Energy Companies

Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Pennsylvania | Washington County

EQT Offers Neighbors Near Finleyville Drill Pad $50K for Nuisance
July 7, 2014July 7, 2014

ProPublica has a new story claiming that Marcellus driller (and midstream company) EQT has done something really unusual in Washington County, PA. The company, last year, was in the process of drilling 12 wells on a single pad. With all of the trucks and noise and dust, it didn’t take the neighbors long to start complaining. EQT attempted to address those concerns, meeting with neighbors and conducting air tests, etc. However, after apparently growing tired of the hassles, EQT finally just offered each household/neighbor near the pad $50,000–if those neighbors would sign a “nuisance easement” that pretty much says the neighbors absolve EQT from any damages for anything related to their drilling and pipeline operations…
Read More “EQT Offers Neighbors Near Finleyville Drill Pad $50K for Nuisance”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pennsylvania | Warren Resources | Wyoming County (PA)

Warren Resources Buys Marcellus Acreage/Wells from Citrus Energy
July 7, 2014July 7, 2014

The Marcellus Shale has a new driller in town. This morning, New York City-based Warren Resources announced they have acquired essentially all of the Marcellus assets owned by Colorado-based Citrus Energy for $352.5 million. Warren immediately takes title to several working Marcellus wells currently producing 82 million cubic feet of gas per day…
Read More “Warren Resources Buys Marcellus Acreage/Wells from Citrus Energy”
Energy Companies | Greene County (PA) | Pennsylvania | Vantage Energy

Marcellus Driller Vantage Energy Files for $400M IPO
July 7, 2014July 7, 2014

Colorado-based Vantage Energy, with a major operation in the Marcellus Shale, has filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering (IPO) in which they hope to sell $400 million worth of stock. Vantage owns 48,000 acres in the Marcellus Shale–in Greene County, PA. They also have a sizable stake in the Barnett Shale (in Texas)…
Read More “Marcellus Driller Vantage Energy Files for $400M IPO”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Seventy Seven Energy

Long Labor & Delivery: Seventy Seven Energy Born Yesterday
July 2, 2014July 2, 2014

A few weeks ago MDN told you that Chesapeake Energy had gone into labor with the prospect of birthing a spinoff of their oilfield services division. At the time labor began, we thought (based on Chessy’s statements) that the new baby would be born sometime around June 17 (see Chesapeake Oilfield Services Birth Date: June 17, 2014). Looks like it was an unusually long labor and delivery for the new baby company. Seventy Seven Energy (SSE) was born yesterday, on July 1…
Read More “Long Labor & Delivery: Seventy Seven Energy Born Yesterday”
Energy Companies | Rice Energy

SEC Investigates BlackRock over Dan Rice “Situation” 2 Years Ago
July 1, 2014July 1, 2014

Some stories have a sad ending, and some stories have a happy ending. This is one of the later. Just over two years ago MDN told you the news that BlackRock, a big-time multinational investment firm, fired the single most successful mutual fund manager in the U.S. for ten years running–Daniel Rice III (see BlackRock’s Screw-up with Dan Rice & Rice Energy). Dan was the manager for five energy-related funds at BlackRock, making the company beaucoup bucks. Dan went to his bosses and told them he was helping his boys start up a new northeast shale drilling company–Rice Energy. He made full and timely disclosure of his extracurricular activities. His bosses did nothing–they kept quiet–and when “the market” learned of Dan’s potential conflict of interest by investing in (or withdrawing investments from) companies that may be competitive with Rice Energy, his bosses fired him. Now, two years later, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating…
Read More “SEC Investigates BlackRock over Dan Rice “Situation” 2 Years Ago”
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Norse Energy | Regulation | Statewide NY

Shale Drilling in NY is Over – High Court Upholds Town Bans
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

