Marcellus Drilling News

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Dem Senators Want to Ban PA Drill Cuttings from NY Landfills
May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

Not only do the anti-drilling Democrats in in the New York Senate want to keep shale drilling banned in the state (lack of drilling is destroying the upstate economy), now they also want to ban drill cuttings (leftover rock and dirt) from Pennsylvania from coming into the state for disposal in NY landfills. This has real implications. Currently, we’re aware of at least one landfill–in Chemung County–that accepts safe drill cuttings (see Radiation Testing Shows Marcellus Shale Drill Cuttings are Safe for Chemung County, NY Landfill). According to the Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli, “a lot of landfills” in upstate NY accept drill cuttings. The landfilling of drill cuttings (mined before fracking takes place and perfectly safe–it’s dirt and rock for heaven’s sake!) benefits all county residents by keeping landfill operating costs lower than they otherwise would be.

Now the radical, vicious anti-drilling Dems in the Senate want to take even that meager revenue away from upstate communities. The only conclusion you can draw is that they intentionally want to harm the residents of upstate NY…
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Energy Companies | Rice Energy

Rice Energy 1Q14: 41 Wells Online Producing 209 Mmcf/d Average
May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

Rice Energy, one of the newest Marcellus/Utica drillers, issued their first quarter 2014 financial and operational update yesterday. Rice, you may recall, went public and issued stocks in January of this year, raising $924 million (see Rice Energy IPO Soars, Brings in $84M More Than Expected). Looks like they put it to good use.

In 1Q14 Rice produced an average 209 million cubic feet of natural gas per day–a 135% increase over 1Q13 and a 36% increase over the previous quarter (4Q13). Impressive, especially when you consider the company has only has 41 wells online and producing since it began in 2011. Below is yesterday’s update from Rice, along with the official company PowerPoint (lots of interesting slides) issued by Rice in April…
Read More “Rice Energy 1Q14: 41 Wells Online Producing 209 Mmcf/d Average”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

OH Sen. Brown, 21 Others Send Anti-LNG Export Letter to Obama
May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

Some 21 Democrat U.S. Senators and 1 RINO Republican (Susan Collins from Maine) signed a letter to President Obama on Monday asking him to hold up on exporting LNG because, they claim, it will lead to higher natural gas prices here at home. Such loving, caring people those Democrats–always concerned for “the little guy.” What utter horse manure. The entire lot of them, including the shameful Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown are either stupid or (more likely) have an ulterior political motive–something that involves money and perhaps kickbacks to their campaign coffers. What else can explain such collective lunacy by Democrats and Democrat-lite Collins?

Below is the press release from the shameful OH Sen. Sherrod Brown, a copy of the letter sent by this cabal, and the entire list of who signed…
Read More “OH Sen. Brown, 21 Others Send Anti-LNG Export Letter to Obama”
Delaware County (PA) | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | PVR Midstream

Happy Ending? ULS Awarded $24.3M from PVR for Unpaid Invoices
May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

In March MDN brought you the story that Utility Line Services Inc. (ULS), a construction company that works for utility companies–like digging trenches and laying pipeline–sued PVR Marcellus Gas Gathering in a Delaware County, PA court (see ULS Says PVR Marcellus Bankrupted Their Company by Not Paying). ULS says PVR owes them more than $17.7 million in unpaid invoices and another $7.8 million in lost profits–and that the unpaid invoices caused the company to declare bankruptcy, closing their doors. A sad story.

Good news (?) for ULS. In what is believed to be the biggest jury award of its kind in PA, the court ruled in favor of ULS and awarded them $24.3 million to be paid by PVR. The problem remains that ULS had to go out of business and 600 jobs were lost and they had to liquidate their equipment. So although this is good news, it’s small consolation after the company had to declare bankruptcy…
Read More “Happy Ending? ULS Awarded $24.3M from PVR for Unpaid Invoices”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

US Senators Join Chorus: “Illegal” Steel Pipe Dumping by S Korea
May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

On Monday MDN reported that the chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Robert F. Powelson, was up in arms over what he considers to be the illegal dumping of steel pipes by South Korea in the U.S. (see New Issue: Ban Use of Cheap/Imported Steel Pipes in PA Marcellus?). Many (most?) of those steel pipes are being used by the shale drilling industry across the country, including (presumably) in the Marcellus/Utica region.

