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PA DEP Suspends ME2 Pipe Drilling at Marsh Creek State Park
While drilling in Chester County earlier this week in the Marsh Creek State Park, Energy Transfer’s Mariner East 2X pipeline experienced an “inadvertent return”–nontoxic drilling mud coming up out of the ground where it’s not supposed to (see Mariner East 2X Construction Causes Another Drilling Mud Spill). In this case the mud came up in a small section of the 535-acre Marsh Creek Lake. Under withering criticism and pressure from anti-fossil fuel groups, the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a press release yesterday to say that all pipeline drilling at the site has been “suspended indefinitely.”
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At a ceremony in Pittsburgh yesterday, federal EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Administrator Andrew Wheeler unveiled two new rules for the oil and natural gas industry that removes ineffective and duplicative methane detection requirements while streamlining others. Just before the Obamadroids left office, the Obama EPA slapped onerous and costly new regulations on methane emissions that don’t do anything but cost companies money. They certainly didn’t do anything to help the precious environment. Yesterday, after several years in the making, the EPA fixed the Obama overregulation issue with respect to methane emissions.
In June MDN told you that a New York City law firm was “investigating” Cabot Oil & Gas with an eye to filing a class action lawsuit, on behalf of investors, over false allegations made by the Pennsylvania Attorney General who had filed felony charges against Cabot regarding a long-closed regulatory issue in Dimock, PA (see 
Another week, another look at the rig count. The onshore rig count continues to bump along near the bottom of historic lows. It’s not AT the bottom (thank God), but it does continue to flirt with low numbers. According to Enverus, which tracks rigs using GPS units, the count bottomed at the beginning of July with 264 active rigs. Since then it’s risen and currently stands around 280 rigs. Week to week it goes up and it goes down, but not down significantly. According to Enverus, the count lost a rig last week.
Looks like top management at Chesapeake Energy getting millions in bonuses just before declaring bankruptcy isn’t the only company to engage in this disgusting practice (see 
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