Norse Energy Files for Permits in New York State to Drill in the Marcellus and Utica Shales
With 180,000 acres of leases in New York State, Norse Energy wants to be first in line for permits when New York finalizes its new drilling regulations.
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Potter County | Tioga County (PA) | Ultra Petroleum
Anti-Drilling Group PennFuture Sues Ultra Resources Claiming Air Pollution from Gas Wells, Compressor Stations and Pipelines
Anti-drilling group PennFuture is suing driller Ultra Resources claiming they are causing air pollution from almost all of their operations. A copy of the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is embedded below.
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Marcellus Drilling in Central PA Slowing Down in 2011
The Centre County (PA) Natural Gas Task Force says that drilling for Marcellus gas in the county has slowed down this year, with only about a quarter of the number of new wells being drilled this year vs. last year. Why? According to the task force, the reasons for the slowdown are low gas prices and lack of pipeline infrastructure.
Read More “Marcellus Drilling in Central PA Slowing Down in 2011”
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Endeavour International Buys Lease for Additional 50K Marcellus Acres & Local Pipeline in PA from SM Energy
Endeavour International, an independent energy company, has just picked up an additional 50,000 net acres in the Marcellus Shale along with three producing wells and a pipeline, all located in McKean and Potter counties in Pennsylvania, in a deal with SM Energy. From the Endeavour press release:
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Range Resources Says its Marcellus Shale Wells Produce 2-3X More Gas than Barnett Shale Wells
An interesting bit of information from Range Resources about the productivity of Marcellus Shale gas wells vs. Barnett Shale wells:
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Rex Energy | Westmoreland County
Landowners in Westmoreland County, PA Reach Settlement with Rex Energy for Contract Breach & Non-Payment
A group of 230 landowners in Westmoreland County, PA have settled a longstanding dispute with Marcellus drilling company Rex Energy. Landowners say they were approached by Rex representatives in 2007 and 2008 to sign leases, and they did sign, but then never received the promised payments. Lawyers charged that Rex was signing as many people as possible in a bid to make it look as though they controlled a significant amount of land in the area to impress investors. Rex claims they never countersigned some leases and therefore did not owe money for those leases.
After two years of litigation, an out-of-court settlement has finally been reached.
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Mahoning County | Marquette Exploration | Ohio | Washington County (OH)
Ohio Update: With 37 Permits, It’s Still Early Days for Marcellus & Utica Shale Drilling
An update on the state of shale gas drilling—both Marcellus and Utica—in Ohio:
Read More “Ohio Update: With 37 Permits, It’s Still Early Days for Marcellus & Utica Shale Drilling”
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Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Harrison County | Jefferson County (OH) | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | XTO
Eastern Ohio Landowner Group Nears Deal for Marcellus Lease – Terms Include $3,700 per Acre, 17.5% Royalty
A group of landowners with 20,000 acres in Jefferson County and Harrison County, in eastern Ohio, is nearing a lease deal to allow Marcellus Shale drilling. One of the energy companies in the final bidding is XTO Energy (now a division of Exxon Mobil).
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New Compressed Natural Gas Filling Station Opens in Pittsburgh – How Does $1.85 per Gallon (Gas Equivalent) Sound?
Giant Eagle, a grocery and convenience store chain with 222 stores in western PA, Ohio and West Virginia, has just opened the first of three compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations in the Pittsburgh area. The company is planning to replace its entire truck fleet (over 200 trucks) with CNG trucks in the coming years. The best part: How does paying $1.85 a gasoline-equivalent gallon grab you? Yes, CNG vehicles cost more (and right now only Honda in the U.S. makes one), but as the infrastructure is built, more auto manufacturers are likely to start making CNG vehicles.
