Energy Companies

Antero Resources | Energy Companies

Antero Resources Update: Marcellus Nice & Gassy, Utica Nice & Wet
April 14, 2014April 14, 2014

Antero Resources is sharing some good news today about their operations and production. Year over year the company is producing 105% more daily gas equivalent production now than they did a year ago at this time–thanks in large part to the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Antero reports their Marcellus wells are nice and gassy (average 180-day production rate of 8.1 MMcfe/d, which is 25% above their other wells), and their Utica wells are nice and wet (average 30-day production rate of 15.3 MMcfe/d in ethane rejection, 50% liquids).

Antero is a major Marcellus and Utica driller–and one to watch. Here’s the latest update…
Read More “Antero Resources Update: Marcellus Nice & Gassy, Utica Nice & Wet”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Education | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot Oil & Gas Does it Again – $2.5 Million Gift to Lackawanna College
April 11, 2014April 11, 2014

Everyone knows how mercenary and evil those oil and gas companies are. They’re just in it for the buck. Rape and pillage poor Mother Earth–pollute the air, pollute the water, pollute everything! Those shale drillers are actually some of the worst, ya know. That’s what the anti-drilling left would have you believe. That’s the meme constantly drummed by mainstream media. Throw in a “Halliburton loophole” and “Dimock” or maybe a “Pavillion, Wyoming” and you’re good to go with the typical mainstream coverage of our industry. Just a teeny, tiny problem…none of it is true.

MDN previously told you about Cabot Oil & Gas’ largess in helping raise $4.4 million for a rural hospital in Montrose, PA (see Cabot Effort Raises $4.4 Million for PA Physicians Clinic). Of that $4.4 million, Cabot themselves donated $2.2 million to the kitty. That is serious money folks. And now, Cabot has done it again. Today, if you’re reading this on April 11, 2014, Cabot announced a $2.5 million gift to Lackawanna College (Scranton, PA). The gift will directly fund the School of Petroleum & Natural Gas located in New Milford, PA. It marks the largest single private donation in the history of Lackawanna College. Kudos to Cabot! Cabot is a sterling company–one of the backbones of the Marcellus Shale, the biggest (and best) shale play in the United States…
Read More “Cabot Oil & Gas Does it Again – $2.5 Million Gift to Lackawanna College”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Gastar Exploration | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | West Virginia | Williams

Gastar Helpfully Provides Update on Williams WV Pipeline Outage
April 11, 2014April 11, 2014

Last Saturday a 12-inch natural gas pipeline owned by Williams Partners in Marshall County, WV ruptured and caught fire, likely due to a landslide (see Williams Pipeline Rupture/Fire in Marshall County, WV). Not long after, one of (perhaps the) driller affected by the pipeline outage, Gastar, announced it had shut in their wells in the area–a necessary precaution to warn investors that certain targets may not be met because of the pipeline outage (see Gastar Shuts-in Marshall County Wells Due to Pipeline Explosion).

We continue to get our best information on the pipeline outage from…Gastar! We haven’t spotted a single public statement from Williams about the outage (Williams PR department, get on the ball!). Yesterday Gastar said most of their gas is flowing again, through a different Williams pipeline. Gastar also says Williams told them the ruptured/down pipeline should be repaired and operating again in “approximately three weeks.” Thanks Gastar, for keeping us up to date on the Williams pipeline…
Read More “Gastar Helpfully Provides Update on Williams WV Pipeline Outage”
Accidents | Chevron | Energy Companies | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PA DEP Says Chevron Blocked Access to Greene County Well Fire
April 10, 2014April 10, 2014

On Feb. 11 Chevron’s Lanco 7H well in Greene County, PA exploded and caught fire. Although it’s not clear what caused the explosion, workers were connecting the well to a gathering pipeline (i.e. welding) and it’s not much of a stretch to connect the dots. One of the workers at the site tragically lost his life (see Remains of Chevron Contractor Found at Greene County Well Site). The fire at Lanco 7H spread to the well next it–Lanco 6H. After five days the twin fires were put out and eventually the wells were capped (see Chevron Well Fire Update: 2nd Well Capped, Work on 7 Wells Stopped).

Both the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Chevron continue to investigate what went wrong. However, three weeks ago the DEP issued a preliminary Notice of Violation about the accident and fires (see it embedded below). The surprising revelation in the NOV is that Chevron blocked DEP personnel from accessing the site for two days while the fire burned. DEP personnel, by law, have carte blanche access to any well anywhere at any time. Chevron was no doubt trying to protect the DEP agents, however, blocking them from the site clearly rankled the agency and will now be part of a fine they eventually assess on Chevron…
Read More “PA DEP Says Chevron Blocked Access to Greene County Well Fire”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

The Skeletons Knocking Around in Chesapeake Energy’s Closet
April 10, 2014April 10, 2014

An article on The Motley Fool investors website takes a look at Chesapeake Energy and the potential skeletons that may be hiding in their closet. The purpose of the article is to make the point that potential suitors who may want to buy Chessy may want to reconsider that concept because of Chessy’s skeletons–much to dismay of corporate raider Carl Icahn who has invested a lot of his own money on the gamble that he can hack off entire pieces of Chessy and make it an attractive buy-out option, boosting his own fortune even more (Tolkien’s Smaug sitting atop mountains of ill-gotten gold comes to mind).

