Energy Companies

Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Protege Energy | Utica Shale | Washington County (OH)

Marietta Tries 2nd Time to Lease City Land for Utica Drilling
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

The City of Marietta, OH has several parcels of land they’re interested in leasing for Utica gas drilling: (1) Gunlock Park, behind the Walmart complex off Pike Streeet, (2) city-owned land along Goose Run Road in Marietta Township, (3) city garage property off Alderman Street, and (4) Buckeye Park off Acme and Greene Streets, and (5) the Kroger swap (i.e. “wetlands”) off Acme Street. All five locations total 95 acres. MDN reported that because city council snoozed, they lost out on an earlier opportunity to lease the Gunlock Park and Goose Run properties (35 acres) back in May (see Delay in Leasing City-Owned Land Costs Marietta, OH Big $). The city will run a second advertisement (legal requirement) to lease all parcels, and once again, they may have some interest. If they don’t botch it this time…
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Bradford County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Southwestern Energy

Southwestern Fined $128K in PA for Drilling with Expired Permits
August 12, 2014August 12, 2014

One of the biggest drillers in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale is Southwestern Energy (based in Houston, TX). In fact, according to MDN’s own 2014 Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook, Vol. 1, there are only two other companies with more permits to drill wells in PA over the past year: Chesapeake Energy and Range Resources. So you may consider Southwestern one of the “big 3” in the Marcellus. Southwestern has just been fined $128,031 for drilling wells after permits to drill those wells was expired. Southwestern drilled five wells in Bradford County, PA after the permits issued for those wells had expired. Such permits expire after one year of being issued. Southwestern went ahead and drilled anywhere from 4 to 18 months after expiration…
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Energy Companies | Rice Energy

Rice Energy 2Q14: Marcellus Prod Up 84%, Utica Bigfoot Blockbuster
August 12, 2014August 12, 2014

Rice Energy, a small but rapidly growing and important driller in the Utica and Marcellus, issued their second quarter financial and operational update yesterday. Rice reports gas production for 2Q14 averaged 241 million cubic feet per day (virtually all of it from their Marcellus wells)–up 84% from the same period last year. Rice has drilled perhaps the most productive well in the Utica Shale–the Bigfoot 9H, a 6,950 foot lateral with 40 frac stages located in Belmont County, OH. Rice says the Bigfoot well has so far produced a total of 676 million cubic feet of natgas and continues to flow at a restricted rate of 14 MMcf/d. Truly impressive numbers. Here’s more impressive numbers from Rice…
Read More “Rice Energy 2Q14: Marcellus Prod Up 84%, Utica Bigfoot Blockbuster”
Energy Companies | Gastar Exploration

Gastar 2Q14: Liquids 48% of Production, 72% of Revenue
August 11, 2014August 14, 2014

Last week Gastar Exploration, an important driller in the Marcellus and Utica Shale, reported their second quarter 2014 operations and financial update. Among the important highlights: nearly half (48%) of Gastar’s production is now liquids (oil, condensate and NGLs). That 48% of production brought in 72% of Gastar’s revenue–the more liquids, the higher the profit. Also, Gastar fracked its first Utica Shale well in 2Q14. Below is the quarterly update followed by an interesting transcript of the analyst call from Gastar’s CEO Russell Porter…
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Energy Companies | Gastar Exploration

Gastar Adds 2 New Independent Directors to Board
August 11, 2014August 11, 2014

Gastar Exploration, a major driller in the Marcellus/Utica, has added two new independent directors to its board of directors–bumping the number of directors from five to seven. “Independent” means what it sounds like–no prior affiliation or agenda other than to help the company grow and expand. Often times board directors are populated with major investors or, unfortunately, corporate raiders like acolytes of Carl Icahn who infest the board at Chesapeake Energy. The two new board members at Gastar have no such agendas: one is the previous Chairman of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M, and the other is a petroleum engineer with 30 years of experience. Just the kind of people you want to have guiding the management team at one of the most important drillers in the Marcellus/Utica…
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Energy Companies | Stone Energy

