Energy Services

American Energy Partners | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | EMG | Energy Companies | Energy Services

More Info Comes to Light About McClendon’s Last Days/Last Moments
March 4, 2016March 4, 2016

We’ve spotted several new (to us) bits of information about Aubrey McClendon that may have bearing on his state of mind prior to the fiery crash that took his life on Wednesday. We now know who the likely second party was in the Dept. of Justice’s (DOJ) indictment of Aubrey on a single count of conspiracy. As we’ve pointed out from the beginning of the DOJ’s indictment, by definition you can’t have a conspiracy with just one person. You need at least two people. The problem was/is, the DOJ hasn’t indicted anyone else–which made this a witch hunt, not justice. You don’t get to say just one person is guilty in a conspiracy. We also have information about the state of Aubrey’s new business venture–American Energy Partners. It seems he was losing control of all the subsidiary companies spun off from AEP, and that his biggest backer, Energy & Minerals Group, was about to hang Aubrey out to dry. It may have seemed like with the indictment and his new venture slipping away and with old friends turning on him, that Aubrey’s world was closing in. First up, let’s begin our coverage with eyewitness accounts of the crash…
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Energy Services | Patterson-UTI

Patterson-UTI Average Rig Count Falls to 74 in February
March 4, 2016March 4, 2016

As we do every month, MDN tracks how many rigs oilfield services company Patterson-UTI Energy reports operating–as a proxy for when/if the drop in rig counts for the Marcellus/Utica will turn around. Patterson operates a number of rigs in the northeast, as well as other areas of the continental United States (and Canada). Previously Patterson’s January rig count number went down by 5%–from 82 in December to 78 in December. The month before that it was down 10%–from from 91 in November to 82 in December. What about February? Down another 4 rigs to a new low of 74 operating in the U.S. That’s a decrease of another 5%. Will the bleeding never end?…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services

Dominion’s Quest to Buy Questar for $4.4B Advances
March 4, 2016March 4, 2016

In February MDN told you that midstream and local utility Dominion, with a major presence in the Marcellus/Utica region, has floated a takover offer to Questar Corporation, offering to buy the company for $4.4 billion (see Dominion Resources Makes Play for Western NatGas Company Questar). Questar is a Rockies-based integrated natural gas company operating through three subsidiaries: Questar Gas provides retail natural gas distribution in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho; Wexpro develops and produces natural gas on behalf of Questar Gas; and Questar Pipeline operates interstate natural gas pipelines and storage facilities in the Western U.S. The deal is an attempt by Dominion to diversify out of the northeast/Mid-Atlantic region. There are lots of good reasons for Dominion to buy Questar. We wonder if Dominion has any plans to flow cheap northeast gas West. That’s why we keep an eye on this story. Since our initial story, the Dominion/Questar deal has progressed. The Federal Trade Commission didn’t object to the deal–which means they approve of it; and Dominion has filed paperwork in Utah and Wyoming to combine the two businesses…
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CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants

Cove Point LNG Export Plant Now 24% Complete, Rapid Progress
March 4, 2016March 4, 2016

Dominion is making excellent progress with the Cove Point LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility. Despite the fact that shrill anti-fossil fuelers are trying to stop the facility in court (see Radical Enviro Groups Continue Lawsuit Against Cove Point LNG), fully 24% of the new plant is already done. And Dominion continues to make progress. Here’s an update on the LNG plant the antis couldn’t stop…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kentucky | Landfills | Regulation

Local Residents Demand KY Landfill Accepting Frack Waste Close
March 3, 2016March 3, 2016

On Tuesday MDN told you about Marcellus and Utica Shale waste (concentrated drill cuttings) that were illegally dumped in a Kentucky landfill (see Marcellus/Utica Frack Waste Illegally Dumped in Kentucky Landfill). We have an update. Tuesday night a crowd of 300+ local residents, up in arms over the possibility of high levels of radiation that might potentially leak from the landfill, which sits across the street from a school, called on local officials to shut down the landfill. Although the local officials didn’t take action at the meeting, they did say they have “no problem” shutting it down if it’s found there was foreknowledge they accepted the waste. The operator of the landfill, Advance Disposal, claims they were lied to about what was in the loads they accepted. In other words, the fingers have come out and are all pointing at the other party…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Susquehanna County | Williams

Maple Trees Finally Come Down for Constitution Pipeline
March 3, 2016March 3, 2016

In the end, not even self-righteous Hollywood actor James Cromwell–who played Zefram Cochrane (mythical creator of the warp engine) in the 1996 movie Star Trek: First Contact (one of our favs)–could stop the chain saws in Susquehanna County, PA. We’ve been telling you about some holdout the anti-drilling Holleran family who didn’t want the much-needed Constitution Pipeline to cross their land (see Maple Syrup Farm in Path of PA Pipeline, Antis Make Most of It). Cromwell and other antis heard about it and visited to add their shrill voices to the protest (see Actor James Cromwell Admits He’s Clueless, Fights Pipeline Anyway). The protesters tried to stop Williams from clearing trees on the property–and a judge got tired of that real quick (see Judge Tells NEPA Family to Let Williams Cut Maple Trees, Or Else). The Hollerans finally obeyed the judge’s order and the trees are now down…
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources

