Bradford County | Energy Services | Eureka Resources | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Wastewater
PA DEP Orders Eurkea to Remove Wastewater from Bradford Co. Plant
Eureka Resources and its now shuttered three frack wastewater treatment plants continue to be under the microscope of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). In August, one of the three facilities, located in Williamsport, PA (Lycoming County), leaked some of its stored untreated wastewater, which ended up in the nearby Susquehanna River via a storm drain (see ‘Black Goop’ Spills into Susquehanna River from Closed Eureka Plant). The leak, traced to a corroded tank fitting, was discovered by fishermen. Since that time, the DEP has stepped up its investigation into all three Eureka facilities, one of which is in Bradford County. Read More “PA DEP Orders Eurkea to Remove Wastewater from Bradford Co. Plant”
Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage (EGTS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (Warren Buffett’s company), filed a new project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in July (see 
Two weeks ago, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count resumed a downward trend, which continued last week. The count lost another two rigs to end the week at 536. The count has been down (bleeding) 16 of the last 18 weeks. Fortunately, the Marcellus/Utica count has remained constant for the past six weeks, at a combined 36 active rigs. PA operated 18 active rigs. OH ran 11 rigs. And WV operated 7 rigs. Twenty-four rigs targeted the Marcellus and 12 rigs targeted the Utica last week. The overall downward trend in the national count is due to a slowdown in oil-focused drilling, although last week’s figures reversed this trend. Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by one to 412 last week, while gas rigs fell by three to 119. 
The Iroquois Gas Transmission’s Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project will increase horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, to flow more Marcellus/Utica gas into New York City and New England. The two NY compressor expansions include one in Dover and one in Athens. The CT compressor expansion is located in Brookfield. Another CT compressor will get minor upgrades (gas cooling, no extra compression) in Milford. The NY DEC approved the permits for the NY compressors with the condition that Iroquois pays a $1.5 million contribution to the “Disadvantaged Community Benefit Program” (see 
In December 2020, Dan Rice IV, former CEO of Rice Energy and member of the EQT board of directors, launched a “blank check” acquisition firm, called Rice Acquisition Corp. I (RAC I), to invest in various energy ventures. Dan found something to invest in just a few months later, in the form of acquiring and merging Archaea Energy and Aria Energy into a single company focused on providing renewable natural gas (RNG) and “green” hydrogen (see 
Back in May, a prominent Wall Street fund manager (investor) was skeptical that Williams would be able to revive and build two pipeline Marcellus projects: the Constitution Pipeline and the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project. Then he sat down to dinner with Williams executives. He came out of that meeting with his mind changed. “I came out of that dinner pretty optimistic. I went in very skeptical. It changed my mind.” If you had any reservations that maybe, just maybe, antis would once again defeat these two projects, set your mind at rest. People with significant financial stakes don’t invest their money in ventures that aren’t a sure thing. That’s our takeaway. 
In mid-August, a spill at Eureka Resources’ Williamsport facility released about 16,000 gallons of oil-based wastewater, with some entering Grafius Run and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River (see 
The war of words continues. 
Last week, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count resumed its downward trend, losing another rig from the week before to 538 active rigs nationwide. The count has been down (bleeding) 15 of the last 17 weeks. The Marcellus/Utica count remained the same for the past five weeks at a combined 36 active rigs. PA operated 18 active rigs. OH ran 11 rigs. And WV operated 7 rigs. Twenty-four rigs targeted the Marcellus and 12 rigs targeted the Utica last week. The downward trend is due to a scaleback in oil-focused drilling. Baker Hughes said oil rigs fell by one to 411 last week, while gas rigs held steady at 122. 
Big Green is keeping up the pressure on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to block two natural gas pipeline projects that have roared back to life at the prompting of President Trump. Just a week and a half ago, a Big Green rent-a-mob of some 400 (paid) protesters held a rally in New York City and proceeded to march across the Brooklyn Bridge to register their opposition to new natural gas pipelines (see 
DT Midstream (DTM), headquartered in Detroit, owns major assets in the Marcellus/Utica region and in other regions, such as Haynesville. The company recently issued its second quarter report with some interesting updates on new pipeline projects coming. We’ll discuss those below. However, it was comments about a potential expansion of capacity along the DT-owned Millennium Pipeline (which flows Marcellus molecules) that caught our attention. The company announced an open season in May for added capacity along the Millennium (see 
Last week, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count halted its downward trend, maintaining the same overall number of rigs as the week before: 539 active rigs nationwide. The count has been down (bleeding) 14 of the last 16 weeks. Has the bleeding now stopped? We hope so. The Marcellus/Utica count remained the same for the past four weeks at a combined 36 active rigs. PA operates 18 active rigs. OH is running 11 rigs. And WV is operating 7 rigs. Twenty-four rigs targeted the Marcellus and 12 rigs targeted the Utica last week.