Range Resources Corp

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    MDN In-depth: Marcellus Wastewater Discharges via Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants into PA Waterways

    A number of stories have circulated since last week when the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) asked Marcellus Shale drillers to voluntarily (or else) stop using municipal sewage treatment plants by May 19 to treat and release drilling wastewater into PA’s rivers and streams (read MDN’s story here). One of the latest articles is (gasp) a pretty balanced article from the Associated Press, so let’s give credit where credit is due since MDN has previously stated almost all of AP’s reporting on the drilling industry is skewed against it.

    Below is a list of things we learn from the most recent AP missive, along with MDN’s thoughts. First the background and history, then an examination of the chemistry, and finally what changed the drilling industry’s collective mind about this issue, including who the “real” culprit in all of this may be.

    Read More “MDN In-depth: Marcellus Wastewater Discharges via Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants into PA Waterways”

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    Range Resources Threatens to Stop Drilling in Mt. Pleasant Township, PA if New Ordinance is Passed

    Range Resources, one of the largest drillers in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale, is threatening to stop drilling in Mt. Pleasant Township (Washington County), PA. A letter to landowners in the Township says, in part, “We may be forced to shift activity to other, more cooperative townships.”

    Why the threat? The dispute seems to center on the type of permits that will be issued in the Township if a new ordinance is passed later this month.

    Read More “Range Resources Threatens to Stop Drilling in Mt. Pleasant Township, PA if New Ordinance is Passed”

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    Range Resources Continues to Create Numerous Jobs in Marcellus Shale Region

    Range Resources has grown from one employee in Canonsburg, PA, to 350 employees in Canonsburg at the present time, and with plans to more than double that number again according to Range’s CEO John Pinkerton in comments he made at the recent Marcellus Midstream Conference in Pittsburgh.

    Read More “Range Resources Continues to Create Numerous Jobs in Marcellus Shale Region”

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    Range Resources Settles Royalty Lawsuit from Landowners for $22 Million

    In 2008, Pennsylvania landowners filed lawsuits to have their lease agreements, signed in 2007 with Range Resources, invalidated because the royalty payments they were receiving fell below the 12 1/2 percent level that is guaranteed under PA’s Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act (GMRA). The landowners separately were joined together into a class action lawsuit representing some 25,000 landowners. The case became known as Frederick v. Range Resources. The landowners challenged the method of calculating royalties that deducts expenses after the gas leaves the wellhead (processing, delivery, other fees). Their argument was that said fees should come from the driller’s side of the ledger sheet and not the landowner.

    Read More “Range Resources Settles Royalty Lawsuit from Landowners for $22 Million”

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    Range Resources Has Banner Year in the Marcellus Shale Play, Expects Even Bigger Results in 2011 and Beyond

    Range Resources, one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale, recently released year-end results (yes, more earnings statements!). And they have some big news about the Marcellus buried in their report. Namely, Range currently produces 260 million cubic feet of of natural gas per day from their Marcellus Shale operations, and they are on track to produce 400 million cubic feet by the end of 2011. Range says by the end of 2012 they will be producing 600 million cubic feet. Eventually? They think they can reach billions of cubic feet of gas per day.

    Read More “Range Resources Has Banner Year in the Marcellus Shale Play, Expects Even Bigger Results in 2011 and Beyond”

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    The Burden of Proof that Hydraulic Fracturing Pollutes Water Supplies is with Those Who Oppose Drilling

    Those who oppose drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale most often use the argument that harmful chemicals are pumped into the ground and therefore will find their way into surface water supplies. In meeting after meeting concerns about water are voiced most often. Those of us who support safe drilling have to patiently, methodically point out that of all the tens of thousands of gas wells that have been drilled in this country using hydraulic fracturing, there are no reported cases of chemicals finding their way from the well into ground water supplies. (Please! If you know of such a case, post the details in the comments.)

    Read More “The Burden of Proof that Hydraulic Fracturing Pollutes Water Supplies is with Those Who Oppose Drilling”

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    List of 78 Chemicals Used in Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid in Pennsylvania

    UPDATE (July 6): It seems the list below is not completely accurate, as admitted by the PA DEP. The list below includes chemicals and substances stored on site (like diesel fuel and oil) that are not injected into the ground. MDN will furnish an updated list when it becomes available from the DEP.

