Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Rice Energy

Rice Bros. Win Proxy War to Control EQT – Toby Rice New CEO
July 10, 2019July 10, 2019

Toby Rice – New EQT CEO (photo credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Monumentally BIG NEWS! The Rice boys, Toby and Derek, have won the proxy fight to elect their candidates to the EQT board. In a joint announcement made this morning, preliminary results show the Rice boys prevailed in a huge upset (80% of the vote) to gain control of the largest natural gas producing company in the U.S. Later today the new board will meet and vote to appoint Toby Rice CEO and President of EQT. The firing and replacement of top management won’t be far behind.
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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Storage | Washington County

PA Landowners Seek Class Action Against EQT re Gas Storage
July 10, 2019July 10, 2019

Last July a group of 100+ southwestern Pennsylvania landowners sued EQT for failure to pay them rental fees for storing natural gas under their properties (see 100+ PA Landowners Sue EQT re Gas Storage Field Payments). That same group has just filed a request in U.S. District Court to upgrade the lawsuit to class action status, potentially including thousands of affected landowners.
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Energy Companies | Montage Resources

Montage Resources Cuts Drilling Program to 1 Rig in 2nd Half 2019
July 10, 2019July 10, 2019

Montage stock performance last 6 mo (click for larger version)

Montage Resources, which formed in a merger of Eclipse Resources and Blue Ridge Mountain Resources (formerly Magnum Hunter Resources) in March of this year, issued an operational update on Monday. The update says the company will produce more gas than it previously forecast for the second half of 2019. It also says because the price of gas is so darned low, they are cutting back from two to one active drilling rig in 2H19.
Read More “Montage Resources Cuts Drilling Program to 1 Rig in 2nd Half 2019”
Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | PTT Global | Supply Chain

Supplier Fair to Sell Products for OH Cracker Held in…London?
July 10, 2019July 10, 2019

Little by little, piece by piece, the evidence continues to mount that PTT Global Chemical and their partner Daelim Chemical will make a positive final investment decision (FID) to build a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker in Belmont County, OH. On Monday we told you the State of Ohio is investing another $30 million in the project, even though the project is not officially a done deal, yet (see Ohio Pays Another $30M to Kickstart PTT Belmont Cracker Project). Our latest bit of evidence that the Belmont cracker will indeed get built: PTT is holding a “supplier fair” for companies to win contracts to provide various supplies and equipment for the facility. Oh, and the supplier fair is being held in London–as in the United Kingdom!
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Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Ohio | Processing Plants | PTT Global | Shell

Steubenville, OH in the Catbird Seat – Between Two Crackers
July 10, 2019July 10, 2019

Location of Steubenville, halfway between Monaca, PA and Dilles Bottom, OH

Several weeks ago MDN editor Jim Willis attended the 2019 Northeast Petrochemical Conference and Expo in Pittsburgh. A major reason for attending such events is to connect with others in the industry. On this trip, Jim had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Bryce Custer, business director for global commercial real estate company NAI’s Ohio River Corridor division. Bryce’s job is to find real estate for companies in places where maybe real estate isn’t (yet) for sale. Companies like manufacturers who want to locate near the Shell and (soon, hopefully) PTT ethane cracker facilities–looking to locate in the Ohio River Valley. Bryce helps them find suitable locations. Bryce recently spoke to the Steubenville Revitalization Group and had an interesting observation about Steubenville’s geography.
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Litigation | Pipelines | Regulation | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Rhode Island Indians Take FERC to Court re Massachusetts Pipeline
July 10, 2019July 10, 2019

In March 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) Connecticut Expansion project (see FERC Approves TGP Connecticut Expansion Pipeline Project). The project involves building 13.42 miles of new pipeline loops in three states: Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. When completed, the new looping will serve an additional 72,100 dekatherms of (mostly) Marcellus Shale gas to three utility companies in Connecticut.
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

The Mass Exodus from New York Begins Following Climate Law
July 10, 2019July 10, 2019

New York State is so screwed. Let’s just be honest–there’s no saving the Empire State now. (We can say these things because we live here.) Following the passage of a recent law (see New York Pulls the Trigger, Commits Energy Suicide with New Law), businesses and residents are beginning to move out of the state. Why? Because in the coming years the state will either outlaw the energy they need to use, or make it so expensive they’ll go bankrupt. One example: Everyone in NY who uses a furnace for winter heating–whether that furnace uses fuel oil, natural gas, or propane–will have to dump that furnace and switch to a heat pump or electricity…in the next 20 years. The new law just passed is, quite literally, stark…raving…mad.
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Best of the Rest

Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jul 10, 2019
July 10, 2019July 10, 2019

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Only explosion from natural gas leak came on social media; Thrasher says WV’s economy could slow after natural gas boom; Three permits issued in Ohio’s Utica-Point Pleasant; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Berkeley to consider prohibiting natural gas in new buildings; NATIONAL: In 2018, 90% of the natural gas used in the United States was produced domestically; Animated chart of the day: US electricity generation by fuel source, 1949-2019; US EIA expects lower gas spot prices, some deceleration in gas production growth; Zero-carbon natural gas not good enough?; Tom Steyer officially announces presidential bid.
Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Jul 10, 2019”