Hydraulic Fracturing

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NY Pro-Drillers File Final Briefs in Dryden/Middlefield Cases
January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

According to Tom West, lead attorney in the New York “Dryden” court case that seeks to overturn bad lower court decisions that allow towns to completely ban fracking, the “last word” has been now been filed by landowners and (in the case of West’s client), drillers like Norse Energy. West, via his blog site, announced two days ago that the final briefs with counter-arguments have been filed for both the Dryden and Middlefield cases (copies of both final briefs are embedded below). According to West, additional friend-of-the-court briefs (called amicus briefs) will still be filed, but until oral arguments are heard in a few months, this is the final word from our side of the isle. Interestingly, when you read through the two briefs, they each make slightly different arguments–perhaps increasing the odds that something will resonate with the justices.

Here’s what West says via his blog site about the filings:
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Gov. Kasich Goes After Out-of-State Engineers/Surveyors
January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

Ohio Gov. John “Foreigner Hunter” Kasich is on the prowl again–seeking to block “foreigners” (from exotic places like Texas and Oklahoma and Louisiana) from working in Ohio. It’s been more than a year since Kasich made it one of his missions as governor to block “foreigners” from working in Ohio’s flourishing Utica Shale industry (see OH Gov. Kasich Continues Trash Talk Out-of-State Workers).

The latest action taken by the Kasich administration, via the Ohio State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors, is to let professional engineers and surveyors know that if they come to Ohio to work for the Utica Shale industry, they will need to be registered, forms filled out in triplicate, and (steep) dues paid–or they’ll be bounced out of the state on their collective ear…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research | Wastewater

Duke Study: Acid Mine Water in Fracking Reduces Radioactivity
January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

MDN has for years covered the story that some drillers would be happy to use acid mine drainage water for fracking–except enviro-nazis will sue them into the next lifetime for environmental contamination when they eventually dispose of what’s leftover after fracking (see PA Enviro Groups Oppose Using Acid Mine Water for Fracking as just one example). We now have an intriguing study from the mostly-anti-drilling Duke University that says if you use acid mine drainage water for fracking, it will reduce the amount of radioactivity in frack wastewater. Hmmm.

There’s enough acid mine drainage water in this country to just about meet all fracking needs–if all of it were used (not practical of course). But using acid mine water could greatly reduce the amount of fresh water needed–especially in places where fresh water is in short supply. Under such a scenario, everybody wins–except enviro-nazis who demand nothing less than the obliteration of all fossil fuels as a source of energy. Here’s more details about this interesting Duke study that says using acid mine drainage for fracking can cut down on radioactivity in wastewater…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Friday Foibles: The Scientific Link Between Fracking and Zombies
January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

We thought we had really heard, and seen, it all when it comes to stupidity and lies about fracking–but this takes the cake. A new big-budget Hollywood movie about zombies is coming out later this year and the zombies, the “walking dead” are created by, wait for it… fracking! Yes folks, sink a hole, frack that sucker and if it’s too close to a cemetery…ya get zombies.

The saddest part of this inanity is that some of our “brighter” fellow citizens will believe it…
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Economic Impact | Guest Post | Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Guest Post: Pennsylvania Drilling Moratorium – Good or Bad?
January 9, 2014January 9, 2014

Before Pennsylvanians head to the polls in November to elect a new governor and new legislators, they may want to consider the consequences of installing Democrats to re-assume power in the state. Specifically, Democrats have vowed to slap an ongoing moratorium–essentially a ban–on Marcellus Shale drilling should they regain control. MDN has been one of the few places in the media to even cover this story, and we’ve called it just what it is: economic insanity (see PA Democrat Party Votes to End Marcellus Shale Drilling Statewide).

MDN friend and contributor Chris Acker, a Pennsylvania property owner and geological engineer with an MBA, does a deep dive into the issue to explore what would happen should PA slap a moratorium on new shale drilling. Hint: It’s like experiencing someone’s worst nightmare…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Compare & Contrast 2 Eastern Democrat Governors on Shale Drilling
January 9, 2014January 9, 2014

Let’s compare and contrast “state of the state” addresses delivered yesterday by two Democrat governors in the eastern United States. Governor A has a thriving, business-friendly state that welcomes not only service businesses but specializes in ensuring heavy industry businesses are welcome and investing in his state. In fact, Governor A, who is not only business-friendly but also environment-friendly, works tirelessly to expand job opportunities for his residents, including shale jobs. He’s probably the only Democrat MDN would vote for! And that’s saying something.