Powelson is not the only person to voice a concern. Now, liberal Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and conservative Republican Senator Jeff Sessions (Alabama) have joined the chorus. Citing a new report that says illegal dumping of steel pipes threatens a half million U.S. jobs, Brown and Session are pushing U.S. trade officials to remove an exemption on steel imports for South Korea…
Read More “US Senators Join Chorus: “Illegal” Steel Pipe Dumping by S Korea”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues

Latest Earthjustice Scam: “Clean Air” Petition Signed by 64 People
May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

Here’s a scam for you. If you’re an anti-driller, make up a hokey name like Berks Gas Truth, Riverkeeper, Catskill Mountain Keeper, or Breathe Easy Susquehanna County–claim it’s a huge, many-membered group (when it has half a dozen or less active members), and then be used by a small group of fanatical lawyers in Washington, DC calling themselves Earthjustice to claim “64 environmental and community groups” are “demanding” the federal government, via the EPA, should illegally usurp individual state’s rights and begin regulating the oil and gas industry by the back door–using the Federal Clean Air Act. Which is just what Earthjustice is claiming with its latest publicity stunt. The radical (and small) Earthjustice has prepared a proposed rulemaking petition for the federal EPA and used their loosely affiliated lackeys in the aforementioned “groups” (64 in all) to “sign” the “petition”. And news outlets like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette fell for it hook, line and sinker, reporting it as real news when it’s nothing more than yet another propaganda play.

When was the last time a group like Earthjustice organized a 3,000-member rally against drilling like was recently held by pro-drillers in Harrisburg, PA (see First-Hand Account of History-Making PA Energy Rally). What’s that…Never? That would be correct. Below is the so-called petition written by a few lawyers in DC, signed by a few devoted anti-drillers from the hinterlands, and packaged as a “movement” of gazillions of people rising up with pitchforks in hand to demand “clean air.” Plueeze…
Read More “Latest Earthjustice Scam: “Clean Air” Petition Signed by 64 People”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Trucking

PPG Says Drilling is Killing PA Residents – via Traffic Accidents
May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

We’re not exactly sure when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette turned anti-drilling. We’ve previously theorized that perhaps the drilling industry is throwing more advertising money to their arch-competitor, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and so the PPG’s strange turn to anti-drilling is either sour grapes, pay-back, or an elaborate shake down to get more ad revenue. However, one thing is for sure, the editors at the PPG don’t like drilling, as evidenced by the increasing number of negative articles and editorials they write about the industry. When they hired reporter Anya Litvak away from the Pittsburgh Business Times last year we were thrilled. After a few initial stories–they’ve all but hidden her talents away. We haven’t spotted an Anya story on shale in months.

Perhaps Pittsburgh-area residents should cancel their subscriptions to the PPG in protest? Here’s the latest editorial by the PPG that asserts “drilling will kill you because of traffic accidents” …
Read More “PPG Says Drilling is Killing PA Residents – via Traffic Accidents”
About MDN | Bradford County | MDN Sponsor | Pennsylvania | Tioga County (PA)

71 Acres of Marcellus/Utica Land in NE PA Goes to Auction June 12
May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

United Country Real Estate is back with their third auction of prime Marcellus/Utica real estate–this time located in Bradford and Tioga Counties, PA. Last October United Country had the foresight to advertise on MDN for their first Marcellus land auction (see 435 Acres of Marcellus Land in NE PA Goes to Auction Oct 30). That one went so well, they advertised a second auction in Tioga County, PA in March of this year. Now, they’re back again! (We thank them kindly.)

Below are the details for properties that will be auctioned on June 12. The three properties total roughly 71 acres and include a home and oil, gas and mineral rights. Click on the ad along the right or use the link below to find out more…
Read More “71 Acres of Marcellus/Utica Land in NE PA Goes to Auction June 12”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, May 14, 2014
May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

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: Wed, May 14, 2014”