Energy Companies

Energy Companies | Gastar Exploration | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Reserves (Proved and Unproved) | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Gastar Proved Reserves Up 43% – 3/4 of it in the Marcellus
July 22, 2014July 22, 2014

Gastar Exploration, a major driller in the Marcellus/Utica, posted a mid-year update on their proved (and unproved) reserves yesterday. When you lump all hydrocarbons together–natural gas, oil and condensate and natural gas liquids (NGLs)–Gastar’s estimated proved reserves totaled 78.0 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) as of June 30th. That’s up an eye-popping 43% over the same time last year. Where is all that gas coming from? Three-fourths of it is in the Marcellus/Utica, and one-fourth is in the Mississippi Lime/Woodford Shale in Oklahoma…
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Energy Companies | Forced Pooling | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Lawrence County | Pennsylvania

Third Time the Charm? Hilcorp PA Hearing on Forced Pooling Resched
July 21, 2014July 21, 2014

In Pennsylvania, there is no forced pooling law for Marcellus Shale wells. Forced pooling laws typically say if a majority of landowners are leased in a drilling unit (640 acres, or one square mile), the driller can “force” the other landowners not signed to allow drilling under (not on) their land. However, there’s a loophole in PA for Utica wells. Because Utica wells sit below the Onondaga formation, a 1961 PA law allows forced pooling for Utica wells. Hilcorp is attempting to use that loophole in Lawrence County, PA to force a few recalcitrant landowners to allow drilling (see Hilcorp Lawrence County, PA Forced Pooling Case Update). Hearings on Hilcorp’s forced pooling request have been scheduled and canceled–twice (first in March, then in May). We now have a third date for the hearings–in September…
Read More “Third Time the Charm? Hilcorp PA Hearing on Forced Pooling Resched”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Butler County | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Rex Energy

Martians Demand School Board Ban Fracking Outside its Own Orbit
July 17, 2014July 17, 2014

Turning down $1 million wasn’t enough for the lib anti-drilling parents in Mars (Butler County), PA. They continue to try and deny Rex Energy their lawful right to drill shale wells on non-school property 3/4 of a mile away (see Martians Threaten Lawsuit Against PA Town to Prevent Drilling). Meanwhile, the Elk Lake School District in Susquehanna County, PA has two wells drilled on school campus grounds–with no pollution or harm to the kiddies–and continues to rake in the dough (see Rural NE PA School Nets $1.7M in Royalties from 2 Marcellus Wells). Earth to Mars! Pull your heads out of the sand…
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Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Reserves (Proved and Unproved) | Utica Shale

Antero Resources: Marcellus/Utica Program Going Gangbusters
July 17, 2014July 17, 2014

Antero Resources, now with 488,000 acres of leased land in the Marcellus/Utica region, issued a very impressive update yesterday. According to the update, Antero is running 15 drilling rigs in the Marcellus and 5 rigs in the Utica. Some 26% of their acreage is now classified as “proved reserves.” Those proven reserves have risen by 19%–to 9.1 trillion cubic feet (13% liquids) from year-end 2013 numbers. Wow! They drilled and completed 22 Utica wells (added them to proved developed reserves) in the first six months of 2014. Those wells include: 4 rich gas (1100-1200 Btu), 2 highly-rich gas (1200 to 1225 Btu), 3 highly-rich gas/condensate (1225 to 1250 Btu) and 13 condensate (1250 to 1300 Btu) wells. Here’s the very full and rich update from Antero:
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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Norse Energy | Regulation | Statewide NY

JLCNY Says Appeal of Article 78 Lawsuit Decision is “Very Likely”
July 16, 2014July 16, 2014

New Yorkers continue to react to the dismissal of a court case brought by the 70,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) and Norse Energy against state officials to force them to release six-year-delayed fracking regulations (see NY Pro-Drillers Lose 2nd Important Shale Drilling Court Case). Below we have reaction from the JLCNY, which says it’s “very likely” to appeal the ruling from the lower NY court in Albany County, along with copies of the court decisions…
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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Norse Energy | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Pro-Drillers Lose 2nd Important Shale Drilling Court Case
July 15, 2014July 15, 2014

Yet another defeat for shale drilling in anti-drilling New York. First, the most important case that will hamper drilling in the Empire State was lost just a few weeks ago (see Shale Drilling in NY is Over – High Court Upholds Town Bans). Yesterday, a lower court decided to toss out the “Article 78” lawsuit brought by the 70,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York and Norse Energy against Gov. Andy Cuomo, DEC Sec. Joe Martens, and former Dept. of Health Sec. Nirav Shah (see D-Day: JLCNY Files Lawsuit Today Against Cuomo, Martens, Shah). The Article 78 lawsuit would have forced them to finally release new drilling rules as they are obviously colluding to stop the release. Other states take two years or less to review and allow shale drilling (see today’s story about North Carolina). It’s been over six years in New York, and with this decision, there is literally no end in sight…
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Accidents | CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Fire at CONSOL Well Pad Site in Greene County, PA
July 15, 2014July 15, 2014

CONSOL Energy experienced a small fire yesterday around 3:30 pm at their Green Hill 11 drill pad near Waynesburg (Greene County), PA. There are precious few details, but we know that no one was injured, and the fire was out and the fire department left the scene within two hours–meaning it was fairly minor…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Sells Off Another 162 Compressor Plants for $135M
July 15, 2014July 15, 2014

