Range Resources Corp

Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Washington County, PA Judge Continues Anti-Drilling Decisions
August 7, 2013

What if a county judge’s wife was an anti-drilling activist–so motivated by her fervor she knocks on area residents’ doors to ask for their signature on petitions to ban drilling. Do you think that might affect the objectivity of said judge? And what if that judge repeatedly rules against gas drillers in case after case? Do you think that might be evidence that said judge is not capable of setting aside his own bias? Yeah, we would think so too–and such is the case with Washington County, PA judge John DiSalle.

Earlier this year, Judge DiSalle blocked Range Resources from obtaining two permits to drill wells in Robinson Township (see Judge Refuses to Recuse Himself from Range v Robinson Twp Case). Judge DiSalle is back–this time on a different case. DiSalle is now refusing to allow Range and MarkWest Energy to build a compressor station in Cecil Township. See a trend here? Range and MarkWest are appealing DiSalle’s latest anti-drilling ruling to the PA Commonwealth Court…
Read More “Washington County, PA Judge Continues Anti-Drilling Decisions”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Range Resources Backpedals on Gag Order for Hallowich Children
August 7, 2013August 7, 2013

Last week MDN told you about the “final document” to be released in a previously sealed court case in Washington County, PA (see Last Document Released in Hallowich v Range $750K Settlement). The document was a transcript of a court hearing where the Hallowiches, their attorney and attorneys for Range and MarkWest discussed the non-disclosure “gag order” agreement being signed by the Hallowiches. The agreement binds the Hallowiches from ever talking publicly about the case for which they received a $750,000 settlement.

The funky part is, it appears the agreement signed by the Hallowich parents would also bind their children from ever talking about fracking and drilling in public too. Even the judge in the case admitted the agreement seemed to do just that, saying it would be “a law school question.” In a new twist in the case, lawyers for Range now say the gag order does not apply to the children, although previously they said it would apply and that they would “certainly” enforce it…
Read More “Range Resources Backpedals on Gag Order for Hallowich Children”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Williams

Last Document Released in Hallowich v Range $750K Settlement
August 1, 2013August 7, 2013

It’s been a long struggle for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Washington (PA) Observer-Reporter, but they finally won–if you can call it a win. Last year, both newspapers sued to have a sealed court case opened. The case involves an off-the-record settlement between the Hallowich family in Washington County, PA and Range Resources, MarkWest Energy and Williams (see Pittsburgh Newspapers Sue to Unseal Drilling Court Case). The Hallowiches claimed nearby drilling and pipeline activity threatened the health of their family–in particular their two children. Range and the other plaintiffs elected to settle, but the case and all of the documents were closed as part of the settlement. So the newspapers sued to have the record opened.

In March of this year, a different judge reviewed the case and ordered the court documents be opened (see Judge Orders Range/Landowner Settlement in PA Made Public). Anti-drillers were disappointed to learn that there were no smoking guns–no admissions or evidence of any kind that drilling activity had polluted water, air, etc. In fact, among the documents was an affidavit signed by the Hallowiches stating that drilling had not caused any adverse health impacts for their family (see Affidavit in Range PA Settlement Shows No Drilling Health Impacts). However, there was one final document not made public by the court and the newspapers kept hounding. Success at last! The final document was released this week (copy embedded below). What does it say?…
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CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Range Resources Corp | Upper Devonian Shale

Different Strokes for Different Upper Devonian-Drilling Folks
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

Different drillers have (surprise!) different opinions when it comes to whether or not drilling in the Upper Devonian Shale (UD) layer is a good idea to do now or later. They all seem to indicate the UD will get drilled, it’s only a question of when.

