Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Apr 15, 2013

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

New York

Towns take stand in drilling ban
Dunkirk Observer
Can New York town governments, using their long-standing land use planning and zoning authority, ban gas drilling in their jurisdictions? The Towns of Dryden and Middlefield say, "Yes." Gas drillers and landowners say, "No."

Among Environmentalists, Hydrofracking Is Not A "Yes Or No" Issue
Toxic Tort Litigation Blog
On April 10, 2013, I participated in “Justice Speaks,” an event sponsored by the Justice Action Center at New York Law School on hydraulic fracturing. Joining me on the podium was Daniel Raichel, a Project Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (“NRDC”), and the lead attorney with the newly formed Community Fracking Defense Project.

Vestal Schools Missing Out on Natural Gas Benefits
Energy in Depth – NMI
Robert Poloncic and others take a look at the school budget cuts in Vestal compared with school districts across the state line in Pennsylvania. New York schools are cutting programs while schools across the border are flourishing thanks to responsible natural gas development.

If You Are Anti-Gas, You Are Pro-Poverty in New York
Energy in Depth – NMI
I have good news and bad news. First, the good news: the elected representatives of Painted Post (population 1,847) recently agreed to sell water for an astounding $4 million per year to a natural gas company in Pennsylvania. The money will enable them to upgrade their aging water system, among other things.

Karen Moreau Discusses Natural Gas and Hydraulic Fracturing
Energy in Depth – NMI
The Southern Tier Tea Party met recently and Karen Moreau, Executive Director of the New York State Petroleum Council, delivered yet another excellent educational presentation. Members of the Tea Party, local land owner coalitions, and interested citizens filled almost every seat in the Vestal Public Library’s conference room to participate in the discussion.

Ohio

Ohio should tap one-time tax bounty from frackers
Cincinnati.com
It’s unusual for a Republican governor to lobby for raising taxes on businesses. But that’s exactly what Gov. John Kasich proposed with his plan to raise the tax on new producers of oil and gas in Ohio, the “frackers.”

Increasing gas ‘severance’ tax would be a huge mistake
Newark Advocate
Twenty cents for a barrel of oil. That’s the mantra proponents of the severance tax increase on oil and gas production have been repeating throughout the state since it was proposed in 2012. Although it’s a catchy phrase, it’s not an accurate depiction of the tax reality facing Ohio’s oil and gas producers.

Gulfport’s Big Utica Bet Set To Pay Off
Seeking Alpha
Gulfport Energy has made a big bet on Ohio acreage in the Utica shale. The company owns 128k acres of property in the Utica and its current drilling program suggests production from the formation should jump over the coming two years.

Anti-fracking groups dismiss drilling certification as ‘publicity stunt’
Youngstown Vindicator
The proposed gas-drilling certification process created by a partnership of the fracking industry and regional environmental groups is getting harsh criticism from grass-roots activists throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio. The newly formed Center for Sustainable Shale Development, based in Pittsburgh, announced March 20 that it will create a testing and certification program to codify industry “best practices” and hold fracking companies to a high standard.

Exploring the Disposal of Fracking Waste Water — UIC Class II Wells in Ohio
Oil & Gas Law Report
As discussed in an earlier post about the management of oil field wastes, most exploration and production waste is not regulated as a hazardous waste. Instead, it is regulated as a solid waste. Even so, as discussed in a recent article by Stephen Ellis…

Community “Bill of Rights” Raises More Questions Than Answers
Energy in Depth – Ohio
The proposed Youngstown Community Bill of Rights, on which the community will vote on May 4th, offers more questions than answers. The charter amendment, which was written by Frack Free Mahoning, is actually a hodgepodge of feel good language, all of which lacks any understanding of what the bill actually enforces.

Pennsylvania

Corbett makes his three points to South America
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Since arriving in South America as Pennsylvania’s top salesman, Gov. Tom Corbett has employed a three-point pitch — emphasizing the state’s location, energy costs and workforce — as he attempts to win foreign investment.

