Energy Companies 415 - Marcellus Drilling News

PA Finally Joins the Cracker Plant Sweepstakes

February 14, 2012February 14, 2012

It seems that Pennsylvania has finally woken up to the fact that Shell is about to decide where they will invest some $2 billion and generate thousands of new jobs by building an ethane cracker plant. One of three bills signed into law by PA Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday was a bill that,

Mum’s the Word on New Tygart Valley Pipeline in WV

February 14, 2012February 14, 2012

In December, MDN reported that Houston-based Crestwood Midstream will construct a new 16” inch Marcellus gathering pipeline that will run 42 miles through Preston, Taylor and Barbour counties in northeast West Virginia, connecting to Columbia Gas Transmission’s WB Pipeline in Randolph County, WV, delivering Marcellus gas to the Washington, DC and Baltimore markets (see this MDN story).

Antero Pays Record Rates in Eastern Ohio Utica Lease Deal

February 13, 2012February 13, 2012

prices going higher The Utica Landowner Group of eastern Ohio has just cut a deal with Antero Resources for what is believed to be the highest amount paid yet for a lease deal: $5,900 per acre for a signing bonus, and 21 percent royalties. The deal covers land in Belmont, Monroe and Noble counties in Ohio.

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Wastewater

Chesapeake’s Fracking Wastewater Treatment Technology

February 13, 2012February 13, 2012

Chesapeake Energy, the nation’s second-largest natural gas producer, has pioneered a new technology that allows them to recycle up to 100 percent of fracking wastewater to be reused on new wells being fracked. The technology, called Aqua Renew (video embedded below) means less wastewater going either to municipal treatment facilities or injection wells for disposal.

PA DEP Fines Chesapeake Energy $565K for Three Violations

February 10, 2012February 10, 2012

gavel on money The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) yesterday fined Chesapeake Energy a total of $565,000 for major violations at three Marcellus Shale wells in Potter and Bradford counties in 2010 and 2011.

From the DEP press release:

Anadarko | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | NGLs

The Massive Shift Underway from Dry to Wet Gas Drilling

February 10, 2012February 10, 2012

An article on the SNL Financial website about the “massive shift” from drilling in dry gas (methane only) shale gas areas to the natural gas liquids (NGLs) areas begins this way:

Anadarko Offers $3K/Acre + 17.5% Royalties for Utica Lease

February 7, 2012February 7, 2012

Coshocton County in eastern Ohio requested Utica Shale lease offers for 436 acres of county-owned land no longer being used for any other purpose. There was only one offer put on the table, by Anadarko. Under the five-year lease offer, the county would receive a $1.3 million signing bonus ($3,000 per acre) and 17.5 percent in royalties.

Exxon to Drill First Ohio Utica Shale Well in Belmont County

February 7, 2012February 7, 2012

According to press reports, XTO Energy—a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil—will drill its first Ohio Utica Shale well in Belmont County.

Energy Companies | WPX Energy

WPX Energy Cuts Back Marcellus Rigs, Focused on Oil & NGLs

February 7, 2012February 7, 2012

Early this year, Williams officially spun off it’s exploration and production operation into a new company called WPX Energy (see this MDN story). The new company inherited one of the top 10 drilling operations in the Marcellus and Utica Shales.

Yesterday, WPX announced their capital spending plans for 2012 and it’s no surprise, given similar announcements from other major drillers, that WPX is scaling back drilling in the Marcellus from seven rigs to three due to the low commodity price for natural gas. WPX is shifting capital resources to the Bakken Shale where they are drilling for oil and to those geographies rich with natural gas liquids (NGLs).

Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Rockingham County | Virginia

Virginia Community Tells Carrizo to Go Drill Somewhere Else

February 6, 2012February 6, 2012

Unfortunately, it looks like Virginia is joining Maryland in hanging out the “do not drill here” sign for Marcellus Shale gas drillers.

Waiting Game: Cracker Plants Talk to Property Owners

February 3, 2012February 3, 2012

West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio are all in the hunt to land an ethane cracker plant in their respective states (see the long list of MDN stories on a potential cracker plant in the Marcellus/Utica Shale region). According to WV Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette, Shell and another unnamed company are now in talks with private property owners. That is, the deals are now being negotiated, and it’s a waiting game to see the outcome.

All three states have offered huge tax incentives to land the plant. Shell originally set January for an announcement, but changed it a few weeks ago to be February.

Energy Companies | Seneca Resources

Seneca Resources Marcellus Well Output up 91.5% in Q1 2012

February 3, 2012February 3, 2012

Seneca Resources, the exploration and production division of National Fuel Gas Company, just reported their first quarter earnings for 2012. As part of the report, we get the following operational update which shows a 91.5 percent increase in production in Seneca’s Marcellus Shale wells.

Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Range Resources Corp

Flaring of Gas Wells – Still Used, But Not as Much Anymore

February 2, 2012February 2, 2012

natural gas well flaring In areas where there is active drilling, like northeast and southwest Pennsylvania, near the end of completing a gas well is a process called flaring—when some of the gas and other impurities are burned off. Sometimes flaring a well, which results in a large flame coming out of the well, can be seen up to 10 miles away, which catches neighbors by surprise. Tony Gaudlip from Range Resources explains the flaring process, and why it’s not used as much as it once was.

Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Washington County Commissioners to Vote on Modifying Gas Lease

February 2, 2012February 2, 2012

Commissioners for Washington County, PA will vote today on modifying an agreement they have with Range Resources to allow drilling for gas at a county-owned park. The revisions will limit how much time Range has to complete drilling and extracting natural gas, and it also ups the royalty percentage.

Cabot Accuses EPA of Cherry Picking Old Water Test Data

February 1, 2012February 1, 2012

Cabot Oil & Gas has accused the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of “cherry picking” old water test data to justify its intrusion into Dimock, PA. For a quick backgrounder on the situation in Dimock and why Cabot is being blamed by some for pollution of a handful of local water wells in the area, see this MDN story.

Dimock Residents Petition EPA to Stop Their Investigation

February 1, 2012February 1, 2012

A group of residents from the Dimock, Pennsylvania area have formed a group called “Enough is Enough” to combat the negative image being painted of their quaint, rural town in the Endless Mountains region of northeast PA. A steady drumbeat of negative press over the past three years, instigated by anti-drilling organizations, has created an image of Dimock as a chemical wasteland a la “Love Canal” (the Niagara Falls neighborhood that became famous in the 1970s because of widespread underground chemical contamination) in the minds of those who have never visited the area.

Dimock residents want to dispel that image.