Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Mar 11, 2013
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
New York
Fracking health study results likely years off
Reno Gazette-Journal
A health study cited by leading environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as pivotal in helping persuade Gov. Andrew Cuomo to hold off on plans for limited gas drilling is likely years away from conclusions about whether the technology involved is safe.
Cuomo’s reported fracking stance too vague for meaning
Shale Gas Review
It was another busy week in New York, with comments from the political elite and action in the Legislature building expectation about the state’s fracking future, but producing no tangible results … so far.
Fiddling over Shale Gas While New Yorkers Struggle to Find Jobs
Energy Collective
The Assembly vote extending the moratorium isn’t final. The state’s Senate would have to pass it and Gov. Andrew Cuomo would have to sign it. But the sentiment behind the vote is breathtaking…
The Truth in Natural Gas Should Have Prevailed
Energy in Depth – NMI
Bryant LaTourette discusses the proposed two year natural gas moratorium the New York Assembly passed on Wednesday and what that will mean for Upstate New Yorkers if it is enacted by the Senate and approved by the Governor.
Ohio
Utica shale players selling, drilling
Canton Repository
Companies that are exploring the Utica shale under eastern Ohio have taken different routes as they pursue potential profits. Chesapeake Energy, for example, has charged headstrong into drilling. It has more than a dozen rigs in place…
Two key Ohio Republicans oppose Kasich’s tax proposal on drilling
Ohio.com
Two key Ohio Republicans have come out against Gov. John Kasich’s proposed higher severance tax on gas-oil drilling.
Guernsey Energy Coalition: Engineering, technical services vital to gas and oil industry
Daily-Jeff.com
Demand for technical services associated with the gas and oil industry has been the catalyst for increased activity in a number of businesses, including engineering.
Fracking on Amish Land
Living on Earth (Public Radio)
Amish communities live a simple life, and mostly shun modern technology. But in Carroll County, Ohio, many Amish farms sit on top of rich gas shale beds, and most Amish there welcome fracking, and its rewards. Reid Frazier reports.
Pennsylvania
Water problems, mystery continue at the Woodlands
AP/Ohio.com
What causes clear, fresh country well water to turn orange or black, or smell so bad that it’s undrinkable? Residents of a western Pennsylvania community have been trying for more than a year to get that question answered.
Major expansion of natural gas pipeline on front burner
Reading Eagle/Reading Times
Kevin Olinger, co-owner of Raymond R. Houck Machine Co. in Ruscombmanor Township, walks along the area where a Houston-based firm plans to add a 36-inch natural gas pipeline that will greatly expand its existing facilities.
‘Fracking’ brings prosperity, problems to Pennsylvania
The Baltimore Sun
Times are good these days at the Linde Corp., where despite a sluggish economy nationally, the company is on a hiring binge.
Allegheny County Health Department Recommends 24-Hour Notice of Drilling
ShaleEnergyLawBlog
On March 6, 2013, the Allegheny County Health Department unanimously passed a recommendation that would require unconventional shale gas operators to notify the Department 24 hours prior to drilling a well, WTAE-TV reports.
Gardner Denver to Sell Itself to KKR for $3.7 Billion
Bloomberg
KKR will pay $76 a share for Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Gardner Denver, the companies said today in a statement. That’s a 39 percent premium to the price on Oct. 24, the day before the company announced it was exploring a sale.
National
Illinois deal on fracking could be national model
AP/Fuel Fix
After years of clashing over the drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” the oil industry and environmentalists have achieved something extraordinary in Illinois: They sat down together to draft regulations both sides could live with.
Why Shale Worked First In North America
Forbes
It’s often said that we live in a global world, where innovation spreads rapidly, so how did North America get so far ahead of the rest of the planet in the context of developing unconventional reservoirs of oil and gas?
Inside Kinder Morgan: Natural Gas Pipelines
The Motley Fool
Based on combined enterprise value, Kinder Morgan is the third largest energy company in North America. We tend to associate the giant with its 75,000 miles of pipelines, but in reality, its operations are incredibly diverse.
No Signs of Water Pollution from Arkansas Fracking, Feds Report
The Heartland Institute
An exhaustive study by the United States Geological Survey has uncovered no groundwater contamination from natural-gas drilling in the energy-rich Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas.
US natgas rigs fall to 14 year low-Baker Hughes
Reuters
The gas-directed rig count fell to 407, data from Houston-based oil services company Baker Hughes Inc showed on Friday, representing the fifth drop in six weeks.
Natural Gas Exports: A Geopolitical Game Changer?
U.S. News & World Report
The discovery of massive deposits of natural gas in shale formations across the United States has turned the nation’s energy discussion on its head—policymakers are no longer frantic to find new import sources, but instead are now mired in heated controversy over what to do with all the excess supply.
Will the Government Work With Energy Companies?
Motley Fool
We have an amazing opportunity to transform our nation from one that imports energy into one that’s independent from the whims of the world’s oil markets, possibly even one that others depend on for their energy.