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Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – October 2016

oil & gas production michigan

In June of 2015, the MPSC was challenged to determine the appropriate regulatory response to applications filed pursuant to R 460.867 (Rule 17) for operation of  Antrim Shale Formation (ASF) wells under vacuum on Michigan Public Service Commission Case# U-16230. RMP wrote about this story in our August 2015 MOGM.  Prior to June 2015, battles had been fought over the issue of operating ASF wells on a vacuum for years.  Administrative Law Judge Mark D. Eyster held a pre-hearing on June 15, 2010 to officially get the Continue reading “Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – October 2016”

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Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – September 2016

Each month respectmyplanet.org (RMP) recaps oil & gas activity in the Michigan Basin right here in our Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly (MOGM) magazine.  RMP is a Michigan based 501(c)3 non-profit organization.  If you want to know what’s going on with oil & gas development in Michigan, you should follow this publication each month by liking us on facebook or following @respectmyplanet on Twitter so you don’t miss a publication.

Antrim Shale
This is a screen shot from Bill Harrison’s paper linked in this article about the location of three of the “J-style” Antrim wells targeting the Upper Devonian Lachine, Paxton, and Norwood layers of the Antrim Shale.  Delta Oil’s ACOWS targeting the same formation with multiple horizontal drainholes are closer to the county line of Montmorency & Alpena Counties.  Click image to enlarge on your screen.

In September, we  saw some interesting activity in the Michigan Basin that we will keep our eyes on as it unfolds.  Delta Oil out of Oak Brook, Illinois filed numerous ACOWS to drill multiple horizontals off of their State Avery D1-32 well (PN45601) & off of their State Albert A4-1 well (PN53617).   The ACOWS calls for a horizontal drainhole (HD) targeting the Upper Devonian Lachine formation.  The other ACOWS calls for an HD targeting the Continue reading “Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – September 2016”

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Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – August 2016

Each month respectmyplanet (RMP) recaps the past 30 days of oil & gas activity in the Michigan Basin. We cover new applications & permits to drill oil, gas, disposal, and storage wells and anything else hydrocarbon related. We recap oil & gas activity that happens in Michigan and publish this Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly (MOGM) magazine right here at the end of each month. You can follow us on Twitter by clicking here, or like us on facebook by clicking here and you won’t miss a publication. Our publications are free and always will be. Have a tip for us about a leaking tank or a spill near your house? Or, are you curious about something oil & gas related you see that you want us to dig into? Let us know by leaving a comment at the bottom of this article.

Michigan oil & gas has awoken from its 2016 slumber with August being a very Continue reading “Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – August 2016”

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Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – January 2016

The big story this month is the location of the Ensign #161 drilling rig.   The lat/lon of Ensign #161 on the date of this post’s publication is 40.4293, -104.604 which is not a Michigan lat/lon.   You can see a map of Ensign #161 along with 10 other active Ensign rigs in the same area of Colorado by clicking on this link (depending on when you read this, the location may have changed). With Ensign #161’s location in Greeley, Colorado, which is just north of Denver and just SE of Fort Collins, you might wonder: why is Ensign #161’s Colorado location the big story in Michigan in January of 2016?

The answer is that Marathon just Continue reading “Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – January 2016”

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Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – July 2015

Westerman 1-29HD1

The big news this month is the expiration of permits 60746-60750 & permits 60765-60767 for the State Excelsior extension pads just north of M-72 in Kalkaska Michigan. Calgary based EnCana Corporation originally received these permits in 2013 but they transferred to Houston, Texas based Marathon Oil Corporation when Marathon acquired EnCana’s Michigan assets in 2014.  Each of these 8 HVHF permits that expired were estimated to require 23,100,000 gallons of water per completion.   All told, that’s approximately 185,000,000 gallons of Michigan freshwater that will not be consumed because these wells will never be drilled.

The expiration of these 8 permits is significant because it’s more conclusive evidence that HVHF in Michigan’s Collingwood formation is not economical for operators between $3/mcf & $4/mcf selling prices. Even if natural gas prices were to return to their 2008 level of $7.97/mcf, the highest price in US history, Collingwood wells would not be profitable wells by a long shot. The energy produced from the 7 wells that did make it to production from the Collingwood formation have demonstrated themselves to be an uneconomical use of Michigan’s freshwater resources for energy production. But, the uneconomical use of Michigan freshwater has Continue reading “Michigan Oil & Gas Monthly – July 2015”