Energy Services

Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Patterson-UTI | Regulation

Patterson-UTI Shaken Down for $12.26 Million
April 21, 2015April 21, 2015

Patterson-UTI operates (leases out) drilling rigs for shale and conventional drilling. They are one of the biggest rig firms in the Marcellus/Utica. They were also, a few years ago, a juicy target for the mob. The mob told Patterson that the goodfellas didn’t like Patterson’s hiring patterns. Patterson wasn’t treating all of its employees exactly the same. And the color mix of employees was a bit off for the mob’s taste. So the mob did what they do best–a shake down. Patterson could pay them big bucks and the problems would all magically disappear. It’s called protection money. The cost to Patterson to “protect them” would run into the millions–which is why the company originally opposed such a scheme. But in the end, Patterson caved and handed over $12.26 million in protection money to the mob. Oops. Did we say “mob”? We meant to say “U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.” And did we say “protection money?” We meant to say “settlement.” Here’s the details behind the shakedown of Patterson-UTI…
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Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Sunoco Logistics | Washington County

PA DEP: Sunoco Facing “Significant” Fine for Non-Toxic Mud Spills
April 21, 2015April 21, 2015

Last September MDN told you about a drilling mud spill that ended up in Little Mingo Creek in Washington County, PA (see Mariner East Pipeline Drilling Spills Mud in Local Creek). Sunoco Logistics was using a contractor to drill under the creek when the drill bit hit something really hard and broke, and the mud poured out of a ruptured hole and into the creek. Fortunately the mud, which is a substance called bentonite, is non-toxic and used in products from shampoo to deodorant and toothpaste. However, in sufficient quantities it can suffocate aquatic life. We didn’t think much about that incident until we spotted a story that says the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is about issue Sunoco Logistics a fine for that accident–a really big fine…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Schlumberger

Schlumberger Cuts Another 11K Jobs, 15% of Workforce Gone in 4 Mos
April 20, 2015April 20, 2015

Wow–it’s getting savage out there in the oil (and gas) fields with respect to jobs. In January we told you that Schlumberger (pronounced Shlum-Bur-Zhay), the world’s (and the U.S.’s) largest oilfield services company, cut 9,000 jobs from the company (see Schlumberger Firing 9,000 to Reduce Head Count, “Low Oil Prices”). Since that time, other companies like Halliburton and Baker Hughes (both competitors of Schlumberger) have cut 6,400 and 7,000 jobs respectively. Ouch. Looks like that was just getting the ax sharpened. Last Thursday Schlumberger announced another round of job cuts–this time 11,000. Analysts are predicting this is the opening round of more cuts to come from other companies, a so-called second round…
Read More “Schlumberger Cuts Another 11K Jobs, 15% of Workforce Gone in 4 Mos”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Keystone Clearwater Solutions | Rex Energy

Rex Energy: 1Q15 Production Up 60%; Still Selling Keystone Clearwater
April 20, 2015April 20, 2015

Rex Energy issued a brief announcement today to say a) first quarter 2015 production was up 60% over first quarter of last year, and b) the company is still on track to sell its 60% ownership interest in Keystone Clearwater Solutions, the company’s water service subsidiary (announced in February, see Rex Energy Looks to Sell 28,300 Marcellus Acres in Bid to Raise $). Here’s the details…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pike County | Pipelines | Susquehanna County | Tennessee Gas Pipeline | Wayne County

Kinder Morgan Hops on the Pipeline Payola Bandwagon in NEPA
April 17, 2015April 17, 2015

Look–we’ve written about this before and we’re not going to belabor the point–about pipeline companies using payola to buy support for the pipelines they plan to build through communities. The Constitution Pipeline did it last March in New York (see Constitution Pipeline Payments to Groups – Donations or Payola?). PennEast recently did it this March in southeast Pennsylvania and New Jersey (see PennEast Payola? Buying Support One Community at a Time). Now it’s Kinder Morgan’s turn. KM handed out checks this week in Wayne, Susquehanna, Pike and Luzerne counties in northeastern PA. It’s amazing how much good press, and good will, a $10,000 donation can buy you–especially when you give it to a school…
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CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Cove Point LNG Plant STILL Waiting for Final DOE Approval?!
April 17, 2015April 17, 2015

Something a tad strange caught our eye. Yesterday America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) released a white paper (copy below) and held a conference call to step up pressure on the Obama Dept. of Energy–with pleas to do the right thing and grant final approval for a list of LNG export projects currently on the list. Some of those projects have been waiting years for a final approval. We knew all of that–but one of the projects named by ANGA on the call and in the white paper is Cove Point. Which made us scratch our head. We thought Cove Point was already was already fully approved by the plethora of government agencies, including DOE, that need to approve it. We reported that Dominion began construction of the facility last October (see Dominion Breaks Ground on Cove Point, MD LNG Export Facility). Just last month Dominion threw a big party to celebrate the project’s approval and future prospects with no less than the Japanese ambassador attending (see Dominion Needles Anti-Drillers by Throwing Party for Cove Point LNG). But now here’s ANGA saying the DOE needs to provide a “final” approval for Cove Point. What gives?…
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Energy Services | Erie County (OH) | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Spectra Energy

