Barnett Shale still thrives despite downturn
Natural gas prices have been falling for almost four years, and the number of drilling rigs in the Barnett Shale is near a seven-year low. Yet Tarrant County has never had more oil and gas workers, and production in the Barnett hit a record high in November.
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Money isn't sloshing around the way it was in 2008, when gas at the wellhead fetched four to five times today's price and signing bonuses were off the charts.
In a sense, we're seeing the maturation of the business, along with a shift of resources to lucrative oil plays elsewhere. But companies are still playing out the string on gas leases signed during the boom, trying to get the most from their sunk costs. The economy also continues to get a lift from the infrastructure that supports gas development and the companies selling services and products to other shale fields.
In the past decade, Tarrant and surrounding counties added 10,000 jobs in natural resources and mining, the jobs sector made up primarily of oil and gas workers in North Texas. That includes a 15 percent increase in the two years ending June 30, 2011, the most recent data available.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/03/3780252/barnett-shale-still-thrives-despite.html#storylink=cpy
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