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Unrelated Explosions at OH Utica Well Pad, WV Brine Plant

click for larger version

We have two explosions and resulting fires to tell you about–neither related to the other, except they happened two days apart and maybe one hour’s drive apart (as the crow flies). The first was an explosion and fire at the Fairmont Brine Processing facility in Fairmont (Marion County), WV, on May 30. The second was an explosion and fire at a Utica Shale well pad owned by Utica Resources near Lore City (Guernsey County), OH, on June 1. Both appear to be accidents. The only injury reported was a minor injury at the Utica well pad site (a worker on-site refused treatment). The main concern was that the brine treatment plant may have stored or handled radioactive material. The WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) tested and found no radioactive contamination had spread from the fire.
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12 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV May 15-21

New shale permits issued for May 15-21 in the Marcellus/Utica took a substantial hit. There were only 12 new permits issued, down by more than half from the 26 new permits issued the previous week. Last week’s tally included 10 new permits for Pennsylvania, 2 new permits for Ohio, and no new permits in West Virginia. Last week the top receiver of new permits was a tie–Coterra Energy and Chesapeake Energy each received 3 new permits, with Coterra’s permits issued in Susquehanna County, PA, and Chessy’s permits in Bradford County, PA. Range Resources and Olympus Energy each received 2 new permits, and Southwestern Energy and EOG Resources each received 1 new permit.
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Encino Offered OH $1.8B Deal to Drill Under Salt Fork State Park

Yeah, you read the headline correctly. Encino Energy offered the State of Ohio $1.8 BILLION (estimated) to drill for natural gas and oil under Salt Fork State Park, located in Guernsey County, OH. The park includes 17,229 acres of land and 2,952 acres of water. In December, Encino made an offer to the state immediately after House Bill (HB) 507 passed. The offer includes a payment of $5,500 per acre as a signing bonus and 20% royalties. No drilling would be done inside the park. All drilling would be done on land surrounding (on the outside of) the park.
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35 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Feb 13-19

New shale permits issued for Feb. 13-19 in the Marcellus/Utica remained elevated last week. There were 35 new permits issued in total last week (down slightly from 40 the week before), including 27 new permits for Pennsylvania, three new permits for Ohio, and five permits issued in West Virginia. Last week the top receiver of new permits was Coterra Energy, with 13 new permits for Susquehanna County, PA. The number two permittee was Apex Energy with five permits in Westmoreland County, PA.
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Ohio School District Signs Lease w/Encino, $4K/Acre +18% Royalty

It’s rare these days to come across information about the terms of a lease deal. Back in the day, when leasing was still going strong and there were a number of landowner coalitions, we would learn of lease terms and share them here on MDN. When we hear of lease terms nowadays, it’s almost always a deal between a municipality or governmental entity and a driller, forcing the information to be made public. We have one such deal to share today. Earlier this week, the East Guernsey Local School District Board of Education (in Lore City, Guernsey County, Ohio) voted to approve an oil/gas lease with Encino Energy.
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32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 12-18

Last week (Dec. 12-18), the number of permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica bumped up nicely to 32, up from the prior week’s 20. Both Pennsylvania and Ohio issued 16 new shale permits each. West Virginia got skunked and issued none.
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Ascent Resources Donates STEM Program to 2K Elementary Kids in OH

STEM kit drop-off in Harrison County, OH (click for larger version)

Ascent Resources, Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S., recently donated STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) curriculum and supplies to some 2,100 elementary students in eastern Ohio, where the company works. The materials in the curriculum boxes that Ascent staff assembled came from the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP). The kiddies can now learn about the wonders of fossil energy and contemplate one day working in the Utica oil and gas industry, using STEM every day in their jobs.
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28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Oct 24-30

Something of an improvement from last week’s new permits report when there were only 11 new permits. For the week of October 24-30, there were 28 new permits. But not because of the return of new permits in Pennsylvania. Instead, Ohio was the shining light. PA reported 11 new permits, all of them in Lycoming County, with seven going to Repsol and four going to Inflection Energy. Ohio issued 16 new permits, with Encino Energy grabbing six, Southwestern Energy getting five, and Ascent Energy receiving four. Finally, WV had a single new permit, for Tug Hill Operating (soon to be EQT), in Wetzel County.
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9 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 26-Oct 2

Just nine new permits to drill shale wells were issued across the three Marcellus/Utica states for Sept. 26 to Oct. 2. Pennsylvania turned in the second week in a row of very low new permits–just three issued, all of them to different companies in different counties. Ohio issued just four new permits, with two of them going to Encino Energy in Carroll County. And West Virginia issued just two new permits, both to Southwestern Energy in Brooke County.
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21 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 12-18

Last week the three states with active Marcellus/Utica drilling, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, issued a collective 21 new drilling permits, down from the 30 permits issued the week before, and down from the 40 permits issued the week before that. The trend is not our friend right now. PA issued 13 permits, and OH and WV issued four permits each.
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30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Sep 5-11

Last week the three states with active Marcellus/Utica drilling, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, issued a collective 30 new drilling permits, down from the 40 permits issued the week before. PA roared back to life by issuing 21 of the 30 permits, with OH issuing just three and WV issuing six.
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19 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 22-28

Last week the three states with active Marcellus/Utica drilling, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, issued a collective 19 new drilling permits, down from 30 the week before. The top receiver of permits in PA was EQT (i.e. Rice Drilling), with five permits issued for the same well pad in Greene County. Range Resources and Inflection Energy each received two new permits.
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Select Energy Services Buys Out, Merges in Mud Masters Ohio

Select Energy Services (SES) continues to expand with mergers and acquisitions. Earlier this year, SES bought out and merged in Nuverra Environmental Solutions (formerly Heckmann) for $45 million (see Nuverra Environmental Stockholders Agree to Select Energy Deal). According to a letter SES sent to vendors of Mud Masters Ohio (the trade name for Armada EP OH, LLC), SES either already has, or is about to, close on a deal to buy Mud Masters as of August 1st. Details of the deal have not (so far) been disclosed.
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24 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 25-31

For the week of July 25-31, the three Marcellus/Utica states issued 24 permits to drill new shale wells, up from 16 the prior week. However, in a major turnaround, Pennsylvania only issued two new permits, one to Chesapeake Energy and the other to Olympus Energy. Ohio had the lion’s share of new permits, issuing 14. Eight of Ohio’s permits went to Encino Energy, and four to Utica Resources Operating. West Virginia issued eight new permits, with seven of them going to Antero Resources.
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34 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jun 13-19

We finally started to see more permits issued again last week. After the Marcellus/Utica was in the permit doldrum for nearly a month, bumping around at 20 permits or below, last week the number increased to a total of 34 permits issued to drill new shale wells. Pennsylvania issued 13 new permits, with seven of them going to Coterra Energy in Susquehanna County on the same pad. Ohio issued 14 new permits, with 12 of them going to Ascent Resources distributed across four different counties. And West Virginia issued seven new permits, all of them to Antero Resources, all in Doddridge County.
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20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV May 30-Jun 5

Two weeks ago a pathetically low six new permits were issued to drill shale wells across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia (see 6 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV May 23-29). Last week the number improved–with 20 new permits issued. PA had 13 permits with Range Resources, Olympus Energy, and Pennsylvania General Energy all scoring three permits each. OH issued six new permits with the state’s two most active drillers, Ascent Resources and Encino Energy, collectively grabbing five of the six. WV issued just one new permit–to Antero Resources.
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