Hydraulic Fracturing

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    Eco Group Schisms & The Heart of the Fracking Debate

    An article in the National Journal does a good job of capturing the growing rift among so-called environmentalists on the issue of fracking–or hydraulic fracturing. Every now and again it’s helpful to review the basics here on MDN because we constantly have new readers/subscribers to our service. For years MDN has said the true movement people who oppose fracking (i.e. shale drilling)–people like Josh Fox with his Gasland fictions and the odious Food & Water Watch, and lately even the Sierra Club–oppose fracking not because the practice actually pollutes, but because it frees up large volumes of natural gas, which is a fossil fuel, and they HATE all fossil fuels. Yes, it’s an irrational hatred–but that is what is truly at the heart of this debate: fossil fuel phobia. Movement environmentalists believe humans should stop using fossil fuels now. Bring back the horse and buggy.

    Of course anti-frackers are rankly hypocritical as they jet around the world and drive around the country using fossil fuels to spread their anti-fossil fuel message. They go home at night and turn up the furnace–a furnace that burns fossil fuels–to heat their homes. They turn on their stoves that burn natural gas to cook their food. They use electricity which (coming as a shocking surprise to their parochial worldview) is created by big power plants that burn coal or natural gas. But “do as I say not as I do” has always been the credo for anti-frackers. The article in National Journal is about the “fight” over fracking in Colorado among environmentalists, but the story could easily take place in NY, PA, WV, or OH. The arguments, the lies and deceptions by extremist “environmental” groups, are the same wherever you go…
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    Norse Energy Suing NY Gov Cuomo to Force Release of SGEIS

    Breaking newsThis is BIG news: It seems we haven’t heard the last from Norse Energy–the Norwegian-based driller that just over a month ago converted from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, or “keep the creditors at bay while we reorganize,” to Chapter 7, or “sell off the furniture and turn off the lights” (see Lights Turned Off, Door Closed – Good Night, Norse Energy). There’s still a bit of fight left in Norse–or fight left in its creditors anyway. Late last week MDN received a tip from friend and intrepid blogger Andy Leahy, writer of the excellent NY Shale Gas Now! blog, about some of the biggest New York news we’ve heard in some time: Norse Energy, or what’s left of it, has decided to file a lawsuit against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens, and State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah–a lawsuit that will force the release of draft drilling regulations called the SGEIS (Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement).

    The official lawsuit has not yet been filed but according to MDN’s sources, it will be filed in early December. This story is a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you and show you the evidence we have that a lawsuit against the Cuomo/Martens/Shah cabal is indeed on the way–very soon…
    Read More “Norse Energy Suing NY Gov Cuomo to Force Release of SGEIS”

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    Cabot Buys Second Dimock, PA Property on Carter Road

    Contrary to the desires of Josh Fox and other anti-drillers, the “Dimock” story continues to fade away into obscure history. A month ago MDN told you about the former house of some of the loudest Cabot critics who used to live in Dimock, PA–the Sautners. Craig and Julie Sautner sold their house and 3.6 acres to Cabot last year and snuk out of town with $167,500 (see Fracking Opponents Craig & Julie Sautner Sell, Leave Dimock). Last month, the old Sautner house was leveled and the property was sold to the neighbor for a measly $4,000 (see End of an Era? Sautner’s Dimock Home Leveled, Property Sold).

    Another Dimock property has just been sold to Cabot, albeit for not quite as much. Mike Ely sold his 12-acre property on Carter Road (including double-wide trailer) to Cabot for $140,000…
    Read More “Cabot Buys Second Dimock, PA Property on Carter Road”

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    CO2 Instead of Water for Fracking – Seriously?!

    From time to time MDN likes to highlight new technologies used in shale drilling. We’ve talked about the recent trend in drillers switching from using diesel to run drilling rigs to using natural gas. A number of Marcellus drillers now use pure natgas or dual fuel drilling rigs, drillers including Cabot, Seneca, Antero, CONSOL, EQT (see this MDN search for a list of those stories). We’ve also talked about companies who have developed alternatives to water as a fracking fluid–most recently eCORP Stimulation Technologies’ liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or propane) fracking (see ecorpStim Tries to Interest France in Waterless Fracking Tech).

