Industrywide Issues

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Last Minute Change in PA Budget Stops DEP’s New Drilling Rules
June 30, 2015June 30, 2015

How can we put this gingerly? Pennsylvania Democrats (and Democrats in general) like to do the screwing, but they don’t like to get screwed. That about sums up what’s happening with the Pennsylvania budget and some last minute legislation slipped into a budget-related bill that will tie the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection’s hands on proposed new drilling rules. The 2012 Act 13 law required the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to update sections of the older 1984 PA Oil & Gas Act (see Rewrite of 1984 PA Oil and Gas Act Underway). That process was pretty much done and dusted under PA Gov. Tom Corbett. But then Tom Wolf won the governor’s race and installed John Quigley to head up the DEP. Quigley re-opened a closed process to change drilling rules for both conventional and unconventional (shale) drillers (see PA DEP Sec Quigley Pulls a Fast One, Changes Drilling Rules). That is, Quigley did some screwing of the drilling industry. Over the weekend the PA House introduced and passed an amendment that would require the DEP to go back and start over with respect the rules they plan to adopt. That is, Quigley has now gotten screwed. And he doesn’t like it…
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Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Regulation

US Supreme Court Knocks Down Draconian EPA Emissions Rule
June 30, 2015June 30, 2015

Too little, too late is what sums up yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that slaps the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for not considering cost when implementing draconian new rules limiting certain emissions from coal-fired electric power plants. Many coal plants have already shut down and many more are in the process of shuttering–driven out of business by the EPA’s draconian (unlegislated) laws. The small victory is that it pushes back against an out-of-control Obama EPA–perhaps slowing them down just a bit. One analyst said the Supreme Court decision translates into a “big win” for natural gas. How? Because the draconian new rules won’t go into effect right away, that means natural gas will continue to pick up momentum as the best alternative to coal, shutting out solar and wind power as alternatives. Nothing against solar and wind (we love them both), but they’re WAY more expensive than natural gas–and last time we checked, we still live in sort-of free country that sort-of uses capitalism and sort-of has free choice when it comes to power. Which is sort-of good news for natural gas…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Quigley Not Just Creating New Registry, He’s Dumping FracFocus
June 30, 2015June 30, 2015

Two weeks ago MDN told you that the PA PennFuture Sec. of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, John Quigley, has decided he wants to start his own version of FracFocus in Pennsylvania (see PA DEP Sec Quigley Creating His Own FracFocus; SRBC in Crosshairs). What we didn’t know or understand at the time is that Sec. Quigley, who continues to be antagonistic toward the shale industry, isn’t just creating a PA version of FracFocus–he now arrogantly intends to dump PA’s participation in FracFocus…
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Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD

New Natgas-Powered Electric Plant Goes Online in…Maryland?
June 30, 2015June 30, 2015

Maryland, the state that recently banned fracking for another two years (see Maryland’s Pusillanimous Gov Allows Frack Moratorium to Become Law), has a brand new electric generation plant providing residents with 120 megawatts of electricity (powering 120,000 homes) in Harford County. The new electric plant is powered by fracked shale gas. The new Exelon Generation 120 megawatt Perryman 6 natural gas power generating unit began commercial operation on Sunday, June 28. Exelon built the plant to cut down on emissions–providing Maryland with “greener” electricity. And yet the state bans fracking. Anyone else see what a big, stinking pile of hypocrisy that is? Below are details on the new Exelon Perryman project…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Williams

More Pipeline Payola: Williams Doles Out $2.5M in PA Grants
June 30, 2015June 30, 2015

We won’t harp yet again about how we feel about paying local (very worthy) groups and organizations money to support your pipeline project BEFORE it’s approved and built (cough *borderline sleazy* cough). We’ll just bring you the news that Williams has seen fit to dole out $2.5 million to 17 Conservation Fund projects in Pennsylvania. A spoonful of $ugar to help the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline medicine go down–in a most delightful way. (Note that we think the Atlantic Sunrise is a great project and worthy on its own, without need for corporate bribes to hush up local opposition.) Here’s the details of which projects in PA got funded, and where…
Read More “More Pipeline Payola: Williams Doles Out $2.5M in PA Grants”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Penn Virginia Corporation

Major Investor Tells Penn Virginia to Take BP’s Money and Run
June 30, 2015June 30, 2015