    An earlier version of the list, provided by DEP to the Associated Press and published in newspapers throughout the state this week, purportedly included all of the chemicals used in Pennsylvania during the gas extraction process called hydraulic fracturing. Instead, it included not just the chemicals pumped deep underground but also those stored or used on a well site, including fuel for vehicles and brake fluid.

    “You can blame it on me,” Scott Perry, the director of DEP’s Bureau of Oil and Gas Management, said on Wednesday.

    The original list was a compilation of the chemicals identified on safety documents called material safety data sheets that hydraulic fracturing contractors must submit to the department, but he did not realize that it included substances the contractors use both above and below ground on a well site, he said. The second list was winnowed by a DEP chemist, who recognized that some of the chemicals on the initial list are not among those injected underground during the fracturing process.

    Of the 83 chemicals on the list published by the AP and the 78 on the list posted by the DEP, only 37 items are in common.

    Three compounds specifically addressed in the AP article because of the risks they can pose to human health – naphthalene, toluene and xylene – are not on the list of hydraulic fracturing chemicals DEP posted on its website on Wednesday.

    Scranton Times Tribune (July 1) – DEP shale chemical lists at odds over inclusion of above ground substances

    Original post from June 30…

    Using Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) from drillers, along with analysis of fracking fluid, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has released an updated list of 78 chemicals they say are found in fluids used by gas drillers in PA (called “fracking fluids”). MDN has obtained the list of 78 chemicals and reproduced it below. There is also a downloadable version at the end of this posting.

    There are many nasty chemicals in this list, no one disputes that. But here’s a few things to keep in mind:

    1. No one knows how much of these chemicals are being used by any given driller. We do know that fracking fluid is composed of less than one percent of the chemicals in this list, with water and sand making up the other 99 percent.
    2. When fracking fluid is pumped into the ground, the vertical hole down which it’s pumped is lined with concrete to protect surface water supplies from chemicals. The fracking fluid goes down some 5,000 feet to where it’s used to help break rock apart releasing the natural gas, and then most of the fluid is pumped back out again and carted away where it’s treated at a regulated and approved facility. For the fluid that stays behind, it’s down some 5,000 feet. That’s almost a mile of solid rock between where it sits and surface water supplies (which are located at about 300 feet). There’s no way any of that fluid will “seep up” into water supplies. And remember that most fluid is pumped back out again. So less than one percent of the fluid are chemicals from this list, and most of that comes out again, leaving behind a very very small amount of chemicals a mile below the surface and heavily diluted by water and sand.
    3. Compare the list below with the labels on the containers under your kitchen and bathroom sinks. You’ll find some of the same names on the labels.
    4. One last thing to keep in mind: No driller uses all of these chemicals. In fact, Range Resources has openly discussed what they use in their fracking fluid:

    Range Resources, which uses contractor Frac Tech for its fracing work, says its frac fluid additives are chosen from a list of only nine compounds — hydrochloric acid, methanol propargyl, polyacrylamide, glutaraldehyde, ethanol, ethylene glycol, alcohol and sodium hydroxide.*

    Chemicals Used in the Hydraulic Fracturing Process in Pennsylvania
    Prepared by the Department of Environmental Protection
    Bureau of Oil and Gas Management
    Compiled from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) obtained from Inustry

