People trying to get a handle on the pace of oil and gas production will find that data about the first major fracking field for natural gas, the Barnett Shale, isn’t that copious. Here’s an interesting look from one year ago, in April, 2014.
Barnett Shale: Gas Production Declines on Reduced Drilling
After fracking came of age in the Barnett and Fayetteville Shale, the discovery of more prolific source rock in the Haynesville and then the Marcellus/Utica and Eagle Ford has put these older plays out to pasture. The Barnett, grandfather of shale gas plays, has seen its rig fleet emigrate, declining from the 100’s at its peak to a meager14 horizontal gas rigs as of last week’s count:
When the rigs first began to vanish, analysts debated the impact on production in the field. The well count was high, and average age of wells was also high. The flat slope of the shale gas decline curve in the ‘late innings’ suggested that production would gently trail off for many years.
Bonus chart: How much natural gas does American electric power generation consume? A: In average year like 2013, it consumes, on a daily basis, three to four times the natural gas which the Barnett Shale produces, on a daily basis.
Green People's Media 