Industrywide Issues

Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio

Barnesville Officials “Didn’t Think” When Signing Gulfport Water Deal
April 8, 2015April 21, 2015

A few weeks ago MDN told you about a legal battle shaping up in Belmont County. Gulfport Energy has sued the town of Barnesville over a contract dispute (see Gulfport Energy Sues Barnesville, OH for Access to Water in Reservoir). Barnesville signed a contract with Gulfport to sell them water for drilling and fracking from the Slope Creek Reservoir–for 1 penny per gallon. Then Barnesville signed a contract with Antero Resources to lease land, and of course Antero needs water too (and apparently went to the head of the water line). Barnesville now says the reservoir has been drawn down too low to sell water to Gulfport (other drillers dipping in the reservoir?) so Barnesville wants to renege on the contract and now finds themselves in federal court. Now the 4,100 residents of Barnesville will pay out the nose for outside legal council to defend the town because of their leaders “didn’t think”…
Read More “Barnesville Officials “Didn’t Think” When Signing Gulfport Water Deal”
Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV House Republican Pat McGeehan Takes Aim at Forced Pooling
April 8, 2015April 8, 2015

Pat McGeehan is a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. His district includes Hancock and northern Brooke counties, which is the very tippy top of the northern panhandle in WV. Pat was born in Oklahoma (an Okie! LOVE Oklahoma) and he lives and works in and loves West Virginia (LOVE West Virginia!). Pat is an author, having penned “Printing Our Way to Poverty–The Consequences of American Inflation” and a new book coming out this spring titled, “Liberty and the Christ: Why Christians Should Embrace Political Freedom.” Pat is a Republican and a strong supporter of the shale drilling industry. He’s also against forced pooling. Pat is a man after our own heart. He recently penned an excellent and eloquent article taking direct aim at forced pooling in WV…
Read More “WV House Republican Pat McGeehan Takes Aim at Forced Pooling”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

ET Rover Pipeline Launches New Website, Updated Route Maps
April 8, 2015April 8, 2015

ET Rover is a now 711-mile (down from 830-mile) Marcellus/Utica natural gas pipeline that will serve mostly U.S. customers that will cost $3.7 billion (down from $4.4 billion) to build and run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada (see ET Rover Pipeline’s 800-Mile Journey Begins with FERC Filing). As with all Marcellus/Utica pipeline projects, ET Rover hasn’t been without its detractors and legal issues (see OH Law Firm Asks FERC to Stop ET Rover Pipeline Eminent Domain). Yesterday Energy Transfer Partners, the company that will build ET Rover, announced a new website. They also provided updated maps to county libraries along the proposed path of the pipeline’s route…
Read More “ET Rover Pipeline Launches New Website, Updated Route Maps”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Maryland Republican Senator Votes to Delay Fracking (Say What?)
April 8, 2015April 8, 2015

Another “with friends like these, who needs enemies” stories when it comes to fracking in Maryland. It had seemed as though fracking in the Old Line state might take off–perhaps not soon, but at least at some point in the next year or two (see Maryland Gets Ready to Frack! Gov O’Malley Files New Regulations). We should have known former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a lefty Democrat, only issued new fracking regs on his way out of office because he wants to run for president (he never wanted fracking). Still, we take our victories any way we can get them. But then the House and Senate started larding up the issue by passing all sorts of bills that would throttle or even prevent fracking. Last week the Maryland House passed a moratorium for three years, and on Monday of this week, the Maryland Senate passed a mortatorium for two years. The curious thing is that Maryland Republican State Senator George Edwards, whose district in Western Maryland is about the only district that would conceivably see fracking, voted FOR the two year moratorium! He supposedly supports fracking. Wait…did we miss something? Did logic and common sense just go out the window? More politics as usual?…
Read More “Maryland Republican Senator Votes to Delay Fracking (Say What?)”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | EV Energy Partners | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Williams

Williams Buys Out EVEP Interest in Utica East Ohio Midstream for $575M
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

In early February, MDN told you that EV Energy Partners, a company with a huge amount of leased acreage in the Ohio Utica Shale region, was looking to sell its 21% interest in Utica East Ohio (UEO)–a midstream/pipeline company operating in Ohio (see EVEP Wants to Sell Interest in Utica East Ohio/More Utica Acreage). Yesterday EV announced they found a buyer–none other than Williams, EV’s partner in UEO. Williams currently owns 49% of UEO and is paying EV $575 million in cash to relieve them of their 21%, for a grand total operating interest of 70% ownership…
Read More “Williams Buys Out EVEP Interest in Utica East Ohio Midstream for $575M”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Mountain Valley Pipeline Sues 103 WV Landowners for Survey Access
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

