Posted on 04/21/2014 6:07:43 AM PDT by thackney
The geological marvel known to Texas oilmen as the Eagle Ford Shale Play is buried deep underground, but at night you can see its outline from space in a twinkling arc that sweeps south of San Antonio toward the Rio Grande.
The light radiates from thousands of surface-level gas flares and drilling rigs. It is the glow of one of the most extravagant oil bonanzas in American history, the result of the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Curving south and west, the lights suddenly go black at Mexico’s border, as if there were nothing on the other side.
This is a reflection of politics, not geology. The Eagle Ford shale formation is believed to continue hundreds of miles into Mexico, where it is known as the Burgos Basin. But while more than 5,400 wells have been sunk on the Texas side since 2008, Mexico has attempted fewer than 25.
A landmark energy bill approved by Mexico’s Congress in December is aimed at correcting this disparity. It has opened the country’s oil industry to private and foreign investment for the first time in 75 years, with the goal of bringing in new technology, expertise and a risk-taking culture long missing at the state oil monopoly, Pemex.
Lawmakers will be hashing out the nuts and bolts of the law over the coming weeks, but expectations are that U.S. and other global companies will be able to bid on oil and gas projects by the end of this year, beckoning the fracking crews across the border — into some of Mexico’s most violent areas.
“The United States and Canada are exploiting their shale resources on a massive scale, and we’re still in the prospecting stage,” Gustavo Hernandez, the director of exploration and production at Pemex, said in an interview. “But...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Don’t worry, your Vermont Democrats have been hard at work to keep you safe from hydraulic fracturing.
You won’t have to worry about increased traffic from all those jobs. They have protected you from prosperity.
http://vtdigger.org/2011/12/06/fracking-in-vermont-probably-not/
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday signed into law the nation’s first ban on a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique that involves blasting chemical-laced water deep into the ground.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/17/vermont-fracking-ban-first_n_1522098.html
That bill passed the legislature, in part because they’re crazy, but also because everyone understood that there isn’t any gas or oil in the state. It’s easy to ban something when you have nothing to lose.
5,400 wells have been sunk on the Texas side since 2008!!!
good map but it says from 2011? would like to find a more current
Because you think the shale has moved since then?
I just was wondering if any prospective shales have turned to current that were prospective on that map.
but your info keeps this in focus for me so. so not criticizing but more of a mental note to myself to do more research for myself if i get time
Keep in mind that recent steps in production of “new” shale areas are not from just recently finding the shale.
The geology has long been known.
It is recent advancements of technology, particularly horizontal steerable drilling, when combined with hydraulic fracturing and the relatively higher oil prices that made these economic to produce.
Each has required a learning curve in how to best produce, but it wasn’t because we just found those shale layers in the past decade.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.