Governor B, on the other hand, generally sits on his rear-end, goes to expensive fundraisers deluding himself that he has a chance at the presidency, has the highest unemployment in the eastern U.S., is driving thousands of businesses (and business owners) out of his state each month while mouthing platitudes about being business-friendly, and frankly is a do-nothing governor. Can you guess which is which?…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Releases a Draft (Frackless) State Energy Plan
January 9, 2014January 9, 2014

Last week Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York State very quietly released a draft New York State Energy Plan for 2014. No fanfare. No nothin. The plan supposedly “sets forth a vision for New York’s energy future that connects a vibrant private sector market with communities and individual customers to create a dynamic, clean energy economy.” Completely absent from the plan? Shale drilling. Which means this is not really a plan at all, but a political advertisement that panders to Cuomo’s kook fringe left–people like Debra Winger, Josh Fox, Mark Ruffalo, Yoko Ono and a plethora of other non-thinkers.

We were first alerted to the release by MDN friend and intrepid blogger Andy Leahy and his excellent NY Shale Gas Now! blog site. Must be the AP reads Andy, because not long after his post went live, the AP ran a story that’s been republished in dozens of newspapers coast to coast. Here’s Andy’s excellent take on the draft so-called “energy plan” from Gov. Frackless…
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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | NGLs | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Research

Must-Read IHS Report: Midstream/Downstream Spending Hits $90B/Yr
January 8, 2014January 8, 2014

Information Handling Services, or IHS, is the publisher of choice for the American Petroleum Institute (API). A new API/IHS study was published in December, but apparently just released to the public yesterday by the API. The study is titled “Oil & Natural Gas Transportation & Storage Infrastructure: Status, Trends, & Economic Benefits” (full copy embedded below).

We previously told you the API/IHS estimates each year drillers in the U.S. spend on the order of $150 billion to drill new oil and gas wells (see US Spending $150B+ to Drill New Oil & Gas Wells Each Year). MDN editor Jim Willis heard at the recent Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum that midstream-specific spending is only $15 billion per year (see Energy Industry Leaders Gather at Platts Forum in NYC). This new IHS report provides further clarification on spending in the midstream and downstream. If you lump new yearly spending together for all midstream (pipelines & processing plants) and downstream (refineries and distribution), IHS says the number was actually $53 billion in 2010, and had rocketed to nearly $90 billion in 2013. IHS researchers believe spending will remain around $90 billion in 2014 and something close that, per year, until 2020. Truly astonishing numbers. And that’s not the only revelation contained in this “must read” report. Like, there are 1 million new jobs on the way because of all this spending…
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Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Researchers Backpedal on Bloomberg Story about Fracking & Babies
January 8, 2014January 8, 2014

That was fast. It seems that Bloomberg’s article that implies fracking kills babies (see Another Flawed Fracking/Health Study Emerges…from Economics Conf) was a tad premature. According to Andy Revkin, environmental writer for the New York Times, the authors of the rumored research that reportedly shows a link between babies born close to fracking sites and low birth weight–didn’t want their research announced yet. They say they haven’t finished analyzing the data, it’s not peer-reviewed, and it’s not ready. The authors say Bloomberg jumped the gun and should not have printed their article.

To which we say, why did the authors mention their research and their preliminary conclusions/findings a public conference, if they didn’t want it known? Doh! Apparently the blow-back has been so swift and so strong that the researchers are now backpedaling as fast as they can…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research | Soil | Statewide WV | Wastewater | West Virginia

WVU Prof Stokes Radioactive Fears, Says DEP Study Missing Research
January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

Here’s a story that we confess, we’re having a tough time wrapping our brains around. Allegations are swirling in West Virginia that one of three officially conducted studies for the state’s Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) released last year overlooked important data collection. The study in question was completed in December 2011 and released in February 2012. Titled “Pits and Impoundments Final Report,” the report looks at frack wastewater impoundments and water pits used in horizontal Marcellus Shale drilling (see WVU Study Finds Potential Problems with Frack Wastewater Pits for a copy of the full study). From what we can determine, solid waste, like drilling mud and “cuttings” (leftover rock and soil from drilling) were not part of that study–at all.

