Marcellus Drilling News

PVR Announces $380 Million Investment in NE PA Marcellus

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012

kick it up a notch Penn Virginia Resource Partners (PVR) is kicking up its commitment to the Marcellus Shale in northeastern PA a notch. Yesterday they announced they would invest $380 million on Marcellus Shale pipeline projects including a new extension to its natural gas pipeline in Lycoming County, PA. The announcement also reveals that they have commitments from Shell, Southwestern, Range and Inflection for the extra capacity and services. Yesterday PVR completed a previously announced deal to acquire Chief Gathering.

From the PVR press release:

Statewide WV | West Virginia

Why 4 Months to Approve WV Marcellus Permits?

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Secretary Randy Huffman says it’s taking about four months on average to process a Marcellus Shale gas well permit in WV—which is about three months longer than it should be taking, according to Huffman. Why the delay? Four reasons:

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Union Support for Marcellus Drilling at PA Rally

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012

The Marcellus Shale Coalition, a Pennsylvania-based industry group headed by Kathryn Klaber, held a rally at the Capitol in Harrisburg on Monday. Their aim was to dispel two popular myths about drilling in the Marcellus Shale: that the jobs are temporary, non-union jobs, and that the jobs all go to out-of-state workers from Texas and Oklahoma.

At the rally to support the Coalition were union members from the Laborers’ International Union of North America, who presented evidence that it’s local, union membership that often fills positions in the Marcellus workforce.

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

NYC Comptroller Opposes 2 Chesapeake Board Members

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012

New York City Comptroller John Liu wrote a letter to Chesapeake Energy shareholders encouraging them to vote “no” on the re-election of two members to the board of directors. Why does it matter what the New York City Comptroller thinks? Because New York City owns 1.9 million shares of Chesapeake stock—not an insignificant amount.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

G8 Ministers Give Fracking the Thumbs Up

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012

Looks like the G8 members—countries that belong to “the group of eight” of the largest economies in the world (the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, the United States, Japan, Italy and Canada)—think fracking is a good idea. So says the official communiqué issued by the ministers that met last weekend at Camp David.

Louisville, OH to Sell Chesapeake Water for Fracking

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012

The Louisville City Council (Stark County, OH) passed an agreement yesterday to sell both potable and treated sewage water to Chesapeake Energy for their use in fracking Utica Shale wells. The water purchase agreement runs through 2017.

Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Injecting Some Realism in the Shale Gas Debate

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012

Writing in the Financial Post, Vaclav Smil, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and until 2011 a Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Manitoba gives some sage advice on the wild claims on both sides of the shale gas drilling isle:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, May 22, 2012

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012

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