Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Mar 7, 2013

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

Ohio

Anti-fracking Activists Petition Ohio Legislators
Youngstown Business Journal
Just as one hydraulic fracturing operation was getting under way at a well site in Trumbull County, seven activists from the Mahoning Valley were en route to Columbus to petition state legislators to shut down a similar operation in Mahoning County.

Shale Energy Was A Big Star In Today’s Fed Beige Book
Business Insider
The real star of today’s Federal Reserve Beige Book report was the shale oil and gas activity reported by the Cleveland Fed. Shale development is cited seven times as an unimpeachable strong growth sector of the U.S. economy.

Chesapeake Energy Finding Promising Returns in Ohio River Valley
Energy in Depth – Ohio
Last year, Chesapeake Energy released the results of its Buell 8H well in Archer Township, Harrison County, to much fanfare. The returns – a peak rate of 9.5 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and 1,425 barrels per day of natural gas liquids and oil (3,010 barrels of oil equivalent) per day – sent a strong signal across the region, and was an incarnation of the incredible potential our natural energy resources hold for future development.

Pennsylvania

Penn State’s New Natural Gas Center to keep PA at Forefront of Industry
GantDaily.com
Bringing together one of the largest contingents of natural gas experts in the United States, Penn State has established an Institute for Natural Gas Research, which is expected to provide much-needed study into this important form of energy.

Not making friends, influencing people
O-R Online
There’s an old saying that you can catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar. Some of the folks in the Marcellus Shale industry in our area seem to be straying further and further from that axiom.

Workshop to focus on potential gas pipeline in Berks
Reading Eagle/Reading Times
The possibility of a major new natural gas pipeline being routed through Berks County has led Penn State Extension to schedule a workshop for the public in April.

West Virginia

Officials Stand Behind Consol, Noble
Wheeling News
Marshall County Commissioner Brian Schambach on Tuesday said two companies involved in the leaking of thousands of barrels of brine wastewater into Big Wheeling Creek have been good members of the community and should be given a chance to fix the mistake.

National

Railroad to make shift to natural gas locomotives
Marketplace
The freight railroad company BNSF made a big announcement today. It’s going to do a little experiment and switch from diesel to natural gas to power its locomotives. BNSF happens to be owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett is betting big on natural gas. If this latest natural gas play works, it could mean big profits and big changes for the entire rail industry.

Drilling Down to Show Wall Street Disconnect
The Motley Fool
Natural Gas is the path to bankruptcy and drilling for oil is the way to riches! That’s Wall Street’s current thought. Plus, don’t even get them started about international offshore drillers.

Bad Energy Policy and its Effects in the Oil and Gas World
Forbes
Bad energy policy has been an ongoing reality for the oil and natural gas industry almost since its inception.  This is why it always makes me a little nervous whenever I hear anyone complain about the nation’s lack of a “comprehensive energy policy”.

U.S. LNG Supply for Natural Gas Vehicles Set to Double
The Motley Fool
Shell recently announced it would build two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel plants to supply all types of heavy-duty natural gas vehicles.

Chesapeake to Sell Most of Its Stake in Clean Energy Fuels
Bloomberg
Chesapeake Energy Corp., the U.S. natural gas producer selling as much as $7 billion in assets this year to plug a cash shortfall, plans to divest most of its stake in Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

Natural gas vehicles making inroads; sales rising
Miami Herald
Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it sold a record 11,600 natural gas vehicles in its 2012 model year, more than triple the number it sold in 2010.

China Joining U.S. Shale Renaissance With $40 Billion
Bloomberg
China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s biggest oil company, is seeking its first stake in the U.S. as Chinese explorers with $40 billion of cash try to join an energy renaissance unlocking billions of barrels of crude.