A long time ago when oil was $12.00/barrel for light sweet and I was living in Tulsa I got involved with some oil folks. A lot of technology was being applied in the fracturing area to maximize well production as it was cheaper to get more out of an existing well/field than to go find a new one. I guess it is all relative but technology was developed and all kinds of enhanced recovery techniques came into play.
I heard an interesting report on NPR this morning regarding natural gas and had a deja vous moment. It was all about technology and some cool ways to extract natural gas from schale deposits. If you look at the US Energy Information Administration (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ng/ng_pri_sum_dcu_nus_m.htm) I would draw your attention to the wellhead price for natural gas Jan - June 2009 where the price decline has dropped about 40%. Commercial price is down 17%. Now it can be a supply and demand issue (dead of winter to the normalcy of a June day) but if you read the NPR article linked through the title, supply and demand may not play into things as much in the future.
The pricing has been all over the board in the last 8 years. If the NPR report is accurate and it would seem to be, then this last move in wellhead prices may (and i stress MAY) have some feet. All I know is that wild swings are there for either a good or bad reason and it is worth looking at under a microscope.
I heard an interesting report on NPR this morning regarding natural gas and had a deja vous moment. It was all about technology and some cool ways to extract natural gas from schale deposits. If you look at the US Energy Information Administration (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ng/ng_pri_sum_dcu_nus_m.htm) I would draw your attention to the wellhead price for natural gas Jan - June 2009 where the price decline has dropped about 40%. Commercial price is down 17%. Now it can be a supply and demand issue (dead of winter to the normalcy of a June day) but if you read the NPR article linked through the title, supply and demand may not play into things as much in the future.