This is a very sad day indeed. We’ve just received word that New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, has reaffirmed two lower court rulings that allows entire townships in the state to strip away property owners’ rights to allow drilling, in contravention to the U.S. Constitution. The two cases, long chronicled here on MDN, are the “Middlefield” and “Dryden” cases (see NY Pro-Drillers File Final Briefs in Dryden/Middlefield Cases for background). What does it mean? In our opinion it means there will never be any meaningful shale drilling in New York. No driller in his right mind will roll the dice, lock up thousands of acres by spending millions of dollars, just to see it all disappear at the next town board election with a vote by 3 of 5 people. What a complete and utter tragedy this is for freedom-loving Americans who happen to live in the increasingly communistic state of New York. Below is a copy of the decision…
Read More “Shale Drilling in NY is Over – High Court Upholds Town Bans”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Equinor/Statoil | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio

Statoil Frack Trucks Catch Fire in Monroe County, OH
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

Crews were working to frack a Utica Shale well at a Statoil drill pad in Monroe County, OH around 9 am on Saturday when hydraulic tubing (not to be confused with the process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking) from some of the equipment caught fire. The fire quickly spread to 20 trucks lined up at the pad, burning the trucks (some of them exploding) and creating thick, black smoke that billowed for hours. Fortunately no one was injured, although 20-25 families living within a mile of the well were evacuated…
Read More “Statoil Frack Trucks Catch Fire in Monroe County, OH”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

3 New (Short) Pipelines from GreenHunter in Tri-state Area
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

GreenHunter Resources, a subsidiary of Magnum Hunter Resources, is making small moves to compete with MarkWest Energy and Williams. Today, GreenHunter announced they are building (in a partnership with Major Pipeline LLC) three new, short pipelines. The three pipelines represent a total of 34 miles of new pipeline, when added together. One pipeline each will be dedicated to brine/wastewater, fresh water, and condensate. Two of the pipelines will originate in southwestern PA and one in WV. All of them will connect with one of GreenHunter’s barge terminals on the Ohio River. Also in the mix is a condensate “splitter”…
Read More “3 New (Short) Pipelines from GreenHunter in Tri-state Area”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Talisman Energy

Anti-Drilling Coloring Book – Let the Laughter Begin
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

Three years ago Talisman, a driller in the Marcellus Shale (and other shale plays) produced a coloring book for kids. The main character in the book is Talisman Terry. You could hear the gaffaws and laughter from mainstream media, then their righteous indignation that Talisman would “dare” to publish a coloring book that aimed to brainwash little kiddies away from the green religion and bias them toward nasty fossil fuels (see ‘Fracking’ company targets US children with colouring book and Color me fracked: Energy industry produces coloring book to make case for gas drilling to kids). Prior to Talisman Terry was Chesapeake Charlie, same kind of deal. Apparently those coloring books weren’t such a stupid idea after all, because virulent anti-drillers have produced their own coloring book with the aim of brainwashing of kids to keep them in the green religion. Fresh out is the Stream and Shale Coloring Book from so-called scientist J.J. Brown…
Read More “Anti-Drilling Coloring Book – Let the Laughter Begin”
CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Ethane | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Range Resources Corp

Range Announces Multiple Agreements to Sell Natgas & Ethane
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

A big, important announcement from Range Resources yesterday to go along with the big, important news that ETP will build a new Marcellus/Utica pipeline (see today’s lead story). Range confirmed ETP’s announcement yesterday that they (Range) will be a customer for the new Rover Pipeline that crosses Ohio and will eventually connect to Canada. In fact, Range says they are the “foundation” shipper on that new pipeline, which is due to be in service October 2017. Range will ship 400,000 million Btus (or 388 million cubic feet) per day on the Rover Pipeline–for 20 years. In addition, Range also announced agreements to sell their Marcellus gas for export via the Cheniere LNG export facility in Sabine Pass and via a second unnamed LNG facility. And the really big news (for MDN)–Range has signed up to become the second source of ethane for the Odebrecht WV cracker plant. They also plan to sell ethane to the Sasol cracker plant planned in Lake Charles, LA…
Read More “Range Announces Multiple Agreements to Sell Natgas & Ethane”
Access Midstream Partners | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

2nd PA Class Action Lawsuit Against Chesapeake re Royalty Fraud
June 26, 2014June 26, 2014