Erie County, OH Rolls Out Red Carpet for NEXUS Pipeline
April 17, 2015April 17, 2015

It doesn’t seem to happen often enough, which is why this is noteworthy: The Erie County, OH Board of Commissioners (with three members) sent an official letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to endorse and support the proposed $1.5 billion NEXUS Gas Transmission pipeline from Ohio through Michigan and into Canada (see NEXUS Gas Pipeline Pre-Files with FERC, New Details Come to Light). The NEXUS, like all other proposed pipelines in the northeast, has encountered plenty of opposition (see CORNy Opposition to NEXUS Pipeline in Eastern Ohio). But all three Erie County commissioners want FERC to know their county stands behind the pipeline and welcomes it through their neck of the woods–which means new pipeline trenches would be dug in places where pipelines have not previously been installed. The commissioners are rolling out the red carpet for this “greenfield” project coming through their county. Refreshing!…
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Meigs County | Ohio | Regulation | Wastewater

GreenHunter Releases 2014 Update, Plans to Barge Brine in 2015
April 16, 2015April 16, 2015

GreenHunter Resources, the fresh water and wastewater subsidiary of Magnum Hunter Resources, reported their fiscal year 2014 and 2014 operating results yesterday–in both a press release (below) and an analyst phone call (excerpts below). MDN eagerly scoured the announcement and a transcript of the analyst call for mention of the ongoing controversy of barging brine down the Ohio River. GreenHunter is building and has nearly completed four new injection wells in Meigs County, OH. They plan to begin barging brine to those wells sometime this year, according to GreenHunter COO Kirk Trosclair. GreenHunter has a major/ongoing disagreement with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) over whether or not guidelines issued in 1987 allow them to transport brine from shale wells (see GreenHunter Keeps Pressure on USCG to Barge Brine on Ohio River). While there’s no mention of the USCG or lack of a USCG permit, there was plenty of talk about barge operations beginning by the end of this year…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services

Dominion Top Utility on Forbes’ “America’s Best Employers” List
April 16, 2015April 16, 2015

Congratulations to Dominion, a major midstream and utility company headquartered in the Old Dominion state–Virginia. Dominion is the top-ranked U.S. utility on Forbes magazine’s 2015 “America’s Best Employers” list. The company ranked 37th overall among the 500 employers in 25 industries that were included on the list, and was the top-ranked employer among all industries in Virginia. Dominion is attempting to build the $5 billion, 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina to bring cheap, abundant Marcellus and Utica Shale gas to the southeast (see Dominion Commits to Major New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Project). It’s nice to see a quality company like Dominion get recognized for being a thoughtful, caring company and a great place to work–contrary to the hokey fairy tales told by anti-drillers about evil, nasty, Big Oil & Gas companies…
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American Energy Partners | Chesapeake Energy | EMG | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio

EMG Stabs McClendon in the Back re Chesapeake Data Lawsuit
April 15, 2015April 15, 2015

This is a strange and complicated tale that boils down to this: Aubrey McClendon has a singular talent for finding and taking money from people who later turn around and stick a knife in his back. You may remember in February the story we brought you that Chesapeake Energy had sued its former co-founder, Aubrey McClendon, claiming he stole data on his way out the door (see Chesapeake Energy Sues McClendon for Taking His Rolodex with Him). McClendon responded that he contractually had every right to take the data he took with him (see McClendon Hires Top PR Firm to Respond to “Stolen Data” Charge). This is where it gets complicated. Aubrey has spun off several companies from his new company American Energy Partners (AEP). For example, one of the companies (named in the Chesapeake lawsuit) is American Energy-Utica, LLC, (AEU), operating in Ohio’s Utica Shale region. A major funding partner for AEU is Energy & Minerals Group (EMG). EMG is, essentially, in charge of AEU. EMG has just cut a deal with Chesapeake, behind Aubrey’s back, to give Chesapeake 6,000 acres of leases in northern Harrison County along with $25 million in extortion, er ah hush money, er ah “damages” thereby removing EMG/AEU from the Chesapeake lawsuit. The lawsuit against Aubrey and mother company AEP will continue–but the child company/EMG investors won’t be part of it. Aubrey is hopping mad because EMG didn’t tell him nor seek his blessing on their deal with Chesapeake…
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Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | Regulation | West Virginia | Williams

WV DEP to Fine Williams for Condensate Pipeline Leak in WV
April 15, 2015April 23, 2015

