Energy Companies

Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Dimock Family & Lawyers in Legal Hot Water for Secret Assistance
September 16, 2013September 16, 2013

“Dimock” is the issue that won’t die because the media and anti-drillers won’t let it. The latest installment in this soap opera: Landowners Scott and Monica Ely refused Cabot Oil & Gas’ offer to settle in 2012, although virtually all other landowners who say Cabot contaminated their water wells with methane (natural gas) did settle. The Elys were hoping for a bigger payday, so they kept on–against the advice of their lawyers.

The Elys told the court they couldn’t find legal help so they would represent themselves. Then, against legal and ethical standards, a pair of lawyers (one of them from the firm previously representing the Dimock families) secretly helped them anyway. The Elys and their surreptitious lawyers are now in legal hot water…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

God, Veggies & Bees – What’s Next on the Chesapeake Chopping Block?
September 16, 2013September 16, 2013

As MDN pointed out last week, Chesapeake Energy CEO Doug Lawler continues to cut expenses by cutting people (see Chesapeake’s Lawler Continues to Swing the Ax – More VPs Gone). Such activity puts a smile on his boss’ face, corporate raider Carl Icahn, because Icahn can see his stock price inching up–getting high enough that he can sell it at a profit. That’s what corporate raiders do.

An update on Chessy’s ax-wielding. The latest things to go on the chopping block? God, veggies and bees…
Read More “God, Veggies & Bees – What’s Next on the Chesapeake Chopping Block?”
CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OOGA Pegs Utica Shale “Sweet Spot” at YOUNG 2013
September 13, 2013

An Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) representative told attendees at the YOUNG 2013 conference held this week in Youngstown that counties in southeastern Ohio are the “sweet spot” of the Utica Shale play because the pressure there is higher and because the shale layer includes an abundance of natural gas liquids. However, another speaker–an executive from CONSOL Energy–said counties in northeastern Ohio will continue to see successful drilling too. So don’t despair!

Executive VP of OOGA, Tom Stewart, used a map to detail the location of a “strip of highly pressurized shale containing natural gas liquids.” While we don’t have a copy of the map, we do have his identification of precisely which counties he says are in that strip–the Utica Shale sweet spot…
Read More “OOGA Pegs Utica Shale “Sweet Spot” at YOUNG 2013″
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Energy | Statewide PA

Southwestern Energy Details Marcellus Update/Plans
September 13, 2013September 13, 2013

Below is Southwestern Energy’s investor presentation/update for August 2013. Southwestern is a major driller in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale. Among the slides in the presentation are several that focus on their Marcellus work, including maps. Worth your time to review (we like slides #6-10 in particular)…
Read More “Southwestern Energy Details Marcellus Update/Plans”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | XTO

Hanger Joins Kane in Piling on XTO for 3-Yr Old Accidental Spill
September 12, 2013September 12, 2013

MDN told you yesterday about the unprecedented and egregious abuse of power by the Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane in bringing criminal charges against XTO for a more than three-year-old accidental wastewater spill in Lycoming County, PA (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). Now, Kane’s fellow Democrat John Hanger, who was Sec. of the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection at the time of the accidental spill (and someone seeking the Democrat nomination to run for governor in PA) is piling on too. He’s happy that Kane has the long knives out for XTO and says so. Hanger, you may recall, still has not disavowed his party’s call for a statewide, ongoing moratorium on shale drilling (see Rendell Paints Hanger into Corner on PA Democrat Moratorium Vote).

Kane’s actions shouldn’t surprise anyone. She telegraphed her intentions before she was elected last year. Anti-drillers have confirmed Kane was eagerly looking for an opportunity to ~~persecute~~ prosecute a Marcellus Shale driller–to make an example of them. Brings to mind another anti-drilling zealot we know about who shares the same philosophy (see EPA Administrator Al Armendariz Resigns over Crucify Comment)…

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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs

Chesapeake’s Lawler Continues to Swing the Ax – More VPs Gone
September 12, 2013September 12, 2013

Chesapeake Energy CEO Doug Lawler, no doubt spurred on by his boss, board member and corporate raider Carl Icahn, continues to swing the ax at Chesapeake. Although Chessy won’t reveal how many jobs have been cut, another round of ax-chopping happened earlier this week at the company with “numerous high level employees – vice presidents” getting notified they’re on the chopping block.

