Effects of drilling prices felt in Arkansas’s Fayetteville Shale
Sunday, October 18, 2015
In Arkansas’s Fayetteville Shale region, natural gas sales have been on the downward slide since April. The City Wire reports that drilling activity in the state has all but stopped, causing severance tax collections to drop, too.
The state’s severance tax collections are at all-time lows, too. At the end of September, natural gas severance tax revenue was half of what it was at the end of September 2014. Most of the severance taxes collected are from wells that are drilled but not completed. There are only four rigs currently operating in Arkansas.
Some producers are putting off finishing wells to avoid selling oil and gas at low prices.
Via: The City Wire > Arkansas severance tax revenue down 50%, natural gas drilling hits wall
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Shale FAQ
What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
Is it safe?
What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
Will my water catch on fire?
Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.