Marcellus Drilling News

NY Democrat Assembly Tries New Tactic to Derail Fracking

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

no cabal In a measure backed by the anti-drilling Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the New York State Assembly has set aside $100,000 to conduct an “independent” health impact study of hydraulic fracturing in its budget for next fiscal year. The measure was proposed by NY State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (Democrat from Ithaca, NY). Lifton is part of an anti-drilling cabal of the NRDC, Park Foundation and others who are desperately trying to prevent hydraulic fracturing from happening in New York State. Chief tactic number one? Slow it down by delays and studies until they can eventually kill it.

Home Rule Didn’t Work in PA, So Why Would it in NY?

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

The headline of this post is the point of a press release issued earlier this week by the Dryden Safe Energy Coalition (DSEC), a group based near Ithaca, NY that seeks to remove the hype and emotion from the debate over hydraulic fracturing and shale gas drilling and instead provide science and facts. The DSEC issued a press release (below) which makes the point that Pennsylvania has had a lot more experience with shale gas drilling than New York and has found that a “patchwork quilt of local regulations” on the municipal level did not work, so PA replaced home rule with statewide regulations.

The DSEC says: “If local home rule does not work in Pennsylvania, it is clear it will not be workable in New York.” (Listen up, NY Republican State Senator James Seward.)

From the DSEC press release:

The (Long) Timeline for Building an Ethane Cracker Plant

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

An article in today’s Pittsburgh Tribune-Review calls attention to what MDN pointed out yesterday about the Shell CEO comment that a decision on whether or not to build an ethane cracker plant in Appalachia is “years away” (see this MDN story). However, the T-R article adds some interesting information from Shell’s competitor Chevron about how many ethane cracker plants the region can support, and how long it takes to build a plant once the decision is made:

Alternative Energy | Industrywide Issues

The Green Energy Hoax Exposed

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

An excellent commentary on CBS Moneywatch (yes, CBS!) points out the folly of green energy jobs and takes some jabs at solar and the “fad” of electric cars. The article starts this way:

Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | Regulation | Statewide OH

OH Gov. Kasich Signs Exec Order on Shale Processing Plants

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed an executive order on Monday giving the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Industrial Compliance the sole authority to oversee construction of shale gas processing plants in the state.

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Hancock County | West Virginia

Chesapeake Set to Drill First Shale Well in Hancock County, WV

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

If plans hold, Chesapeake Energy will drill the first shale gas well in Hancock County, WV within the next few months. Hancock is the northern-most county in WV.

Anadarko | Energy Companies

Anadarko Decreasing Number of Marcellus Rigs by 40%

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

Yesterday Anadarko Petroleum announced its 2012 capital plan. Anadarko’s activities in the Marcellus get a brief mention. Anadarko’s lease holdings in the Marcellus are primarily in north-central Pennsylvania, the non-wet gas area. Therefore, they are scaling back drilling in the Marcellus for 2012.

From the Anadarko press release:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Mar 13, 2012

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: