An update on the latest drilling permits (issued the past two weeks) for the Utica Shale in both western PA and eastern Ohio, by driller and county:
Crestwood Marcellus Midstream announced yesterday they have purchased four compression/dehydration stations from Enerven Compression for $95 million. The stations service Crestwood’s own gathering pipelines in Harrison and Doddridge counties in West Virginia. Antero Resources is the driller in the area using the Crestwood pipeline system. Crestwood’s CEO calls it a “bolt-on acquisition” for the company.
From the Crestwood press release, which includes an update on their Marcellus-related business with Antero:
Read More “Crestwood Midstream Buys 4 Compressor Stations in WV”
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved new rules earlier this year (that is, created new laws by fiat that no one has the guts to oppose) requiring all oil and gas drillers nationwide to use so-called “green completions” by the year 2015. What are green completions?
Read More “Marcellus Drillers Drop Flaring, Adopt “Green Completions””
Someone beside Norse Energy is holding out hope that New York will soon allow fracking of the Marcellus and Utica Shale—and they’re willing to spend money on that gamble. EmKey Gathering has just purchased a 75-mile right-of-way from Norse Energy that stretches from Madison County through Chenango County and into Broome County—all of those counties in New York State’s Southern Tier region.
EmKey hopes to hook up local shale gas wells, once they’re drilled, to the Millennium Pipeline, an interstate pipeline that runs through Broome County.
Read More “New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Planned for NY Southern Tier”
A recent article touches on the touchy issue of environmental groups accepting donations from the drilling industry. Specifically, the article focuses on the Audubon Society and their decision to run a series of meetings in Pennsylvania earlier this year with the Marcellus Shale Coalition and the Ruffed Grouse Society for birdwatchers, anglers, hunters and hikers to ask questions about drilling. What did Audubon learn? If you even think about talking with “the other side” your rabid enviro-brethren will turn on you in a heartbeat.
Near the end of the article we spotted this interesting paragraph on the true motivation of the Sierra Club and their recent attacks on natural gas (changing their position after they had been in favor of it for years):
PDC Energy plans to drill it’s first Washington County, OH Utica Shale well in April of next year. The company previously drilled two Utica wells, both in Guernsey County, OH.
The details from the Akron Beacon Journal:
Read More “PDC Energy Expands Utica Drilling to Washington County, OH”
Some people call them “man camps.” Others call them “labor camps.” Whatever you call them, small groups of people (usually men) working on location and living in trailers—like what happens at drill pad sites—are now officially called labor camps in West Virginia. If a site in WV has 10 or more people living and working on location, you need a special permit according to a new state law.
Chesapeake Energy has become the first driller in WV (Ohio County) to apply for and receive a labor camp permit:
Read More “Chesapeake Energy Receives First ‘Labor Camp’ Permits in WV”
When Waste Management, the country’s biggest trash hauler, commits to converting 80% of its truck fleet with trucks powered by natural gas—that’s a big deal. Other fleet managers are taking notice and doing the same. Why? The price of natural gas is half the cost of gasoline and diesel:
Read More “Waste Management, Others Converting Fleets to Run on NatGas”
Hilcorp Energy was hired by Columbia Gas’ parent company NiSouce to drill Utica Shale wells in the Brinker Storage Field, a 35,000 acre area in Columbiana County, Ohio that Columbia has used to store natural gas going back more than 50 years. The original leases with landowners in the Brinker, leases passed down to new landowners over the decades, mean that landowners get zippo from any drilling—no lease payments and no royalties (see this MDN story for background).
Since the MDN story that first appeared in September, about 100 landowners have signed on to a lawsuit against Columbia and Hilcorp over the lease issue. But also since September, Columbia and Hilcorp have cut new leases with landowners not party to the lawsuit. We get the details of the lease terms from a story that talks about Hilcorp setting up a new office in Columbiana to work on land deals:
Read More “Some Brinker Field (OH) Leases Revised, Others in Lawsuit”
CONSOL Energy’s CNX Gas subsidiary is expanding its presence at the Columbiana County Port Authority’s industrial park in Leetonia, Ohio. It’s an indicator of CNX/CONSOL’s commitment to the Ohio Utica Shale.
Although headline stories usually talk about the 1.3 million acres owned by Chesapeake in the Utica Shale, you don’t often hear about the large and growing stake owned by CNX:
Yesterday the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) provided a detailed update on shale drilling activity in the Utica Shale. They found that the number of drilling rigs in the Utica has doubled from October of last year to October of this year. Also of keen interest: 86% of the active rigs in the Utica (now) are targeting shale oil. Last October the number of 15% of active rigs—which shows a remarkable shift in the Utica. Although the report says “shale oil,” MDN takes that to mean “wet gas,” or shale oil and natural gas liquids. The report finds that Chesapeake Energy continues to be the Big Kahuna in the Utica Shale with 39% of all new well starts in Ohio year-to-date.
Here’s the full EIA Utica Shale update posted yesterday (along with some great charts):
Read More “EIA Report: Rig Count in Utica Shale Doubles in One Year”
On the third quarter earnings call with analysts earlier this month, Chesapeake Energy officials were asked about the Utica Shale and their thoughts, now more than a year in, of how the Utica stacks up against the Eagle Ford, and how Chesapeake’s “core of the core” strategy is working in the Utica. Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon answered the question this way, identifying the three counties in Ohio that are “the core of the core” for the company:
Read More “Chesapeake Says 3 OH Counties are “Core of the Core” in Utica”
Corporate raider Carl Icahn (euphemistically renamed an “activist investor” by mainstream media who now like his targets) has increased his holdings in Chesapeake Energy. He remains the number two shareholder in the company.
As reported by the Pittsburgh Business Times (quoting CNBC):
Recently Seneca Resources, a company that will turn 100 years old in March, gave Johnstown, PA WJAC-TV News a tour of what happens at a drill site. During the tour, WJAC got the real story of what goes on “behind the scenes” at a drilling company. They also got the real story about fracking. Refreshingly, WJAC reported it accurately!
Here’s what Seneca told WJAC:
Read More “Seneca Resources Gives Johnstown TV Station an Eye & Earful”
MDN headlined a story yesterday about last week’s decision by a federal judge that went in favor of landowners and against Chesapeake Energy and Inflection Energy. The case found that Chesapeake and Inflection could not use the legal clause in their signed leases called “force majeure” to extend previously signed leases beyond the original 10-year term (see this MDN story for background).
One of the lead attorneys who brought the case on behalf of New York landowners is Scott Kurkoski, from the Vestal, NY law firm Levene, Gouldin & Thompson, LLP. Scott sent along a statement (below) along with a copy of the judge’s decision (also below).
Read More “More on the NY Force Majeure Ruling Against Chesapeake”
An important court case has ruled in favor of landowners against energy companies in New York State. Last Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge David Hurd ruled against Chesapeake Energy and Inflection Energy (and in favor of landowners) in a case where the companies had tried to extend leases beyond the original term by invoking “force majeure,” a legal phrase that means the terms of the lease could not be carried out due to extenuating circumstances.
Chesapeake and Inflection had argued that New York State’s moratorium on hydraulic fracturing of shale meant they could not drill on New York land for which they hold leases. But as with many things legal, the story is not so simple…
Read More “Judge Rules Against Chesapeake, Inflection in NY Lease Case”