USA shale oil production is expected to fall 85,000 barrels per day in September to 4.47 million bpd, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) drilling productivity report released on Monday.
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For the third month in a row, EIA said it expects the biggest decline in natural gas production in the Eagle Ford, with the agency forecasting 5.59 Bcf/d in September, down 212 MMcf/d from 5.81 Bcf/d this month. By 2040, that number is projected to jump to 554 Bcfd (15.7 X 10 m/d).
In May, U.S. crude oil production was down only 6 percent year-over-year while natural gas production only ticked down only 1 percent compared to May 2015.
EIA projects September natural gas production from the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Marcellus, Niobrara, Permian and Utica plays will total 45.45 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), down from 45.82 Bcf/d projected for August.
At present, only the United States, Canada, China, and Argentina have commercial shale gas production.
Surveyors looking at the one of the gas wells in the field.
China is poised to be the world’s second largest shale gas producer by 2040, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Apart from the USA and China, Canada and Argentina are the other 2 countries with commercial shale gas production.
As is the case with natural gas, six of the seven major plays will see a drop in product produced, and again the Eagle Ford will record the sharpest decrease. Pipeline infrastructure in Argentina is adequate to support current levels of shale gas production, but it will need to be expanded as production grows. Higher production per rig benefits natural gas producers.
Algeria’s production of both oil and natural gas has declined over the past decade, which prompted the government to begin revising investment laws that stipulate preferential treatment for national oil companies in favor of collaboration with global companies to develop shale resources.
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Note: Other gas includes coalbed methane, tight gas and other (nontight) gas.