    Updated June 10, 2010

    Chemical Product Name
    2,2-Dibromo-3-Nitrilopropionamide Bio Clear 1000/Bio Clear 2000/ Bio-Clear 200/BioRid20L/ EC6116A
    2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one X-Cide 207
    5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one X-Cide 207
    Acetic Acid Fe-1A Acidizing Composition/ Packer Inhibitor
    Acetic Anhydride Fe-1A Acidizing Composition
    Acetylene GT&S Inc./ Airco
    Alcohol Ethoxylated C12-16 NE-200
    Alkyl benzene sulfonic acid Tetrolite AW0007/ FR-46
    Ammonia (aqueous) FAW-5
    Ammonium Bifluoride ABF 37%
    Ammonium Persulfate AP Break
    Ammonium Bisulfite Techni-Hib 604/ Fe OXCLEAR/ Packer Inhibitor
    Ammonium chloride Salt Inhibitor
    Ammonium Salt (alkylpolyether sulfate) Tetrolite AW0007
    Amorphous silica TerraProp Plus/ Bituminous Coal Fly Ash ASTM C618
    Benzoic Acid Benzoic Acid
    Boric Acid BC-140/ Unilink 8.5
    Boric Oxide XLW-32
    Calcium Chloride Dowflake
    Calcium Oxide Bituminous Coal Fly Ash ASTM C618
    carboxymethylhydroxypropyl guar blend Unigel CMPHG
    Choline Chloride Clay Treat-2C
    Cinnamaldehyde ENVIROHIB 2001
    Citric Acid Ferrotrol 300L/ IC-100L
    Complex polyamine salt Clay Master-5C
    Crystalline Silica: Cristobalite  
    Crystalline Silica: Quartz Silica Sand/ / Atlas PRC/ Best Sand/ Bituminous Coal Fly Ash ASTM C618
    Cupric chloride dihydrate Ferrotrol 280L
    Cured resin LiteProp 125
    Cyclohexanes CS-2
    Dazomet ICI-3240
    Diethylene Glycol Scaletrol 720/ Scaletrol 7208

    d-Limonene

    		 MA-844W
    Enzyme GBL-8X
    EO-C7-9-iso-, C8 rich-alcohols NE-940/ NE-90
    EO-C9-11-iso-, C10-rich alcohols NE-940/ NE-90
    Ethoxylated Alcohol FRW-14/ SAS-2/ Flomax 50/ WFR-3B
    Ethyl Acetate Castle Thrust
    Ethyl Alcohol FAW-5/ Castle Shop Solv/ Dallas Morris
    Ethylbenzene NDL-100/ PARANOX/ Uniflo II
    Ethylbenzene NDL-100/ PARANOX/ Uniflo II
    Ethylene Glycol ENVIROHIB 2001/ ICA-2/ LEB 10X/ Scaletrol
    720/ Sceletrol 7208/ CC 300/ Clachek A/ Clachek
    LP/ Ironsta II B/ NCL-100/ BC 140/ NCL-100/
    Flomax 50/ NCL/ Scalehib 100/ Unihib O/ Unilink 8.5
    Formic Acid ENVIROHIB 2001
    Gluconic Acid Interstate ICA-2
    Glutaraldehyde Alpha 114/Alpha 125/ ICI-150
    Glycerol Bio Sealers
    Glycol Ethers ENVIROHIB 2001/AMPHOAM 75/ PARANOX/ Uniflo II/ Unifoam/ WNE-342LN
    Guar Gum PROGUM 19 GUAR PRODUCT/ Unigel 19XL/ Benchmark Polymer 3400/ WGA-15/ Unigel 5F
    Hydrochloric Acid Hydrochloric Acid (HCL)/ TETRAClean 542/ Muriatic Acid
    Hydrochloric Acid 3% – 35% Hydrochloric Acid 3% – 35%
    Isopropanol AFS 30 Blend/ FAC-1W/ FAC-3W/ MA-844W/ NE-23/ NE-940/ Flomax 50/ Tetrolite AW0007/
    FMW25 Foamer/ CS-2
    Isopropyl Alcohol NFS-102/ WFT-9511/ LT-32/ AR-1/ Flomax 50/ NDL-100/ Unibac/ Uniflo II/ Uniflo/ Unihib O/
    WNE-342LN
    Methanol