Another Sad Day: GreenHunter Resources Files for Bankruptcy
March 2, 2016March 2, 2016

In December we reported the sad news that Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) finally had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (see Sad Day: Magnum Hunter Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). MHR has a variety of subsidiary companies. One of those companies, Eureka Hunter (midstream/pipelines) has so far stayed out of bankruptcy court. But a sibling to Eureka Hunter, GreenHunter Resources (water and wastewater) has now succumbed. Yesterday GreenHunter issued a statement (below) that it and its myriad of (on paper) subsidiary companies have filed for “reorganization” under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy law. GreenHunter owns injection wells in both West Virginia and Ohio and was hoping to barge frack wastewater/brine to those wells as a cheap form of transportation. Last week the U.S. Coast Guard effectively put an end to that dream (see Coast Guard Caves to Political Pressure, No Wastewater Barging). Is it coincidence that GreenHunter has now filed for bankruptcy? Perhaps, but we’re suspicious. GreenHunter wouldn’t be the first company the Obama Administration has driven out of business…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Spectra Energy | Statewide NY

Gov. Cuomo Asks FERC to Halt Algonquin Pipeline Near Nuke Plant
March 2, 2016March 28, 2016

Spectra Energy’s Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) pipeline project is an $876 million expansion of the existing Algonquin pipeline system that will carry 342 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to New England states that badly need the gas. On March 3, 2015 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued their final approval for the project, allowing it to go forward. Construction began last year and continues now, with a target in-service date later this year. That is, until New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped in. Cuomo sent a letter on Monday to FERC (copy below) asking FERC to stop construction of AIM because the proposed pipeline path takes it right next to a “troubled” nuclear power plant along the shoreline of the Hudson River. Cuomo says he’s concerned about the drilling that will take place, being so close to a plant that has ongoing issues. Will Cuomo once again stop a natural gas pipeline from being built? Cuomo refuses to allow the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation issue stream crossing permits for the FERC-approved Constitution pipeline, and now he’s trying to screw a second pipeline from being built. If you ask us, this is getting out of hand…
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Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Bill Allowing Surveyors Private Property Access Fails in WV Senate
March 2, 2016March 2, 2016

In June 2014 EQT and NextEra US Gas Assets formed a joint venture to build a 330-mile pipeline from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA to deliver abundant, cheap Marcellus and Utica Shale gas to markets throughout the southeast (see EQT Announces New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline to Southeastern US). The project is called Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). A number of West Virginia landowners objected to MVP and would not let surveyors on their property, so MVP (i.e. EQT and NextEra) threatened to sue the landowners claiming eminent domain laws to enter their properties (see WV Landowners Say They’re Bullied by Mountain Valley Pipeline). A month later they did sue (see Mountain Valley Pipeline Sues 103 WV Landowners for Survey Access). But it takes a long time to sue individual landowners in hundreds of cases. So somebody talked to somebody and a bill was introduced in the WV Senate this year, Senate Bill (SB) 596–which would allow surveyors to enter private properties to do survey work as long as a notice was sent by certified mail ahead of time. No doubt the bill was in response to the ongoing, thorny issue of surveying for MVP. The bill passed out of committee with a split vote. But the bill was voted down by the full Senate…
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Crime | Energy Services | Fairmount Santrol | Industrywide Issues | Kentucky | Landfills

Marcellus/Utica Frack Waste Illegally Dumped in Kentucky Landfill
March 1, 2016March 1, 2016

Seems to us like folks in Kentucky swing more to the liberal side of the isle when it comes to opposing natural gas drilling and pipelines. Just our observation over time. We think they overreact to anything related to fracking and gas drilling. However, in this case, we don’t think they’re overreacting. It appears that 47 dumpsters full of concentrated frack waste from OH, PA and WV was illegally dumped in a Kentucky landfill in Estill County, KY. They were buried between last July and November, near as anyone can tell. And the landfill sits across the road from a school. Normal frack waste has extremely low (usually no) kind of radioactivity. But when drill cuttings are further processed and concentrated, as was the case with this series of loads, the naturally occurring radiation present can become more concentrated. There’s no indication of a problem at the landfill…no indication that it’s leaking radioactivity into the water table, etc. Radiation levels are being monitored and do not show anything above normal background levels. But still, somebody somewhere should have known this was happening. Local residents have a right to be up in arms over not being told…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Williams

Antis Lose Court Decision to Stop Constitution Pipe Construction
March 1, 2016March 1, 2016

