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Dominion Files FERC Application for $5B Atlantic Coast Pipeline

stack of papersDominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) faces some stiff opposition from the anti-drilling, landed gentry class, along with opposition from the usual anti-fossil fuel nutters and even opposition from Obama-controlled agencies including the BLM, FWS and USFS (see our ACP stories here). Even so, on Friday Dominion filed their official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to get the pipeline approved. ACP, as a reminder, is a $5 billion, 564-mile natural gas pipeline starting in West Virginia, traveling through Virginia and on into North Carolina. The governors of all three states, two Democrats and one Republican, all strongly support the project. So too do a majority of residents in all three states (see Millions of People Support Atlantic Coast Pipeline via New Group). Just to give you an idea of how phenomenally over-complicated the process is, Dominion’s application was 30,000 pages long, a stack of paper 10 feet high…
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Seneca Resources Begins Shipping Marcellus Gas to Canada Nov 1

right on scheduleFinally! Some new takeaway capacity for Seneca Resources is about to become reality when they begin shipping Marcellus Shale gas from western Pennsylvania through Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) Niagara Expansion into western New York State where it will connect to the TransCanada Pipeline (in Niagara County, NY) and from there send the gas into Canada. In 2013 MDN brought you the good news that TGP would expand service on the pipeline northward (see TGP Signs up Seneca Resources for Niagara Expansion to Canada). Against all odds, the TGP expansion project is now almost complete and will begin sending gas to the TransCanada Pipeline on November 1st, on schedule…
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Ohio Commission Rules in Favor of Rex Energy in Forced Pooling Case

forced poolingLast Thursday the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission issued its first order addressing the issue of forced pooling. The Commission upheld a forced pooling order against Ohio landowner Gary Teeter Trust (Ronald Roudeush is the trustee of the trust) by reaffirming that Ohio’s pooling and unitization provisions work to protect landowners–even those landowners like Roudeush who prefer not to be part of a drilling unit–by fairly compensating them. Rex Energy has leased land around the Teeter Trust (in Carroll County, OH) and sought to include 71 acres of the Teeter Trust property in a drilling unit, which Roudeush objected to and appealed. We have a copy of the decision below along with a further explanation of the case from the legal beagles at the Vorys law firm (the firm representing Rex Energy in the case)…
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EIA Says 2 Basins Will Reverse NatGas Production Slide in October

reverse the trendThe September edition of our favorite government report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Drilling Productivity Report (DPR), shows an interesting change from the August report. In August, the EIA predicted that for the coming month (September) every single major shale play of the seven plays they track, including the Marcellus and Utica, would see a decline in the amount of natural gas produced (see August EIA DPR: NatGas Production Declines in All 7 Shale Plays). While the Marcellus and Utica continue their slide in the September report (projecting October volumes), two shale plays will see an increase in natural gas production, reversing the previous slide–the Haynesville and the Permian…
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WV Gov Tomblin Continues to Cheerlead for Wood Co. Cracker Plant

cheerleaderThe one ethane cracker plant project announced for the Marcellus/Utica region that once seemed the mostly likely to proceed now seems the least likely to move forward–the Brazilian-based Odebrecht project planned for Wood County, WV. The ASCENT (Appalachina Shale Cracker Enterprise) project seemed to have the most momentum in 2014 (see Odebrecht’s WV Ethane Cracker has The Big Mo–Momentum). But then the price of oil crashed and clouds started to appear for the project. In April Odebrecht pushed the pause button on the project (see Odebrecht Pushes the Pause Button on WV Ethane Cracker). Odebrecht itself has been caught up in scandal in Brazil and it’s CEO was arrested in June (see Odebrecht CEO Arrested; What Does it Mean for WV Cracker Plant?). Both the Shell cracker project in Pennsylvania, which once seemed unlikely, and a new ethane cracker project for Ohio, have both since made significant progress, making the Odebrecht project seem all the more unlikely. However, WV Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is still cheerleading for his state’s cracker plant. He recently said, “We feel very strongly they’ll continue to build the cracker plant”…
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5 Weeks Later and Still No Word on Buyer for Eureka Hunter

