Range’s Unique Approach to Signing Small Landowners in WPA
Typically villages and cities have not seen Marcellus or Utica Shale drilling under them because of the numbers. To negotiate leases with hundreds or even thousands of landowners over a relatively small area makes no sense when you have to pay landmen and have all of those leases individually vetted by a lawyer. Signing bonuses are piddly and royalty checks aren’t much either. So most drillers have passed by the small villages and towns that sit next to land they otherwise have leased. However, Range has hit on a unique approach. Range has enlisted the help of the Claysville Borough (Washington County, PA) fire department to approach and get residents in the borough to sign a single, standardized group lease–think landowner coalition lease…
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What are the nightmares that keep drillers up at night? Is it the prospect of having to pay big fines, like the biggest fine paid to date in Pennsylvania, announced just last week (see 
Range Resources has just had their knuckles rapped, hard, by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) with respect to wastewater/recycled water impoundments (i.e. ponds) they operate in Washington County, PA. Range has been fined the most any company has been fined by the DEP in the modern shale era–$4.15 million. They will also be required to close five of the seven impoundments they’ve operated in the county (Range was closing them anyway), and make major upgrades to the two remaining impoundments. There’s no way to sugarcoat this–Range was taken to the proverbial woodshed by the DEP and got a lot more than a switch to the rear-end…
Without a doubt the biggest story from last week, which broke on MDN’s first day off in our one-week vacation, was the new natural gas production numbers coming from Pennsylvania and the Marcellus Shale. The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection released production numbers for the first six months of 2014, which show that PA produced an incredible 1.94 trillion cubic feet during that period–up 14% from the last half of 2013 (1.697 Tcf), and comparing apples to apples, up an astonishing 38% from the same period a year ago, the first half of 2013 (1.406 Tcf). PA also produced 1.7 million barrels of condensate (or natural gasoline) and 182,000 barrels of oil. Below we list the Top 10 producing wells in 1H14. Would it surprise you to learn that 9 of the top 10 are found in the same county, drilled by one company? We also include the full list of all 7,679 wells drilled so far…
One of the original seven selfish townships in Pennsylvania that sued the state over the Act 13 Marcellus Drilling law because of its zoning provisions–and won–has just become less selfish. In fact, the town, Robinson Township in Washington County, PA, has done a complete reversal. Two of the three anti-drilling supervisors were voted out of office last November. On their way out they tried to pull a fast one by passing super restrictive zoning (in December). Last night, the incoming two supervisors who are pro-drilling repealed the law and passed one of their own that’s favorable to the drilling industry. Below we take a look at Robinson’s complete reversal, which offers a fascinating preview into what’s coming to townships across New York State when Gov. Andrew “man child” Cuomo finally decides to make a decision to allow fracking…