    MDN always hastens to add, there’s nothing inherently wrong with using water as a fracking fluid. It’s cheap, it’s plentiful and the amount used is so tiny in comparison to other uses, it’s not an environmental problem–at least not in the northeastern U.S. However, there are places were water is not abundant, so enterprising companies are still trying to create innovative solutions. Some of those enterprising companies are now looking at that evil, nasty compound that is the cause of so much angst for global warmers: carbon dioxide (goes by the gang name CO2). CO2 is plentiful–it’s the stuff you breathe out with every breath and the stuff plants and trees need to breath in so they can produce oxygen. But we digress. Engineers are looking at CO2 as a possible solution to replace water fracking. If they can figure it out, we say, grrrreat!…
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    Deloitte & EIA: 90,000 Marcellus Wells Drilled in Next 20 Years

    A new report published by consulting powerhouse Deloitte references (and affirms) U.S. Energy Information Administration’s predictions that it will take at least $5 trillion of investment in the oil and gas sector between now and 2035 to main current levels of oil and natural gas production and meet future demand as it rises. The report is titled “The challenge of renaissance: Managing an unprecedented wave of oil and gas investment.” Unfortunately we couldn’t locate a copy–but reportedly it’s full of interesting facts–like the $5 trillion number.

    Another eye-popping number from the report: Current estimates are that 90,000 Marcellus Shale wells will be drilled over the next 20 years. That kind of activity will spur an unfathomable economic revival in the northeast like we haven’t seen in since, well, forever! The study says while “trillions” will be spent on upstream (drilling), “hundreds of billions” will need to be spent on midstream (pipelines & processing plants) in order to keep up with the production. More from the Deloitte study…
    Read More “Deloitte & EIA: 90,000 Marcellus Wells Drilled in Next 20 Years”

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    New Report Goes Back to Basics: What is Fracking & Is It Safe?

    Every now and again it helps to take a step back and review the fundamentals–the basics. A wide swath of the American public still doesn’t understand what fracking is, and only reads the occasional headline that seems to paint the picture that shale drilling is negative or dangerous for the environment. Wouldn’t it be great to have a “this is basics of shale drilling and fracking” kind of document? A primer of sorts, that strips out the wild allegations and concentrates on the facts–including facts about the negatives of shale drilling?

    We now have such a document. Earlier this week, the nonpartisan Heartland Institute issued a 36-page primer/research paper titled, “Hydraulic Fracturing: A Game-Changer for U.S. Energy and Economies” (full copy embedded below). This excellent paper answers the “What is it and how does it work?” questions along with environmental safety questions. The paper is written in understandable language and is extensively footnoted (i.e. they offer proof for their statements). Here’s the announcement about this important new resource:
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    House Passes Bills to De-Fang BLM Frack Rules, Speed Up Permits

    Republicans have grown tired of heavy-handed regulations coming out of the Obama administration, from the Obama EPA and Dept. of Interior (DOI) that seek to strangle the blossoming energy industry in this country due to shale drilling. Mainstream media tells you Obama is an “all of the above” guy–he likes that shale drilling stuff ’cause he’s a big thinker and sees the big picture, and even some in his own party grumble and complain about his support for drilling. It’s bunkum. Obama and his sycophants seek to enforce federal regulations on drilling any way they can–to slow it down.

    Republicans have had enough and passed two bills yesterday: one would de-fang the DOI Bureau of Land Management’s plan to enforce new fracking regulations on federal lands; the other speeds up the permitting process for drilling on federal lands, to allow more drilling more quickly…
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    Marcellus/Utica States Slip in Global Petroleum Survey

    Each year, the Canadian-based Fraser Institute surveys petroleum industry executives and managers (864 of them for 2013) asking them their opinions on the barriers to investing in exploration and production in various geographies across the globe. That is, what makes them more likely or less likely to spend money drilling in a particular location? It’s vitally important to understand what drives investors because without money, drilling doesn’t happen.

    The Global Petroleum Survey, as it’s called, tallies the survey responses and ranks each geography from most desirable place to invest, to least desirable. MDN reported the rankings last year (see Energy Execs Rank Drilling Locations Including WV, OH, PA, NY). A copy of this year’s full report/rankings is embedded below. How did Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and (yes) New York fare this year, compared to last?…
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    OH Annual O&G Report: Utica 36% of All Wells Drilled in 2012

    On Tuesday the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) published their 48th annual “McCormac Report”–the 2012 Ohio Oil & Gas Summary report chocked full of charts, maps and statistics about oil and gas drilling in Ohio (full copy embedded below). As you can imagine, a lot of the report is dedicated to Utica Shale drilling. The report covers calendar year 2012, the year when Ohio’s Utica Shale really started to blossom. However, it does not include data for 2013, which is the year when the OH Utica grew up and became a serious shale play contender. Still, there’s lots to love about the McCormac Report, so named for Mike McCormac, the guy who’s been producing it for the past 32 years.

    We learn in the report that in total, $706 million worth of natural gas and oil was drilled in Ohio in 2012. We also learn the state saw it’s longest ever horizontal well drilled–16,664 feet! That’s an astonishing 3.15 miles long (drilled in Jefferson County). And we learn that 36% of all wells drilled in 2012 were Utica Shale wells. Here’s a few highlights from the report:
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    NY Congressman Chides Cuomo for Continued Fracking Delay

    Well there’s at least one New York Congressman with a spine–willing to stand up and call Gov. Andrew “can’t make up his mind on fracking” Cuomo what he is: someone who kowtows to fringe anti-drilling, anti-business wackos. Republican Congressman Chris Collins represents the 27th district in western NY–everywhere from the edge of Buffalo to the edge of Rochester, and from Lake Ontario to halfway down the state. It’s a large district.