We’ve only spotted this news in (so far) two legal publications, but last Friday the Suessenbach Family Limited Partnership, using a Wilkes-Barre, PA law firm, launched a “sprawling class action” lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy and Access Midstream accusing the two companies of a $5 billion scheme to defraud landowners out of royalties rightfully due to them. MDN previously covered how this scheme worked (see Chesapeake Shafting Landowners out of Royalties Mess Gets Messier). This is the second such class action against Chesapeake over royalties in PA we’re aware of (see Bad to Worse: PA Royalty Owner Asks Court for Chessy Class Action). There are all sorts of ramifications from this latest lawsuit…
Read More “2nd PA Class Action Lawsuit Against Chesapeake re Royalty Fraud”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Trucking

GreenHunter Launches Hydrocarbon Hauling Subsidiary in Northeast
June 26, 2014June 26, 2014

GreenHunter Resources is the frack wastewater hauling subsidiary of Magnum Hunter Resources. You may recall yesterday’s lead MDN story about dismissed lawsuits for MH (see Magnum Hunter Wins Dismissal in 5 of 6 Lawsuits Alleging Mismgmt). Yesterday GreenHunter issued a press release announcing a new sub-subsidiary: GreenHunter Hydrocarbons. This “grandson” of Magnum Hunter (“son” of GreenHunter) is a new business line for this increasingly complex corporate entity: They’re getting into the business of hauling natural gas liquids (ethane, butane, propane) including condensate and oil…
Read More “GreenHunter Launches Hydrocarbon Hauling Subsidiary in Northeast”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

Magnum Hunter Wins Dismissal in 5 of 6 Lawsuits Alleging Mismgmt
June 25, 2014June 25, 2014

This is a “hmmm, that’s interesting” revelation for MDN. Yesterday Magnum Hunter Resources, a driller mostly focused on the West Virginia Marcellus and increasingly Ohio Utica Shale, issued a press release yesterday to say that they’ve been successful in getting five of six “securities class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits” against the company dismissed–without paying a penny to either the plaintiffs or their lawyers. The company is working on a sixth (and last) such lawsuit now. What is a securities class action/derivative lawsuit?…
Read More “Magnum Hunter Wins Dismissal in 5 of 6 Lawsuits Alleging Mismgmt”
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Strong Support for Range Drilling in N Strabane Township, PA
June 25, 2014June 25, 2014

Some more good news for Range Resources in Washington County, PA. North Strabane Township, population 13,408 (borders Canonsburg) voted last night to approve Range’s plan to drill five Marcellus Shale wells on a 140-acre property owned by A&S Landscaping along Rout 19. Site prep will begin in the next few weeks and if the schedule holds, the first well will be drilled starting in January…
Read More “Strong Support for Range Drilling in N Strabane Township, PA”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Protege Energy | Seismic Testing | Washington County (OH)

Seismic Testing Coming in July to Washington County, OH Town
June 25, 2014June 25, 2014

Seismic testing is coming to Fearing Township (Washington County), OH starting in July. Seismic testing usually precedes drilling–so that means drilling is most likely on the way. The testing will allow drillers to “see” the best locations to place wells. So how will Protege Energy III, the company that’s hiring the testing done, go about doing the testing? No big thumper trucks along roadways for Protege. Instead, they favor drilling small holes and putting small explosive charges in the holes and recording the sound waves that bounce from the explosive charges. Protege held a community meeting earlier this month in Fearing to discuss the process and answer questions…
Read More “Seismic Testing Coming in July to Washington County, OH Town”
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

2 Range Resources Execs Sell Half Their Stock – Ulterior Motive?
June 24, 2014June 24, 2014

Anti-drilling advocate and Marcellus smearmeister Amanda Gillooly, from southwestern Pennsylvania, is dedicated to trashing Range Resources every chance she gets. (She also appears to be in league with Rep. Jesse “fake ID” White, supporting his anti-drilling tirades against Range on numerous occasions over the past few years.) The latest “trash Range” attempt is her blog post trumpeting that two top Range Resources executives recently sold “more than half their stock,” asking the ominous question, “Why?”…
Read More “2 Range Resources Execs Sell Half Their Stock – Ulterior Motive?”