Joint ventures by foreign companies accounted for 20 % of total investment in shale plays in the United States between 2008 and 2012, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Between 2008 and 2012, $133.7 billion were spent on U.S. shale ventures, as part of 73 deals. Foreign companies have entered into 21 joint ventures with U.S. acreage holders and operators. These invested more than $26 billion in tight oil and shale gas plays. In 2008, foreign investors struck deals in U.S. shale plays worth about $2 billion over their lifetimes. In 2010 this increased to $9 billion and in 2012 to around $7.5 billion.
EIA says that both, U.S. and foreign companies benefit from these deals. U.S. operators get financial support and foreign companies gain experience in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing that they may transfer to other regions.
Also of interest:
Education: What is Shale Gas? How Does Fracking Work?,
Vera Köster,
ChemistryViews.org 2013.
DOI: 10.1002/chemv.201300017
How does hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling make natural gas trapped in shale rock formations financially feasible and accessible…