The three different strategies of EQT, CONSOL and Range Resources with respect to the UD:
Read More “Different Strokes for Different Upper Devonian-Drilling Folks”
Beaver County | Chesapeake Energy | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Hancock County | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Rex Energy | Upper Devonian Shale | West Virginia

5th Upper Devonian Driller + Maps of Best UD Spots to Drill
July 29, 2013July 29, 2013

It seems as if “out of the blue” the Upper Devonian Shale (UD) has popped up on the radar screen–quite suddenly and in quite a big way. The Upper Devonian is located a few hundred feet above the Marcellus Shale layer in the northeastern U.S. Over the past few weeks, MDN has highlighted stories of drillers expanding their UD drilling programs–including CONSOL, Rex Energy, Range Resources and EQT Corporation (see EQT 4th Driller to Target Upper Devonian Shale Layer). Courtesy of a sharp MDN reader, we can add a fifth UD driller to the list: Chesapeake Energy. Todd Sigler reports that Chesapeake has drilled an Upper Devonian well in Hancock County, WV and has several Upper Devonian permits in extreme western Beaver County, PA.

Todd also pointed us to two excellent drilling presentations about the UD, one from Range Resources and one from Rex Energy, which we’ve embedded below. The Range presentation includes a good backgrounder on the UD and a great series of maps showing where the best places to drill in the UD can be found–currently–based on our knowledge and experience so far. The Range presentation also discusses how Range (and others) are adopting a “stacked play” strategy of drilling the Upper Devonian, Marcellus and Utica layers–all in the same well bore. How cool is that?!
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Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | NGLs | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Range Resources Corp | Sunoco Logistics

Big News: Marcellus Ethane Now Exporting to Canada Cracker Plant
July 25, 2013July 25, 2013

Every now and again you come across a big, fat gold nugget of news in a press release. That happened for MDN today when we read yesterday’s press release from Range Resources, innocently announcing their second quarter 2013 results (see today’s story about Range). The gold nugget? Range reports that on July 21st their first deliveries of ethane via the Mariner West pipeline were made to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. This is the first time ethane has made it to a processing (cracker) plant.

The little nugget of gold from Range, the only Marcellus driller (so far) to sell ethane…
Read More “Big News: Marcellus Ethane Now Exporting to Canada Cracker Plant”
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA

Range Resources: Marcellus Will Provide 20-25% Growth “For Years”
July 25, 2013July 25, 2013

A few weeks ago Range Resources gave us a high level heads-up on second quarter results, and their results from the Marcellus were indeed very good (see Range Resources 2Q13: Production Up 27% Due to Marcellus). Yesterday, Range Released the full 2Q13 update–both financial and operational. The numbers are good (see the report below).

The huge news hidden in yesterday’s announcement: Range reports that on July 21st their first deliveries of ethane via the Mariner West pipeline were made to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada where the ethane will (presumably) be processed at the Corunna ethane cracker plant. Below are selected portions of the 2Q13 report from Range, relevant to their Marcellus drilling program, including a breakdown of how much it costs them to produce each Mmcf of gas…
Read More “Range Resources: Marcellus Will Provide 20-25% Growth “For Years””
Anadarko | Atlas Energy | Chesapeake Energy | Chevron | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Shell | Statewide PA | Talisman Energy

PA’s Top 10 Marcellus Drillers Based on Number of Permits
July 22, 2013July 22, 2013

Who doesn’t love a Top 10 list? David Letterman has built a career on them. There are a lot of different ways to measure who the biggest drillers are in Pennsylvania–the Top 10 drillers. Recently, the Pittsburgh Business Times took a fresh stab at it. They counted how many shale gas wells have been permitted for drilling companies. It doesn’t mean the wells have been drilled yet, but you don’t spend big bucks on a permit to not drill. We can safely assume if it’s permitted, it either has been or soon will be drilled.