    AFS 30 Blend/ NE-200/ Activator Superset-W/ CI-14/ FAW-5/ GasFlo/ Inflo-250W/ LT-32/ NE-940/
    XLW-32/ Tetrolite AW0007/ FMW25 Foamer/ 40 HTL Corrosion Inhibitor/ NE 100/ HAI-OS Acid
    Inhibitor/ Unibac/ NE-90/ Packer Inhibitor
    Methyl Alcohol Clearbreak 400/ Super Surf/ Castle Shop Solv
    Methyl Salicylate Bio Sealers
    n-butanol AirFoam 311
    Nitrilotriacetamide Salt Inhibitor
    Phenolic Resin Atlas PRC
    Polyethylene Glycol NE-940/ EC6116A/ NE-90
    Polyethylene Glycol Mixture Bio Clear 2000/ Bio-Clear 200
    Polyoxylalkylene sulfate FMW25 Foamer
    Polysaccharide Blend GW-3LDF
    Potassium Carbonate BF-7L
    Potassium Chloride Dowflake
    Potassium Hydroxide B-9, pH Increase Buffer/ BXL-2
    Propargyl Alcohol CI-14/ HAI-OS Acid Inhibitor
    Propylene Glycol SAS-2/ WFR-3B
    Silica S-8C, Sand, 100 mesh/ Montmorillnonite clay
    Sodium Bicarbonate K-34
    Sodium Bromide BioRid 20L
    Sodium Hydroxide Caustic Soda/ ICI-3240/ BioRid B-71
    Sodium Persulphate High Perm SW-LB
    Sodium Xylene Sulfonate FAC-2/ FAC-3W
    Sulfuric Acid Sulfuric Acid
    Surfactants AFS-30/ GasFlo/ Inflo-250W
    Talc Adomite Aqua
    Tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium sulfate Magnacide 575 Microbiocide
    Tetramethyl ammonium Chloride Clay Treat-3C
    Trimethyloctadecylammonium chloride FAC-1W/ FAC-3W

     

    Download Chemicals Used in Hydraulic Fracturing in PA list

    *Pittsburgh Business Times (June 30) – DEP releases new list of frac chemicals; used in Marcellus, other Pa. operations

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    Marcellus Shale Ethane Headed to the Gulf Coast in a New Plan from MarkWest and Sunoco

    MarkWest Liberty Midstream is partnering with Sunoco Logistics to use existing and new pipelines in a project that will take Marcellus Shale gas liquids (ethane) from the northeast all the way to the Gulf Coast. How’s that for a change?! Ethane is primarily used in manufacturing plastics and is one of the by-products obtained from processing shale gas methane. Range Resources and Chesapeake Energy are among the major Marcellus Shale producers who are supporting the project and will sell processed ethane using the new system offered by MarkWest and Sunoco Logistics. Part of the project includes constructing a new 45-mile pipeline from Houston, PA to Delmont, PA. The ethane arriving at Delmont will then be piped to the East Coast, and from there it will go by ship to the Gulf Coast.

    From the official press release:

    MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources, LLC, a partnership between MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. and The Energy & Minerals Group, and Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. today announced a combined pipeline and marine project for ethane produced in the Marcellus Shale Basin. The Mariner Project is anticipated to have initial capacity to transport up to 50,000 barrels per day of ethane to Gulf Coast markets as soon as the second quarter of 2012 and could be scaled to transport higher volumes to support additional ethane production in the Marcellus region. MarkWest Liberty has been working with key producers and petrochemical consumers since late 2009 and the project is supported by key producers including Range Resources Corporation and Chesapeake Energy Corporation.

    The Mariner Project includes MarkWest Liberty making minor modifications to its processing facilities to recover sufficient ethane to allow the residue gas to meet interstate gas pipeline specifications and installing additional facilities at its Houston, Pennsylvania processing and fractionation complex to separate the ethane for delivery to downstream Mariner Project facilities. MarkWest Liberty will also construct a 45-mile pipeline from the Houston complex to an interconnection with an existing Sunoco Logistics pipeline at Delmont, Pennsylvania. The ethane will be transported to an existing East Coast facility where Sunoco Logistics will construct refrigerated ethane storage facilities. The ethane will then be transported via marine vessel to premium markets in the Gulf Coast. In addition, the existing Sunoco Logistics pipeline crosses many of the large pipelines transporting natural gas into the northeast, which will provide multiple ethane blending options.

    “We are excited to be able to participate in the Mariner Project and we are especially pleased to partner with MarkWest Liberty due to their extensive experience in the Marcellus Shale Basin,” said Deborah M. Fretz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sunoco Logistics. “Our existing Pennsylvania active and idle pipeline infrastructure is well-positioned to provide an efficient solution for producers to move ethane across Pennsylvania to a Delaware River marine port to access multiple markets. The combination of MarkWest Liberty’s fractionation complex and Sunoco Logistics’ transportation system offers producers a higher value for their natural gas liquids by transporting only the ethane portion of the liquids and allowing the heavier liquids to remain in the northeast marketplace.”