The latest from Oklahoma City’s News 9:
Read More “Chesapeake’s Lawler Continues to Swing the Ax – More VPs Gone”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Wastewater | XTO

PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO
September 11, 2013September 11, 2013

In November 2012, the day after the general election, MDN asked the question if Pennsylvania’s newly elected anti-drilling attorney general, Kathleen Kane, would target the Marcellus Shale drilling industry (see Will New PA AG Go After the Marcellus Drilling Industry?). We now know the answer. Yesterday Kane’s office announced it had filed criminal charges against XTO Energy related to the spill of fracking wastewater at a site in Lycoming County, PA that happened more than three years ago–before she took office.

XTO has already responded that the area where the spill occurred suffered no long-term adverse environmental effects and that Kane has far exceeded the bounds of her authority (in fact is abusing her authority) in seeking criminal charges. We agree with XTO…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Ohio | Utica Shale

Delayed Pipeline to Single Gulfport Utica Well Impacts Market
September 11, 2013September 11, 2013

Can delays in building a pipeline to a single Utica Shale well be enough to affect the stock price of the driller? You bet it can. Analysts from Sterne Agee issued revised estimates of how much production Gulfport Energy will see in the third quarter of this year based on Gulfport’s pre-announcement to the markets yesterday that they’ve had to lower their own estimates of production in 3Q13–because of a delay in hooking up the Irons 1-4H Utica Shale well in Belmont County, OH.

To be fair, Gulfport’s stock price only slipped a little bit on yesterday’s news (down less than 1/2 of one percent), and Sterne Agee remains bullish on the stock. Still, it’s incredible to us that the scheduling of a pipeline hookup for a single well can create such an impact on a multi-billion dollar energy company…
Read More “Delayed Pipeline to Single Gulfport Utica Well Impacts Market”
Accidents | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Gulfport Pays $250K Fine for Leaky Pad Liners at 7 OH Utica Sites
September 11, 2013September 11, 2013

The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) investigated Gulfport’s shale drilling sites in eastern Ohio after an inspector found ground contamination at a Harrison County well. ODNR found evidence of brine–naturally occurring underground water that comes to the surface after drilling is done–escaping from (leaking from) the well–which is not supposed to happen. Each well pad has a big rubber pad liner that’s supposed to catch anything that happens to leak. Gulfport’s pad liners did not do the job.

In addition to a $250,000 fine, Gulfport has to rebuild each of the seven drill pads where there are defective liners before they can continue drilling at those locations…
Read More “Gulfport Pays $250K Fine for Leaky Pad Liners at 7 OH Utica Sites”
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Wastewater

Range Water Impoundment Public Hearing Postponed 2nd Time
September 11, 2013September 30, 2013

In August MDN told you about the latest kerfuffle between Range Resources and Mt. Pleasant township in Washington County, PA. Range had built and maintains four water impoundments (think “pond”)–one for frack wastewater and three for fresh water storage. Range uses the impoundments to store and haul water to/from drill sites for use in fracking (see Range Resources Argues with Mt Pleasant over Water Impoundment). Residents object to the impoundments on the grounds that their original use–drilling wells in that immediate area–is long over. Range continues to use them to drill other wells, not only in Washington County but also in Ohio and West Virginia. Residents say Range has overstayed their welcome with the impoundments.

A public hearing was continued from August to September when the public didn’t get a chance to vent at the August meeting. Last night, the hearing was continued yet again–to October–because Range wants a witness to appear at the hearing that couldn’t make it last night…
Read More “Range Water Impoundment Public Hearing Postponed 2nd Time”
Antero Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | PDC Energy | Statewide OH

Eastern OH Shale Drillers Donate to Local Schools
September 11, 2013September 11, 2013

Several high schools in eastern Ohio have received a surprise gift: money from drillers. Antero Resources recently donated $2,500 to each of five high schools for use in their athletics programs. PDC Energy recently donated $5,000 to the Wolf Creek school. And CONSOL Energy is running a contest for select Ohio schools with a $10,000 first prize.