Push Goes on for High Standards 
The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register
Some environmental groups are concerned about the Center for Sustainable Shale Development. So are some industry groups. For Andrew Place, that means the center must be doing something right. Place, interim director of the Pittsburgh-based Center for Sustainable Shale Development, said the center’s mission is to "support continuous improvement and innovative practices through performance standards" for drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.

National

Harvard Study Confirms Shale Benefits
Energy in Depth – NMI
A new report from researchers at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs makes clear why activists’ efforts are failing — and will likely continue to do so. Specifically, the report found that, on a global scale, “a long-term domestic supply of natural gas is expected to yield environmental benefits,” as the fuel “has the lowest carbon dioxide emission factor at combustion of any fossil fuel.”

5 Things U.S. Must Do To Win At Fracking
Forbes
The United States can use fracking as a bridge to a cleaner future, or it can damage land, pollute water, and spew even more greenhouse gases, an energy advisor to two presidents said at the University of Chicago Thursday night.

Oil Outlook ‘Bearish’ on Demand Drop, U.S. Shale Boom
Bloomberg Businessweek
Crude prices will probably drop, at least in the first half, amid rising U.S. shale-oil production and slowing economic growth, according to analysts. “I’d stay moderately bearish from here,” Seth Kleinman, head of energy strategy at Citigroup Inc., said at the Bloomberg Oil Forum in London today.

Why the Rest of the World Can’t Keep Up With America’s Energy Renaissance
The Motley Fool
The U.S. energy renaissance has been one of the bright spots in American industry, and its success has also brought an unforeseen boom in manufacturing. Much of the recent boom has been from unconventional sources such as shale, a resource that wasn’t even mentioned in the Energy Information Administration’s Energy Outlook Report 10 years ago. Today, it accounts for more than 30% of total natural gas production in the United States.

As Chesapeake Continues To Shed Assets, Raising $4-$7 Billion Should Be Well Within Reach 
Seeking Alpha
On Friday, April 12, Chesapeake Energy Corp. avoided being hit with what had the potential to be some very heavy fines related to a drilling accident that occurred in Wyoming last year.

Fracking revolutionized American energy as green energy failed 
Washington Examiner
It’s hard to remember now that President Obama’s agenda has degenerated into a sham gun control bill with loopholes big enough to drive a Mack truck through, but back in 2008, progressives had big dreams about how to reshape the entire U.S. economy, starting with the energy sector.

There will be no more $28-a-barrel oil discounts in North Dakota
Quartz
In February 2012, Bakken producers had to offload their crude at a discount of $28 a barrel. Now, the misery for producers appears to be nearing an end. One reason is that pipeline and railroad capacity is finally building up. But it’s also because the first new US refinery in almost four decades is being built in North Dakota.

Analyst week: Shale production transforming face of US energy landscape 
SNL Financial
This year, the Utica Shale will race with the Marcellus Shale to increase U.S. oil and natural gas production. Abundant supply will continue to reshape the energy landscape by decreasing prices and increasing competitiveness, while spurring infrastructure growth and new demand opportunities.

EPA Announces Comment Period for Proposed Revisions to Air Rule 
ShaleEnergyLawBlog
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed revisions (described in an earlier post) to certain new source performance standards affecting the oil and natural gas sector were published today in the Federal Register, marking the beginning of the public comment period. Comments are due on May 13, 2013.

ANGA to OMB: Budget sends conflicting message about energy, economic priorities 
SNL Financial
Proposals in the Obama administration’s fiscal-year 2014 budget to increase taxes on the natural gas industry conflict with the president’s economic and energy goals, America’s Natural Gas Alliance said.

International

Mitsubishi UFJ CEO Plans to Boost U.S. Energy Industry Loans
Bloomberg
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306), Japan’s biggest lender, plans to increase loans to energy and utility industries in the U.S. to capitalize on a recovery in the world’s largest economy, President Nobuyuki Hirano said.