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EPA’s Final Batch of Testing for Dimock Water Wells Released

clean drinking waterOn Friday the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its results of testing for the fourth and final batch of water wells in Dimock, PA. The results are the same as the first three batches: There is and has been no contamination of the area’s water supply by chemicals from nearby hydraulic fracturing of Marcellus Shale gas wells.

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Chesapeake Energy Gets $3 Billion Loan from Goldman Sachs

In an attempt to boost investor confidence and boost the stock price, Chesapeake Energy received a $3 billion unsecured loan last Friday from Goldman Sachs. They also provided a quick update on efforts to sell off their assets in the Permian Basin and their Mississippi Lime joint venture, hoping to raise upward of $10 billion, part of which will be used to pay back the short-term Goldman loan.

From the Chesapeake press release:

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Boone Pickens Sells Chesapeake Stock, Strange Comment on NatGas

Has T. Boone Pickens, Texas oil billionaire and author of “The Pickens Plan” that calls for America to use natural gas to reduce our dependency on OPEC oil and as a bridge to a renewable energy future, now turned his back on natural gas? His investment company, BP Capital Management, has sold off all of its Chesapeake Energy stock. Pickens’ comment on the reason for selling off Chesapeake was a tad strange:

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O&G Countersues Landowners Claiming Lease Slander

In late March, seven Beaver County, PA families (18 people) filed a lawsuit in Common Pleas Court accusing O&G Investments of Wooster, Ohio of not drilling on their land—and not paying them—for the past seven years. The leases were sold to Chesapeake Energy and at the eleventh hour, just before the leases were set to expire, Chesapeake attempted to initiate drilling to retain the leases, which prompted the lawsuit (see this MDN story for background). Late last week O&G countersued the families:

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OH Judge Rules in Case on Ethane Pipeline Survey

MDN highlighted a story last week in which Enterprise Products Partners, the company building a new ethane pipeline across Ohio, sued a farmer to gain access to his land in order to survey it to chart a route for the pipeline (see this MDN story). The farmer offered alternative routes to avoid prime hay fields but Enterprise turned him down. A common pleas court judge, on Friday, sided with…

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Frack Wastewater Treatment Plant in Blossburg, PA Expands

Hydro-Recovery operates a shale gas fracking wastewater treatment facility in Blossburg (Tioga County), PA. It’s just announced a $15 million expansion of the plant with plans to add an additional 20-25 employees and ramp up to 24/7 operations. Construction is set to start as soon as permits are received on a “crystalizer and six 500,000 gallon storage tanks.”

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