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PA Firm Helped Drill ‘Purple Hayes’ – World’s Longest Shale Well

Deep Well ServicesEarlier this month MDN told you about the “Purple Hayes”–a Utica Shale well drilled by Eclipse Resources in Guernsey County, OH that is thought to be the longest shale well every drilled, at 3.5 miles (see Eclipse Res. 1Q16: Drills Longest Shale Well Ever! “Purple Hayes”). The well was drilled in just 18 days and included 124 frac stages–truly astonishing! Not long after Eclipse announced the completion of Purple Hayes, Nine Energy stepped up to say they helped drill the well (see Nine Energy Completed World’s Longest Shale Well – in the Utica). Another company has just stepped up to say they also had a hand in drilling and completing the well–Deep Well Services (DWS). We’ve told you about DWS in the past, a Pennsylvania-based “snubbing” company (see PA “Snubbing” Company DWS Experiences Rapid Expansion). What’s a snubber and what role did it play in completing the Purple Hayes?…
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As the M&A World Turns: Williams Still Wants to Marry ETE

As the World TurnsBoth Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) and Williams yesterday issued statements about their proposed/impending merger that say Form S-4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been ruled “effective.” As we so often point out, we’re not Wall Street wizards. From what we can determine, an S-4 is a filing between companies that propose to merge. The SEC is (we think) saying that the proposed stock swap between ETE and Williams can move forward, when and if the merger closes. That is, the SEC is cool with the proposed plan to merge. ETE points out there are still roadblocks to such a merger, and Williams continues to press several lawsuits to force ETE into the merger they (ETE) wanted in the first place. Below we have yesterday’s statement about the S-4 along with ETE’s continued “but but but” statement. We also include some interesting and insightful analysis from a writer on the Seeking Alpha investors website…
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Baker Hughes Reorg/Leadership Change; Buying Back $1B in Debt

Baker Hughes logoRecently the proposed merger/buyout of Baker Hughes (BH) by Halliburton crashed and burned (see Obama DOJ Kills Halliburton/Baker Hughes Merger, Deal “Terminated”). So what happens now? It certainly helped that BH got a $3.5 BILLION break-up fee from Halliburton (see The Road Ahead for Baker Hughes – Post Halliburton Deal). They’ve received the money and per their previous statements, BH is now paying off debts with the money. The company is also changing up its leadership structure, combining and eliminating certain operations–all in a move to make the company stronger to weather the severe downturn in the oilfield services market. Below we have a pair of announcements on the post-Halliburton evolution of BH…
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Shell Cutting Another 2,200 Jobs Post-BG Merger, 12,500 Total

cutting jobsIn February Shell completed the merger with/purchase of BG Group–the largest such megamerger since Exxon bought Mobil in the 1990s (see Shell & BG One Company After Today, Shell Ponies Up $14.4B Cash). Shell’s purchase of BG was all about LNG–liquefied natural gas (see LNG Love Story: Shell Makes Play to Buy BG in $69.7B Megamerger). As part of the purchase, Shell was up front about the fact that they would lay off some 10,000 people in the combined company (see Shell to Cut 10,000 Jobs After Buying BG; Exiting Shale Drilling). That process has already begun. And unfortunately, Shell announced yesterday they will cut an extra 2,200 jobs, taking the grand total to nearly 12,500 job cuts from 2015 through the end of 2016…
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Boston “Religious” Leaders Arrested for Blocking Pipeline Work

Left your first loveLast July MDN told you about a group of so-called religious leaders from the Boston area who have taken to worshiping Mother Earth (the creation) instead of worshiping the Creator (see Group of Bostonians Use Religion to Protest 5-Mile Natgas Pipeline). We won’t belabor the point we’ve made so often, that these people are hypocrites in the extreme by protesting “fossil fuels” when their very existence is dependent on fossil fuels. This group of so-called religious leaders are against a 5-mile natural gas pipeline that will deliver more cheap, abundant, clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas to local residents in the Boston area. Their sole objection to the pipeline is that natural gas is a fossil fuel, and they object to burning fossil fuels based on twisted religious grounds (even though they arrive at protest events in vehicles powered by fossil fuels). Fine. Let them spout off and make jerks of themselves. We have a First Amendment that allows them to do just that. But spouting off is not enough for this crew. They’ve taken to breaking the law. A group of these misguided “religious leaders” were arrested yesterday because they blocked a construction site for the pipeline, shutting down construction and costing Spectra Energy, the company building it, a load of money. Perhaps the parishioners at the “churches” (and synagogues and mosques) led by these “leaders” will enjoy seeing their offering money go to fund damages?…
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The Carbon Crazies Turn Out at Exxon Mobil’s Annual Meeting

System ChangeThe climate changer crazies were in full regalia outside of the Dallas, TX facility where Exxon Mobil was holding its annual meeting yesterday morning. Sporting signs that said “Keep It in the Ground” and “System Change not Climate Change” (which was from “an ecosocialist coalition”) and many others, these nutjobs shouted at investors filing in to the facility. Christopher Helman, a reporter from Forbes, was on hand–both inside the meeting and outside to talk with the crazies (give that man hazard pay!). Helman files this report…
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MDN Off Friday & Monday for Memorial Day Holiday

Memorial DayMDN will not publish on Friday, May 26 or Monday, May 30 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. To be honest, it seems like most folks in the o&g industry have already headed out of town for the holiday. The news is scarce right now.

We encourage you to find a local parade or war memorial to pay your respects to our honored dead. The United States of America is (still) the greatest country on earth–no apologies. Our greatness has come at a high price. Freedom isn’t free, as the old cliche goes. So please take time to remember, to honor and think about the high price your freedom has cost.

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, May 26, 2016

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: Tallgrass in tall cotton with REX pipeline; closeup on 4 smaller Marc/Utica midstreamers; banks in Marc/Utica not hurt by downturn; OH’s wastewater volume jumps 43%; Atlantic Coast Pipeline a lifeline for the southeast; Colorado Dem gov says fracking is safe; the dawn of the Petroleum Age; Mark Ruffalo’s water scam; and more!
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