over promise under deliverSomething we’ve noticed for some time: When Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) and its subsidiaries (like GreenHunter and Eureka Hunter) make a pronouncement like “such and such will be online next month” or “so and so asset will be sold this quarter” the timing rarely matches the pronouncement. For Magnum Hunter “the next few weeks” turns into “the next few months” and “sometime this quarter, maybe next” turns into “next year.” Somebody else has noticed MHR’s timeline peculiarity too–and has written about it on the Seeking Alpha investors website. This particular post notes that MHR’s CEO Gary Evans announced he would name the winning bidder in the “next week to 10 days” for the Eureka Hunter midstream subsidiary, a deal that will bring in something like $600-$700 million (see 3 Potential Buyers Identified for Eureka Hunter Pipeline Deal). That announcement by Evans was on August 14, some five weeks ago, and still no word on who the buyer is, and for how much…
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OH Supreme Court Puts Youngstown Anti-Frack Measure on Ballot

no logicOnly in America, and only in Ohio (slowly shaking our heads). Last Thursday, the Ohio Supreme Court voted 7-0 to force an anti-fracking ballot measure that has been on the ballot in Youngstown, Ohio four times previously to be added to the ballot once again in November–for a fifth time. Even though (as the justices acknowledge) the ballot measure itself “may be” unconstitutional, as their own court recently found (see OH Supreme Court Strikes Down Home Rule in Gas Drilling Case). Apparently the justices object to a lowly county board of elections determining whether or not something is legal before it’s been voted on. As we told you in August, the Mahoning County Board of Elections voted unanimously to keep a so-called community bill of rights (i.e. anti-fracking) measure off the November ballot, a measure put forth by the nutters with LogicFree Mahoning Valley (aka FrackFree Mahoning Valley, see Elections Board Strikes Down 5th Youngstown Anti-Frack Ballot). The Ohio Supreme Court slapped the county right across the face and informed them determining legality is the purview of a court, not a board of elections. So the measure will go down to defeat a fifth time, wasting county time and money…
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Moxie’s NEPA Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant Gets DEP Approval

approvedOver a year ago MDN broke the news that Moxie Energy was in the hunt to begin a third new Marcellus gas-powered electric plant project in Pennsylvania (see Moxie Energy in Hunt for Third Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant?). Indeed, our suspicions were borne out and Moxie pursued a project to build a plant in Luzerne County. Moxie is calling it the Freedom project and in November they received approval from Salem Township to proceed (see Moxie’s NEPA Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant Gets 1st Approval). However, last week they received the all-important approval–permission from the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection…
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EIA: US Propane Inventories are at “An All-Time High”

In the winter of 2013-2014, propane was in short supply and prices went through the roof, particularly in the Midwest and northeast where it’s used extensively (see Northeast Propane Shortage – Andrew Cuomo Partially to Blame). My, what a difference two years makes. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is out with an article today pointing out that propane inventories are now at an all-time high, mostly due to an increase in shale drilling…
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Will Fracking Come to Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest? Maybe!

Sherwood ForestQuestion: Where did Robin Hood live? Answer: Sherwood Forest. Everybody knows that! Don’t look now but those evil, vile, filthy frackers want to begin fracking in Sherwood Forest. Yes, THE Sherwood Forest where the mythical Robin Hood once roamed with his merry band of outlaws. Believe it or not, and against all odds, the United Kingdom recently re-elected a conservative government, by a strong majority, and that government is pushing forward with a program to encourage shale drilling in merry ole’ England–including in Sherwood Forest…
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Sep 21, 2015

best of the restThe “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Fractivism goes blue; welders needed in Ohio; budget compromise or political suicide in PA; Cabot’s $50K scholoarship; Penguins & PNG partner up; Dominion says no easy fixes for pipelines; pipes in NH; Goldman sees 15 years of cheap oil; and more!
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