The footprint now is fairly small.  In addition to the wellhead, there is a small building and tower for the SCADA and automatic shut-off control facilities, a few tanks for the water that comes back out of the well, and the interconnection for the gathering pipeline that takes the natural gas to the custody transfer station with Atmos.  The return water is quite salty. They dispose of it in a salt water disposal well they had drilled a few thousand feet down.

From there, we headed over to a site where they were actually drilling a well.  It was located in a commercial/light industrial section near the airport. They had erected 16 foot sound barriers, but the rig rises 145 feet into the air, clearly visible from the street.  The use the same drill pad to drill anywhere from 8-24 horizontal wells.  Once, they complete a lateral, they move the rig a few feet and drill a new well bore for a lateral a few degrees in another direction, like the spokes of a wheel.

It’s amazing how much can be produced from such a small footprint.

Editors note: We’re including some photos from the event with Andrew’s post. Enjoy and let us know if you were there in the comments below.

The abundance message is beginning to build momentum.  As Rick Smead, from Navigant, noted, the Society of Petroleum Engineers recently reported that there are over 16,000 Tcf of shale gas resources globally and that North America has more of it than anywhere else in the world, over 3,600 Tcf.  He also noted that while only about one-quarter of those resources are currently technically recoverable, advances in drilling and recovery methods will, over time, unlock more and more of that resource base.

So, why aren’t we using natural gas more – to heat more of our homes and businesses, as a low-carbon fuel to generate electricity, to integrate intermittent, renewable resources, and as a transportation fuel for fleet and person vehicles, for ships in port, for long-haul trucks, etc.?  One of the key take-aways from today’s sessions is that it’s time for the industry to focus on the demand side of the equation – to look at ways to increase demand for natural gas.  AGA is involved in a number of efforts to do just that.  And, we have a great message from our Chairman – “GAS IS GOOD.”

Interestingly, it was the tax portion that touched off some of the most interesting discussion.

Who owns the gas?

Depending on where you are in the country, the mineral rights to produce natural gas found under the ground could be owned by the Federal government, the state government, or a private landowner, and in some cases a surface owner would not own the mineral rights for gas found under the property he or she holds.

I had an interesting conversation with a delegate from Poland who was surprised at the land ownership structure in the United States.  Apparently in Poland, land is held by private landowners, i.e., the government does not generally own land; however, the landowner essentially owns only the surface rights, and government does own the mineral rights.  The delegate was describing how difficult it is to build pipelines to bring produced gas to market.

With so many landowners to negotiate with and few tools such as eminent domain, I can only imagine the challenges in trying to get infrastructure built there.

Here in the United States, we should count our blessings.  While there are difficulties and challenges in working with various landowners, for the most part the climate for building natural gas infrastructure is favorable.

We have all benefited from the tens of thousands of wells, thousands of miles of pipelines, and hundreds of Bcf in storage capacity that have been built even in the last decade.  Our natural gas infrastructure provides a solid platform for meeting growing energy demand in an environmentally responsible manner.  It’s helpful to be reminded of that every once in a while.

This event will provide in-depth training in key areas, as well as an exclusive senior level strategic conference that will focus on the commercial, strategic, financial and regulatory issues affecting shale gas production and distribution. This will be complemented by a technical exhibition showcasing the new and existing technologies that are unlocking the potential of shale gas.

We will be bringing together the whole natural gas industry value chain: resource holders, government officials and regulators, operators, service and technology companies, and pipeline and distribution companies from around the world to share knowledge, form partnerships and promote the emergence of this game-changing source of natural gas.

With only about two months before this great event takes place, now is the time to reserve your space. Keep in mind that AGA members get a discounted registration fee.

At the 24^th World Gas Conference today, Thomas Skains, AGA chairman, and chairman, president and CEO of Piedmont Natural Gas Company told attendees that the expanded use of abundant U.S. domestic and global natural gas supplies can address many economic recovery, climate change and energy security goals.

The conference, being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is the global natural gas industry’s leading event.

Skains also addressed the outlook for the U.S. domestic natural gas industry and its role in a global energy economy. Specifically, he discussed some of the strategies America’s natural gas industry is pursuing and the unique market and regulatory conditions under which it operates.

“Perhaps never in its history has the U.S. domestic natural gas industry experienced more changes than it is right now, and this is just the beginning,” noted Skains.  “The largest change affecting the U.S. market is an increasingly home-grown supply portfolio, led by unconventional onshore shale gas.  The abundance of American natural gas resources is a fundamental change – a paradigm shift – in conventional wisdom.   Natural gas prices have changed as well; gas purchased by utilities in June of this year cost on average 68 percent less than in June of 2008.”

Skains also spoke to broader topics including natural gas supply and demand, conservation and energy efficiency, natural gas supply diversity and energy legislation.

As these highlighted slides from Skains’ presentation show, natural gas is both an abundant and environmentally friendly natural resource.

This slide highlights the considerable increase in domestic natural gas resources now available through shale gas. Coupled with known gas reserves reported by the Energy Information Agency (EIA) the total U.S. resource base is now estimated to exceed 2,000 Tcf – that’s about one hundred years of gas supply at current U.S. demand levels and with current technology.

In the long-term demand picture, an eventual global economic recovery will increase demand at some point. But a number of mitigating factors have led to lower long-term demand projections to a 25 Tcf market by 2030. Leading this shift is increased conservation and energy efficiency.  American consumers are using less natural gas per household, but they are also using natural gas in more energy efficient appliances, homes and businesses.

A second reason analysts are lowering their gas demand projections is that by 2030 there will be more alternative energy sources, such as renewables, that become a more significant part of the overall energy mix.  Demand for natural gas, according to Skains however, will continue to increase in the power generation market, even after accounting for the contribution of alternative energy sources.

Notably, from now until 2030, EIA forecasts a 25 Tcf U.S. natural gas market, with 23 Tcf of that demand met by domestic production.   That is an extraordinary change for our industry.

Direct use of natural gas is still the most efficient and carbon-friendly option for residential applications like water heaters. Skains made it clear that AGA believes direct use of natural gas in America’s homes and business will allow it to play a significant role in addressing the challenges of global warming, economic recovery and energy efficiency.

“Natural gas is a clean, efficient and abundant U.S. and global energy resource.  The wide-scale use of natural gas in residential, commercial, industrial, power generation, and transportation applications is good for the global economy, the global environment and for the global energy consumer,” Skains concluded.

Today, AGA chairman Thomas Skains spoke to an international audience at the 24th Annual World Gas Conference in the Argentinean capital about the outlook for the U.S. domestic natural gas industry and its role in a global energy economy. Skains, who is chairman, president and CEO of Piedmont Natural Gas in Charlotte, NC, outlined future expectations for liquefied natural gas imports to the United States, explained how alternative energy could be combined with natural gas to meet future energy needs, and illustrated how U.S. natural gas customers have become a model for efficient energy use.

To read more, click here for the full remarks.