Industrywide Issues

Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Feds Eye Regulating Local Natgas Gathering Pipelines
January 5, 2015January 5, 2015

Is it a good idea for the federal government to start regulating local natural gas gathering pipelines? We can debate whether or not it’s good to have more federal encroachment on the states, but at the end of the day, it may be academic because the feds intend to do it. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has been studying the issue of local gathering line regulations since 2011 and will, later this year, propose new regulations (i.e. un-legislated laws). Although new regulations may be coming from the PHMSA, it’s not clear to us who (which agency, federal or state) would enforce those new regulations. Likely state regulators would enforce the new regulations…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Obama Sec of Interior Says Frack Bans ‘Wrong Way to Go’
January 5, 2015January 5, 2015

President Obama’s Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, told a PBS reporter she thinks fracking bans, like those passed by several California towns and by the state of New York, are “the wrong way to go.” She says, in so many words, that fear-mongering results in bad laws, like frack bans. Needless to say, anti-drilling zealots are not pleased that Jewell, who happens to be a former petroleum engineer (someone with a brain who knows what she’s talking about), has popped their pretentious bubble and questioned their fear-mongering tactics…
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Alternative Energy | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY: Forget Shale Methane, Tap Organic Waste (i.e. Poop) Instead
January 5, 2015January 5, 2015

We had to pick ourselves up off the floor after laughing so hard at the latest machinations to be turned out by the in-the-tank-for-Andrew-Cuomo and left-of-Vlad-Putin Albany Times Union. The TU recently ran a commentary piece by the anti-drilling “Energy Vision” organization that, we kid you not, says forget about evil, nasty fossil fuel methane. Instead, we need to start using “renewable” methane–from poop…
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Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Reminder: NY Landowner Frack Ban Protest Today in Binghamton, NY
January 5, 2015January 5, 2015

A quick reminder from the Central New York (CNY) Landowner Coalition–perhaps the largest of the member coalitions that belong to the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY)–that today, Jan. 5, there is a mass protest scheduled in Binghamton, NY to send the message very loud and very clear to Gov. Andrew Cuomo that he screwed up big-time with his politically-based decision to ban fracking in the Empire State. Here’s the details for the protest:
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Accidents | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Washington County | Williams

Explosion, Fire at Meter Station Along Williams Ethane Pipeline in SWPA
December 31, 2014December 31, 2014

A meter station along the Williams Ohio Valley Ethane pipeline reportedly exploded and caught fire in in Chartiers Township (Washington County), PA–about four miles from Houston, PA–on Christmas Eve. The fire has caused the shut-down of the ethane pipeline that runs some 50 miles from Marshall County, WV to an ethane hub in Houston…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Anti Groups Ask FERC to Stop Construction on Cove Point LNG Plant
December 31, 2014December 31, 2014

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently concluded a years-long process of evaluating all of the ins and outs, environmental and otherwise, for the proposed LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility in Cove Point, Maryland. FERC decided, after years of research, untold thousands of comments and hundreds of hours of testimony, to approve the project (see Dominion Gets Final Fed Approval to Build Cove Point LNG Plant). Dominion has since broken ground and is actively building the new plant. So what do the environmental extremists from the Allegheny Defense Project (ADP) and Wild Virginia, people who hate fossil fuels, do? They tell FERC, “You didn’t do your job right, stop Dominion’s construction until we can file a lawsuit to block the project.” Before ADP and Wild Virginia can file a lawsuit, they must first get a “rehearing” with FERC, something they’ve requested. FERC takes its time with these things, and the groups are afraid Dominion’s construction will get far enough along that the project can’t be stopped. So ADP and Wild Virginia are asking FERC to temporarily stop the Dominion project until the rehearing, the inevitable ruling in favor of Dominion, and then a newly-minted lawsuit can be filed in federal court. In other words, ADP and Wild Virginia want FERC to help them stack the deck against Dominion. FERC isn’t playing along…
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Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

GreenHunter Cancels Deal with Michigan Co to Build 3 Pipelines
December 31, 2014December 31, 2014

In June, GreenHunter Resources (water subsidiary of Magnum Hunter) announced it would build three new shortish pipelines in the Tri-state area–one each for brine/wastewater, fresh water, and condensate (see 3 New (Short) Pipelines from GreenHunter in Tri-state Area). We later learned that the three pipelines would terminate at a facility located near Wheeling, WV (see Mystery Solved: GreenHunter Pipelines to Terminate Near…). GreenHunter cut a deal with Major Pipeline of Michigan, which was supposed to build and operate the pipeline system on behalf of GreenHunter. But something happened on the way to the Forum. Major Pipeline couldn’t raise the money it needed to fund the projects, so GreenHunter has canceled the plan to use Major Pipeline…
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Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lackawanna County | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Remarkable Change in PA Jobs Since Pro-Gas Corbett Lost Gov Race
December 31, 2014December 31, 2014

