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Weekly Shale Drilling Permits for PA, OH, WV: Sep 7-11

For the third week in a row, both Pennsylvania and West Virginia issued permits to drill new shale wells last week, and Ohio did not. What’s up with Ohio? PA issued 13 new permits for wells on five well pads. WV issued 2 new permits on two different pads. PA’s new permits skewed toward the southwestern part of the state with 11 of the 13 permits issued (two in Bradford County in the northeast). The WV permits were both issued in Marshall County, located in the northern panhandle of the state.
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Scranton Newspaper Whips Up Town Opposition to NFE LNG Plant

The anti-fossil fuel zealots at the Scranton Times-Tribune (in Lackawanna County, PA) are doing their darnedest to try and stop an $800 million LNG liquefaction plant (generating hundreds of jobs) planned for nearby Bradford County. On Monday we told you the zealots were attempting to whip up a frenzy of opposition to the plant, based on trucks that would travel through the borough of Clarks Summit, a suburb of Scranton (see New Fortress Energy LNG from NEPA to NJ Truck Route Revealed). Looks like it worked. The Times-Tribune has scared the bejesus out of Clarks Summit and the borough council has passed a resolution opposing the plant.
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Alta Resources Uses Software to Make Marcellus Wells Produce More

We don’t often see news about a Marcellus producer called Alta Resources. Alta was one of the first drillers we wrote about just after launching the MDN website back in 2009 (see Texas Billionaire George Mitchell is Betting on the Marcellus in PA). George Mitchell, widely recognized as the father of shale energy, was a partner in Alta and had glowing things to say about the Marcellus. Mitchell died in 2013. His legacy lives on. Alta is in the news again. The company recently began using a software program from Ambyint to increase production across the 900 or so Marcellus wells it owns in northeastern PA.
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Scranton Newspaper Seeks to Destroy $800M Wyalusing LNG Plant, Jobs

The leftists who run and write the Scranton Times-Tribune are at it again–doing anything and everything they can to destroy the Marcellus industry that singlehandedly has created more new jobs and raised the standard of living for more people in northeastern PA than any other industry in the past generation–the Marcellus industry. The new target for Times-Tribune is a proposed $800 million LNG liquefaction plant in Wyalusing, PA (in nearby Bradford County). The Times-Tribune editors say the plan to build the plant and transport the LNG via rail is too “risky” and northeast PA will be just fine without an extra $800 million and hundreds of jobs. Dopes.
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Work Paused, Not Canceled at New Fortress LNG Plant in NEPA

What’s happening with New Fortress Energy’s $800 million LNG liquefaction plant in Wyalusing (Bradford County), PA? We recently had an inquiry from a union member/MDN reader wondering whether or not the project has been scrubbed because there is no activity at the site. We have an answer…
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Riverkeeper Campaign to Pass Local Laws Banning LNG Transport

The devious minds at THE Delaware Riverkeeper are working in overdrive. In an apparent concession that their lawsuits to try and stop the New Fortress Energy LNG liquefaction facility from getting built in Wyalusing (in northeastern PA) by stopping the construction of a new dock New Fortress wants to build on the Delaware River, Riverkeeper is changing strategies. If they can’t stop the facility and they can’t stop construction of the loading dock (in Gibbstown, NJ), Riverkeeper hopes to convince towns between Wyalusing and Gibbstown to pass zoning ordinances forbidding the transport, via truck or rail car, of LNG through their communities.
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Is Cabot O&G Sniffing Around Chesapeake Energy’s Shale Assets?

A warning right up front: This post is speculation and rumor. As you know if you’ve read MDN (or any other media source covering oil and gas in the past two weeks), on June 28 Chesapeake Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (see Chesapeake Files for Bankruptcy – Debtors to Take Ownership). With something like $11 billion in outstanding debt and a market value of just over $100 million (a tiny fraction of the debt), it’s obvious debtors will take over the company. What happens then? We spotted a rumor that Cabot Oil & Gas may be interested in a purchase.
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Tri-Point OFS Liquidating Assets in June Online Auction

Tri-Point, LLC is an oilfield services company (OFS) specializing in products and services for drillers and pipeline companies. Tri-Point is headquartered in Houston, Texas but has a number of field offices, including an office in Towanda (Bradford County), PA that services the Marcellus industry. Sadly the company is in bankruptcy. We spotted an announcement about a virtual auction later this month to sell off/liquidate all of the company’s assets.
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Work on New Fortress LNG Export Plant in Wyalusing Heats Up

