Marcellus Drilling News

Crime | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio

Youngstown, OH Illegal Wastewater Dumping Happened “At Least” 24X
September 4, 2013

A long, sad chapter is about to close on the case of wastewater dumping in the Youngstown, OH area last year and earlier this year. MDN previously told you about Ben Lupo, the owner of Hardrock Excavating and its sister company D&L Energy, who instructed a one of his Hardrock employees to dump shale drilling wastewater into a storm drain (under cover of darkness) that eventually ended up in the Mahoning River. Early on it was thought there were something like six instances of illegal dumping (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater).

Under oath, the employee who did the illegal dumping, Michael Guesman, admitted it was “at least” 24 times. Ouch…
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Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Range Resources Corp | Sunoco Logistics

Sunoco Says Mariner West Opening Soon, but Range Already Using??
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

Although not publicly announced by Sunoco Logistics Partners, MDN told you back at the end of July that we spotted an admission from Range Resources that the first batch of ethane had been piped from the Marcellus Shale in western PA to Sarnia, Ontario (Canada) via the Mariner West pipeline (see Big News: Marcellus Ethane Now Exporting to Canada Cracker Plant). Was Range lying? We don’t think so–but today we noticed a small article published by Bloomberg (known to fudge the truth) that says the Mariner West pipeline will begin service in late September or early October. Huh?…
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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Research

IHS Research: Every US Household Saves Avg $1,200/Year from Shale
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

In October 2011, global research company IHS released the first (of three) volumes in a new study titled America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the US Economy (see Shale Drilling will Create 3.5M Jobs, $5.1T in Investment). In December 2012, they released the second volume (see New Report: Fracking Creates Jobs in States with No Drilling). Today, September 4, 2013, IHS releases the third and final volume, which deals with the manufacturing renaissance currently under way because of shale gas and oil (see it below).

The surprise finding in this latest research study: Because shale oil and gas have lowered the cost of energy by so much in America, lower costs are passed along to consumers not only in lower utility bills, but also in lower costs for manufactured goods because the cost of manufacturing has decreased (from lower energy bills). All told, the average household in America saved $1,200 per year in 2012–a number that will grow to $2,000 per year by 2015 and $3,500 by 2025. Bottom line: Every single citizen in this country is benefiting–right now–from the shale revolution. This is not “just a few farmers and drillers get rich” phenomenon. We all realize a significant monetary benefit from shale…
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Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies

Carrizo Dumps “Non-Core” Assets in Barnett, E Texas & Marcellus
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

Carrizo Oil & Gas, a driller in the Marcellus Shale as well as in other shale plays, announced today it has sold the rest of its remaining Barnett Shale properties (the first shale play for Carrizo’s drilling) as well as selling off other “non-core” assets in East Texas and in the Marcellus itself. Proceeds from the sales: $268 million, which Carrizo plans to use to pay back loans and for more drilling mostly in the Eagle Ford Shale. The Utica Shale is in Carrizo’s sites for 2014.

There’s nothing in today’s statement that indicates Carrizo is abandoning the Marcellus, although their recent 2Q13 financial/operational update indicates they have scaled back a great deal on the Marcellus (see Carrizo Oil & Gas 2Q13: Scaling Back in the Marcellus…for Now). Carrizo’s statement (below) does not indicate where the 2,850 “non-core” acres they’ve just sold in the Marcellus are located…
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Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH’s Utica Shale Drillers Go South
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

Ace reporter Bob Downing from the Akron Beacon Journal does a great job in an article published yesterday with reviewing the most recent permit (and drilling) trends in Ohio. What did he find? Most drillers are moving their permits and their drilling rigs to the southern part of the state. Carroll County remains the current champ for Utica Shale drilling with 319 wells permitted (38% of all Utica Shale wells in Ohio). However, at some point in the not-too-distant-future that will change…
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Energy Services | Heckmann | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

Nuverra Environmental Sued Over Stock Price Tumble
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

At the end of July, MDN told you (sort of tongue-in-cheek) that Nuverra Environmental Solutions (formerly Heckmann), a company that recycles and otherwise disposes of shale drilling wastewater and leftover rock and dirt from drilling, was blaming “too much success” in the Marcellus/Utica for their poor quarterly earnings report (see Wastewater Company Nuverra: Too Much Success in Marcellus/Utica). Nuverra’s rapidly expanding Marcellus operation led to more outsourcing and less profitability, it seems. It also seems Nuverra now has a much bigger problem than a bustling Marcellus–they’re being sued in a class action by investors.

The class action, filed by very active law firm Robbins Geller, alleges that Nuverra previously “issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s financial performance and future prospects.” Because of the alleged false statements, Nuverra’s stock traded at artificially inflated prices. What went up (the stock price) has now come down (see the chart below), and investors (or at least the lawyers) are not pleased…
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Alternative Energy | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio

Poor Biofuels are Feeling Picked-on…Boo Hoo
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

The biofuel industry is in a pout. So-called biofuels have long been known to be way more expensive than other forms of energy, like fossil fuels. Biofuels also drive up the price of food staples like corn, creating shortages in poor countries like Mexico. Feeling picked-on by others who point out such inconvenient truths, the biofuel industry has just launched a propaganda advertising campaign called “You’re no Dummy” in Youngstown, OH and in other markets across the U.S. It’s an attempt to smear the oil and gas industry which has taken off like a rocket over the past few years because of shale drilling.

The new ad campaign from “advocacy group” Growth Energy is truly rich…
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About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Sep 2-15, 2013 [Free]
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

Below are upcoming events for this week and next.
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Sep 4, 2013
September 4, 2013September 4, 2013

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