MDN Weekly Update – Jul 3, 2011

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imageI’ve run the same poll for the past two weeks and am encouraged by the results. The question was:

Would you be willing to pay $5 per month (with the option to stop at any time) to continue reading MDN articles?

No (56%, 142 Votes)
Yes (44%, 113 Votes)

Total Voters: 255

So will Marcellus Drilling News continue? Yes! Will I immediately starting charging $5 per month to read it? Not just yet. I’m still working out what I believe is the best way forward. I’ve heard privately via emails and phone calls from quite a few readers who have encouraged me to continue the service with some great ideas on how to do it and earn a little bit to offset the costs. MDN likely will continue on as a blend of free and paid. Stay tuned—I’ll make an announcement soon.

Current Poll

It’s been a big week here in New York State (where MDN is written). The word has come down from Albany that drilling in the Marcellus Shale will finally begin. When? Still anyone’s guess, but as MDN has predicated before, I believe the first horizontally hydraulically fractured Marcellus well will not be sunk until 2012. The DEC Commissioner, Joe Martens, said the same thing in a recent media comment.

We still have a few months of public comments on the new draft rules which are due to be released to the public on July 8. Hopefully no more theatrical public meetings will be staged before a final version of the new drilling rules are issued. Early indications are that the new rules, while strict, will not be too onerous to prevent drillers from coming to the state. So, good news for landowners!

This week’s poll asks the question, “Did NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo make the right decision in allowing Marcellus Shale drilling to begin?” The poll can be found on the right side of any page on the site.

Below are the most recent “top 5” lists and the calendar of Marcellus related events for the next few weeks.

Wishing you a happy Fourth of July,
Jim Willis, Editor

Five Most Viewed Stories This Past Week (Jun 27 – Jul 2)

  1. New York Times: Nightmare on Shale Gas Street (6/28/11)
  2. Bipartisan Group of Nine Congressman Tell Obama to Get Fracking – Now (6/27/11)
  3. SRBC Approves 31 Water Resources Projects at June Meeting – Most Related to Marcellus Drilling (6/28/11)
  4. Two New PA Injection Wells Will Accept Fracking Wastewater Starting this Fall (6/27/11)
  5. Penn Virginia Disappointed with Output from First Three Marcellus Shale Wells Drilled in PA (6/30/11)

Five Most Viewed Stories Last 30 Days (Jun 2 – Jul 2)

  1. ExxonMobil Continues Expansion in the Marcellus, Buys Two More PA Drillers for $1.69 Billion, Adds Another 317K Acres of Leases (6/9/11)
  2. Shell Commits to Building a Billion Dollar Chemical Plant in the Marcellus Region of U.S. (6/7/11)
  3. Chesapeake, 14 Other Energy Companies Have Drilling Permits for Utica Shale in Ohio (4/18/11)
  4. New York Post: The Real Reason Environmentalists Don’t Like Natural Gas (6/10/11)
  5. List of 78 Chemicals Used in Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid in Pennsylvania (6/30/10)

MDN Calendar (Jul 3 – Jul 23)

New York

Pennsylvania