    Frank M. Semple, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MarkWest stated, “We have been working with Sunoco Logistics and our producer customers for a number of months and we believe the Mariner Project provides the most efficient solution to maximize the value of Marcellus ethane, supports the development of more than 2 BCF per day of Marcellus rich gas, and significantly accelerates the in-service date to transport ethane compared to other pipeline projects. MarkWest and The Energy & Minerals Group are very pleased to partner with Sunoco Logistics because of their strong set of assets and significant experience in the storage and transportation of liquefied petroleum gas.”

    *Businesswire (June 1) – MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources and Sunoco Logistics Announce New Marcellus Ethane Pipeline and Marine Project

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    The “Father of the Marcellus Shale” Predicts Marcellus is Only the Beginning – Other Layers Rich with Shale Gas Too

    William Zagorski, Range Resources Vice President of geology in Appalachia and the man known as “the father of the Marcellus Shale” is making some new predictions about the potential for natural gas in the Appalachian (eastern) region of the U.S.

    Zagorski said two new shale formations – the Utica Shale deeper below the surface and the shallower Upper Devonian Shale – were “in the same ballpark” as the [production potential of the] Marcellus.*

    Zagorski is not the only one looking beyond the Marcellus Shale:

    Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., a Houston company, disclosed to analysts last year that it had drilled a successful horizontal well through the Purcell Limestone in its Marcellus acreage in Susquehanna County north of Scranton. The Purcell Limestone is an intermediate stratum sandwiched between two layers of the Marcellus Shale.*

    Cabot is thinking they may be able to run pairs of horizontal wells at different depths from the same bore hole. And all of the infrastructure being built for Marcellus Shale gas can also be used for shale gas from other layers.

    A few months ago at a meeting in Binghamton, NY, James Ladlee from Penn State Cooperative Extension made the prediction that we are only at the beginning of the natural gas boom in the northeast, and it will last for the next 80-100 years. With shale gas being discovered in other layers, it’s easy to see why Mr. Ladlee and others are bullish on the prospects for natural gas in the Marcellus and beyond.

    *Philadelphia Inquirer (May 23) – Firms find more gas beyond the Marcellus field

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    Range Resources Meets with Murrysville, PA Residents to Discuss Drilling Near Residential Areas

    The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a good account of a meeting between Range Resources and residents from the Murrysville (Westmoreland County, PA) area about Range’s plan to drill a Marcellus Shale gas well in that area.

    Range Resources has submitted a plan to drill on a 6.1-acre parcel that is near the intersection of Saltsburg and Logans Ferry roads, an area that is in close proximity to the Murrysville/Plum border, along with the heavily traveled Golden Mile Highway and several business and residential areas.

    A packed audience in the Franklin Regional High School auditorium listened intently, then lathered the Range Resources contingent with questions about how the drilling—scheduled to begin in late 2010 or early 2011—will affect those living in the affected area.*

    Water contamination, truck traffic, road damage and other questions were discussed in a 3-hour session with Range. Read the full article for more.

    *Pittsburg Post-Gazette (Apr 15) – Marcellus shale meeting held

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    Chesapeake & Range Resources Peg Value of Their Marcellus Shale Holdings from $36K – $56K per Acre

    Range Resources CEO John Pinkerton said that their holdings in the Marcellus Shale play are worth more than four times the $14,000 per acre that recent deals between energy companies have brought. Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon says his company’s Marcellus Shale holdings are worth $35,900 per acre to the company. With 1.57 million acres leased, that’s an astonishing $53 billion worth of value for Chesapeake!

    If those values are true—and not just hype for investors—that would make the recent deals between Reliance and Atlas Energy ($14,167/acre) and Misui and Anadarko Petroleum ($14,000/acre) real bargains.

    MDN Note: These prices are not the prices energy companies pay landowners to lease land. Lease prices are more in the range of $5,000 per acre recently. Rather, this is the value energy companies say an average acre of Marcellus Shale land will eventually supply in revenue to the company. Not all land is productive, so the number is an average across all leased acreage.