Stone Energy Drills 1st Utica Well in 2Q14
August 11, 2014August 11, 2014

Stone Energy released its second quarter financial and operational update last week. Among the highlights: the company drilled its first Utica Shale test well. The company also drilled 9 new Marcellus wells and completed 18 more Marcellus wells. Here’s a few selected portions of the Stone update from last week:
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Access Midstream Partners | Cardinal Gas Services | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EnerVest | EV Energy Partners | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pipelines | Total | Utica Shale

Cardinal Gas Courts S Koreans to Invest in Utica JV
August 11, 2014August 11, 2014

Cardinal Gas Services is a midstream company (pipelines and processing plants) concentrating on the Ohio Utica Shale. Cardinal is actually a joint venture between Access Midstream (formerly Chesapeake Midstream, now being bought by Williams), the U.S. subsidiary of French driller Total, and EnerVest Energy Partners. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more complicated, it does. Reuters is reporting the rumor that a new consortium including South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) and South Korean gas seller E1 Corp are making a play for 34% of Cardinal…
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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Robinson Twp, PA Offers a Preview into Future of NY Frack Debate
August 8, 2014August 8, 2014

One of the original seven selfish townships in Pennsylvania that sued the state over the Act 13 Marcellus Drilling law because of its zoning provisions–and won–has just become less selfish. In fact, the town, Robinson Township in Washington County, PA, has done a complete reversal. Two of the three anti-drilling supervisors were voted out of office last November. On their way out they tried to pull a fast one by passing super restrictive zoning (in December). Last night, the incoming two supervisors who are pro-drilling repealed the law and passed one of their own that’s favorable to the drilling industry. Below we take a look at Robinson’s complete reversal, which offers a fascinating preview into what’s coming to townships across New York State when Gov. Andrew “man child” Cuomo finally decides to make a decision to allow fracking…
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Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Sunoco Logistics

Antero Signs Deal to Export Marcellus/Utica Ethane to Sweden
August 8, 2014August 8, 2014

Borealis AG, an Austrian petrochemical company (majority-owned by International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi) announced yesterday that it has signed a deal with Marcellus and Utica Shale powerhouse driller Antero Resources to buy some of Antero’s Utica/Marcellus ethane. The ethane will be pipelined to the Marcus Hook refinery near Philadelphia via the Sunoco Logistics Mariner East Pipeline. That’s if Sunoco can get the Mariner East Pipeline operating, given the current legal entanglements (see Setback for Mariner East NGL Pipe – Judges Say Not Public Utility). From Philly, the ethane will be loaded on container ships and sent to a Borealis ethane cracker plant in Stenungsund, Sweden…
Read More “Antero Signs Deal to Export Marcellus/Utica Ethane to Sweden”
Antero Resources | Energy Companies

Antero Resources 2Q14: Gas Production Doubles, NGLs Quadruple
August 8, 2014August 8, 2014

Antero Resources, one of the biggest drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, had a very impressive second quarter 2014. The company reported on Wednesday that 2Q14 production for natural gas and equivalents was up an impressive 94% over the same period last year–to 891 million cubic feet per day. Closing in on that elite 1 Bcf/d Club! Antero’s natural gas liquids production was 20,237 Bbl/d, an astonishing 387% increase over the same period last year. Antero now has deals to sell ethane to three different cracker plants–two in the northeast and one in Sweden (see today’s story on that)–as well as agreements to sell natural gas to Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG export facility. It’s all Marcellus/Utica and all cylinders firing for Antero…
Read More “Antero Resources 2Q14: Gas Production Doubles, NGLs Quadruple”
American Energy Partners | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Marshall County | Monroe County | Ohio | Pipelines | Regency Energy Partners | Utica Shale | West Virginia

McClendon Invests in New Utica Pipeline Project, JV with Regency
August 8, 2014August 8, 2014

