New natural gas wells hit record high

The Associated Press

A total of 830 natural gas wells were completed in Texas in July — the highest number of completions for the year and a 30-year high, the Texas Railroad Commission reports.

The commission reported Aug. 25 that there were 134 more completions this July than in July 2003, a nearly 20 percent increase. The 830 completions also broke a 30-year record of 705, which was reached in March.

“As demand increases for clean-burning natural gas in generating electricity and heating throughout our country, the Texas oil and gas industry has had to increase drilling in order to help maintain reasonable prices for consumers,” Commissioner Charles Matthews said in a news release.

For the first time ever, Denton County this year has been one of the top 10 oil and gas producing counties in Texas.

Other areas reporting increased natural gas drilling in July were the Permian basin, particularly the Delaware basin and the western and northwestern reaches of the Central Basin Platform; Webb, Hidalgo, Wise and Starr counties in South Texas; Freestone in East Central Texas; and Panola County in East Texas.

“The price is higher than it was a couple years ago, and it’s more stable than the oil price,” Morris Burns, executive vice president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association in Midland, told the Odessa American. “Worldwide disruptions of oil supply don’t have any affect on natural-gas prices. It’s a good market.”