Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, May 17, 2012

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:

Icahn Is A Game-Changer For Chesapeake
Seeking Alpha
It was recently announced that activist investor Carl Icahn has likely taken a significant stake in the embattled natural gas company Chesapeake Energy. The news served as a pre-market catalyst, sending the stock up over 10% in the early session on Monday.

IPAA: Independent review finds EPA Pavillion report lacks data
Oil & Gas Journal
An independent review of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s draft report on water near Pavillion, Wyo., concluded scientific analysis fails to support EPA’s suggestion that hydraulic fracturing possibly contributed to water contamination, the Independent Petroleum Association of America reported.

Slottje Stumbles May Embarrass Local Officials Following Their Lead
Energy in Depth – NMI
One of the things we learned is just how little David and Helen know about zoning law in New York State, despite being relied upon as an outside expert by a bunch of single-issue local officials who would like to torpedo natural gas development and easily fall prey to the Great Davidski’s magic tricks.

Fracking’s Methane Trail: A Detective Story
NPR
There are a lot of cheerleaders for the nation’s natural gas boom — in part because they believe it’s a lot cleaner than dirty coal. It’s pretty well-known that power plants that burn coal pump out far more greenhouse gases than power plants that run on natural gas.

Sen. Murkowski questions EPA’s expansion of fracking study
PennEnergy
Senator Lisa Murkowski today questioned EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson about the agency’s expansion of a study of hydraulic fracturing beyond what was authorized by Congress.

White Supports House Dems in Act 13 Legal Brief
Patch.com
The House Democratic Caucus, which includes State Rep. Jesse White , has filed a special legal brief known as an "amicus curiae," to support arguments in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the elimination of local zoning ordinances for oil and gas operations under Act 13, the Marcellus Shale law passed earlier this year.

PhillyDeals: Radnor firm committed $25M in Marcellus driller deal
Philly.com
Element Partners, Radnor, says it’s joined Houston-based CSL Capital Management and North Sky Capital to buy three-year-old, Lafayette LA-based Environmental Drilling Solutions , which counts gas drillers in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale and oil and gas firms in other states as customers.

Insight: In Ohio, "fracking" boom a delicate issue for Obama
MSN Money
Out past the vacant storefronts and abandoned buildings, beyond the shuttered steel mills and decaying industrial plants, residents of eastern Ohio suddenly are seeing dollar signs.

A Look at the Basics of Gas Processing and the Growth Trends at Work in This Market
GuruFocus.com
In the field, raw natural gas often occurs with other hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane, butane and iso-butane. These heavier hydrocarbons are collectively known as natural gas liquids.

Anti-fracking movement gets star-studded boost
AZCentral.com
The anti-fracking movement in New York state turned up the star power Tuesday with a rally in the Capitol and concert at the Empire State Plaza.

‘Frenetic’ US Midstream Pace Could Be Pipeline to Higher NG Prices
Free Republic
As new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show, the race is on to add new domestic natural gas transmission pipeline and storage capacity.

DOE to award up to $6.5M to improve recovery of shale oil and advance CO2-EOR
Green Car Congress
The US Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory is soliciting projects that focus on improving recovery from liquid-rich shale reservoirs and to advance the development of next-generation CO2 enhanced oil recovery technologies.