So which skeletons do we already know about in Chessy’s closet, and which ones don’t we know about (yet)?…
Read More “The Skeletons Knocking Around in Chesapeake Energy’s Closet”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Bad to Worse: PA Royalty Owner Asks Court for Chessy Class Action
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

Chesapeake Energy continues to find itself under the metaphorical gun with respect to royalty payments in Pennsylvania. The PA legislature is considering a bill (HB 1684) that would plug a legal loophole and require Chesapeake and other drillers to pay landowners a 12.5% minimum royalty regardless of post-production costs (see PA NARO Alert: Tell Your State Rep to Vote YES on HB 1684). Landowners in Bradford County sued Chessy held an anti-Chesapeake rally to further express their extreme displeasure (see Bradford PA Landowner Rally over Chesapeake Royalty Shenanigans). Gov. Corbett asked PA’s anti-drilling Attorney General, Kathleen Kane, to investigate (showing how bad it’s gotten–to stoop to asking her to get involved).

And now from bad to worse: a company that owns royalty rights in PA, Scout Petroleum, claims they’ve been screwed out of royalties by Chesapeake and has asked a judge for a full refund and to force Chesapeake into arbitration and grant class-action status to the whole, festering mess…
Read More “Bad to Worse: PA Royalty Owner Asks Court for Chessy Class Action”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Gastar Exploration | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | West Virginia | Williams

Gastar Shuts-in Marshall County Wells Due to Pipeline Explosion
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

Last Saturday morning a Williams pipeline in Marshall County, WV ruptured and caught fire (see Williams Pipeline Rupture/Fire in Marshall County, WV). We still don’t know the cause for sure, but it’s looking like there was a small landslide from a hill that triggered the rupture and explosion.

Already that single 12-inch pipeline is having an effect on some Williams customers. Gastar Exploration with wells in Marshall County issued a statement on Monday to say they’ve had “shut-in” their wells in the area because of the pipeline outage. We have the Gastar statement below, along with a first-hand, eyewitness account of the explosion from a nearby neighbor…
Read More “Gastar Shuts-in Marshall County Wells Due to Pipeline Explosion”
CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies

CONSOL Energy Doubles Marcellus Production in 1Q14
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

CONSOL Energy is early out of the chute with a heads up on their first quarter 2014 performance. The company says natural gas production for 1Q14 was 48.4 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), which is up 23% from 1Q13 (however Marcellus production doubled in the same period). CONSOL also said they are on track to produce 215 – 235 Bcfe by the end of this year.

A full operational report with all the details is coming April 29. In the meantime, here’s CONSOL’s short-and-sweet press release from Monday:
Read More “CONSOL Energy Doubles Marcellus Production in 1Q14”
Carroll County | Energy Companies | Ohio | Rex Energy | Utica Shale

Rex Energy Releases #s for 3 Utica Wells in Carroll County, OH
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

Even though the “sweet spot” of the Utica Shale has moved from northern to southern Ohio (eastern portion of the state), that doesn’t mean Carroll County in the northern part of the play–the original “sweet spot”–is going away any time soon. Rex Energy released production numbers yesterday for their three-well Ocel pad, located in Carroll County. All three wells on the pad are producing natural gas (methane), natural gas liquids (NGLs) and condensate (natural gasoline). The production numbers for the three wells are very respectable…
Read More “Rex Energy Releases #s for 3 Utica Wells in Carroll County, OH”
Accidents | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Tioga County (PA)

Anti-Drilling Groups Want PA DEP to Investigate 2-Yr Old EQT Spill
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

News flash: A bunch of virulently anti-drilling groups, including PennEnvironment, PennFuture, the [so-called] Responsible Drilling Alliance, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Clean Water Action, and the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper are asking the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to investigate a two-year old spill of frack water in Tioga County, PA by EQT. Further news flash: said virulently anti-drilling groups think EQT is an “irresponsible operator” in the Marcellus. Film at 11.

Here’s the propaganda fundraiser (also called a press release) issued by said virulently anti-drilling groups:
Read More “Anti-Drilling Groups Want PA DEP to Investigate 2-Yr Old EQT Spill”
Accidents | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Rice Energy

Rice Energy Statement on Tragic Accident in Belmont County, OH
April 8, 2014April 7, 2014

Rice Energy experienced their first well site fatality on Saturday when a Texas man was killed at their Bigfoot 9H drilling site in Belmont County, OH (see TX Worker Killed at Rice Energy Drill Site in Belmont County, OH).

