Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jan 28, 2013

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:

New York

NYS DEC cuts complicate fracking picture
North Country Public Radio
Proponents and opponents of hydrofracking in New York state read Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget closely for clues about fracking’s future in the state.

Engelder and Ingraffea on Natural Gas, Nuclear and Renewables
Energy in Depth – NMI
This week we attended a debate between a supporter of natural gas, Terry Engelder, and well-known natural gas opponent, Tony Ingraffea, who seems to oppose natural gas full-time while on the Cornell faculty.  The debate was in Dundee, New York where the town is considering a moratorium on natural gas development.

Ohio

Marathon Corp.’s plan a step closer to reality
The Review
Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s planned expansion in Wellsville is one major step closer to becoming a reality following action taken last week by the Columbiana County Port Authority.

Spotlight on shale
Tribune-Chronicle
The site of a Halcon Resources natural gas well being drilled into the Utica Shale in a northern Trumbull County township remains lit up like daylight, even in the dead of a cold winter night.

Fracking skeptics disregard shale boom’s potential
The Columbus Dispatch
In Ohio, you would get some weird looks if you touted the Browns as a Super Bowl contender. I had the same reaction reading Gwynne Dyer’s Jan. 10 Forum column, “Don’t believe what you hear about shale gas.”

Pennsylvania

PennEnvironment’s Natural Gas #MoratoriumMonday
Energy in Depth – NMI
PennEnvironment is starting a new social media campaign to fight natural gas in Pennsylvania called #MoratoriumMonday. We have to ask, will they encourage the same “make it up as you go” attitude to pass their agenda as they have throughout the last few years?

Man complains gas company did not repair fence
Uniontown Herald Standard
“Good fences make good neighbors,” wrote Robert Frost in his poem “The Mending Wall.” Cattle farmer Joe Bezjak, involved in an ongoing dispute with Laurel Mountain Midstream (LMM), believes the reverse to be true.

Balderson aims to help energy, agriculture industries grow
Times Recorder
State Sen. Troy Balderson’s elevation to the chairmanship of the Ohio Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee puts the Zanesville Republican in a special position.

PAW unveils latest fleet of CNG vehicles right here in Punxsy
Punxsutawney Spirit
Pennsylvania American Water launched its compressed natural gas pilot program for its vehicle fleet Friday at its Punxsutawney office.

National

Obama Could Bypass Congress to Fulfill Climate Pledge
Bloomberg
President Barack Obama, whose inaugural address made climate change a second-term priority, could bypass Congress and implement much of his environmental agenda unilaterally through regulations and executive action.

Keystone’s Fate Shifts to Climate Hawk Kerry
Bloomberg
As a senator, John Kerry fought for sweeping climate change legislation, called human-induced warming among the top challenges facing the U.S., and pushed for an international accord to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

Stocks the Markets Love to Hate: Chesapeake Energy
Motley Fool
Friend and Motley Fool blogger Bob Zimmerman wrote a very intriguing post entitled “3 Stooges of the Oil and Gas Industry.” As much as I respect Bob and think he brings up some valid points, I have to disagree with his conclusions.

How to Profit From This $10 Trillion Opportunity
Motley Fool
A report put out the other day by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency stated that the Utica Shale and Marcellus Shale plays could represent more than $10 trillion in new economic activity when fully developed. That’s a really, really big number.