Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Apr 4, 2013

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

New York

Artists Against Fracking … and Lobbying Disclosure?
Energy in Depth – NMI
The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York has filed a complaint against Artists Against Fracking for failing to register as lobbyists under New York law. The “artists,” many of whom are far wealthier than the families upstate to whom they want to deny economic opportunity, are also using a known commodity in the scare-the-public approach to public policy advocacy.

Cavorting with Natural Gas Friends and Enemies in Covert
Energy in Depth – NMI
This week, natural gas opponents in the Town of Covert tried, unsuccessfully, to use an educational forum as an opportunity to demonize the industry.  The forum was conducted by geologist and former Covert Town Supervisor Brayton Foster, who professionally handled all detractors and gave the audience some in-depth knowledge in the process.

Ohio

Gulfport Energy Price Target Increased to $80.00 by Analysts at Sterne Agee
Seeking Alpha
Analysts at Sterne Agee increased their price target on shares of Gulfport Energy (NASDAQ: GPOR) from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, AnalystRatingsNetwork reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock.

Positive Utica Results Powers Upgrades To These 2 Energy Stocks
Seeking Alpha
The market is finally going through what feels like a meaningful pull back to start the second quarter after more than four months of a continuous and pretty much drama free rally. I think it is time to make a shopping list to take advantage of any further pull back.

Analysts muse: Could Hess Corp. be acquired?
Bloomberg/Akron Beacon Journal
Hess Corp., a New York-based energy company, may be acquired at $80 to $90 a share, according to MFP Investors LLC’s Michael Price. “Hess is sitting there with trophy assets, huge position in the Bakkens,” Price said in a “Bloomberg Surveillance” television interview with Tom Keene and Sara Eisen today. “Somebody could surface and just pop an $80 to $90 bid.”

Pennsylvania

Lawrence Twp. to spend $840,000 on projects
The Progress
The Lawrence Township Board of Supervisors approved spending approximately $840,000 on paving and related work this year, at its meeting last night. The township is spending more than usual on roadwork this year due to the infusion of Act 13 Marcellus shale natural gas drilling impact fee money.

Update on Shale Drilling at Trax Farm
Union-Finley Messenger
Many residents have inquired about gas drilling activities occurring at Trax Farms (Washington County, PA). The following information has been garnered from interviews with Chesapeake representatives at past and recent township meetings.

Neighbouring US towns worlds apart on natural gas ‘fracking’ (video, worth watching)
BBC
The BBC’s Laura Trevelyan spoke to residents of two small towns – Hancock in New York, which is waiting to hear if a moratorium on drilling will be lifted, and New Milford in Pennsylvania, where a fracking boom is already underway.

National

Shale Oil and Natural Gas – Whose Bubble is Really About to Burst?
Forbes
One of the more interesting phenomena related to the media coverage of the oil and natural gas industry in recent years has been the massively disproportionate attention paid by reporters and editors to a couple of degreed geologists, David Hughes and Art Berman. Both of these gentlemen have effectively self-promoted themselves into positions of media prominence over the last few years based on their respective, similar theories that the shale oil and natural gas revolution in the United States is somehow a “bubble” that is on the verge of bursting.

GE Pushes Fracking Research With Lab in Bet on Shale Gas
Bloomberg
General Electric Co. will spend $110 million on a research lab in Oklahoma City to study ways to improve extraction of hard-to-reach oil and gas deposits, including hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.

Pickens Says Energy Boom Defies ‘Incompetent’ Washington
Bloomberg
America is on a path to energy independence without any help from Washington, according to billionaire investor T. Boone Pickens. Pickens said lawmakers and U.S. officials, whom he called “incompetent,” could still help cut transportation costs and spur use of domestically produced energy with tax breaks to build a fueling network for natural-gas vehicles.

Pipelines for New Energy
National Law Review
New methods of natural gas and oil production have unlocked new supplies from shale formations around the United States over the last two decades, and these new supply sources have brought about rapid changes in the transportation infrastructure needed to bring these supplies to market. Pipeline developers – whether moving oil, natural gas or natural gas liquids (NGL) – have sought to keep up with the increasing volume and changing production locations by building new infrastructure and repurposing existing pipelines.

Natural Gas Sets Tone For Retail Travel Centers
Seeking Alpha
There are big changes coming for companies engaged in natural gas production for vehicles, those engaged in the conversion of coal and other deposits into natural gas, and travel centers, which are expanding across the U.S. Investors should take note.

International

Exxon, BHP plan world’s largest floating LNG plant off Australia
Reuters
Exxon Mobil and BHP Billiton are planning to build the world’s largest floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and export plant off the northwestern shore of Australia, despite growing concerns about the cost competitiveness of the country’s LNG projects.

Pieridae eyes U.S. gas plans
Herald Business
The developer behind a $5-billion liquefied natural gas export terminal planned for Goldboro is eyeing Portland Natural Gas Transmission System’s plan to increase capacity on its pipeline that could help bring more cheap natural gas to Nova Scotia.

European industry flocks to U.S. for cheaper natural gas
Willits News
The sprawling chemical plant in this city along the Rhine River has been a jewel of Germany’s manufacturing-led economy for more than a century. But the plunging price of natural gas in the United States has European companies setting sail across the Atlantic to stay competitive.

Canada Seen Beating U.S. in $150 Billion Asia LNG Race
Bloomberg
Canada is pulling ahead of the U.S. in a contest to be the first exporter of liquefied natural gas from the North American shale bonanza to Asia’s $150 billion LNG market.