How Much (in Total) is an Acre in the WV Marcellus Worth?
An editorial written by David McMahon, co-founder of the West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization, says by his estimates each Marcellus Shale acre is worth
Archive for 'Statewide WV'
List of “Things to Consider” Before You Sign a Pipeline Lease
The rapid ramp-up in Utica Shale drilling in Ohio, and Marcellus drilling in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, has meant a shortage of “infrastructure” like pipelines to carry all of the bountiful shale gas being mined. Infrastructure development–pipelines and processing plants–are not being built at a furious pace across both the Utica and Marcellus–but particularly in [...]
WV Says Deal for Ethane Cracker Coming This Year
The race to secure an ethane cracker between Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia continues. Last week, WV’s Secretary of Commerce, Keith Burdette, said he is “100% certain” that WV will have a deal for an ethane cracker plant signed sometime this year. Bluster or quiet confidence? We’d bet the later if we were betting… MDN [...]
WVU Spring NatGas Conference: $4-$6 Gas for Next "Decade or More"
Several interesting speakers addressed the spring natural gas conference held by West Virginia University in Morgantown on Wednesday. Among them was keynote speaker David McCurdy, president and CEO of the American Gas Association. He told attendees he believes natural gas will stay in the $4-$6 per Mcf range “for a decade or more.” Dominion Resources [...]
ShaleNavigator Expands Again: Adds New Areas to Online Mapping App
Although technically not in the purview of MDN’s coverage, we want to alert you that MDN partner ShaleNavigator—the top-notch online mapping service that brings you those marvelous maps in the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook—is expanding. ShaleNavigator founder Ed Camp has added the Collingwood and Antrim Shale plays in Michigan to his coverage. Here’s Ed’s [...]
WV Drillers Say Permits Take Too Long to Get Approved
West Virginia drillers were not happy last year that it was taking three, sometimes four months to get a new Marcellus or Utica Shale drilling permit approved by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). DEP Secretary Randy Huffman pledged to trim that number to 60 days. However, he now says 75 days is a [...]
WV Drillers Have 2 Weeks to Review Complex New Air Pollution Regs
The West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality recently issued a draft document of new and revised regulations for controlling air pollution from oil and gas drilling well sites—and it’s a doozy. At 135 pages long (full copy embedded below), good luck reading, deciphering, and preparing to make intelligent comments on it—all [...]
WV Shale Drilling Bills that Failed in 2013 Legislative Session
Whether it was from industry lobbying, landowner pushback, or just lack of interest, a number of bills introduced in the West Virginia legislature’s 60-day session for 2013 (which adjourned Saturday) failed to get enough traction for a vote and have died. A short list of the measures that didn’t measure up:
WV “Forced Pooling with a Twist” Dies in Senate for 2013
Less than two weeks ago, MDN reported that "forced pooling" in very limited circumstances may soon be approved in West Virginia, in cases where the mineral rights owner for land adjacent to already-leased land either can’t be determined or can’t be found (see WV Legislation Would Create Forced Pooling – with a Twist). MDN thought [...]
Antero Res 2nd Marcellus Driller to Use 100% NatGas Rig Engines
The parade of rig conversions in the Marcellus Shale to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) continues. MDN previously told you about first EQT, then CONSOL switching to duel-fuel LNG/diesel engines. After EQT and CONSOL, Seneca Resources started to convert drilling rigs to run on 100% LNG (see Seneca Boasts First 100% LNG-Powered Drill Rig [...]
Baker Hughes Rig Counts Hit New Low, But There’s More to Story…
Energy analyst and Seeking Alpha blogger Richard Zeits has authored a new “required reading” article titled, “Natural Gas: Sharp Recent Drop In Baker Hughes Gas Rig Count Explained.” In his new article, Zeits says that although the Baker Hughes rig count (number of active drilling rigs in the U.S.) has reached a new low as [...]
Feds Want to Force PA (Others?) to File Monthly Production Reports
Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia state governments watch out—the federal government is making noise about requiring you to provide monthly production reports for oil and gas production. The AP says the feds are working on a “proposal” to have Pennsylvania in particular move to a monthly reporting system. When was the last time the federal [...]
WV Legislation Would Create Forced Pooling – with a Twist
A bill just introduced into the West Virginia legislature would allow for “forced pooling” in very specific cases. Forced pooling laws, in case you’re unfamiliar with the term, require or “force” landowners who have not signed a lease to allow drilling because their neighbors have all signed a lease and drilling under the holdout’s property [...]
WV Legislators Fast Track Fix of Severance Tax Exemption Loophole
WV Senate Bill 638, introduced on Monday, appears to be on a fast track through the state Senate. The bill would repeal severance tax exemptions for some natural gas wells. In 2000, legislators enacted severance tax exemptions to encourage older natural gas wells that were not producing to re-open. Many of the operators of those [...]
Antero Resources Rides the Marcellus Rocket in 2012
On Monday, Antero Resources issued their 2012 financial and operational results (full copy embedded below). Among the highlights: The company now holds 305,000 net acres in the Marcellus Shale and 88,000 acres in the Utica Shale. They operate 13 Marcellus rigs (all of them drilling in WV) and will add a 14th rig in 2013. [...]
Cracker Talk: WV Says Small/Regional Ethane Cracker on the Way
The Marcellus 2 Manufacturing (or M2M) Conference convenes this week in Charleston, WV (see this MDN calendar announcement). One of the main topics of conversation for the event? You guessed it—West Virginia will soon get its own ethane cracker plant. The talk now is that WV will get a “baby cracker” online long before Shell [...]
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