Energy Companies

Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Shell Takes a Few More Baby Steps Toward PA Ethane Cracker Plant
June 9, 2014June 9, 2014

A small bit of progress to report on the Shell ethane cracker plant planned for Monaca (Beaver County), PA. According to comments made by Shell Chemicals Executive Vice President Graham van’t Hoff at the American Chemistry Council’s Annual Meeting last week in Colorado, Shell has made a few more baby steps toward making the cracker plant a reality–but they still aren’t committed to it just yet. Here’s the steps recently taken…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Michigan | Statewide MI

Michigan AG (Unbelievably) Files More Charges Against Chesapeake
June 9, 2014June 9, 2014

Dang if the Attorney General Bill Schuette from Michigan isn’t determined to shake down Chesapeake Energy for a boatload of money. Apparently Schuette’s political future rests on being able to get something out of Chesapeake, who so far has been unwilling to bend over and take it. We’re referring, of course, to Michigan’s use of illegally obtained emails that allegedly show some sort of collusion between Chesapeake and Encana to obtain state land leases for drilling at a low price. AG Schuette has filed yet more charges in the case. The feds investigated and found nothing (see Feds Clear Chesapeake & Encana in Collusion Case, Michigan Next?). Usually a state will go along with a finding by the federal Justice Department. But not Schuette from Michigan. He has his heart set on grabbing a few hundred million from the “deep pockets” of oil and gas companies…
Read More “Michigan AG (Unbelievably) Files More Charges Against Chesapeake”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Dumps More Assets: Crude Truck Fleet & 200 Employees
June 9, 2014June 9, 2014

Chesapeake continues to sell off bits and pieces of the company, in order to raise capital, reduce debt, and make boss man Carl Icahn even more rich than he already is. The latest thing to go is a fleet of trucks used to haul crude oil, ANOTHER 200 employees gone (along with the trucks), and a contract with the company buying both, which happens to be Rose Rock Midstream…
Read More “Chesapeake Dumps More Assets: Crude Truck Fleet & 200 Employees”
CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Meetings | Range Resources Corp

DUG East Roundup from Day 1: Range, CONSOL, EIA, FERC
June 5, 2014June 5, 2014

Seems that the Developing Unconventional Gas (DUG) East Conference, hosted by Hart Energy this week in Pittsburgh, is generating a lot of news. Unfortunately MDN could not attend DUG East this year. We have, however, done a roundup of interesting and important news from speakers at DUG, including news from CONSOL Energy, Range Resources, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)…
Read More “DUG East Roundup from Day 1: Range, CONSOL, EIA, FERC”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies

Magnum Hunter’s Gary Evans: My Well’s Bigger than Your Well
June 4, 2014June 4, 2014

On Monday MDN told you the great news that Rice Energy has the new all-time most productive Utica Shale well (see Rice Energy’s Bigfoot New Reigning Utica Well Champ – 42 Mmcf/d!) Rice’s Bigfoot well is located in Belmont County, OH. Apparently Rice’s announcement upstaged a forthcoming announcement by Gary Evans, CEO of Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR). Lately Gary has been on a mission to raise money for MHR’s drilling program in the Marcellus and Utica. He went on Jim Cramer’s Mad Money program on Monday to do some of his own bragging in what can only be termed “my Utica well’s bigger than your Utica well”…
Read More “Magnum Hunter’s Gary Evans: My Well’s Bigger than Your Well”
Chesapeake Energy | Crime | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues

Corp Raider Carl Ichan Investigated for Insider Trading – Denies
June 4, 2014June 4, 2014

What’s this? Corporate raider Carl Icahn is accused of insider trading. Say it ain’t so! Icahn, as you may know, is despised on this site for the way he’s systematically gutted Chesapeake Energy by using his toady Doug Lawler to fire thousands of people and sell off huge portions of the company–all in a bid to drive the stock price up, which Icahn will then turn around and sell at a handsome profit. It should be illegal, but it isn’t. Perhaps old Carl is getting sloppy in his waning years. Apparently there was some funny business with one of his deals a few years ago. Something to do with “well-timed” trades of Clorox stock, a company Icahn tried to take over. It’s complicated and the FBI and SEC are investigating Ichan, golfer Phil Michelson and Las Vegas gambler William “Billy” Walters…
Read More “Corp Raider Carl Ichan Investigated for Insider Trading – Denies”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Ohio | Rice Energy | Utica Shale

Rice Energy’s Bigfoot New Reigning Utica Well Champ – 42 Mmcf/d!
June 3, 2014June 3, 2014

Rice Energy’s corny well names have, in this case, turned into a self-fulling prophecy. Rice announced yesterday that their first Utica Shale well–the Bigfoot 9H in Belmont County–is producing an initial 41.69 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. That production places the Bigfoot on top of the heap as the most productive Utica well so far–flying by Antero Resources’ Yontz well (see Antero Resources Utica Well Produces Stratospheric 38.9 Mmcf/d). In addition to this huge news, Rice also announced they’ve increased their line of credit and they’ve lined up more pipeline capacity for their Utica Shale gas…
Read More “Rice Energy’s Bigfoot New Reigning Utica Well Champ – 42 Mmcf/d!”
American Energy Partners | Energy Companies | Utica Shale

Aubrey McClendon Announces 2 New Hires for AEP’s Utica Operation
June 3, 2014June 3, 2014