We have some exclusive news to share about a northeast PA LNG plant project. In August 2018, New Fortress Energy announced plans to build at least one LNG liquefying plant in Wyalusing, PA (see Big News! Marcellus LNG Export Plant Coming to Landlocked NEPA). The plant will cost $800 million to build and use some 500 workers to build it. Work began last year to clear the site in preparation for construction (see Work Continues to Clear Site for NEPA Landlocked LNG Export Plant). The big news is…
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Logistics Co. Opens Warehouse in Bradford, PA Targeting Marcellus

Phoenix Logistics, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, targets supply chain companies in a number of industries with warehousing, distribution, and transportation. One of the industries they target is the oil and gas sector. Phoenix has just opened a new 400,000 square foot warehousing facility in Athens (Bradford County), PA, targeting companies in the Marcellus.
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Corning Gas Buys Out JV Partner in PA Leatherstocking Gas & Pipe

Corning Natural Gas (based in Corning, NY) has a 50% joint venture partnership in Leatherstocking Gas Company and Leatherstocking Pipeline Company with another Upstate NY-based company, Mirabito. Leatherstocking runs gas mains to residents and businesses in small, mainly rural communities–like Montrose, PA (see PA Rural Residents Burn Marcellus Gas, Save Big Bucks on Heating). Corning announced yesterday they are buying out Mirabito’s 50% interest on the PA side of the border.
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U.S. Gov’t Grants New Fortress Permit to Ship NEPA LNG by Rail!

As far as we can tell, MDN is exclusively breaking the following news: On December 5 (last Thursday), the PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) granted a special permit to Energy Transport Solutions, LLC (i.e. New Fortress Energy) to transport LNG in DOT-113C120 rail tanker cars between Wyalusing, PA and Gibbstown, NJ. This is huge! There still is not a new regulation/law to allow shipment of LNG by rail across the country, but somehow New Fortress has gotten a special permit to do so anyway. Huge!
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Northeast PA Rail Yard Expanding to Handle More Miss. Frac Sand

Frac sand

Good news for drillers in the Marcellus/Utica: You’re about to have access to even more frac sand than before. In May 2018 Shale Support Global Holdings signed a deal to become the exclusive provider of frac sand to the Shale Rail terminal located in Wysox (Bradford County), PA (see Shale Support Exclusive Frac Sand Supplier for NEPA Facility). Shale Support and Shale Rail have just signed an extension to keep working together, and Shale Rail announced it’s adding an extra new track in their Wysox rail yard, to increase capacity of incoming shipments.
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Marcellus Wastewater Plant in PA Extracts 1st Batch of Lithium

lithium chloride molecule

In March, MDN brought you the news that Eureka Resources, which owns and operates three centralized treatment/recycling facilities that process wastewater from the Marcellus Shale, announced a joint venture with MGX Minerals to use MGX’s high tech solution to recover lithium from Marcellus wastewater (see Eureka to Extract Lithium from Marcellus/Utica Wastewater). In September MGX’s equipment arrived on site in Bradford County, PA and installation began (see Marcellus Wastewater Plant in PA Gets Ready to Extract Lithium). Finally, the day is here! Last week the very first batch of lithium chloride was extracted from Marcellus brine wastewater.
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Eurkea Gets $1.5M Grant to Expand Lithium from Wastewater PA Plant

Eureka Resources, which owns and operates a centralized treatment/recycling facility in Bradford County, PA to process Marcellus watewater, is getting a $1.5 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Projects grant to help the plant launch a high tech solution to recover lithium from Marcellus wastewater. Yes, lithium, like that used to manufacture rechargeable batteries.
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Marcellus Wastewater Plant in PA Gets Ready to Extract Lithium

Left to Right: Preston McEachern CEO PurLucid, Chris Frantz VP Business Development Eureka, Dan Ertel CEO Eureka, and Jared Lazerson CEO MGX (click for larger version)

In March, MDN brought you the news that Eureka Resources, which owns and operates three centralized treatment/recycling facilities that process flowback/produced waters (i.e. wastewater) from the Marcellus Shale, announced a joint venture with MGX Minerals to use MGX’s high tech solution to recover lithium from Marcellus wastewater (see Eureka to Extract Lithium from Marcellus/Utica Wastewater). As of yesterday, MGX’s equipment arrived on site in Bradford County, PA.
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