North American Drilling Vulnerable to Market Trend

HOUSTON, April 17, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hart Energy's newly released North American Shale Quarterly (NASQ) for the first quarter of 2013 predicts that declining market demand for liquids is likely to negatively impact drilling in the United States and Canada.

The first-quarter NASQ estimates that average 2012 shale production levels for liquids-prone plays reached 2.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, of which 1.9 million barrels is categorized as crude oil and condensate, and 934,000 barrels as natural gas liquids (NGLs).

"We continue to see growth in oil, condensate, and NGL production," said Dr. Michael Warren, senior vice president, upstream research. "However, we have pared back our natural gas forecasts in the short term." Warren said that light, tight oil and condensate production could top more than 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2013, and daily NGL production could surpass 1 million barrels of oil equivalent in the 17 North American shale plays covered by NASQ.

The first-quarter release of the service coincides with the debut of HEIR (Hart Energy Institutional Research) — an institutional investor energy research product on Bloomberg Tradebook that focuses on unconventional oil and gas. This exclusive arrangement with Bloomberg Tradebook provides quarterly analyses and inter-quarterly updates of shale plays that are geared toward the financial community. It is accessible on Bloomberg terminals at http://nasq.hartenergy.com.

More information on the North American Shale Quarterly and Hart Energy's methodology is available by contacting Dr. Warren (mwarren@hartenergy.com / +1.239.970.2231) or visiting the NASQ website at nasq.hartenergy.com.

About Hart Energy

For 30-plus years, Hart Energy has been a leader covering news and technology for energy investors and executives. The Houston-based company publishes Oil and Gas Investor, E &P, Midstream Business, FUEL, online data services and newsletters, and provides research and consulting services. With its successful DUG™ conferences, maps, playbooks, and research studies, Hart Energy offers exceptional depth in unconventional resources information. Learn more at hartenergy.com.

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