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Who’s a Member of the Marcellus “1 Bcf/d” Club?

1 bcfd club At the end of an article about EQT, Seeking Alpha blogger and energy analyst Richard Zeits includes a short list of companies who either already belong, or soon will join, the “1 billion cubic feet per day club” of Marcellus Shale gas production.

So far only one driller has achieved 1 Bcf/d of Marcellus production (quick, which one is it?). EQT will likely join the club in 2014. Who else is on the short list to join them? Read on to find out…

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The Real Promised Land: Driller Raises $4.4M for PA Health Clinic

Contrary to the view in Promised Land that big drilling companies are evil and will shaft anyone for a buck, we find a truly amazing story about an oil and gas company’s generosity to a small northeastern Pennsylvania community—a community not unlike the one portrayed in the Matt Damon movie Promised Land.

Last year Cabot Oil & Gas kicked off a major fundraising effort to build a physicians clinic, part of a new hospital project in Montrose (Susquehanna County), PA. Friday marked the one-year anniversary of that very successful effort…

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Zeits Does Deep Dive on EQT’s Marcellus Program

One of our favorite Seeking Alpha bloggers, energy analyst Richard Zeits, recently posted a deep dive on EQT and their drilling program in the Marcellus shale. The analysis is full of details about EQT’ economics—specifically at what natural gas price level does the company continue to be profitable. He also includes a number of EQT charts and graphs (see them below).

Here’s a few highlights from the latest Zeits:

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CONSOL Switching to Dual Fuel Drilling Rigs in Marcellus/Utica

In the near future, drilling and fracking at CONSOL Energy drill sites will be powered by dual fuel technology using LNG (liquefied natural gas) and diesel fuel. You may recall MDN reported on CONSOL’s experimentation with dual fuel technology at two different locations last year (see CONSOL Orders Additional 3 Dual Fuel Generators for 2nd Rig).

Linde, the company providing CONSOL with dual fuel technology to run the generators and other drilling equipment, issued a press announcement yesterday which says, in essence, that CONSOL has decided to go “all in” and start using Linde’s dual fuel solutions throughout all of their drilling operations in the Marcellus and Utica Shale:

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Permit for PA Frack Wastewater Plant Rescinded by DEP

A New Jersey company had plans (and a permit) to build a Marcellus Shale wastewater treatment plant in North Fayette, PA that would process between 1/2 and 1 million gallons of fracking wastewater per day. The plant would use the wastewater to produce road salt, sidewalk de-icer, roadway dust suppression liquids and other products. One small problem: there may be tiny trace amounts of arsenic, lead, mercury and other nasty compounds in the final products.

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection granted Integrated Water Technologies a permit last August to build the plant and sell the salts and liquids manufactured from wastewater for use throughout the state. However, anti-drilling group PennFuture appealed the permit and now the DEP is backpedaling and “quietly” rescinded the permit by publishing a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on Saturday. Will the plant still be built?

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PwC Report: 2012 Marcellus & Utica M&A Deals Down

Each year analysts at powerhouse consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) take a detailed look at mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals in the oil and gas industry worth $50 million or more. Although nationally the deals in the oil and gas sector hit a 10-year high in 2012, the number and value of deals for both the Marcellus and Utica Shale slowed from the previous year. However, looks can be deceiving…

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Marshall County, WV Property Values Double in 6 Years

In the past two years, the assessed value of property in Marshall County, WV has increased by 50%. Since 2007, assessed values in the county have gone up 200%! The reason is, of course, almost entirely due to Marcellus Shale drilling and related infrastructure.

How do local officials describe it? “Extraordinary.” Kind of flies in the face of the anti-drilling argument that property values go down when Marcellus drilling comes to town. Here’s the story…

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Law Firm: PA Drillers/Contractors Paying Taxes They Shouldn’t

According to the law firm Reed Smith, drillers in Pennsylvania may be paying sales tax for equipment used in hydraulic fracturing and drilling that is exempt from PA sales tax. The PA Dept. of Revenue has been issuing tax assessments to drillers that are, according to Reed Smith, in contradiction of existing law.

If you’re a landowner or peripherally interested in Marcellus drilling, give this article a pass. However, if you’re a driller or a drilling contractor of any kind, you need to pay close attention…

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