Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Apr 10, 2013

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

Ohio

Why Ohio is Keeping an Eye on Oklahoma’s Energy Boom
StateImpact Oklahoma
There’s a lot of petroleum promise in Ohio’s Utica Shale. Drilling and development are ramping up, but there’s still uncertainty. And Ohioans don’t quite know what to expect.

Utica Supply Chain Firms Seek API Certification
Youngstown Business Journal
Six companies from the five-county region, as well as one from Painesville and another from Akron, want to know what it takes to become certified and emerge as a major player in the oil and gas supply chain.

Ohio medical group approves fracking resolution
Akron Beacon Journal
The Ohio State Medical Association on Sunday approved a resolution on hydrolic fracturing or fracking.

National

GE’s purchase makes drilling equipment makers the next targets
Bloomberg/Akron Beacon Journal
General Electric Co.’s planned purchase of pump maker Lufkin Industries Inc. at the industry’s most expensive price tag is highlighting demand for oilfield equipment that may make Weatherford International Ltd. and Tesco Corp. the next targets.

Six Reasons Fracking Has Flopped Overseas
Forbes
Shale gas deposits have been found in Poland, Argentina, China, Great Britain and other countries, but only the United States has fracked its shale gas into a national energy boom.

Question for the shale industry: do you want to frack or not?
Quartz
A US industry-environmental coalition says it has established a gold standard for safety and transparency in shale gas drilling, which has triggered public protests on both sides of the Atlantic. Bad actors will be shunned, the group suggests, when communities insist on its seal of approval before green lighting a drilling project.

Revisiting the Facts on Fracking
New York Times
In their op-ed “The Facts on Fracking” (Views, March 14), Susan Brantley and Anna Meyendorff use a highly speculative estimate of the gas supply in the Marcellus shale of Eastern America that prevailed for years at the U.S. Energy Department. Using actual results from drilled wells, in 2011 U.S. government geologists slashed the Energy Department figures by about two-thirds.

EIA Projects Flatlining Of Natural Gas Consumption Through 2014
John Hanger’s Facts of The Day
Natural gas usage is flatlining, according to the latest EIA data. EIA projects demand of 70.1 Bcf/d in 2013 and 70.3 Bcf/d in 2014.

Kinder Morgan’s Earnings Will Show Continued Strong Growth
Forbes
KMP recently acquired the Tennessee Gas pipeline and also acquired a stake in the El Paso pipeline from its parent company Kinder Morgan Inc. We think these assets could bolster the firm’s quarterly performance since the TGP has access to some of the largest shale basins such as the Marcellus and Utica shale and also connects major cities on the East Coast such as New York and Boston.

Moniz: Fracking Natural Gas Provides Bridge to Zero-Carbon Future
NGI’s Shale Daily
Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary-designate Ernest J. Moniz fielded questions about his position on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), natural gas exports and climate change during his confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Sasol Advances Ethane Cracker and Downstream Derivatives Project with Purchase of Long-Lead Equipment
Sasol/PR Newswire
Sasol today announced its placing of a purchase order for the main ethylene compressor trains, a critical long-lead item for the world-scale ethane cracker, from MHI Compressor International Corporation.