The majority of the news on unconventional plays has come from North America, but that trend is beginning to change.

In mid-August, Halliburton performed the first shale hydraulic fracturing operation in Poland for state-owned PGNiG, which contracted Halliburton to fracture the Markowola-1 exploratory well near Kozienice in eastern Poland to determine if the site contained commercial gas deposits.

Australia reportedly is evaluating shale gas potential in Queensland, where identified resources are estimated at 7.5 Tcf of gas in place, with 2.3 to 3.6 Tcf deemed commercial with existing technology.

Meanwhile, China (which according to the International Energy Agency, has an estimated 900 Tcf of shale gas) is planning to develop its reserves.

The country is pursuing shale development on a number of fronts, one of the most interesting of which is its partnership with Canada’s Encana Corp., which has one of the largest natural gas portfolios in North America –12.7 million net acres. An Encana news release published in March reported that a comprehensive independent assessment of the company’s North American resource potential confirmed an inventory of natural gas that is “more than sufficient to support doubling the company’s production in the next five years.”

Last June, Encana signed a heads of agreement with China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), China’s largest oil and gas producer, outlining a framework for the companies to negotiate a potential joint venture (JV) investment in the development of portions of Encana’s natural gas plays in northeast British Columbia.

In this deal, Encana gets a financial boost, while CNPC gains understanding of unconventional natural gas development through an ongoing sharing of technical knowledge.

While China invests in Canada, India – which is planning to award domestic shale leases next year – is investing in the US. In early August 2010, India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) took a 60% stake in a JV with US-based Carrizo Oil & Gas in the Marcellus Shale. This investment gives the JV 104,400 net acres of undeveloped leasehold. This purchase is RIL’s third in the US this year. In two transactions in June 2010, RIL bought into acreage in the Eagle Ford through a JV with Pioneer Natural Resources Co.

The RIL press release announcing this acquisition calls the Eagle Ford, “one of the most economically attractive unconventional resource plays in North America,” based on “low operating costs, significant liquids content (70% of the acreage lies within the condensate window), and excellent access to services in the region.”

Interest in the Eagle Ford shale is running high in North America as well, which is why Hart is hosting a Developing Unconventional Gas (DUG) Eagle Ford conference in San Antonio October 5-6. For those interested in how companies are making the Eagle Ford pay, the conference (which includes a half-day of technical panels) will provide a forum for operators and service companies to present investment strategies along with drilling and completions technologies for the Eagle Ford shale.

For more information about the conference, go to www.dugeagleford.com.

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