Oklahoma shale production could increase

Aug. 14 (UPI) -- After mixed results for the second quarter, U.S. shale player BNK Petroleum said it was anticipating more production from its assets in Oklahoma.

BNK Petroleum Inc., which has headquarters in California, said Monday it completed the hydraulic fracturing process at a well in the SCOOP shale basin in Oklahoma and expects stable flows by next month.

"We anticipate that this will lead to a highly productive well," President and CEO Wolf Regener said in a statement.

Oklahoma is home to about 4 percent of the total petroleum reserves in the country and accounts for as much as 5 percent of the total crude oil production in the United States.

BNK reported net average production for the second quarter was 16 percent lower than the same time last year in part because of natural field declines. Last week, the company said some of its production would recover over the next few months as it works to pump off the rest of the fluids used in the fracking process.

Net income was $56,000, compared with a $5.3 million loss reported during the second quarter of last year.

A slight recovery in crude oil prices from last year has helped boost the financials for most oil and natural gas companies. In June, however, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed off on a 3 percent increase in gross production taxes to help offset a weakened state budget.

Shale work in Oklahoma is under close monitoring because of a new fault located in the region by the U.S. Geological Survey. A magnitude-2.9 event was reported in central Oklahoma early Monday by the USGS.