Last week MDN told you that vile big money investor George Soros has finally forced Penn Virginia Corp.–a driller for which he owns 9.1% of the shares, likely the biggest single outside investor–to consider offers to sell itself. BP has made such an offer (see BP Makes Offer to Buy Penn Virginia, Other Majors Interested Too). Rumor has it that Penn Virginia rejected BP’s offer as too low and is holding out for more. That doesn’t sit well with another shark, er a, big money investor in the company, Lone Star Value Management, which owns 2 million shares of Penn Virginia (2.8%). In a press release, Lone Star essentially asks Penn Virginia if they’re nuts. Lone Star points out the BP offer, if it is what is rumored, is 80% above where the stock has been bumping along. Cha-ching! Lone Star is seeing big bucks swimming before their eyes and they’re hungry for it…
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CNG/LNG | Commodity Price | Crude Oil | Decline/Depletion Rates | Economic Impact | Education | Ethane | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | M&A | NGLs | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Regulation | Research | Reserves (Proved and Unproved)

Join MDN at RBN Energy’s “Summer in the City” Event July 23 – NYC
June 30, 2015July 9, 2015

MDN invites you to join us in attending RBN Energy’s “State of the Energy Markets” one-day event in New York City on July 23. Before you hurry to say “yes,” a few caveats. It costs money (a lot of it). It’s aimed at executives working in the industry, as well as traders and investors. If that describes you (and we know that many of you read MDN), you may be interested in attending. We guarantee it will be a great event. Rusty Braziel & company will provide an overview of the key issues facing natural gas, NGLs and the crude oil market. They will explain how the markets for those three commodities interact and affect each other. They will also take a look at prices, where they may be heading, and how infrastructure affects price. If you are really “into energy” as we are, this is a must attend event. Details are below, along with a link to register…
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Blair County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marcellus GTL | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants

Altoona’s Marcellus Gas-to-Liquids Plant Gets Canceled, For Now
June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

While most Pennsylvania supply chain businesses are hanging tough during the current down cycle in drilling–the downturn has claimed at least one potential project in the Keystone State. It was with much fanfare and great hope in March 2013 that Marcellus GTL of Gilberton, Schuylkill County, announced it would build its first Clean Energy Center in Blair County, PA. The “gas to liquids” (GTL) project would cost $200 million to build and would convert PA Marcellus Shale gas into 84,000 gallons per day of regular gasoline and propane to be marketed locally as transportation fuel and for heating uses (see Altoona Area Getting $200M Marcellus Gas-to-Liquids Plant). The project was even promised a 7-year tax break (see Altoona Gas to Liquids Plant Will Qualify for 7-Year Tax Break). But sadly, Marcellus GTL recently told the Altoona-Blair County Development Corp the project has been “tabled” due to the low price of oil and the volatility of the market right now…
Read More “Altoona’s Marcellus Gas-to-Liquids Plant Gets Canceled, For Now”
Blair County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain

PA Supply Chain Firms Hang Tough in Drilling Downturn
June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

Businesses that part of the Marcellus Shale supply chain–providing goods and services to the drilling industry–have been impacted by the drop-off in drilling activity. However, the supply chain businesses located in the Altoona area of Pennsylvania have proved pretty resilient. Some are willing to “ride the wave” until the cyclical oil and gas industry picks up again, laying off very few if any workers. Some are branching out into other markets. And some provide goods and services that are still very much in demand, even in a “down” cycle for drilling. Some are even adding workers! Here’s a few examples of resilient south central PA businesses hanging tough in the current downturn, and how they do it…
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Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WVONGA Says Rogersville Shale Drilling in WV is “When” not “If”
June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

To date, the shale revolution in West Virginia has been largely confined to the northern panhandle and north/central parts of the state, where first the Marcellus and increasingly the Utica Shale layers are targeted. Left out of the shale revolution has been southern WV. But that will one day change, according to Corky DeMarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association. No, the Marcellus/Utica are not the focus in the southern part of the state. In the south it will be the Rogersville Shale, and according to DeMarco, it’s more of a “when” rather than an “if” drilling will happen in the Rogersville Shale in WV. When will it happen? The southern part of the state will experience the economic bonanza being experienced in the northern part of the state. What will it take for Rogersville drilling to begin? Higher natgas prices…
Read More “WVONGA Says Rogersville Shale Drilling in WV is “When” not “If””
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Halliburton | Industrywide Issues | Range Resources Corp | Sand/Proppant | Schlumberger

DUG East Panelists Discuss the Critical Role of Sand in Drilling
June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

Some interesting tidbits from a roundtable discussion at last week’s Hart Energy DUG East conference. The panelists included reps from Chesapeake Energy, Range Resources, Halliburton and Schlumberger. Really, the biggest of the bigs when it comes to producers and oilfield services companies in the Marcellus Shale. A lot of the discussion seemed to revolve around the lowly grain of sand. It may surprise you (as it did us) to learn just how much sand is now being used per well in the Marcellus/Utica…
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Education | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Research | West Virginia

Drilling for WVU/OSU’s $11M Study Gets Underway in Morgantown
June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