A month ago MDN told you that some West Virginia landowners were complaining about strong-arm tactics being used by EQT and NextEra US Gas Assets and their Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project to build a 330-mile pipeline from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA (see WV Landowners Say They’re Bullied by Mountain Valley Pipeline). At the time, MVP threatened to sue over 100 landowners who were not allowing their survey crews access in order to survey and find the best path for the pipeline. It’s not a threat any more. Last Friday MVP filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Beckley, WV asking the court to force three corporations and 103 other property owners in 10 WV counties to let survey crews on their land. As we pointed out a month ago, such a lawsuit depends on eminent domain. The problem is, MVP isn’t yet approved by FERC, so the right of eminent domain doesn’t exist yet–at least that’s our understanding of how it works…
Read More “Mountain Valley Pipeline Sues 103 WV Landowners for Survey Access”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Gives Public 45 Days to Comment on O&G Rule Changes
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

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 his Secretary of the DEP, Chris Abruzzo, resigned near the end of Corbett’s term, throwing the department into some disarray (see PA DEP Sec. Chris Abruzzo Resigns Following Porn Email Scandal). Tom Wolf won the governor’s race and installed John Quigley to head up the DEP and Quigley had other ideas about the rewrite that was nearly done (see PA DEP Sec Quigley Pulls a Fast One, Changes Drilling Rules). Now that Quigley has changed things up, he’s going to give the “public” a good long look. Instead of the typical 30 day comment period, Quigley’s DEP announced yesterday they will give the public three hearings and 45 days (ending May 19) in which to comment on their changed new rule changes…
Read More “PA DEP Gives Public 45 Days to Comment on O&G Rule Changes”
Butler County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Why < 9% PA Towns Haven't Passed O&G Zoning Regs: Anti-Drillers
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

There’s a reason that less than 9% of communities in the 33 Pennsylvania counties with shale drilling have passed ordinances specifically aimed at the drilling industry. They look at the grief experienced in places like Middlesex Township (Butler County) where Martians–a few parents from the local Mars School District–are agitating to prevent a shale well from being drilled 3/4 of a mile from the school (see Rex Drilling Operation Near Mars School Put on Hold). Those towns see how so-called non-profits like the Delaware Riverkeeper are operating outside of their jurisdictional (we would argue outside of their legal) parameters, costing communities like Middlesex big bucks (see Dela. RiverKeeper, Clean Air Council Cost Middlesex Residents $35K+). Other towns look at that festering mess and say, “no thanks,” which is kind of ironic since the towns themselves sued to overturn portions of the Act 13 law, giving them the right to enact their own oil and gas zoning regulations…
Read More “Why < 9% PA Towns Haven't Passed O&G Zoning Regs: Anti-Drillers"
Industrywide Issues | Research | Reserves (Proved and Unproved)

EIA: Marcellus Biggest US Gas Field, Eagle Ford Biggest Oil Field
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

Last week our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, published an update to their U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves research. The update/report, titled “Top 100 U.S. Oil and Gas Fields” (full copy below) shows the 100 largest U.S. oil and gas fields by their estimated 2013 proved reserves. That’s the top 100 oil fields, and a second list for the top 100 gas fields–based on 2013 estimates for reserves. It probably won’t surprise you to learn the #1 gas field in the U.S. is the Marcellus. It may (or may not) surprise you to learn the #1 oil field in the U.S. in 2013 was the Eagle Ford (again, based on reserves). It likely will surprise you, as it did us, to not find the Utica/Point Pleasant anywhere in either list! But then we remembered that the Utica was just getting under way in 2013. Still, not even in the top 100? Seems a bit off to us…
Read More “EIA: Marcellus Biggest US Gas Field, Eagle Ford Biggest Oil Field”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

EPA Expanding CWA (Again), Applies to Shale Drillers re Wastewater
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

We have mixed emotions about a new rule proposed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that further extends the Clean Water Act behemoth by applying it (yet again) to regulating the oil and gas industry. The new rule, titled “Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category” (document number EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0598, full copy below) would prevent untreated frack wastewater from being treated by municipal sewer and water treatment plants. The entire rule is created because once upon a time this sort of thing did happen in Pennsylvania, before then PA DEP Secretary Michael Krancer put a stop to it in 2012 (see PA DEP, Marcellus Shale Coalition Admit Drilling Wastewater Likely Contaminating Drinking Water). The EPA thinks because PA used to do it, there’s nothing to say they might not fall into their old, bad habits and do it again “someday,” so the EPA wants to put a new unvoted-on law in place to prevent it…
Read More “EPA Expanding CWA (Again), Applies to Shale Drillers re Wastewater”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Nonpartisan Brookings Research Finds Huge Benefits from Fracking
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

The nonpartisan Washington, DC-based think tank the Brookings Institution recently published a detailed paper on the enormous benefits of shale gas to American society as a whole. Titled “Welfare and Distributional Implications of Shale Gas” (full copy below), the research paper finds that the average American household that burns gas now saves $200 per year on the cost of that gas, a cumulative economic impact of adding $13 billion more in disposable income into the economy. In fact, as of 2013, Brookings finds the “fracking revolution” as they call it, has improved the economic well-being of consumers a staggering $74 billion per year. All because of the miracle of fracking…
Read More “Nonpartisan Brookings Research Finds Huge Benefits from Fracking”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Cuyahoga County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation

Broadview Heights, OH Moms: Don’t Frack With Us
April 7, 2015April 7, 2015

Three weeks ago anti-drillers in the Cleveland suburb of Broadview Heights were handed a crushing defeat in which a County Common Pleas Court judge struck down a so-called community “bill of rights”–the only “right” of which was to deny legitimate oil and gas drillers the ability to conduct business. We pointed out what sore losers anti-drillers are (see OH Antis Handed Crushing Defeat in Broadview Hghts Home Rule Case). The immediate reaction from the small group of antis in Broadview Heights was to engage in borderline sedition–calling the government and the courts illegitimate. They’ve appeared to dial back that rhetoric just a tad (perhaps their lawyer told them to pipe down), but they’re still PO’d (personally offended). Last night Mothers Against Drilling In Our Neighborhood (MADION) held a rally to spout and vent…
Read More “Broadview Heights, OH Moms: Don’t Frack With Us”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | XTO

XTO Threatens Belmont County, OH Landowner with Forced Pooling
April 6, 2015April 5, 2015

Belmont County landowner Curtis Wallner doesn’t know what the term “nuisance oil” means in the contract XTO Energy is offering him to lease his 26 acres. The contract says Wallner will receive an eye-popping $8,000 per acre in signing bonus money, plus 20% royalties, MINUS revenue for “non-commercial nuisance oil.” Because XTO can’t or won’t explain it or remove it from the contract, Wallner won’t sign (can’t say that we blame him). So XTO is threatening him that they’ll take his gas anyway via forced pooling… Read More “XTO Threatens Belmont County, OH Landowner with Forced Pooling”
Brooke County | Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Regulation | West Virginia

Brooke County, WV Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant Plan Advances
April 6, 2015April 5, 2015

A month ago MDN brought you the big news that the father and son team building a $615 million, 549 megawatt electrical generating plant near Moundsville, WV that will be powered by Marcellus Shale gas are planning to build three more of them–all in West Virginia (see Big News: 3 More Marcellus-Powered Electric Plants Coming to WV). Two of the three new plants will, if built, be located in Brooke County, WV. Last month the Brooke County Commission signed two memorandums of understanding with Energy Solutions Consortium (father and son Andrew and Matthew Dorn) to agree to a plan to let the Dorns build the plants and then sell them to the county, leasing them back to run them–a plan called a PILOT plan, or “payment in lieu of taxes.” The plan allows the Dorns to avoid paying prohibitively high property taxes on the plants while still generating a big, fat payment to the county and local school district. Last week the local board of education and town council also signed on to the plan, an important next step in making the project a reality…
Read More “Brooke County, WV Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant Plan Advances”
Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | UGI Energy Services

UGI to Feed Jessup, PA Electric Plant with Marcellus Shale Gas
April 6, 2015October 17, 2015

As MDN has previously chronicled, Chicago-based Invenergy hopes to build what will be the largest (to date) electric generating plant in the state of Pennsylvania powered by natural gas (see Public Hearing on NEPA Proposed Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant). Invenergy hopes to build the 1300-megawatt plant (incorrectly listed as 1500 megawatts in the excerpt below) in the borough of Jessup (Lackawanna County), near Scranton. The project has it’s opponents, some of whom make some outrageous claims (see Gas-Powered Electric Plant to be Built “on Thousands of People”). There’s been some important progress with this project. UGI, the local electric and gas utility company, has just announced they will upgrade 19 miles of pipeline and build 3 miles of new pipeline to feed the proposed plant with yummy, cheap, clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas…
Read More “UGI to Feed Jessup, PA Electric Plant with Marcellus Shale Gas”
Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Funny! NY Fractivist Steingraber Says Fracking is a “Feminist Issue”
April 6, 2015April 5, 2015

Bet you didn’t know that fracking is a “feminist issue” did you? Why? Well, we suppose because it’s mostly men who do the fracking. Men are the frackers and presumably women (meaning Mother Earth) are the fracked. Almost sounds like rape, doesn’t it? That’s exactly how it’s intended to sound by the likes of the bizarre and getting more so by the day Sandra Steingraber, the so-called “scholar in residence” at Ithaca College. Although Steingraber is on staff at IC, she doesn’t actually teach anything. She’s paid to parade around to events like today’s lecture at the University of Pittsburgh, titled “Fracking is a Feminist Issue: Women Confronting Fossil Fuels and Petrochemicals in an Age of Climate Emergency.” Honest to God you can’t make this stuff up. Words just really can’t convey the lunacy of liberals like Steingraber when they go completely off the rails as she has so obviously done. Rather than try to tell you how idiotic this is, we’ll just share with you the exact words they use to describe tonight’s “lecture”…
Read More “Funny! NY Fractivist Steingraber Says Fracking is a “Feminist Issue””