In February of this year, Chesapeake sold off a boatload of compressor plants. They sold 103 “compression units” in the Marcellus/Utica to Access Midstream (Access is now being bought by Williams). At the time, they sold another 334 compressors to Exterran Partners. Proceeds of that fire sale were $520 million for Carl Icahn’s pocket (see Chesapeake Fire Sale Continues: Marcellus/Utica Compressor Plants). Word came yesterday that Chessy isn’t done with selling off their compressor plants. They’ve now sold another 162 units for $135 million to Exterran…
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CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Utica Shale

CONSOL Update: Gas Production Up 34%, New Utica Wells Online
July 15, 2014July 15, 2014

CONSOL Energy reports today results for a number of their Utica wells in Noble County, OH. Their “much anticipated” 3-well NBL19 pad went online last week and initial production for each of the three wells averaged 23 million cubic feet per day or more–very impressive indeed! A CONSOL well near the NBL 19, the NBL16A, is averaging 12 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. However, the 16A is also producing 768 barrels of oil per day! CONSOL’s aggressive program has helped drive production up 34% in second quarter 2014 over 2Q13. Below is CONSOL’s operations update issued this morning…
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Reserves (Proved and Unproved)

Magnum Hunter Proved Reserves Up 10.7%, Marcellus/Utica Tops
July 15, 2014July 15, 2014

Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) provided a mid-year update yesterday that shows the company’s proved reserves increased an impressive 10.7%–just since December 2013. The Marcellus/Utica has also become more important for MHR. As NGI’s Shale Daily points out in a story published yesterday, “Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. said Monday the Appalachian Basin now accounts for approximately 80% of its total proved reserves, up from 70% at the end of last year as it continues to divest non-core assets to focus on developing nearly 200,000 net Marcellus/Utica acres.” Translation: MHR is inching ever closer to becoming a “pure-play” driller. Here’s yesterday’s update from MHR:
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Monroe County | Ohio | West Virginia | Wetzel County

Magnum Hunter Buys Ormet Property in OH/WV, More Wells Coming?
July 11, 2014July 11, 2014

MDN has chronicled the sad story of the Ormet aluminum smelting plant in Monroe County, OH. The short version is that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) played a high-stakes game of chicken with Ormet and denied them permission to continuing burning coal to produce their own electricity while they got three Utica Shale wells on their property up and running (Magnum Hunter is the driller). Then PUCO denied Ormet’s request to get a reduced electric rate from the local utility company. Bottom line, more than 900 people are out of work (see Final Chapter of Ormet Plant Closing – Utica Could have Saved It). A reporter from NGI’s Shale Daily has a sharp eye and discovered that Magnum Hunter, the driller of the three Utica wells still operating on the Ormet property, has just purchased Ormet’s property in OH and WV…
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Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy

Top Management at Gulfport Energy Continues to Change – New CFO
July 11, 2014July 11, 2014

In January Gulfport Energy announced the sudden retirement of then-CEO James Palm. In April, interim CEO (formerly the CFO) Michael Moore, a numbers guy, was promoted to the top spot as CEO and Ross Kirtley, formerly COO for Ohio operations, was promoted to COO for the entire company (see New Top Management at Utica Driller Gulfport Energy). The vacant CFO position has now been filled. Gulfport reports that Aaron Gaydosik, most recently VP of Finance at Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp, will become the new CFO. Kodiak is a Bakken driller…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Trucking | Washington County

Range’s Next Battle in Robinson Twp: Water Tank Facility
July 11, 2014July 11, 2014

In May MDN told you that after a two-year intentional delay by Robinson Township (Washington County), PA, Range Resources finally won the right to move forward with drilling two wells (see Range Resources Finally Wins Case to Drill 2 Wells in Robinson Twp). Robinson is one of the seven selfish towns that sued Pennsylvania over zoning provisions in the Act 13 law–a case they eventually won. Robinson tries to block drilling as much as they can–but the court has goosed them and told them they can’t stop all of it. Range’s next battle is whether or not Robinson will allow them to build a “tank pad”–a pad with tanks to store fresh water used in drilling and fracking operations…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Wastewater | XTO

XTO Seeks Documents to Prove PA AG Kane Targeted Company
July 11, 2014July 11, 2014

It was obvious from the beginning when Kathleen Kane was elected as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General in 2012 that she had a huge Marcellus Shale chip on her shoulder and that she would go after the drilling industry (see Will New PA AG Go After the Marcellus Drilling Industry?). She’s done just that–targeting the shale drilling industry in several high profile cases. One of those cases–a three-year old accidental spill by XTO in Lycoming County, PA–she reopened after it had been closed. Why? To make an example of XTO (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). That case is back in the news with a new twist…
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Wastewater | Westmoreland County | WPX Energy

Important Update on WPX Energy Leaking Impoundment in SWPA
July 10, 2014July 10, 2014

On Monday MDN told you about three families near a WPX Energy wastewater impoundment near Ligonier (Westmoreland County), PA who say their well water has been contamined by frack wastewater leaking from the impoundment (see WPX Wastewater Impoundment Source of Water Contamination in W PA?). We have an important update on that story. WPX spokesperson Susan Oliver contacted MDN and provided details of their strong response to the situation, and new information that we don’t believe anyone else has bothered to publish…
Read More “Important Update on WPX Energy Leaking Impoundment in SWPA”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Greene County (PA) | Pennsylvania | Rice Energy

Chesapeake Sells 22K Acres in Greene County, PA to Rice Energy
July 8, 2014July 8, 2014

Chesapeake Energy continues to sell off assets in an attempt to boost its stock price and make corporate raider Carl Icahn even richer. The latest fire sale: Rice Energy announced yesterday they’ve picked up 22,000 acres and 12 Marcellus Shale wells from Chessy located in Greene County, PA for $336 million. According to Rice’s President & COO Toby Rice, the acreage is a “high quality” shale asset located in an area they’ve been developing since 2009…
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