    *Tulsa World/Bloomberg News (Apr 14) – Marcellus Shale assets considered valuable

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    Range Resources Increases its Marcellus Output Estimates by 25 Percent

    Range Resources, the very first horizontal driller in the Marcellus Shale, is even more bullish about the Marcellus Shale now than in the past. In a press statement released today, Range says due to the longer lateral wells they now use, the average potential gas that can be harvested from each well has gone from 3 to 4 billion cubic feet to 4 to 5 billion cubic feet, a 25 percent increase. Range estimates the total gas it can realize across all of it’s current lease holdings in the Marcellus Shale is 20 to 27 trillion cubic feet. According to Range CEO John Pinkerton, Marcellus Shale play economics are “extremely attractive even in a low gas price environment.”

    From the Range press statement:

    FORT WORTH, TEXAS, APRIL 12, 2010…Range Resource Corporation today provided an update of its Marcellus Shale operations. Range currently owns approximately 1.3 million net acres in the Marcellus Shale play, with approximately 900,000 net acres in the “fairway” of the play. Of the fairway acreage, approximately 600,000 net acres are located in the southwest portion of the play and 300,000 net acres are located in the northeast portion. Range had previously estimated that its horizontal wells in the southwest averaged 4.4 Bcfe per well at a development cost of $3.5 million. On average, these wells have lateral lengths of about 2,500 feet and eight stage completions.

    In mid-2009, Range began drilling wells in the southwest using longer laterals and more completion stages. In 2009, Range drilled 17 horizontal wells with average lateral lengths of 3,056 feet with an average completion of ten stages. Based on the results to date, Range estimates the longer lateral wells have reserves of 5.0 Bcfe with an average development cost of $4.0 million per well. The impact of the longer lateral wells is very favorable as Range believes it will be able to recover more of the gas in place with fewer wells, while generating higher rates of return. Range is continuing to evaluate longer laterals and more completion stages to determine the optimal design. Like other shale plays, Range believes the optimal lateral length and optimal number of completion stages will vary depending on different areas of the play.

    Read More “Range Resources Increases its Marcellus Output Estimates by 25 Percent”

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    PA DEP Staffs Up with More Gas Well Inspectors

    The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is hiring more inspectors for gas and oil wells. Right now there are 125 inspectors statewide. By the summer, an additional 68 will be on board bringing the total to 193 inspectors. Which is a good thing according to the York (PA) Dispatch, which notes:

    In the last year, to cite two examples, inspectors noted that a brine pipeline operated by Range Resources Corp. was spilling production fluids into the ground at Cross Creek Park near Avella, resulting in a $23,500 penalty for the Texas-based company; and Atlas Resources was fined for violations at 13 of its wells in Washington, Fayette and Greene counties.*

    MDN agrees. More inspectors are a good thing. It keeps everyone honest, and reassures the general public that drilling can be done safely.

    *York Dispatch (Mar 10) – Marcellus Shale: Drilling inspectors welcome

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    New Pipelines Coming to Lycoming, Tioga and Bradford Counties in Pennsylvania

    PVR Midstream, a division of Penn Virginia Resource Partners, has signed an agreement with Range Resources to construct and operate pipelines and compression facilities for Range’s drilling in the Marcellus shale in PA.

    According to the press release:

    PVR Midstream and Range have agreed to an area of mutual interest (AMI) that covers parts of Lycoming, Tioga and Bradford Counties in north central Pennsylvania, in which Range currently holds a substantial acreage position. Within this AMI, PVR Midstream will construct approximately 16 miles of 24- and 30-inch gathering trunklines, smaller-diameter field gathering lines and compression facilities required to gather Range’s production from the AMI. The gathering system will have over 700 million cubic feet per day (MMcf per day) of throughput capacity, and the initial phase is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2010. The agreement provides Range significant firm gathering capacity in the system, and PVR Midstream will be compensated for the gathering and compression services provided to Range through a combination of volumetric fees, with no direct commodity exposure. Excess capacity on the system and the location within a core area of Marcellus Shale development should allow PVR Midstream to develop additional revenue by providing gathering and compression services to area producers.

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    William Zagorski, “Father of the Marcellus Shale”

    William Zagorski, geologist and musician, is credited as being the “Father of the Marcellus Shale.” It’s an interesting story how he convinced Range Resources to try drilling in the Marcellus using hydraulic fracturing. Mr. Zagorski even has a music CD! Read the story of the beginning of drilling in the Marcellus Shale and about the man who pioneered it:

    PA Observer-Reporter (Mar 7) – Riding high on the range, the ‘Father of the Marcellus Shale’ leading a busy life these days