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Gulfport 2Q13: Oil Production Down, NatGas & NGLs Way Up

up and down arrowsGulfport Energy issued its second quarter 2013 operations update yesterday. Among the highlights: The company produced less oil than a year ago after selling off its Permian wells and acreage to Diamondback, but they saw a dramatic increase in production of natural gas and natural gas liquids from a year ago. Gulfport’s natgas production was up 6.5X and liquids production more than doubled–up 2.3X from last year. The company also said they increased their Utica Shale acreage by an additional 8,000 acres–they now own 145,000 leased Utica acres.

Also in the update are production numbers for a series of new wells recently brought online–the McCort wells in Belmont County (Somerset Township), OH. The full 2Q13 Gulfport update:
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Speakers at JLCNY 5-Year Moratorium Event Take Aim at Gov Cuomo

Yesterday marked the very sad and tragic five-year anniversary of no shale drilling in New York State. The moratorium, first instituted by then-Gov. David Paterson in 2008, has increasingly frustrated the 77,000 members of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY). The JLCNY and New York elected representatives made their collective displeasure with the ongoing moratorium known at a rally yesterday in Binghamton, NY. Addressing a packed room of some 150 drilling supporters, the JLCNY’s attorney Scott Kurkoski gave a stirring speech, followed by a number of elected state and local officials. Each of them took direct aim at Gov. Andrew Cuomo, telling him “it’s been long enough” and “it’s time to move forward.” Watch a video of the speeches below (22 minutes long), courtesy WIVT/WBGH News Channel 34.

The JLCNY also released the following statement yesterday:
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The One Fracking Poll Gov Cuomo *Should* Be Worried About

MDN subscriber and friend Ken Kamlet, an attorney with one of Binghamton’s premier law firms–Hinman, Howard & Kattell (HHK), recently wrote an article for the HHK legal blog that takes a close look at public polling in New York State on the issue of shale drilling and fracking. It’s a marvelous article, both in depth and breadth, providing superb insights into what New Yorkers think about the drilling issue (we recommend you read the whole article).

In Ken’s conclusion, he hits on the one public poll that should matter the most to NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo. And no, it’s not how many New Yorkers are for or against fracking and shale drilling. The poll that Cuomo should pay attention to is the one that shows a convincing majority of New Yorkers on both sides of the drilling issue believe Cuomo is “dragging his feet” on the drilling issue. Rather than being perceived as careful and deliberative on the drilling issue, he is instead perceived as weak and ineffective, lacking leadership–not good qualities for someone who seeks higher office…
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Marbletown, NY Frack Ban Passes – 22 Page Manifesto

Sometimes town leaders in New York State who vote to ban hydraulic fracturing are dullards–they don’t bother to research and understand the legal issues. It makes no difference to them that they’re trampling on the Constitutional property rights of their landowning constituents–the very people they’re sworn to protect (but don’t).

Other times, town leaders in New York who vote to ban drilling–like those in Marbletown, NY (Ulster County, Middle Hudson Valley area)–are truly, stupendously stupid misguided. What takes most towns a paragraph or two to do, “Don’t drill and frack anywhere in the town,” has taken the brainiacs in Marbletown 22 pages of new regulations to accomplish in their recently enacted fracking ban. And the town supervisor brags about it!…
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New Congressional Report: How Federal Laws Govern Fracking

Three Congressional Research Service (CRS) researchers–two of them attorneys and one an environmental policy specialist–recently issued a new CRS report titled “Hydraulic Fracturing: Selected Legal Issues” (full copy embedded below). The 37-page report takes a close look at federal legislation and its governance of/relationship to regulation of hydraulic fracturing. Specifically, the report looks at the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, along with a number of other federal laws.

The report also takes a look at state preemption of local zoning regulations when it comes to oil and gas drilling–a hot legal issue in many states, with pending court cases in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York…
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PA DEP Extends Public Comment Period for Public Comment Period

Want your voice heard on whether or not the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) should or should not grant a particular permit for shale drilling? The DEP has announced they are extending the public comment period on their draft policy for…er…public comments–at least public comments given in the drilling Permit Review Process. The original public comment period on public comment periods was scheduled to close on July 22. The public comment period on public comment periods has now been extended to August 27.

Here’s the PA DEP’s public comment about the extension of public comments on public comments:
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The Nerve: PA Rep White Lectures Gov Corbett on Forced Pooling

Inexplicably, PA Rep. Jesse White is still in office. He hasn’t resigned over his shameful and unethical activity of anonymously attacking his own pro-drilling constituents with fake online identities–in fact sometimes pretending to be the very people he was attacking (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry). He admitted his guilt, yet he still has not either resigned nor has he been removed from office by his colleagues. It’s an ongoing shame.

Not only has White not left office, he’s now “back” with a new op-ed article (this one bravely written under his own name) criticizing PA Gov. Tom Corbett on the issue of forced pooling. Sorry Rep. White, your actions speak so loudly, we can’t hear anything you say with your words anymore…
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