Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Mar 25, 2013

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

New York

Natural Gas Opponents Biting the Hand That Feeds Them
Energy in Depth – NMI
Opponents of the development of natural gas in New York have been protesting everything related to the topic, including Inergy, L.P., one of the largest taxpayers in Schuyler and Tioga Counties.  Cherie Messore takes a moment to look at two neighboring New York Counties and two very different reactions to the company and the services it offers.

Ohio

Rex Energy Showing More Promise in Noble County
Energy in Depth – Ohio
Rex Energy announced the results from their first three wells located in the Warrior Prospect South project and those results  are promising for the company and the continued development of the Utica Shale. All three wells were developed on the same pad in Noble County using their “Super Frac” technology.

Ohio small towns are benefiting from Utica Shale development
Coshocton Tribune
Shale development is giving small towns in Ohio an economic boost and is increasing the quality of life for residents across the state.

Ohio Tax Commissioner Tells Lawmakers To Lay Off Kasich Plan
WBNS
Ohio’s tax commissioner is urging lawmakers to support Gov. John Kasich’s budget plan and not write one of their own.

Pennsylvania

Race is on to ship Pennsylvania natural gas liquids to Gulf sites
Post-gazette.com
From some angles, it looks as if all pipelines lead to Beaumont. The Texas town seems to build in bulk when it comes to prisons, Baptist churches and taquerias — and pipelines are no different, with dozens of them underlying cow pastures or poking out of the ground when they cross a shallow bayou.

Marcellus Shale boom could restore link between area airport and Pittsburgh
The Citizens’ Voice
The natural-gas drilling boom in the Marcellus Shale could be the key to ending a six-year hiatus in air service between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport and the second largest city in Pennsylvania.

Number Of Gas Drilling Rigs In PA Drop 31% From One Year Ago But Gas Production Surges 69%
John Hanger’s Facts of The Day
The number of gas drilling rigs in Pennsylvania reached 116 in the summer of 2011 but has fallen steadily, as the price of gas hit bottom in April 2012. Last week, 68 drilling rigs were operating in Pennsylvania.

Casey introduces natural gas powered bill
Timesonline.com
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey introduced new legislation Friday that supports the transition of natural gas as a vehicle fuel — creating a rebate program for the purchase of natural gas-powered buses, as well as tax credits for natural gas filling stations and fuel.

National

The News Natural Gas Has Been Waiting For
The Motley Fool
The slow uptick in natural gas prices has finally made natural gas production less of a burden on a company’s assets and more of a valuable part of a diversified energy company.

My Prediction Was Wrong: Why We Didn’t Get To $8 Natural Gas
Forbes
It was in July past that there was a prognostication issued that natural gas prices would have at least one run-up to $8 during the winter season.

Natural gas has big battle to be main vehicle fuel
Chillicothe Gazette
Natural gas prices are back up around that magic mark of $4 per unit thanks to a winter that keeps hanging on, but experts say that if producers want to find enough buyers for all the recently mapped shale gas reserves, including Ohio’s Utica Shale, then they need to diversify the end uses of natural gas.

Anti-extraction movement in the US gains momentum
The Ecologist
Protests against fracked-gas pipelines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are part of a growing movement of direct-action resistance to extraction.

Better late than never: Senate passes Keystone XL
Examiner.com
Transforming the US economy from oil dependence to oil independence and renewable energy will take some time.

Jerry Brown, a champion of oil and the Monterey Shale?
Platts
California Governor Jerry Brown made a few remarks recently about the state’s oil and gas prospects that sounded so positive to one industry group that it featured them on its homepage.

Analysis: Thrifty truckers wary of pricey natural gas vehicles
Reuters
Truckers considering natural gas as an alternative to high-priced diesel say the cost of vehicles that run on the cheap and cleaner-burning fuel is still too high for them to see a timely payback on their investment.

3 Companies That Could Save America From $250 Oil
Motley Fool
Despite increased oil production in the U.S. from unconventional sources such as the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales, oil prices haven’t gone down. In fact, the price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude is at about $93 and climbing. What’s even worse is that one international group believes that the price of oil is poised to go up — way up.

International

What’s Behind China’s Global Oil and Gas Buying Spree? And Who’s Next?
Minyanville
China’s energy needs are ever-increasing, and it will do what it can to ensure a steady supply of oil and gas.

China Takes No. 1 Spot From U.S. — Good for Us
Motley Fool
The second largest economy in the world, China, has been quickly moving in the opposite direction from the U.S. It has now taken over the role of the biggest oil importer, a title we’d held since the mid-’70s.