... bliss
The Baron is just talking about himself again.
I suspect the planning applications are being subjected to the same endless nitpicking from nimbies, greenbelt protectors, enviros, ant-car and anti-growth hypocrites that currently halt or delay every new road, housing or business proposal the length and breadth of the country. Beyond simple bribery only guaranteeing jobs for a largely unskilled local workforce has any chance of shortcutting the process.
I'm still fuming about the Letham Moss unconventional gas extraction being blocked due to a handful of "locals" living a mile away, scaremongering local journalists and a bunch of newly faux-green and utterly ignorant councillors. These selfsame cretins then have the sheer gall to bleat about gas prices.
Judging from the din that I encounter from the birds when stepping into my (city) garden these mornings, I don't reckon a few 'wintering wildfowl' would be that bothered by a drilling rig....
Presumably, the higher the potential amount of fracked gas estimated to be available to us, the more the objectors will insist that we leave it in the ground...
Putin's land grab should be warning enough. We require our own supplies of gas. What words do politicians not understand?
Invest in piano wire futures. We have lamp posts galore.
PS
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I understand that in deference to the protesters at Barton Moss, the police organise contractors vehicles to enter site in convoys so as to cause as little noise disturbance as possible to the protestors. Their favourite time to do this is every other Wednesday when for some strange reason, all the protestors have disappeared from site.
confused
I head that too. The trougher asking for more regulation was Christina Figueres- again.
How is it that Oxburgh became such an influential geologist?
Just wait for Russia to get totally pissed off with the posturing over Ukraine and they turn the gas tap off... Putin knows he has a firm grip on the hearts and minds of the EU.
"Even though Cuadrilla didn't frack any wells in Sussex, their presence attracted huge protests".
So says the Biased Broadcasting Collective.
Have a look at the photo which this statement applies to.
"Sid and Doris Bonkers and a few of their mates" might be more appropriate.
we will need all the home-made gas we can get UK energy security at risk as gas imports surge - Centrica. Gas imports will hit 70pc of supply by 2020, raising the need for new sources of supply
One sign of real degeneracy is to choosing to starve in the midst of plenty.
UK leadership seems completely focused on starving the people of the UK of their energy rather than make rational sustainable and profitable choices.
Sadly this social infection is active in many parts of the world at this time.
@Joe Public: "lorries travelling down a country lane are a damn-sight less annoying than car, vans & lorries slowing down, bouncing over speed humps, then accelerating away in residential streets."
Whatever makes you think that nobody lives on country lanes?
Windfarm proposals (read: subsidy-farm proposals) currently going through planning near my village will result in 90 heavy truck journeys EACH DAY for two years. This is on roads that currently carry about four cars an hour and two log lorries a day. And when they say heavy trucks they mean massive low-loaders with escort vehicles. All this is so that some London bankers and foreign investors can get rich on the backs of UK taxpayers.
Pray do not patronise us, we have had enough of it.
Euan Mearns: I've been saying this for the last year and getting shat upon from a great height from all sides. Tomo: on present data please remember that shale wells have about one hundredth of the delivery of "conventional" pay zones. How does that work from an offshore platform? (Morecombe Bay peaked at about eight percent of UK demand and that would require around six hundred wells from shale).
Keep the noise down. There's people trying to drill out here.
Modern noise suppressed drilling rigs are not that noisy, especially the ones situated in urban or farming areas. I've been on one such rig when we could talk at normal volume on the drill floor - except when the neighbouring farmer drowned us out with his tractor. This was the same guy who had protested mightily and publicly about the noise and disruption until he got financial compensation.
For sure, some operations will be noisier, but not that big a deal compared to the building and traffic noises we put up with every day.
Are there not nodding donkeys on fracked wells operating right next to an RSPB reserve?