All of these efforts come under the umbrella of what we call “the industry gives back”…
Read More “Eastern OH Shale Drillers Donate to Local Schools”
Broome County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | New York | Tioga County (NY)

Done Deal: Chesapeake Drops Leases on 13K Acres in NY
September 10, 2013September 10, 2013

Last week MDN told you that Chesapeake was set to release 12,000 acres of leases in the Southern Tier of New York, abandoning a legal fight to extend those leases (some of which they paid $2-3 per acre for) by using a legal concept called force majeure (see Chesapeake to Release 12K Acres of NY Leases Next Week). Major media outlets from AP to Reuters are reporting Chesapeake, as of Monday, has officially dropped those leases.

One slight update: it was actually 13,000 acres, not 12,000 acres as originally reported…
Read More “Done Deal: Chesapeake Drops Leases on 13K Acres in NY”
Energy Companies | Rhino Resource Partners | Utica Shale

Rhino Resources Issues 1.1M Common Units to Repay Debt
September 10, 2013September 10, 2013

Rhino Resource Partners is a master limited partnership (MLP) that produces coal in various basins throughout the U.S. They also invest in oil and gas acreage in both the Utica and Cana Woodford shale plays. In April MDN told you that Rhino had decided to “flip” 20% of their Utica royalty interests to an undisclosed third party for $10.5 million (see Rhino Flips 20% of Utica Investment to Undisclosed 3rd Party).

Yesterday Rhino issued another brief press statement–this one stating they are issuing a public offering of 1.1 million shares of common units (rough equivalent of stock). They’re issuing the new units in order to pay off loans they previously borrowed under their revolving line of credit. No word on how much money they hope to raise…
Read More “Rhino Resources Issues 1.1M Common Units to Repay Debt”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Seismic Testing

Halcon Resources to Begin Seismic Testing in Mahoning County, OH
September 9, 2013September 9, 2013

Let the thumping (in Mahoning County, OH) begin. Mahoning County commissioners have approved a one-year road use agreement with Halcon Resources that allows them to perform seismic testing along county and town roadways. Halcon will pay $600 per mile, post a $100,000 bond (for the county) and a $50,000 bond (for each of six townships) where they will test. Halcon will also spend some major money repairing roads even before they begin testing…
Read More “Halcon Resources to Begin Seismic Testing in Mahoning County, OH”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Trumbull County

US Army Corp Engineers OKs Halcon Pipeline in Trumbull County, OH
September 9, 2013September 9, 2013

Good news for Halcon Field Services: The Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has cleared the way for Halcon to horizontally drill and install a natural gas gathering pipeline beneath federal land in Trumbull County, Ohio…
Read More “US Army Corp Engineers OKs Halcon Pipeline in Trumbull County, OH”
Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Utica Shale

Is Chesapeake Robbing Graves in OH Village…or Getting Robbed?
September 6, 2013September 6, 2013

We can see the headlines now: Chesapeake Energy is a (Gas) Grave Robber! Wait until the anti-drillers get hold of this story… Chesapeake has struck a deal with the Village of Salineville (Columbiana County), OH to lease and drill under 17 acres at the Woodland Cemetery. The deal stipulates no surface disturbance of any kind (a very good idea).

But who is robbing whom? Listen to the deal the village got: Chesapeake is paying Salineville $44,145 annually for five years, plus 15% royalties. The annual payments add up to $220,725, or if you think of it as a signing bonus stretched over 5 years, it’s $12,984 per acre. Wow!! That’s perhaps the highest per acre signing bonus we’ve heard of in the entire Marcellus or Utica Shale. Kudos to the Salineville board members who ~~suckered~~ negotiated the deal with Chesapeake…
Read More “Is Chesapeake Robbing Graves in OH Village…or Getting Robbed?”