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Barbour County | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Utica Shale | West Virginia
CONSOL Reports Marcellus Shale Gas Production Up 18 Percent, Drilling 85 Wells by End of 2011, One Rig Dedicated to Utica Shale
CONSOL Energy has just released an operational update which includes an update on its shale gas drilling operations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia:
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Chesapeake Energy Will Invest $1 Billion over 10 Years on New Alternatives to OPEC Oil
On Monday, Chesapeake Energy, the second largest producer of natural gas in the United States and a major player in the Marcellus Shale, committed to investing $1 billion over the next 10 years in technologies “that will replace the use of gasoline and diesel derived primarily from OPEC oil with domestic oil, natural gas and natural gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuels.” Chesapeake has created a venture capital fund, called Chesapeake NG Ventures Corporation (CNGV), that will invest in companies offering alternatives to OPEC oil—ie, technologies that use natural gas.
Read More “Chesapeake Energy Will Invest $1 Billion over 10 Years on New Alternatives to OPEC Oil”
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Shell’s Marcellus Shale Exploration & Drilling Strategy in PA – Drill the Edges First
An article about Shell’s activity in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale, particularly along the western fringes of the Marcellus in Butler and Lawrence Counties (PA), reveals interesting insights about their strategy:
Read More “Shell’s Marcellus Shale Exploration & Drilling Strategy in PA – Drill the Edges First”
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Berry Energy | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia
Update on Monongahela National Forest Study – an MDN Correction
More details have come to light since MDN first reported on the new study published in the Journal of Environmental Quality about land application of fracking fluids in the Monongahela National Forest (see here). The press release about the published study was issued by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The release did not mention that the land application was authorized by the WV DEP as part of an ongoing drilling operation and not simply an intentional experiment. MDN does not knowingly distort the facts and is happy to “set the record straight” for any errors we publish. In that spirit, we offer this additional information about the 2008 land application incident and resulting published study:
Read More “Update on Monongahela National Forest Study – an MDN Correction”
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Broome County | Delaware County | Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Landowner Coalition News | New York | XTO
XTO Energy (ExxonMobil) Invokes Force Majeure Clause in Contract with Deposit (NY) Landowner Coalition
In 2008, the Deposit (NY) Landowner Coalition, with some 500 members, signed the first large scale leasing deal in New York’s Southern Tier region. The least was signed with XTO Energy which has subsequently been bought by ExxonMobil. The deal gave landowners $2,411 up front for leasing, and a 15 percent royalty when drilling begins. The lease payments made headlines around the country in a deal worth $110 million. The original lease was for five years.
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Accidents | Bradford County | Chief Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania
PA DEP Determines Gas Drilling Not the Cause of Barium in Crystal Stroud’s Water Well
Crystal Stroud of Granville Summit (Bradford County), PA has been the darling of the anti-fracking movement for the past few months. MDN reported on her appearance at an anti-fracking rally in Harrisburg in early June (see here). Crystal and her 4-year old son were found to have high levels of barium in their bodies, leading to a number of symptoms like heart palpitations, slurred speech, etc. Crystal blames Chief Oil & Gas and a nearby gas well they had drilled about 1,200 feet from her home. She said that her well water has been contaminated from Chief’s drilling operation. Was this finally the smoking gun that gas drilling pollutes ground water?
Read More “PA DEP Determines Gas Drilling Not the Cause of Barium in Crystal Stroud’s Water Well”
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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Monongalia County | Northeast Natural Energy | Regulation | West Virginia
Drilling Company Sues Morgantown, WV for $42 Million in Lost Investment & Lost Future Revenue
Another chapter in the ongoing saga of Morgantown, WV. For those who have not followed the story, Morgantown city council members took it upon themselves to ban hydraulic fracturing outside of the city limits—up to one mile—which they say is allowable under a West Virginia law that grants cities the right to exceed their boundaries in certain circumstances. The council members are concerned that two Marcellus gas wells that will be hydraulically fractured are too close to the city’s water supply and the risks are too great.
The drilling company, Northeast Energy, says the state DEP issued permits for those two wells and that Northeast has worked with the city every step of the way to ensure there will be no problems, and that the city at the last minute changed their tune. Northeast has sued to overturn Morgantown’s ban, and if that doesn’t work, they want compensation not only for their lost investment, but also for potential lost revenue.