Marcellus Drilling News

Broome County | Chenango County | Delaware County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Leatherstocking Gas | Madison County | New York | Pipelines | Williams

NY Company Plans to Tap Constitution Pipeline, Sell Locally
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

An important, and apart from MDN friend Andy Leahy, unreported development on the Constitution Pipeline, a new Marcellus Shale gas pipeline proposed by Williams and Cabot Oil & Gas that will run from Susquehanna County, PA to upstate New York (Schoharie County) where it will connect with two large interstate natural gas pipelines.

The important “new news” is that the Constitution will be an “open gas pipeline” and already one company—the Leatherstocking Gas Company of New York—plans to build an interconnect along the Constitution to buy and resell locally produced natural gas locally. Hey, there’s a concept! Leatherstocking plans to set up a low-cost natural gas distribution network in Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Madison counties in New York’s Southern Tier area.

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Washington County

MSC Responds to Allegations PA DEP Skews Drilling Water Tests
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

Late Friday MDN told you about an allegation made by PA State Rep. Jesse White (from western PA) and an attorney for a plaintiff in a lawsuit in Washington County, PA alleging well water was contaminated by nearby shale gas drilling. White and the attorney claim the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) knowingly suppressed water test results to the plaintiff and others that would have proven a link between drilling and water contamination (see this MDN story).

The DEP immediately responded, refuting the claim that they skew water tests. The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), an organization representing large and small drillers in Pennsylvania and throughout the Marcellus Shale, has also responded. Here’s what they said on Friday about Rep. White’s claims of fraud at the DEP:

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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

The Latest Permit/Drilling Numbers for OH Utica Shale
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

A quick update on numbers for the Utica Shale, including how many permits have been issued to date in the Utica, how many wells have been drilled, how many rigs are operating and how many permits have been issued county by county, courtesy MDN friend Bob Downing of the Akron Beacon Journal:

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Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Muskingum County | Ohio | Research

Ohio EPA Air Quality Monitoring Near Drill Site Shows Clean Air
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

Four months of air quality testing near shale gas drilling sites in Muskingum County, Ohio by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency show (trumpet fanfare)…the air is clean. Here’s what the Ohio EPA said late last week:

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Antero Resources | Energy Companies

Antero Resources Sells Piceance Assets, Now Focused on NE
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

Antero Resources announced today they are selling off 61,000 acres of leases and 30 miles of pipeline, along with other assets, in the Piceance Basin (pronounced “pee awns”, located in northwestern Colorado) for $325 million in cash to an unnamed private company.

The fact Antero is selling assets elsewhere would not normally be news for MDN—except this time. Why? The reason they’re selling it is to invest the money in more drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shale. With the sale of the Piceance, and earlier this year the sale of their Arkoma Basin assets, Antero is now totally focused on the Appalachian (Marcellus/Utica) basin.

Read More “Antero Resources Sells Piceance Assets, Now Focused on NE”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York

NYRAD Endorsements for NY Elections – Solid Democrat
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

Last week MDN brought you the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York voting guide (see this MDN story). Today, we bring you the New York Residents Against Drilling (NYRAD) voting guide. Why? So you know whom, precisely, to not vote for. Those in the NYRAD list (below) are people against shale gas drilling—people you do not want in public office at any level. No mystery here that every single one of them is a Democrat.

The list is mostly for races in Broome County, NY, with a few races in surrounding counties. Here’s the NYRAD list, received by MDN in an email over the weekend:

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Air Quality | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Wayne County

Anti-Drilling Group Does Air Sampling in Wayne County, PA
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

Anti-drilling group Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS)—a group supposedly based in Damascus Twp (Wayne County), Pennsylvania but with its actual headquarters in Manhattan, NYC—has hired Massachusetts-based Gas Safety Inc. to perform what they call baseline air testing in and around Damascus Twp. This is not the first time DCS and Gas Safety have teamed up for a hit job (see this MDN story).

The Damascus study supposedly provides baseline numbers for how much naturally occurring methane is in the air, just in case drilling should ever start in the township. Drilling is on hold everywhere in the Delaware Watershed Basin, which includes Damascus Twp, until/unless the Delaware Watershed Basin Commission votes to pass drilling rules that would allow it. What did Gas Safety find in its so-called “scientific” analysis of methane around Damascus? Let’s just say farmers with pooping cows may want to be concerned that DCS will be coming for them next…

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Stark County | Supply Chain

Rural OH Motel Sees Business Soar with Utica Drilling
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

It’s a story that’s told so much, people may get tired of hearing it: hotels and motels boom when there is shale drilling nearby. MDN delights in bringing you stories of small businesses that do well—extremely well—because of shale gas drilling. So please indulge us as we bring you one more, this one from rural Ohio…

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | Supply Chain | West Virginia

ShaleNavigator Cloud-Based Mapping Service Continues Expansion [Free]
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

MDN friend and “partner in crime” Ed Camp (from ShaleNavigator) released a press release on Friday to call attention to some of the latest and greatest features he’s added to the ShaleNavigator service—the web’s premier cloud-based shale mapping system. Ed’s ShaleNavigator maps are the basis for the MDN Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook series (see here for more info on the Databook).

We’re happy to bring you Ed’s latest press release, along with his offer of a free 7-day trial:

Read More “ShaleNavigator Cloud-Based Mapping Service Continues Expansion [Free]”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Adopts New Rules for Timely Review of Drilling Permits
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

In July of this year, PA Gov. Tom Corbett issued an executive order to the Dept. of Environmental Protection to streamline and cut down on the red tape involved in reviewing permits of various kinds, including permits for Marcellus Shale drilling. The AP and other lefty news organizations promptly jumped on the directive and attempted to smear Corbett by saying he’s trying to remove safeguards and as a result will put public health at risk (see this MDN story).

About a month later, the DEP issued a draft for a new permit review process (see this MDN story). Don’t tell the AP, but the DEP just officially published those draft rules and they are now the law in Pennsylvania. And not even a whisper from the mighty AP about it. Must be the shiny new object isn’t so shiny anymore—not even worth a mention by the AP. Do you now see why the mainstream media’s reporting is often referred to as “drive-by” reporting?

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Aqua America | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Aqua America Says Shale Gas Will be Big as Coal/Steel for PA
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

Last week Aqua America CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis addressed Drexel University students at the 2012 Energy/Utility Forum held at Drexel and told them the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania will be the biggest thing to come along, economically, since the “heydays” of coal and steel in the state.

Here’s a summary of what he said to Drexel students:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Nov 5, 2012
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

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

Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Nov 5, 2012”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Both Major & Minor NatGas Pipelines Go Unmapped in WV & OH?!
November 5, 2012November 6, 2012

According to a former oil and gas inspector with the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection, West Virginia and Ohio fail to map and keep track of where both major interstate and minor regional and gathering natural gas pipelines are built. Over time, according to this former official, people will forget. It also means there’s no regular inspection of pipelines for corrosion and leaks.

Read More “Both Major & Minor NatGas Pipelines Go Unmapped in WV & OH?!”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Chesapeake Energy Still in Love with Utica Shale
November 5, 2012November 6, 2012

Even though Chesapeake Energy posted a $2.1 billion loss for the third quarter, in an analyst call on Friday, Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon (“bad boy” poster child for anti-drillers) said he’s thrilled with the results the company is getting from the Utica Shale.

Here’s a recap of what McClendon and other top Chesapeake executives’ said on Friday about the Utica:

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