Natural Gas / Haynesville Shale Slow-down? (Shreveport: leasing, broker, neighborhood)

[BeenThereDunThat]

Below is a link to a Shreveport Times newspaper article regarding a drop in Nat. Gas prices causing production to slow down. Declining natural gas prices are prompting a draw-down in production across the country, a reaction to the law of supply and demand. Natural gas prices dropped last week to the lowest level $2.32 per 1,000 cubic feet since February 2002.

Hope Haynesville Shale activity keeps going but I've heard that rig counts are going to be less and less as they pull out to go to where Oil & "wet gas" drilling is more profitable. As one who has seen the O&G boom & bust of the 1980's... this is just another reason for economic diversification. What's here today could easily be gone tomorrow.

Deflating natural gas prices spur production reduction | Shreveporttimes | shreveporttimes.com

[hdwell]

I believe the soft American economy and the mild winter are to blame or at least haven't helped. Certainly its not coming to and end already, is it? Looks like there has been quite a bit of investment around here.

[BeenThereDunThat]

That's true. However like a lot of things these days, there's no guarantee that what's here now will be as robust as before. Petrohawk sold out due to overexpansion / overleasing and many leases will expire without exploration due to lower NG prices. Chesapeake is slowing down and you can bet others will follow suit. Mild weather or soft economy does affect things here. Seems like the economy reacts a lot faster to things than it once did and dry gas futures aren't promising better prices anytime soon. The effects of the Barnett Shale slowdown are already being felt in DFW; could be our area will see the same.

Just another example not to place all the bets on one industry sector as that was the case here in the 80's. It all went sour in 3 to 5 years and stayed that way for quite some time. Everyone felt that it wouldn't due to the local investment in companies; most left or downsized radically (Celt, Placid, Tri-State Tool, P&O Falco) or went bust.

[Cowboybootnut]

The lower gas prices are due in part to the slow economy. It also is due to the increase production of all the recent shale gas plays.

You are right, you shouldn't put all you eggs in one basket. I was in the oil business in Shreveport in the 1980s, and I remember the boom, and the bust.

[BeenThereDunThat]

Yep...the O&G bust of the mid to late 80's was devastating in NW La. I remember it too well as friends and families left to find work elsewhere. I left just before it got into full decline. Seems that in 2008 at the beginning of the recession, oil prices started to soar which made natural gas seem really attractive. Oil prices hit a record of $145 a barrel on NYMEX in July '08 compared with just under $14mcf of natural gas at the same time. That's when all the leasing activity started heating up in NW La. and neighborhood coalitions were meeting to see about maximizing lease offers. But now NG is less than $3mcf and folks I know who broker leases tell me that it's going to cool off here until NG gets back up closer to $5mcf. Unless there's oil or wet gas discoveries, drilling rigs will be moved to other plays like Eagle Ford Shale in Texas.

For the uninitiated, wet gas refers to natural gas that contains less methane and more ethane, butane, pentane and other hydrocarbons more suitable to plastics manufacturing, etc. Not to be the messenger but O&G companies are losing money in plays that are largely dry gas (NG). So I'd bet that a lot of rigs and employees will be traveling soon to other plays. Just from what I see, hear and read about in the news.

[BeenThereDunThat]

FYI: Here's a link to Chesapeake's video concerning the recent announcement:

Jan 23, 2012 12:44pm | Facebook

[hdwell]

I would hate to see SBC go through another "80s' style recession. But I have no control over that, unfortunately. If I did, we wouldn't LOL!

[hdwell]

Originally Posted by BeenThereDunThat

That's true. However like a lot of things these days, there's no guarantee that what's here now will be as robust as before. Petrohawk sold out due to overexpansion / overleasing and many leases will expire without exploration due to lower NG prices. Chesapeake is slowing down and you can bet others will follow suit. Mild weather or soft economy does affect things here. Seems like the economy reacts a lot faster to things than it once did and dry gas futures aren't promising better prices anytime soon. The effects of the Barnett Shale slowdown are already being felt in DFW; could be our area will see the same.

Just another example not to place all the bets on one industry sector as that was the case here in the 80's. It all went sour in 3 to 5 years and stayed that way for quite some time. Everyone felt that it wouldn't due to the local investment in companies; most left or downsized radically (Celt, Placid, Tri-State Tool, P&O Falco) or went bust.

I worked at one of these companies and it did go bust; but not before I found another job offshore and then that went bust. I don't have much faith in oil and gas because of this. Well you know how popular it is with the rest of the country. Funny over the years people thought something was wrong with me that I wasn't working in the Oil bidness; totally oblivious to all that had happened. A master's degree and a one way ticket to Houston couldn't have gotten me a job.

[kyle450rider]

We need to convert every single thing in the US that can burn natural gas. All powerplants and vehicles would be a start. Get off foreign oil and create jobs right here in the US. Tell OPEC to kiss our rear ends. It could be done.

[annie_himself]

Try not to strangle yourself in the red tape.