In November 2014 MDN told you that West Virginia University and Ohio State University received an $11 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy for a joint five-year study of Marcellus/Utica fracking and shale drilling (see WVU/OSU Get $11M Grant to Study Shale Energy Best Practices). The research project promptly got under way with baseline measurements and monitoring at the Morgantown (WV) Industrial Park where a new first-of-its-kind Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory will be located. With baseline measurements for air, noise, light and water at the site complete, it’s now time for the drill bit to start chewing away at rock and dirt…
Read More “Drilling for WVU/OSU’s $11M Study Gets Underway in Morgantown”
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Sabine Pass LNG Export Expansion Approved, Utica Gas Heading There?
June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

Good news for Marcellus/Utica drillers–especially those in the Ohio Utica. Last Friday the U.S. Dept. of Energy issued a final authorization for an expansion to Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction LNG export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The approval means Sabine Pass can now export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. The approval expands export capacity at the facility by an extra 1.38 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (Bcf/d), to a new total of 3.58 Bcf/d. Why is it good for Utica drillers? Because at least one pipeline project will connect from Ohio all the way to the Sabine Pass facility (see Texas Gas Seeks to Reverse Flow of Pipeline from OH to LA), meaning some Utica and Marcellus Shale gas will get exported from the Gulf Coast…
Read More “Sabine Pass LNG Export Expansion Approved, Utica Gas Heading There?”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

The Facts on Pipelines and Their Impacts on PA Landowners
June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

Pipelines, and opposition to them from shrill anti-fossil fuel kooks, seems to be the primary battlefield in the ongoing war against fossil energy. If we had a nickle for every time we’ve heard antis talk about pipelines exploding and other scare tactics, we’d be shaleionaires. When it comes to pipelines in Pennsylvania, where a number of projects are on the books, it helps to have the facts. Dave Messersmith, an educator and member of Penn State’s Marcellus Shale Education team, is a man with the facts when it comes to drilling and pipelines. Messersmith recently did a Q&A with the Allentown Morning Call newspaper and he shares important, impartial facts about pipelines and how they impact landowners…
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Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Research | Statewide PA

PA Gas Outlook Report 2015 – Electric Plants Changing to Natgas
June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

Last week the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) released its annual Pennsylvania Gas Outlook Report, which provides insight into trends in the natural gas market, both nationwide and within Pennsylvania (full copy below). The report summarizes the financial and supply data for PA’s natural gas distribution companies (NGDCs) and looks at changes and trends in the natural gas market, including usage, financial status of utilities, and market pricing. The report is prepared to provide data about the regulated gas industry in Pennsylvania and the broader natural gas markets in the region and nationally. There’s lots of good information in the report. In particular we like the EIA list of pipelines due to be “in service” sometime in 2015 in the Marcellus/Utica region, included on page 6 of the report. The big news in the report is the dramatic increase in the change from coal to natgas for electric power generation–a trend that will continue to expand into the foreseeable future…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Crestwood Midstream | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | NGLs | Schuyler County | Statewide NY

Binghamton Newspaper Runs Anti-LPG Propaganda as “News”
June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

A well-known activist and anti-driller flying under the label of “reporter”–Tom Wilber–was actually paid to write six, possibly seven articles for the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin appearing in the print edition on Sunday. The so-called “Watchdog Report” in the P&SB takes aim at an underground liquefied propane storage facility proposed by Crestwood Midstream along the shore of Seneca Lake (in a depleted salt cavern) and is what laughably passes as “news” these days in the People’s Republic of New York–where the only “news” allowed in Democrat rags like the P&SN is bad news when it comes to the shale industry. In most newspapers the entire section appearing in the P&SB, which amounts to free advertising for the virulent anti-drilling group Gas Free Seneca, would properly be labeled as an “Advertisement” or “Advertising Supplement.” But not in the P&SB. Unsuspecting readers of the P&SB are treated to a couple of front page stories about “environmental concerns” about the very safe underground storage facility planned near Seneca Lake. When you look further in, the entire first section of the newspaper is jammed with more stories–six in all–plus a seventh that was almost certainly written by Wilber labeled as an “editorial” from the newspaper itself. Example of the extreme bias: one of the stories is about railroads, tossed in to create FUD–fear, uncertainty and doubt–about the LPG facility by stating that LPG from the Crestwood facility will be hauled by railroad over a creaky old railroad bridge through historic Watkins Glen State Park with its beautiful gorges and waterfalls. The image is what would happen if there was an accident and the train fell into the gorge. Of course Wilber doesn’t bother to report that carloads of really nasty, toxic chemicals traverse that same railroad bridge each week–it’s only LPG (simple propane that would evaporate) that has him concerned. Wilber calls it a potentially “epic hazard.” What a joke…
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