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Corbett Keeps New Surface Drilling Banned in PA Forests

horns pitchfork tailLast Friday PA Gov. Tom Corbett issued an executive order that a) maintains an ongoing moratorium on any new drilling on the surface of PA public forests and parks, and b) allows for drilling under some public lands (very limited) if the drilling can be done from adjacent private land. You would think from the reaction from the usual reactionaries like PennFuture and PennEnvironment, that Corbett had sprouted horns, a pitchfork and a tail. In Middle Eastern cultures from centuries ago they would have ripped their shirts and thrown ashes on their heads–all because Corbett decided to take a sensible approach to raising another $75 million for the cash-strapped PA budget…
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Magnum Hunter 3rd Driller to Target the Utica in WV

Magnum Hunter Resources, a driller with a big presence in the West Virginia Marcellus Shale and increasingly in the Ohio Utica Shale, is now the third driller to tap the Utica Shale in West Virginia. The lucky WV county where Magnum Hunter is drilling its first Utica well in the Mountain State? Tyler County…
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Dimock is Back in the News – New LDC on the Way

Welcome to Dimock signDimock. That single word for many people evokes pictures of brown water in clear jars with claims that shale gas drilling “polluted the water in Dimock, PA.” Of course, it isn’t true. But that doesn’t stop good propagandists like Josh Fox from making money from peddling a lie (see Study Proves Fracking Didn’t Cause Methane in Dimock Water Wells). Now that Dimock is resolved and behind us, this little township in rural Susquehanna County is back in the news. Because of natural gas. But this time, Josh Fox certainly won’t make a movie out of it. Last week the PA Public Utility Commission (PUC) approved an application from Leatherstocking Gas (a local distribution company–or LDC) to run local natural gas pipelines to schools, homes and businesses in Dimock…
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OH Wastewater Disposed Via Injection Wells Jumps 15% in 2013

The volume of wastewater and brine disposed of by pumping it back down an injection well in Ohio jumped 15% from 2012 to 2013. According to new data released by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR), 16.3 million barrels of wastewater and brine was disposed of during 2013 in Ohio injection wells. But contrary to the hew and cry of anti-drillers–the increase did not come from Pennsylvania drillers. The increase came from Ohio Utica Shale drilling…
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Former Enron Exec Makes “Unethical” Play to Derail PGW Deal

In March MDN told you about the deal negotiated by Philadelphia’s Democrat mayor, Michael Nutter, to sell off (i.e. privatize) the country’s oldest and largest municipal-owned gas company–the Philadelphia Gas Works (see Phila. Gas Works Deal for $1.86B – Marcellus/Utica One of Keys). To his credit, Nutter negotiated a good deal for the city, its residents, and the ratepayers of PGW. One of the main draws for the deal is its proximity to the Marcellus Shale (see Fascinating Look Behind the Curtain of the Phila. Gas Works Deal). However, resistance to the sale was swift and strong–by city council and their entrenched political interests in keeping labor unions happy. Now comes word that a Russian-born former Enron executive is working behind the scenes trying to derail the deal…
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High-Priced Strippers in PA: Semantic Gymnastics with Impact Fee

Synder Brothers, a mostly conventional (vertical-only) oil and gas driller in Pennsylvania, is having a lover’s quarrel with the PA Public Utilities Commission over what a stripper is and isn’t. Er, a stripper well, that is. The outcome of that argument may mean Synder Brothers will have to pony up $500,000 for impact fees on wells they’ve drilled that are, according to them, “stripper wells.” And what, pray tell, is a stripper well?…
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Harrison, OH a Hub for Midstream Processing – Continues to Grow

A few weeks ago MDN told you that Access Midstream and partners M3 Midstream and EV Energy Partners are planning to boost capacity and add a second “processing train” to their Leesville, OH gas processing complex (see Access Midstream: Major Expansion of Utica Processing Facility). With added capacity, the complex will be able to process 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day! In addition, the jv partners’ Scio, OH facility is currently building a third processing train to their fractionation (liquids-separating) operation…
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