But now, the Charleston Gazette identifies and quotes a WVU professor who supposedly worked on that study (although his name doesn’t appear in the study) who says researchers tried to test drill cuttings for radioactivity and were either denied access or put off/delayed until they finally ran out of time and had to file the report without doing the analysis. It’s now a big deal because anti-drillers are raising the specter that everyone is about to glow in the dark from radioactive drill cuttings going to landfills across the state. The WVU prof seems to be intentionally stoking those fears…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Gov Corbett Requests Drillers Continue to Honor Act 13 Setbacks
January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

One of the unintended consequences of the recent PA Supreme Court ruling that struck down zoning provisions in PA’s Act 13 law is to weaken environmental protections–specially the distance away from rivers, streams, wells and other bodies of water that drillers sink a well. Act 13 provided for a minimum 300 foot “setback” from water sources, but that’s now out the window after the Court’s decision (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). PA Gov. Tom Corbett yesterday issued a call/challenge/request/plea to the drilling industry to maintain the setback standard in their drilling practices. The industry, via various representative organizations like the Marcellus Shale Coalition, has already responded that indeed they will continue to honor the setback provisions–even though the high court tossed them out. Which is just more evidence of responsible people working together responsibly to safely drill for natural gas and oil in PA. Even when the courts screw it up.

Here’s Gov. Corbett’s request, and the response by the drilling industry:
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Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Another Flawed Fracking/Health Study Emerges…from Economics Conf
January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

Do they never tire of this crap? Apparently no. We have yet another “study” on how fracking kills people. The latest one comes from an economics conference (yeah, figure that one out). The so-called “research” (not yet peer-reviewed and not yet posted anywhere so it can be evaluated) was shared, or rumored to have been shared, at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association in Philadelphia. The rumored-not-yet-published study claims babies born close to shale drilling sites have an increased chance of being born with low birth weight–a 3.4% increased chance.

Blow the horns! Wail and gnash teeth! Fracking kills! Well, it doesn’t kill, but a few “researchers” claim it maybe/might/could cause a few babies to have to put on some extra weight. But that’s not the narrative that will emerge. The narrative is that fracking kills, so let’s say it over and over as a mantra. Everyone ready? Let’s begin…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

ODNR’s Proposed New Water Handling Rules for 2014
January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

Here’s a look at proposed new rules and regulations coming to drillers in Ohio’s Utica Shale–this year:
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

ODNR Chief Says Utica Shale is “Real Deal” & Feds Should Stay Out
January 6, 2014

James Zehringer, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) recently said that the Utica Shale “is the real deal.” By which he meant the Utica is here to stay and a serious shale play, getting a lot of attention (and development). It was only 15 months ago that there was plenty of angst about the Utica because it wasn’t as “oily” as some had hoped. In fact, at the time, Reuters pronounced the Utica a bust (see Reuters Says Utica Shale Boom is Really a Secret Bust). My oh my how wrong they were!

Just in case there’s any lingering doubt (for people like Reuters reporters), Zehringer set out to dispel the naysayers. In his recent remarks, Zehringer also said the feds should mind their own business and leave oil and gas regulation to the states, where it belongs…
Read More “ODNR Chief Says Utica Shale is “Real Deal” & Feds Should Stay Out”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA’s Impact Fee in Jeopardy from Supreme Court’s Act 13 Decision
January 6, 2014January 6, 2014

The decision of the PA Supreme Court to invalidate large portions of the 2012 Act 13 Marcellus drilling law, particularly those portions dealing with zoning, have left much of the law–perhaps the entire law–in doubt. The court’s decision was like an explosion, and we’re just now seeing the mushroom cloud but haven’t felt the fallout just yet. Did the Supremes just destroy shale drilling in PA? Is their decision really no big deal? It all depends on whom you ask.

One thing that appears to be in jeopardy is the impact fee/tax that’s already raised over $400 million in the last two years. A lot of that fee gets distributed to the places impacted by drilling, hence its name. It’s a sensible fee notwithstanding our objection that 40% of it goes to politicians to spend in non-drilling parts of the state. However, high court’s decision throws the future of the impact fee into doubt. Last week Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision and further clarify some issues in hopes the impact fee (among other things) can be retained…
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Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Somerset County

PA Drill Equipment Company Predicts Diesel Rigs Gone in 5 Years
January 6, 2014January 6, 2014

For some time now MDN has written about Marcellus drillers who now use dual-fuel drilling rigs–rigs whose big engines are powered by a blend of diesel fuel and natural gas, with some drillers using 100% natural gas-powered engines (see this list of MDN stories). Three weeks ago, CONSOL Energy announced a first–they will use electric motors for drilling near the Pittsburgh Airport (see CONSOL to Use Electric Motors for Drilling at Pittsburgh Airport).

One of the primary suppliers of drilling equipment for Marcellus and Utica drillers, Keystone Drill Services in Somerset County, PA, recently made this startling prediction: Within five years diesel-powered engines will be gone from drill sites. Keystone should know since they’re creating the future now at their Somerset facility…
Read More “PA Drill Equipment Company Predicts Diesel Rigs Gone in 5 Years”