It was only in June, less than two months ago, that MDN brought you the news that it sure seems like Aubrey McClendon is building a new company that looks a lot like the first company he built, Chesapeake Energy (see Aubrey McClendon Gets Back into the Midstream Business). McClendon is not only high on Utica and Marcellus drilling with his newly formed American Energy Partners company, he’s also high on building the pipelines needed to conduct the gas out of the borehole. His new midstream division was set up to work on such projects. And less than two months later, we have the first of those projects. Yesterday McClendon’s new midstream division and Regency Energy Partners announced a joint venture to build the Utica Ohio River Project for $500 million…
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies

Magnum Hunter Moving its HQ from Texas to…Texas?
August 8, 2014August 8, 2014

Magnum Hunter Resources sold off its Eagle Ford (TX) assets in April 2013 and the drilling and midstream company has become laser focused on the Marcellus and Utica Shale region–in West Virginia and Ohio–since that time. They also maintain operations in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota and Canada, but the Marcellus/Utica is where they are focused. Magnum also has several divisions that concentrate their work in the northeast–GreenHunter Water, Triad Hunter, Eureka Hunter Pipeline, Alpha Hunter Drilling. Like many companies they have a list of subsidiaries a mile long (see the list below)–most of them either wholly or mostly concentrated in the northeast. So when Magnum Hunter decided it was time to move out of their Houston headquarters, where did they decide to move? Pittsburgh, PA? Charleston, WV? Columbus, OH? Nope. They’re moving to…
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Accidents | Chevron | Energy Companies | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

DEP Issues Final Report – What Caused Chevron Well Fire?
August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

In early February, a well already drilled and completed by Chevron in Greene County, PA was in the process of being connected to a pipeline system. The well caught fire and exploded, eventually spreading to a second well close by (see Explosion & Fire at Chevron Well in SWPA – 1 Person Missing). The fire and explosion killed a worker at the site, a contractor with Cameron International (see Remains of Chevron Contractor Found at Greene County Well Site). The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection did a thorough investigation and has just released its After Action Review of the incident (below). Here, in a nutshell, is what the DEP says caused the fire and death…
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County | Wastewater

More Problems for Range Resources with SWPA Impoundments
August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

Range Resources has had ongoing problems with the neighbors and townships where they’ve built and maintained several frack wastewater impoundments (large ponds) in Washington County, PA for the past several years. MDN has chronicled the push back, threats, lawsuits and shenanigans (see our list of Range impoundment stories here). The saga continues. Late last week residents living near the Cecil 23 impoundment–formerly known as the Worstell impoundment, located in Cecil Township–were informed by the town that the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) would be testing the ground (and water supplies?) following an alert from Range that the impoundment may have leaked in the past. Then, on Tuesday of this week, Range received a Notice of Violation from the DEP for leaks found at the Yeager impoundment in Amwell Township…
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Energy Companies | WPX Energy

WPX Energy 2Q14: No Mention of Marcellus; Focused on Oil
August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

WPX Energy, the former drilling arm of Williams spun off into its own company back in January 2012, issued their second quarter 2014 update on Tuesday. The company has lately focused their efforts on oil and it shows. They report a 57% increase in oil production and “stronger than expected natural gas production” than for the same period a year ago. That news sent WPX’s stock price soaring–the biggest increase the stock has seen since it debuted in 2012. Although WPX has invested $1 billion to drill 100 or so Marcellus Shale wells (all of them in Pennsylvania), the one word you don’t find anywhere in WPX’s 2Q14 update is, “Marcellus”…
Read More “WPX Energy 2Q14: No Mention of Marcellus; Focused on Oil”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Energy 2Q14: Profits Down, Gas & Oil Production Up
August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

Chesapeake Energy issued their second quarter 2014 update yesterday–and there’s a lot in there. Chessy has been slashing and burning, selling assets all over the place, scaling back in certain areas, expanding in (precious few) others–all in the quest of “fiscal discipline” as is mentioned over and over in yesterday’s announcement. It may sound bad, but is being spun as good, that Chesapeake’s 2Q14 profits dropped 68% from a year ago at the same time. Meanwhile, net income for 2Q14 was $191 million, down from $457 million a year ago…
Read More “Chesapeake Energy 2Q14: Profits Down, Gas & Oil Production Up”