So who are the Top 10? The names of the drillers in the list may not surprise you, but we bet the number of permitted wells they have and their order in the list may surprise you…
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Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA

Range Says Marcellus Wells 3X Better than Best Barnett Wells
July 22, 2013July 22, 2013

Range Resources was the first driller to tap the Marcellus Shale–back in 2004. Although Range is headquartered in Texas and although they have actively drilled there for years, Range is so in love with the Marcellus they’ve sold off all remaining Barnett Shale acreage they owned and they are now almost totally focused on drilling in the Marcellus Shale. It’s been a smart move for Range’s bottom line…
Read More “Range Says Marcellus Wells 3X Better than Best Barnett Wells”
Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources 2Q13: Production Up 27% Due to Marcellus
July 16, 2013July 16, 2013

Last week Range Resources released its 2013 second quarter update. Range reports its production volumes hit record highs of 910 million cubic feet equivalent per day–of that, 79% was natural gas the rest liquids, oil and condensate. The company credits its continued success and the dramatic increase from last year (up 27%) to a single cause: the Marcellus Shale.

The report issued by Range last Thursday:
Read More “Range Resources 2Q13: Production Up 27% Due to Marcellus”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Cecil Township Re-Votes to Not Meet with Range Resources
June 4, 2013June 4, 2013

In the on-again, off-again antics of Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, things are “off again” when it comes to having a civil, private meeting with Range Resources to try and resolve the lawsuits Range filed against the town. Supervisors last night re-voted on a proposed meeting they previously approved (see When We Get Behind Closed Doors…Range Resources & Cecil Twp). One of the supervisors, Andy Schrader, was stomping mad about the vote to meet, behaving like a petulant child (see Cecil Twp Dysfunctional Family Feud over Range Meeting). Little Andy finally got his way last night…
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Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources Updates Investors (and Us) on Marcellus Efforts
May 22, 2013May 22, 2013

Range Resources, the very first company to drill a Marcellus Shale well in southwestern PA in 2004, updated investors at the UBS Global Oil & Gas Conference yesterday. Range had some interesting things to say. Most interesting (for MDN) is the PowerPoint presentation (see a copy embedded below). The presentation is full of useful charts and maps about their operations in the Marcellus and Utica region (slides 12-24).
Read More “Range Resources Updates Investors (and Us) on Marcellus Efforts”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Cecil Twp Dysfunctional Family Feud over Range Meeting
May 14, 2013May 14, 2013

Cue hoedown music–it’s time to play Cecil Township Dysfunctional Family Feud! (Enter Richard Dawson kissing all the ladies.) MDN reported last week Read More “Cecil Twp Dysfunctional Family Feud over Range Meeting”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Cecil, PA Supervisors Want Better Relations with Range, but…
May 9, 2013May 9, 2013

The schizophrenic behavior of Cecil, PA town supervisors… Earlier this week Cecil town supervisors voted to have a closed door meeting with Range Resources to assess the “relationship” between the company and the town (see When We Get Behind Closed Doors…Range Resources & Cecil Twp). It looked to MDN like perhaps, just perhaps, the supervisors were making an attempt to patch things up. Range has them in court, after all.

But maybe not. We now learn that at the same meeting, the same supervisors want to shut down a local Range water impoundment:
Read More “Cecil, PA Supervisors Want Better Relations with Range, but…”
Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp

Findlay Twp, PA Approves First 3 Marcellus Wells, Range to Drill
May 9, 2013May 9, 2013

Findlay Township (Allegheny County, PA, west of Pittsburgh) approved its first three Marcellus Shale wells at a meeting last night. Supervisors voted unanimously (3-0) to let Range Resources to drill on Clinton-Frankfort Road…

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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

When We Get Behind Closed Doors…Range Resources & Cecil Twp
May 8, 2013May 8, 2013

There’s certainly no love lost between Range Resources and the supervisors of Cecil Township in Washington County, PA. Range has repeatedly requested the supervisors consider granting a conditional use permit to drill a new well, the supervisors say Range has not provided “full information” on the application, and the whole matter eventually ended up in court–before a judge whose wife is anti-drilling (see Court Fight: Range Resources v Robinson, PA Twp).

But what’s this…are Cecil officials finally willing to call a truce? The supervisors voted on Monday night to schedule a private “behind closed doors” meeting with Range to “discuss their relationship.” Sounds more like marriage counseling than governing to us, but hey, if getting behind closed doors is what it takes…
Read More “When We Get Behind Closed Doors…Range Resources & Cecil Twp”