From: NOMAD Power Comes to Texas
Water Recycling Will Aid Barnett Shale Production
The Barnett Shale Formation northwest of Fort Worth, TX, is the largest natural-gas production field in Texas and the third-largest in the nation. More than 3,000 natural-gas wells have been drilled in the Barnett Shale Formation since 1982, yet up to 85% of its recoverable gas supply—more than 25 trillion cubic feet—remains untapped.
The formation begins about 8,500 feet below the surface and extends to a depth of about 10,000 feet.
Extraction of natural gas from the Barnett Shale Formation has increased greatly in recent years, from 275 million cubic feet per day in 1999 to 900 million cubic feet per day in 2005. More than 60 drilling rigs are active in the area, and the rate at which wells are being drilled is increasing at a vigorous pace.
The original Barnett Shale production area extended from Forth Worth’s northern suburbs in Tarrant County into adjoining Denton and Wise counties. Now—thanks to drilling of horizontal rather than vertical wells, and to the use of new fracture stimulation methods—production is expanding to encompass a total of 10 counties north, west, and south of Fort Worth. Also, drillers originally allowed at least 40 acres between wells, but plans are afoot now to reduce that distance to 10 acres.
Barnett Shale production could get yet another boost if natural gas is found beneath the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Airport, which straddles the Tarrant-Dallas county line. DFW officials are preparing to lease drilling rights on their 18,076-acre property—the largest tract of land held by a single owner anywhere in the region. It’s farther east than any other Barnett Shale production site, but as DFW’s vice president of real estate, John Terrell, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram late in 2005, “We have huge expectations.”
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July-August 2006
From: NOMAD Power Comes to Texas
Water Recycling Will Aid Barnett Shale Production
The Barnett Shale Formation northwest of Fort Worth, TX, is the largest natural-gas production field in Texas and the third-largest in the nation. More than 3,000 natural-gas wells have been drilled in the Barnett Shale Formation since 1982, yet up to 85% of its recoverable gas supply—more than 25 trillion cubic feet—remains untapped.
The formation begins about 8,500 feet below the surface and extends to a depth of about 10,000 feet.
Extraction of natural gas from the Barnett Shale Formation has increased greatly in recent years, from 275 million cubic feet per day in 1999 to 900 million cubic feet per day in 2005. More than 60 drilling rigs are active in the area, and the rate at which wells are being drilled is increasing at a vigorous pace.
The original Barnett Shale production area extended from Forth Worth’s northern suburbs in Tarrant County into adjoining Denton and Wise counties. Now—thanks to drilling of horizontal rather than vertical wells, and to the use of new fracture stimulation methods—production is expanding to encompass a total of 10 counties north, west, and south of Fort Worth. Also, drillers originally allowed at least 40 acres between wells, but plans are afoot now to reduce that distance to 10 acres.
Barnett Shale production could get yet another boost if natural gas is found beneath the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Airport, which straddles the Tarrant-Dallas county line. DFW officials are preparing to lease drilling rights on their 18,076-acre property—the largest tract of land held by a single owner anywhere in the region. It’s farther east than any other Barnett Shale production site, but as DFW’s vice president of real estate, John Terrell, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram late in 2005, “We have huge expectations.”