A couple of nifty maps to share with you, courtesy of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources. The ODNR recently updated their maps showing both Utica Shale activity (permitted, drilled, producing, etc.), and showing the same for Marcellus wells in Ohio. Yes! There are a few Marcellus wells in Ohio…
Read More “Latest ODNR Maps Showing Where Utica/Marcellus Wells are Located”
Well-scripted and organized “environmental” groups, including the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the odious Food & Water Watch, THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Sierra Clubbers and other assorted nutjobs have banded together and, using the deep pockets of the Park Foundation and other financiers of tyranny, have launched the “Not One Well” advertising campaign. The new campaign is designed to browbeat, cajole and otherwise threaten one person, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, into not allowing a single shale well to be drilled in NY state. Using the same old scare tactics and completely debunked junk science, they’re turning up the heat as the deadline draws near (Dec. 31st) by which Cuomo hinted that he would make a decision on fracking in the Empire State. Of course he won’t make a decision by then, so we’re not sure why they have their knickers in a twist. But hey, let them blow another million or two on wasted advertising. Who cares?…
Read More “NY Anti-Drillers Launch Yet Another PR Effort: Not One Well”
Last week Eclipse Resources provided an operational update to say they’ve now brought six new Utica Shale wells online over the past two months. The company’s statement doesn’t say where those wells are located, but we have some theories on that. The update also says they plan to bring another five Utica wells online by the end of this year…
Read More “Eclipse Resources Brings 6 Utica Wells Online, 5 More by Dec 31”
Warren Resources is an independent exploration and production company headquartered in New York City. Warren has ongoing drilling programs in California, Wyoming, and in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale. Or rather, they own leases on 6,982 acres in the Marcellus. We don’t believe they’ve drilled a single well in the Marcellus to date–but perhaps that’s about to change? Last Friday the company announced the sudden departure of its CEO and Chairman of the Board, Philip Epstein. In his place as interim CEO will be board member Lance Peterson, and as interim Chairman of the Board, Dominick D’Alleva. Lance Peterson is the founder and current CEO of Citrus Energy–so it appears that he’ll balance running two companies at the same time. Citrus *is* an active driller in the PA Marcellus…
Read More “CEO of Warren Resources Quits, Replaced by Citrus Energy CEO”
Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Tom Wolf continues to get the Ed Rendell band back together again–the same bunch that ran PA into the financial ditch under Rendell. First he appointed Katie McGinty, former Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) under Rendell, as his chief of staff. Now Wolf has appointed another Rendell Sec. of DEP, John Hanger, as his Secretary of Planning and Policy. Must be Wolf has a thing for DEP Secretaries. You may recall Hanger ran against Wolf (and against McGinty) in the Democrat primary for governor this year, but dropped out in March (see Pass One Last Joint for John Hanger). Hanger can’t wait to cook up high severance taxes on drillers. Why is it Democrats always salivate when they think about taking other people’s money?…
Read More “PA Gov-Elect Wolf Appoints John Hanger Secretary of High Taxes”
This is the ongoing saga of Ohio House Bill 490, a Hail Mary comprehensive omnibus bill that would tackle a number of issues, including fixing reporting rules that restore access to a database of chemicals used at various drilling sites to first responders (their access was taken away by anti-drillers last year, see OH Antis Force Change in Chemical Reporting, Everyone Less Safe). The ODNR wants new language in HB 490 to fix the problem, but the language passed, once passed through politicians’ hands, turned from gold into lead (see OH Senate Asked to Fix Language in Frack Chemical Reporting Bill). Although the Senate is trying to plug all of the holes in 490, it looks like the good ship 490 is about to sink…
Read More “OH House Bill 490 in Trouble – Frack Chemical Data for 1st Responders”
You just have to admire the Susquehanna River Basin Commission. They meet, they get things done. Decisions are made, regulations updated, projects approved (or not). And a great many of the things they deal with are related to Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania. Contrast that to the Delaware River Basin Commission where there is no Marcellus Shale drilling–where the DRBC has an ongoing dysfunction when it comes to shale drilling. At any rate, last week the SRBC met again and a whole list of items got completed, including 17 applications for water withdrawals…
Read More “SRBC Hums Along – Approves 17 New Water Withdrawal Projects”
For some time MDN has written and highlighted articles about Bakken Shale crude oil that gets to market largely on railroads. The short version of the story is this: Bakken crude contains a lot of NGLs (natural gas liquids), like ethane, butane, propane. The NGLs make the crude more ignitable and flammable if there’s an accident. And there’s always an accident–at some point in some place. A number of Bakken crude trains run through New York State and of course NY’s anti-drillers object (what don’t they object too?). We’ve heard lovely metaphors and analogies like “bombs on rails” and “death trains.” On Tuesday, the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) met and passed a controversial measure to fix the problem. Starting April 1st, oil companies will have to strip out most of the NGLs before the oil is loaded onto railcars. Of course that won’t appease anti-drillers, but it will make communities through which the trains pass safer than they are now…
Read More “ND Regulators Pass Rule Making Bakken Crude by Rail Safer”
Two weeks ago MDN gave E&P and midstream companies a heads-up that another onerous new “rule” (i.e. law) is coming from the out-of-control Obama Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that requires energy companies to file greenhouse gas emissions reports for just about everything–wellpads, pipelines, compressor stations (see EPA Issues New Rules for O&G Industry on GHG Emissions Reporting). A whole new level of reporting is coming at you. On Tuesday the EPA published their proposed rule change in the Federal Register (copy below)…
Read More “Clock Ticking for Comment on EPA Rule on Greenhouse Gas Reporting”
Each quarter the Ohio law firm of Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP produces an Ohio shale update. MDN often shares their updates–well worth your time to read. The latest edition, covering Utica Shale activity in the third quarter of 2014, is embedded below. This issue highlights infrastructure announcements, financial results for some of the Utica’s largest drillers, supply chain news and regulatory news. Take time to read this well-crafted summary (will only take you a few minutes)…
Read More “Benesch Shale Report 3Q14: Upstream, Midstream & Downstream”