    Collins was speaking on the floor of the house yesterday in support of H.R. 2728 (see our companion story today on the two pro-drilling House bills that passed yesterday). Here’s Collins chiding his lordship Andy:
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    Allegheny County (PA) Council Votes Down Drill Ban for Parks

    A few weeks ago MDN told you about a meeting convened by PA State Sen. Jim Ferlo (we called it Ferlo’s Follies) where Ferlo and other anti-drillers carped and complained about a proposed plan to allow drilling under (not on) some Allegheny County, PA parks. We noted that one anti-driller at the meeting offensively and shamefully shoved an 8 year-old child in front of the microphones to plea for a ban on drilling in parks (see PA Anti-Drillers Shove Their Children Before the Microphones).

    We’re happy to report the anti-drilling rabble-rousers have been defeated–soundly. Last night the Allegheny County Council voted down the proposed 3-year moratorium on drilling under (not on) county parks, and they voted it down rather convincingly: 9 to 2…
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    Scranton Area TU Chapter Hears about New Tactic to End Drilling

    As MDN pointed out a few days ago, anti-drilling members of the anti-drilling Trout Unlimited (TU) have changed tactics (see TU: If You Can’t Beat Shale Drillers, Try a New Lie). Instead of calling for an outright ban on Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania, they’ve decided to call for over-regulation–attempting to make their requests sound reasonable and fair. The intent is still the same: stop drilling any way you can.

    TU community agitator organizer Paula Piatt traveled from Mifflin County (central PA) to Lackawanna County (northeast PA) to spread the “let’s regulate them to death” message yesterday…
    Read More “Scranton Area TU Chapter Hears about New Tactic to End Drilling”

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    Nationwide Poll Finds Majority of Americans Support Fracking

    opinion pollA new nationwide poll by Robert Morris University (RMU) finds a big majority of Americans support fracking. Here are the numbers: 42.3% strongly support fracking; 32.8% somewhat or strongly oppose fracking; and 24.9% are unsure. And get this: 40% of all respondents support fracking in their own hometown! You certainly won’t read these poll results in mainstream media outlets like Bloomberg, Reuters or AP. Even the company that paid for the poll–the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review–only gives it a small mention in a “roundup” article with a bunch of other news (see it here).

    The FACT that most Americans support fracking is simply not the narrative the liberal media is willing to report–once again showing that the mainstream news you consume is extremely biased. The media silence on this poll illustrates the lie of so-called impartial reporting…
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    UC Study: OH Utica’s Most Drilled County – No Water Contamination

    Results from a new scientific study of drinking water in the most drilled Utica Shale county in Ohio, Carroll County, were released last week at a meeting of Carroll Concerned Citizens (anti-drilling group). And what, pray tell, did the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Cincinnati find? “You have very good quality water. There’s no evidence of problems from drilling.”

    Whoops, that story line won’t play well in the mainstream media! We thought that (like Mary and her little lamb) everywhere that drilling went, water problems were sure to follow. What happened to that nursery rhyme thinking? That’s right–it’s a fiction that’s debunked by study after study after study. The UC study is just one more in a long line that proves shale drilling doesn’t contaminate drinking water supplies…
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    TU: If You Can’t Beat Shale Drillers, Try a New Lie

    An interesting twist. Apparently the devout anti-drilling group Trout Unlimited has at least one leader and one chapter that isn’t quite so anti-drilling. Either that or they’re trying a new tactic: bald-faced lying (wouldn’t be the first time).

    At a local Penns Creek chapter meeting of TU in Lewistown, PA, Paula Piatt, a “sportsmen organizer” for the group said she doesn’t want to tell landowners not to lease and not to drill–well, she really does want to tell them that, but she isn’t, not right now anyway. No, what she does want to tell them is this is how you should drill. To which we say, the utter arrogance of these people….
    Read More “TU: If You Can’t Beat Shale Drillers, Try a New Lie”

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    Cuomo Continues to Stall on Fracking in NY, Decision by Nov 2014

    In case you missed it, Gov. Andrew “the ditherer” Cuomo was asked the day after the November election by Binghamton reporter Bob Joseph (WNBF Radio) if he expects to make a decision on fracking before next November’s election. And Cuomo said, “Yes, I do.” Meaning, “Yes, I expect to make a decision, but I’ll hedge my bets and delay that decision as long as I can” (our words, but his real meaning).

    Real presidential leadership by our fearless governor, wouldn’t you say? What a waste of a politician. No different than his prevaricating father Mario…
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