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DUG East Roundup from Day 1: Range, CONSOL, EIA, FERC

roundupSeems that the Developing Unconventional Gas (DUG) East Conference, hosted by Hart Energy this week in Pittsburgh, is generating a lot of news. Unfortunately MDN could not attend DUG East this year. We have, however, done a roundup of interesting and important news from speakers at DUG, including news from CONSOL Energy, Range Resources, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)…
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PA Raises Another $225M with Impact Fee – List of Who Gets What

Pennsylvania did it right when it came to taxing the shale drilling industry. PA Republican Gov. Tom Corbett crafted a part tax/part fee called the impact fee, part of the Act 13 law (which is now threatened to be overturned in court by seven selfish PA towns). The impact fee raises money from drillers. Some 60% of what is raised stays in the towns and counties where the drilling happens. The other 40% is a true tax–“walking around money” that greases the hands of Harrisburg politicians so they can dole it out in political patronage. Still, it’s one of the best systems of taxing drilling we’ve seen. On Tuesday, the latest results were released for who will get how much, by county and township (and other entities). We have the list below…
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Lebanon, PA Group Coaches Blind Followers to Oppose Pipeline

The pattern endlessly repeats itself. A handful of people with an irrational hatred of fossil fuels turn their hatred on anything related to fossil fuels–like a much needed pipeline. Those same people can’t use objective evidence to support their views–they can’t even openly admit what motivates them for fear that they’ll lose support. So they begin a campaign to spread lies (i.e. “talking points”) to mind-numbed robots who can’t think for themselves. They pack a public meeting and all pretty much say the same thing–endlessly regurgitating the talking points handed to them. Many of them, MDN has observed, are old hippies–men bald on top with gray ponytails in the back. You laugh–but it’s true! They also enlist kindred spirits in young people who are frankly inexperienced and too stupid to know better. That pattern is repeating itself once again–this time in Lebanon County, PA…
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New Texas Technology Cleans Frack Water Really Fast

Frack wastewater is pretty big deal. Although many drillers recycle it, some don’t or can’t, and it ends up going back into the ground–via an injection well. How much better would it be to clean it up and re-use it? A Texas company is doing just that–with the help of Texas A&M University researchers. ARANA Water Technologies has innovated a new recycling process with some amazing results. Raw frack water goes in, and 26 minutes later the water coming out is 99+ percent free of petroleum hydrocarbons, and metals in the water like arsenic, aluminum, iron, and selenium have been reduced by 90+ percent. While this isn’t strictly a Marcellus/Utica story, we expect this technology will soon be available in the Marcellus/Utica and so is worth highlighting…
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“Dumping” Leads to 177 Jobs Lost at PA Marcellus Pipeline Plant

A strange and sad story. McKeesport (Allegheny County), PA has for many years been known as “Tube City” because of the steel pipes manufactured there by U.S. Steel. Some 157 steelworkers and 20 manager (177 total) were just told they’re being laid off by U.S. Steel. That plant in particular has been manufacturing steel pipes used in the shale drilling industry! The industry is going great guns and expanding like crazy–so why on earth are they laying off people? In a word, dumping…
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