A follow up to our story from Monday when we told you that Williams experienced two pipeline ruptures in Marshall County, WV following heavy rains (see Williams Pipelines Rupture in Marshall County After Heavy Rains). One of the pipelines that burst was a 4-inch condensate pipeline. West Virginia regulators have signaled they will fine Williams for the condensate pipeline leak because it ended up in the nearby Little Grave Creek–contaminating some six miles of the creek. We now know how much condensate leaked out. According to the WV DEP, 132 barrels of condensate (or roughly 5,500 gallons) leaked out. Cleanup and sampling of the creek is still in progress. But that begs the question, what the heck is condensate?…
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Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | West Virginia | Williams

2 Williams Pipelines Rupture in Marshall County After Heavy Rains
April 13, 2015April 23, 2015

Apparently torrential rains in Marshall County, WV last week softened up the earth and led to soil shifting and two Williams pipelines rupturing–within hours of each other. One of the pipelines is a 12-inch gathering line that runs from wells in the area to the nearby Fort Beeler processing plant. The other pipeline is a 4-inch condensate pipeline. Condensate spilled out of a hole and into the nearby Little Grave Creek. Cleanup efforts are ongoing. For a short time, five families who live near the 12-inch gathering line were evacuated as a precautionary measure–but they returned home within a few hours…
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Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | New York | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

AP Takes Swipe at NED Pipeline over Export Issue, MDN Responds
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

Once again the AP attempts to make a case against Kinder Morgan’s Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline project that would stretch from Pennsylvania through New York (following the Constitution Pipeline’s route) and into Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and back into Massachusetts near Boston. NED is a huge $6 billion project that will provide jobs for thousands (while it’s constructed) and abundant, cheap Marcellus Shale gas for New Englanders, saving them on the order of $1 billion per year on utility bills for decades to come. But irrational hatred of fossil fuels continues to rein in liberal New England, where many oppose the project (see Deerfield, MA Hoping Kinder Morgan Sues Them over Pipeline “Ban”). The AP has taken up the “most of the gas flowing through the pipeline will get exported” argument, in an effort to stop the pipeline (so much for unbiased “reporting”). Exported where and how? Via one of five planned LNG export facilities in Canada, four of them in Nova Scotia. Just one little problem there AP, it looks very doubtful that any of those plants will actually get built (see Moody’s: “Vast Majority” of LNG Export Projects Will be Canceled). That kind of takes the wind out of the “it’ll all get exported” argument, eh? But let’s assume at least one of those LNG export plants does get built…
Read More “AP Takes Swipe at NED Pipeline over Export Issue, MDN Responds”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pike County | Pipelines | Regulation

Columbia Gas Slapped with $150K Fine for Pipeline Work in 2011-12
April 10, 2015April 10, 2015

Building a pipeline can be expensive in more ways that one. Columbia Gas Transmission has just been fined $150,000 by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environment Protection for violations of the Clean Streams Law during construction of a pipeline in Pike County–construction that happened in 2011-2012. The DEP made inspections during the construction and observed over 100 violations–“failure to implement, maintain and provide temporary stabilization of disturbed areas, and potential pollution and sediment discharges into waterways.” Why it takes three years to levy and collect a fine we have no idea. Here’s the announcement from the DEP…
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Baker Hughes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Research

Baker Hughes Axes their Quarterly Well Count Report :-(
April 10, 2015April 10, 2015

In July 2013 Baker Hughes, the third largest oilfield services company in the U.S. that’s being forced to merge with Halliburton, the second largest oilfield services company, started a useful new quarterly report called the well count report (see BH Launches Well Count Report, Perfect Compliment to Rig Count). You know Baker Hughes as the company that releases weekly and monthly rig count data. Just yesterday our lead story was the latest rig count stats from BH (see BIG Decrease in BH Rig Counts, Including Marcellus/Utica). BH has counted and reported the number of active rigs drilling for the past 70+ years. With rigs becoming more efficient–fewer of them drilling more wells–it made sense to add a report that would track the number of new wells spud, or new wells started, in a given period of time. That was the quarterly well report. Unfortunately BH has just announced they are immediately discontinuing the well report, less than two years after they launched it…
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Chesapeake Utilities | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Chesapeake Utilities Completes $59M Purchase of OH Midstream Co.
April 9, 2015April 9, 2015

In February MDN told you about Chesapeake Utilities, a diversified energy company with businesses in natural gas distribution, transmission and marketing, electricity distribution, propane distribution and wholesale marketing (nothing to do with Chesapeake Energy) purchasing a small midstream company in Ohio–Gatherco, Inc (see Chesapeake Utilities Buys OH Midstream Co, Targets Shale Industry). Part of the motivation is to target the Utica Shale industry in Ohio by building gathering pipelines. Last week Chesapeake Utilities announced the deal is now done and Gatherco has been renamed and merged with Chesapeake subsidiary Aspire Energy of Ohio…
Read More “Chesapeake Utilities Completes $59M Purchase of OH Midstream Co.”