Aubrey McClendon announced yesterday that he’s made a couple of key hires for his new company American Energy Partners. Now working at AEP is Jeff Agosta, who becomes AEP’s Chief Financial Officer for the Utica Shale division. Agosta is the former CFO for oil drilling giant Devon Energy (from 2010-2014). Devon previously flirted with a few Utica Shale wells but has since moved on to other projects. Although no salary was mentioned by AEP in their announcement, Agosta earned a tidy income of $1.6 million at Devon in 2013, and prior to that, $4.4 million in 2012 (according to Reuters). Did Agosta’s pay cut at Devon had something to do with his being in the job market? In addition to Agosta, McClendon rescued another friend from the clutches of Carl Icahn and Chesapeake Energy. Jeff Mobley most recently served as senior VP of investor relations and research at Chesapeake. He becomes senior VP of major acquisitions at AEP…
Read More “Aubrey McClendon Announces 2 New Hires for AEP’s Utica Operation”
Butler County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Rex Energy

MarkWest Beefs Up Bluestone Plant in NWPA – Mostly for Rex Energy
June 3, 2014June 3, 2014

Good news for drillers in northwestern Pennsylvania–particularly Rex Energy. MarkWest announced yesterday they doubled the processing capacity at their Bluestone plant in Butler County, PA. The Bluestone II plant is now online and operating and processing an additional 120 million cubic feet of gas per day. In addition to the new plant, MarkWest has added ethane and heavier fractionation capabilities to the original Bluestone plant–20,000 barrels per day. And they’ve completed a 32-mile ethane pipeline which connects to the Mariner West pipeline, flowing ethane all the way to Sarnia, Ontario…
Read More “MarkWest Beefs Up Bluestone Plant in NWPA – Mostly for Rex Energy”
CNX Resources | Columbiana County | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Utica Shale

CONSOL Energy Pulls Out of Northeastern Ohio
June 2, 2014June 2, 2014

Yet more evidence that drillers are abandoning northern Ohio. CONSOL Energy has opted to not renew a lease at the Columbiana County Port Authority’s industrial park in Leetonia. CONSOL leased 10,000 square feet at the industrial park in March 2012 for $252,199 per year. That’s a half million bucks for two years. Now gone. Why? Leaky roof? Bad neighbors? Nope. CONSOL loved the facility. They said the decision to not renew was because…
Read More “CONSOL Energy Pulls Out of Northeastern Ohio”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Guernsey County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Rumor Mill: EQT May be Leaving Guernsey County, OH
June 2, 2014June 2, 2014

Buzz buzz buzz… The rumor mill is chattering in southeast Ohio–and the rumor going around is that EQT is leaving town. Indeed, has the company already left? An enterprising Ohio reporter fired off an email to EQT asking them to confirm or deny. And the reporter got an answer, from none other than Steve Schlotterbeck, executive vice president and president, Exploration and Production for EQT Corp. What did Schlotterbeck say?…
Read More “Rumor Mill: EQT May be Leaving Guernsey County, OH”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Hess | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Utica Shale

Hess Wins Case Against One OH Landowner, Settles with Others
June 2, 2014June 2, 2014

Last October MDN told you about a court case that Hess lost in a lower Ohio court. Hess promised to “vigorously challenge” the decision and appeal it to a higher court (see Hess Will Challenge OH Court Decision to End Lease). The crux of the case: Hess purchased leases from Mason Dixon Energy and didn’t live up to the terms of the lease–they didn’t drill within five years and didn’t make an extra payment–then tried to make up for it at the last minute with payments to extend the leases. Three landowners won that original case, but on appeal, Hess has won against one of the landowners and it appears Hess is ready to settle with the other 300 or so landowners in the area that are affected…
Read More “Hess Wins Case Against One OH Landowner, Settles with Others”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Range Update on MarkWest Houston Processing Plant Outage
June 2, 2014June 2, 2014

MDN has been following the story of the lightening strike at the MarkWest Chartiers gas processing plant in Washington County, PA last week that closed the plant (see Lightening Strike at MarkWest Chartiers Plant Causes Evacuation and MarkWest Update on Still-Closed PA Plant After Lightening Strike). The plant is still closed and so Range Resources, one of the primary customers of the plant, issued a statement…
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Energy Companies | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | Washington County | West Virginia

Curious: Everyone’s Happy with WV Ban on Imported Drilling Sludge
May 30, 2014June 16, 2014

Earlier this week MDN told you that a couple of containers with drilling sludge (mud, leftover rock and dirt) from Range Resources containing low levels of radioactivity were sent to a landfill in Bridgeport, WV for disposal (see Range Radioactive Containers Sent to WV for Disposal). The WV Dept. of Environmental Protection caught wind of it and has banned any further out-of-state shipments of drilling sludge from disposal in WV…
Read More “Curious: Everyone’s Happy with WV Ban on Imported Drilling Sludge”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Trumbull County

Girard City Council Approves Pipeline Easement for Halcon
May 30, 2014May 30, 2014

Girard City (Trumbull County), OH Council members made a smart move. Earlier this month the Girard City Council voted to approve a right-of-way agreement that allows a natural gas transmission line to run through part of the Girard Lakes property. The 14-mile pipeline will service and run from Hilcorp Utica wells near Vienna to a fuel depot near Lordstown. Why was it a smart move?…
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies

Magnum Hunter Sells $150M in Stock Deal to “Activist Investor”
May 29, 2014May 29, 2014

Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) has quickly become a big player in the Marcellus/Utica region. They have a laser focus on northeast drilling, quickly building up a 200,000 acre position, largely in West Virginia and Ohio. Yesterday MHR announced they’ve cut a deal with Relational Investors LLC, granting Relational common stock and stock options in return for a tidy $150 million in cash–money MHR intends to use for more drilling in the northeast. Who’s behind Relational Investors, and should landowners (and MHR investors) be concerned? The answers may surprise you…
Read More “Magnum Hunter Sells $150M in Stock Deal to “Activist Investor””