Marcellus Drilling News

Ascent Resources | Belmont County | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Rice Energy | Statewide OH | XTO

OH Landowners Sue Rice, Ascent, XTO, Gulfport for Drilling Too Deep
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

Do you remember the child’s game called “Simon Says”? That’s what we were thinking when we read about a lawsuit in Ohio by landowners against a group of shale drillers. The lawsuit, initiated by several landowners in Belmont County, OH, claims the drillers drilled too deep–into the Point Pleasant rock layer–when the leases signed only mention the Utica rock layer. The lawsuit, which is seeking class action status, claims “unjust enrichment” by the drillers.
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Accidents | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

NJ DEP Stops Construction of Southern Reliability Link Pipe
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

Southern Reliability Link map (click for larger version)

New Jersey Natural Gas’ (NJNG) $130 million, 22-mile natural gas pipeline project called the Southern Reliability Link (SRL) pipeline project to connect NJNG’s distribution system serving customers in Ocean, Burlington and Monmouth counties (in NJ) has been under construction for a year. Construction has continued even during the virus pandemic (see Pipeline Thru NJ Scrub Pines Continues Building During COVID-19). The odious Sierra Club (anti-fossil fuel nutters) has finally succeeded in convincing the New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection to shut down construction on the project–at least temporarily.
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Enbridge | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Spectra Energy

Weymouth Compressor Continues Construction Despite Judge’s Ruling
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

Weymouth compressor station construction (credit: Patriot Ledger)

The Weymouth compressor station is the last piece of Spectra Energy/Enbridge’s Atlantic Bridge pipeline project–a project which took years to build. In July 2019 the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) granted an air permit for the final piece, the Weymouth compressor station (see Mass. DEP Issues Air Permit for Weymouth Compressor Station). Last month (a full year later!), Obama Judge William Kayatta from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit overturned the state permit, telling the DEP to do it all over again (see Obama Judge Overturns Air Permit for Weymouth, MA Compressor Stn). We’re delighted to see the judge’s ruling has not stopped construction on the project.
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WVU Launches Water Quality Portal to Gauge Impact of Shale Wells
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

West Virginia University (WVU) has created a new “water quality impact portal” website that allows people to investigate water quality in shale gas regions of West Virginia. The portal contains data for more than 1.3 million surface and groundwater samples from 14 counties where most Marcellus Shale gas development has occurred. The data comes from federal and state agencies.
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Leftist “Investors” Demand PA DEP Clamp Down on Methane Leaks
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

Last December the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Environmental Quality Board approved onerous new regulations that supposedly will capture every last molecule of stray methane that leaks from shale drilling operations (see PA DEP Goes WAY Too Far in Approving New Methane Regulations). The new regs are unnecessary and will shut down even more shale drilling operations in the state. Perhaps sensing the DEP is wavering on adopting these nonsense regs, a group of woke lefty investors representing trillions of investment dollars are pressuring the DEP to get the new regs live. More leftist bullying.
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Crude Oil | Industrywide Issues

Onshore Rig Count Drops Another 3 to New Record Low of 276
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

In our weekly tracking of the Enverus rig count, the numbers from the latest report (as of Wednesday) show a new record low of 276 active rigs. Quite disturbing for us is that comparing Wednesday of this week with Wednesday of last week, the Marcellus/Utica rig count is down by a whopping six. Ouch. The rig apocalypse continues.
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Best of the Rest

Shale Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Jul 10, 2020
July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA’s gas producers become a political football in new AG report; Crozier Welding, LLC plans $2.5M investment, creation of 15 new jobs in Coshocton; PennEast Pipeline partners still determined to build $1 billion pipeline project; Chesapeake Utilities announces Maryland PSC approval of Elkton Gas acquisition; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Energy Transfer not yet shutting down Dakota Access crude pipeline as it renews stay request; NATIONAL: Electrification is a misguided approach to tackle climate change; Oil went below $0. Some think it will rebound to $150 one day.; Activists not only slow oil pipelines, but also power lines needed for renewable energy; Undone – U.S. LNG export demand unravels; INTERNATIONAL: OPEC Secretary General: “No objective whatsoever” to drive U.S. shale out of business; False Alarm: Bjorn Lomborg’s $69,000 reveal book; For power generation, U.S. LNG emits significantly less greenhouse gases.
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