Bradford Landowners Release Powerful Video: PA Royalty Ripoff
A little over a month ago, Bradford County, PA commissioners voted to hire a public relations firm to create a video to force the issue of passing House Bill (HB) 1391, a bill ensuring PA’s landowners will receive a 12.5% royalty check regardless of post-production costs (see Bradford Votes to Hire PR Firm, Targets PA Lawmakers re Royalties). The video is out and it is powerful–watch it below. The video leaves little doubt that Chesapeake Energy has dealt in bad faith with landowners in Bradford County. The local animal care shelter signed a lease with Chesapeake, and instead of getting royalty checks, they’ve gotten a bill from Chesapeake stating the shelter OWES Chesapeake $30,000! What landowner, in their right mind, will EVER sign a lease with Chesapeake again if others sign and end up owing the company money? It’s nuts–and everyone knows it. The purpose of the video is to push passage of House Bill (HB) 1391 which would guarantee landowners receive what they were promised–12.5% royalties from the gas sold. However, the drilling industry continues to push legislators to defeat the bill. Their argument is that the entire industry of already-signed contracts should not be abandoned over the actions of one bad actor. Last Friday the American Petroleum Institute sent a letter to PA legislators (copy below) outlining their reasons. The royalty civil war continues…
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Question: How can your business take advantage of the development of a petrochemical industry in your backyard? That was the question and premise behind a new white paper/report from the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center. The white paper, titled “Shell Petrochemical Complex (“Cracker”) Project Overview – The First Step in Establishing a Regional Petrochemical Sector” (full copy below) provides an excellent overview of the coming ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA–with details for how and who can benefit from it. The paper is mainly aimed at manufacturers that will be able to leverage the output from the plant–but there’s plenty of other great information in this paper to inspire and get your creative business juices flowing. Take time to download and read it. The future of your business may depend on it!…
The table has been turned on Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and her corrupt co-conspirator, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. A U.S. District Court Judge in Texas has granted Exxon the right to examine “internal phone records, other communications and depositions” related to Healey’s involvement in attempting to persecute Exxon Mobil for daring to say man-made global warming may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Perhaps the judge will also extend his order to NY AG Eric Schnedierman too? That would be terrific. At a minimum, when Exxon goes fishing, no doubt communications (i.e. corrupt collusion) between Healey and Schneiderman will be found and exposed to the light of day for all to see. In our wildest dreams both AGs will be forced to resign–an appropriate action considering their rabidly radical views against, and attempts to criminalize, fossil fuels. Here’s the low down on what the judge said and did…
In May MDN brought you the story that Columbiana, OH was contemplating aiding and abetting a fracking company in its quest to expand (see 
As we pointed out last week, the Canadian Goldboro LNG export plant continues to see activity, with an expected commitment coming in the next couple of months (see 
When it comes to voting for a U.S. Senator in this year’s Pennsylvania race, there really is only one choice if you value the Marcellus industry: Hold your nose and vote for Pat Toomey. Toomey is a consummate Washington sleazebag insider. He represents everything we hate about Washington and the establishment politicians that infest it. However, his opponent, Katie McGinty, is a radical anti-drilling environmentalist. She is someone committed to eliminating the use of fossil fuels, and a disciple of blithering idiot Al Gore. Big Green groups have spent a collective $3.6 million, so far, to elect McGinty. That tells you everything you need to know. On the other hand, the Koch Brothers (i.e. “Big Oil”) have spent $7.2 million to re-elect Toomey. The Koch’s have earned their way onto our permanent feces list with their active opposition to The Donald. So we have no love for the Kochs, or for “bought” politicians like Toomey. However, these are the cards we’re dealt and the hand we must play. What is interesting to us is that the media is framing the race between McGinty and Toomey as Big Green vs Big Oil. Fine. We’ll bite. Here’s how the match shaping up…
Two weeks ago MDN brought you news that oilfield services company Mammoth Energy Services, headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, with operations in both the Utica Shale and Permian Basin, was floating a new initial public offering (see 
Over the past six months or so MDN has repeatedly read about drillers in the Marcellus/Utica drilling longer laterals (the horizontal part of the well) and using way more sand to keep the cracks propped open longer. And between longer laterals and more sand, drillers in the northeast are getting higher output from their wells. So it was with some interest (and skepticism) that we read about new research that says longer laterals don’t lead to greater production totals. The research is from a respected source: Bernstein Research. However, the data used was only from the Barnett Shale–so it’s not clear to us how relevant the findings are for northeast drillers. Here’s what the research says…
Events related to drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shale, primarily pro-drilling.
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Tokyo Gas buys stake in NY gas-fired electric plant; minor delay in Atlantic Sunrise pipeline; weekly natgas rig counts returns “with a vengeance”; global warming be damned; warming alarmists disappointed Hurrican Matthew didn’t do more damage; and more!