Some of the worst of the worst radicalized environmental groups–Catskill Mountainkeeper, Sierra Club, Riverkeeper, Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society and Clean Air Council–had filed a request in U.S. District Court for the 2nd Circuit to stop Williams from “all activities” related to constructing the Constitution Pipeline. The Constitution, you may recall, is a 125-mile pipeline that will deliver natural gas from Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY, connecting with two interstate pipelines that will carry that gas to points along the Eastern seaboard. Recently Williams won the right from the federal government to begin clearing trees in Pennsylvania (see FERC OKs Tree-Cutting for Constitution Pipeline – in PA). Tree-clearing permission seems to have tipped the antis over into a state of near-delirium. They filed a request to stop all Constitution construction activity–and the 2nd Circuit has denied their request. It’s not exactly “game over” for the radicals–but it’s the fourth quarter and their down by double digits with no hope of winning. Which of course delights us to no end…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | Momentum | Pipelines | Statewide WV | West Virginia | WGL Holdings

M3’s Stonewall Gathering System in WV Gets New Investor/Partner
March 1, 2016March 1, 2016

In April 2015 MDN told you that a section of M3 Midstream’s Appalachia Gathering System (AGS) had been spun off into its own company called Stonewall Gathering System (see M3’s New Stonewall Gathering System Extends Existing AGS in WV). At the time, plans were under way to build out gathering pipelines in West Virginia’s Harrison and Doddridge counties, running through Lewis and into Braxton County where the pipeline will connect with Columbia Transmission’s interstate pipeline. The plans came to fruition and the Stonewall Gathering System was built and now gathers 1 billion cubic feet of Marcellus Shale gas per day (see Construction on WV Stonewall Gather Pipeline Begins, Runs Thru Dec). The project now has a new investor/co-owner. WGL Midstream announced yesterday that it has exercised an option to invest $89 million in the Stonewall Gas Gathering System, representing a 35% ownership stake…
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Belmont County | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | PTT Global

Getting Serious: Ohio Ethane Cracker Gets its Own Website
March 1, 2016March 1, 2016

A brief mention, because it’s noteworthy. PTT Global is the Thailand-based chemical company floating a plan to build a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, OH (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). Since the announcement last April, PTT has taken a number of steps toward making the Belmont ethane cracker a reality. They are in the midst of spending $100 million on engineering plans for the plant (see PTT Announces 2 Contractors Working on Belmont Cracker Plant). Paris, France-based Technip was also hired to design and build the furnaces and other key components of the cracker (see French Co. Gets Contract for Key Components in Belmont Cracker). It may seem minor in comparison, but PTT has just launched a new website dedicated to the cracker plant project…
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Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | West Virginia | Wetzel County

Update on MarkWest WV Plant Hazardous Chemical Spill in Creek
February 29, 2016February 29, 2016

Last week MDN told you about an accident at a MarkWest Energy processing plant in Mobley (Wetzel County), WV in which approximately 3,000 gallons of a heat transfer fluid used at the plant leaked into a nearby creek, causing a shut-down of the water plant serving the nearby community of Pine Grove (see MarkWest’s Mobley Processing Plant Spills Hazardous Oil into Creek). The “rest of the story” is this: Three days after the spill the drinking water ban was lifted and everything is fine. The spill was contained, the water supply was fully protected and no one was ever in danger…
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Energy Services | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Nine Energy Services

Fracking Tech Breakthrough – Go Big or Go Home
February 29, 2016February 29, 2016

Every now and again we’ll point out a technology story that we find interesting. This is one of those stories. Nine Energy Service, an oilfield services company that competes with companies like Halliburton and Baker Hughes, recently completed a 50-stage frac in a Bakken Shale well. Nine Energy operates in the Marcellus/Utica, which is why we’re interested in this Bakken well story. The length of the well was 10,000 feet long laterally (horizontally). Nine Energy completed the entire frack in 50 hours–about an hour per stage. They used 3.5 million pounds of proppant and 52,300 barrels of fluid during the fracking process. Once again American ingenuity at work. A true “go big or go home” moment!…
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Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Williams

ETE Wants Out of Williams Merger/Takeover, Offering $2B Breakup Fee
February 26, 2016February 26, 2016

It was a long courting period before Energy Transfer Equity finally cajoled, harangued, and eventually forced the board of Williams to agree to a merger/takeover. ETE’s billionaire CEO Kelsy Warren revealed he had been propositioning Williams for over six months–offering Williams $64 per share to buy the company, totaling $48 billion (see Energy Transfer Makes “Indecent Proposal” to Buy Williams for $48B). Williams resisted, but eventually they caved and agreed to the deal–although the deal price went down $10 billion by the time they accepted (see Williams Accepts ETE’s “Indecent Proposal” – Price Went Down $10B). Like a lover who finally had his way and then finds out it wasn’t “all that”, it seems Warren is having second thoughts. The New York Times is reporting that the deal “has become a nightmare” and Warren wants out and is offering to pay Williams a $2 billion break-up fee…
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