Yesterday Rice released the following short statement about the tragic accident:
Read More “Rice Energy Statement on Tragic Accident in Belmont County, OH”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Rare Schism Between Landowners & Drillers over PA Royalty Law
April 8, 2014April 7, 2014

Several weeks ago MDN told you that the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners had sent out a flash email to encourage support of House Bill (HB) 1684, the Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act. The bill would clear up shady dealings from Chesapeake Energy (and perhaps others) in deducting certain expenses leaving some landowners with checks for royalties way under the 12.5% guaranteed minimum (see PA NARO Alert: Tell Your State Rep to Vote YES on HB 1684). Not long after NARO sounded the rallying cry, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau joined NARO in supporting HB 1684 (see PA Farm Bureau Joins Chorus Against Chessy on Royalty Issue).

However, this is one issue on which landowners, who are strongly pro-drilling, and the drilling industry itself, part ways. The Marcellus Shale Coalition, through its new grassroots organization called Shale Advocates, is asking shale supporters to oppose HB 1684. According to the Shale Advocates website, they want their supporters to “Take a few moments to contact your representative and let them know you oppose HB1684 and any effort by the Commonwealth to intervene in private contracts. Here’s your opportunity to be heard. Your voice will make a difference.” After HB 1684 has been larded up with amendments, NARO met to consider whether or not they would still support it and in the end, they see more to like than no like about the bill–so they issued the following press release last week to reaffirm their strong support:
Read More “Rare Schism Between Landowners & Drillers over PA Royalty Law”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Exxon Mobil Shaken Down by NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli
April 8, 2014April 7, 2014

The Comptroller of the State of New York, Thomas DiNapoli, is the sole person in charge of The New York State Common Retirement Fund–a fund with $160 billion in it. DiNapoli, or rather the NYS Common Retirement Fund, owns $1.02 billion of Exxon Mobil stock. Unfortunately, DiNapoli is an anti-drilling bully (see our list of MDN articles here). When someone like DiNapoli has you by the short hairs and is pulling, you ask him how high he wants you to jump. That’s what’s happening to Exxon Mobil.

DiNapoli is forcing Exxon Mobil to write a cockamamie report on the so-called hazards of fracking, to be released this September on the Exxon website. So what if the report shows there are no (or very few) actual hazards in fracking? Yeah, right. They don’t call people like Tommy DiNapoli a goodfella for nuttin’. Exxon is getting shaken down by a bullying investor that holds a lot of stock. And not just any investor–but a government official to boot. It’s sleazy, it’s disgusting, and it’s New York politics. What do you think Exxon’s report on fracking will say?…
Read More “Exxon Mobil Shaken Down by NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli”
Devon Energy | Energy Companies | Holmes County | Ohio | Utica Shale | Wayne County (OH)

Update on What’s (Not) Happening in Wayne, Holmes Counties in OH
April 8, 2014April 7, 2014

Early on, way back in 2010, landowners in Wayne and Holmes counties along the western reaches of the Utica Shale play in Ohio received a lot of interest–and offers–to lease their land. For a time it seemed promising. Some landowners signed on for under $100 per acre as a signing bonus, which at the time seemed like a good deal. Some got paid as much as $2,500 per acre to sign. Today, for landowners in the “sweet spot” of the Utica in places like Belmont, Guernsey and Harrison counties, it’s not uncommon to receive $5,000 or more per acre as a signing bonus.

Devon Energy was one of the early drillers to get permits in Ashland, Wayne and Holmes counties. But then it all went sideways for Devon when they didn’t get good results from the early test wells they drilled in the region. Devon threw in the towel in the Ohio Utica and put their (considerable) acreage up for sale (see Devon Energy Puts 240K Acres of Utica Shale Leases Up for Sale). What’s been happening in Wayne and Holmes over the past few years? Not much–and it appears it will stay that way for some time to come…
Read More “Update on What’s (Not) Happening in Wayne, Holmes Counties in OH”
Accidents | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Rice Energy

TX Worker Killed at Rice Energy Drill Site in Belmont County, OH
April 7, 2014April 7, 2014

It’s always a sad day when we report the death of a shale worker in the Marcellus or Utica. David Zamora, a 43 year-old father of a 10 year-old son, was killed on Saturday when a piece of equipment crushed him at a Rice Energy drill site in Belmont County, OH.

The details are still a bit sketchy. Here is what MDN has been able to find so far…
Read More “TX Worker Killed at Rice Energy Drill Site in Belmont County, OH”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Chief of Homeland Security Not Concerned About Drill Cuttings
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

For all the hoopla from anti-drillers in West Virginia over radioactivity in drill cuttings (leftover rock and dirt from drilling the borehole), and the disposal of those cuttings in landfills, you would think the state is in imminent danger of becoming a nuclear waste dump–glowing in the dark and visible from satellites passing through the night sky (see WV Anti-Drillers Continue to Harp on Drill Cuttings in Landfills).

The chief of Homeland Security and Emergency Response for the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection says the DEP recently tested drill cuttings from EQT heading to the landfill and found radiation levels to be so low, they were barely detectable. In his words, “I am not concerned about it”…
Read More “WV Chief of Homeland Security Not Concerned About Drill Cuttings”