Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Wastewater

Range Drilling Mud Trips Radioactive Alarm at Landfill in SWPA
May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

Range Resources has confirmed that (run for the hills!) leftover drilling mud and dirt at a drill site in Washington County, PA has radioactivity levels slightly above background noise levels–a tad too high to be disposed of in a regular landfill. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette calls it “Marcellus Shale drilling sludge with radioactivity.” Which is laughable, since the PPG doesn’t report on the myriad of times medical waste from hospitals is rejected from the very same landfills for setting off radioactivity alarms. Why don’t we ever see stories about “radioactive needles”?…
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Energy Companies | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | West Virginia

Range Radioactive Containers Sent to WV for Disposal
May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

Since we’re on the topic of “radioactive” and Range, a second story today from Washington County, PA involving Range Resources. Back in March, a couple of roll-off boxes (large steel containers) with…drilling mud? drill cuttings? sludge? we’re not sure…tripped an alarm at the Arden Landfill in Chartiers (Washington County)…
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Chemung County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Meetings | New York | Research

Frack & Refrack: Drilling Expert Lectures SPE Group in PA
May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

NOTE: This story has been corrected. The SPE meeting was not in Horseheads, NY but was in Carnegie, PA. Sorry for the error!

In early May, Mike Vincent, an engineer and consultant with Insight Consulting, was the guest presenter at the Society of Petroleum Engineers local chapter meeting hosted in Carnegie, PA. Mike had a lot of great things to say–and to show (two big PowerPoint presentations embedded below). Among the gems we found in Mike’s presentation: Marcellus wells drilled with 500 foot spacing produce as much as those spaced 1,000 feet apart, which means they don’t “compete” for the same gas reserves. Translation: closer well spacing means more wells per square mile, more production, and more profit for the driller and the landowner…
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CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | NiSource | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Rice Energy | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics | XTO

Rice Energy Big Winner of 2014 Energy Leadership Awards in Pitt
May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

Three people won the prize for Top Energy Executive of the year. All three have the same last name. All three work for the same company. And the company also has the same name as the three winners: Rice. Dan Rice IV, president and CEO, Toby Rice, COO, and Derek Rice, VP of exploration and geology won the Pittsburgh Business Times’ top honors at the 2014 Annual Energy Leadership Awards. A ceremony with over 400 people was held in Pittsburgh earlier this month where Derek was on hand to collect the prize for he and his brothers. In addition to big winner Rice Energy there were 20 other categories and award winners…
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Chesapeake Energy | Encana Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Michigan | Statewide MI

Chesapeake Says Michigan AG is Cherry Picking Emails in Case
May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

Chesapeake Energy is, much to the consternation of Michigan’s overzealous Attorney General Bill Schuette, not rolling over, playing dead, nor coughing up big bucks in payoff money over alleged “collusion” to suppress auction prices for gas leases (see Michigan AG Continues Case Against Chesapeake for Lease Collusion). The case Michigan has built hinges on arguably illegally-obtained internal emails from Chesapeake, obtained by the Reuters news service under a still-unaccounted for method (see Did Reuters Break the Law with Latest Chesapeake Story?). Chesapeake says AG Schuette is, in essence, cherry picking and disclosing a few emails to cast the company in a bad light…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Guernsey County | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Monroe County | Ohio

Kudos: Gulfport Energy Donates $400K to OH Non-Profits
May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

Gulfport Energy has just done a very nice thing for the residents of eastern Ohio. Last Thursday Gulfport’s CEO Michael Moore was on hand in Cambridge (Guernsey County), OH to bestow a $400,000 gift to the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio. The gift is called the Gulfport Energy Fund and will be used for non-profits and educational institutions in those communities where Gulfport is actively drilling: Belmont, Guernsey, Harrison, or Monroe counties…
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BP | Energy Companies | Ohio | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

BP Pullout from Trumbull County has Real Costs for Locals
May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

A month ago MDN brought you the sad news that BP is pulling out of the Utica Shale and their leases in Trumbull County, OH (see BP Calls it Quits in the Utica Shale – Total Write-off). BP’s departure from Trumbull County means more than just lost potential royalties. It affects employment at local businesses, and grants for local schools…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, May 28, 2014
May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

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