Funny how prior to the election on Nov. 4 you couldn’t read, watch or listen to a mainstream media report about employment in Pennsylvania without hearing how the job market under the Satantic Gov. Tom Corbett (Republican) sucked big-time. Ole Tom had sold his soul to Big Gas, ya see, with the promise of jobs jobs jobs. And guess what? No jobs. And if there were more jobs–they all went to foreigners–people from exotic places like Texas and Oklahoma and Louisiana. We can’t count how many such (false) stories we saw. After Nov. 4? Voilà. Something changed. Even though the pure-as-the-wind-driven-snow Angelic Gov.-elect Tom Wolf (Democrat) hasn’t yet taken office–somehow, magically, unemployment is at historic lows and there’s jobs popping up everywhere in the Keystone State. Why? The Marcellus Shale, of course…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Virginia

Rural Virginians Want Internet, but Not Natgas Energy to Access It
December 31, 2014December 31, 2014

The publisher of Virginia Business, Bernie Niemeier, has a fascinating perspective on Dominion’s proposed $4.5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline project that would run through the Old Dominion state. Niemeier supports the pipeline, not the least of which because it will provide a huge economic boost ($450 million in direct benefit to the economy) and a jobs creator (2,800 jobs to build it). Niemeier notes the rapid objections to the pipeline–the “not here, not now, not ever” crowd that has come out of the woodwork. He compares their knee-jerk objections to efforts to build out internet access in rural areas, another project that would cut through the same “wilderness” areas and cause environmental “damage”. We love his observation at the short-sighted obtuseness of those who want access to the internet, but not the power that allows them to access it…
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Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

When Will the Price Drillers Fetch for Marcellus Gas Increase?
December 31, 2014December 31, 2014

Why is the price that drillers in the northeast receive for natural gas so much less than what drillers get in other areas of the country? In a word–pipelines. Or rather, lack of them. When will the infrastructure constraints that cause northeast prices to remain low be resolved? At least several years, according to one analyst…
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Bradford County | Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Research | Statewide NY | Statewide PA

PA Public Health Expert Destroys NY Health Study, Frack Ban
December 30, 2014December 30, 2014

The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) is a 70,000-member group of frustrated landowners who have had their Constitutional property rights stripped away by a spineless governor. In an effort to get the truth out about shale drilling and its affects–both good and bad–the JLCNY has taken to the airways with a periodic (every 3-4 weeks) radio program that airs Sunday evenings for an hour on Binghamton’s WNBF 1290 AM radio station. This past Sunday night the latest program aired and it was a must-listen program. The special guest was Dr. Theodore Them, MD, MS, PhD, MPH. Dr. Them is a specialist in environmental medicine working at Guthrie, the 19th largest health care system in the United States. Dr. Them lives in Bradford County, PA, within five miles of 100+ Marcellus Shale gas wells. Dr. Them was on the program to discuss the so-called “health impacts” report recently delivered by New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard Zucker (see After 6+ Years, Andrew Cuomo Bans Fracking in New York). Dr. Them, in our considered opinion, completely destroyed the “findings” in Zucker’s report. We have the full one-hour program below for your listening edification…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Chesapeake & PA Landowners Settle Royalty Lawsuit…Again
December 30, 2014December 30, 2014

In September 2013 MDN told you that Chesapeake Energy had “settled” a lawsuit that would reimburse Pennsylvania landowners for post-production costs Chesapeake had deducted from royalty checks, leaving some landowners with checks for pennies (see Chesapeake Settles PA Royalty Lawsuit for Pittance: $7.5M). As we said at the time, it was a pittance that Chessy would pay $7.5 million to be shared among “several thousand” landowners, with 1/3 of it going to lawyers. The suit was never settled because some landowners sued to block it while they filed their own, separate lawsuit. The disagreeing landowners have finally joined and have (now) accepted an offer from Chesapeake to settle–for $11 million. Still peanuts if you ask us, but perhaps something is better than nothing?…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Virginia

Dominion Sues VA Landowners to Allow Survey for Pipeline
December 30, 2014December 30, 2014

In September, Dominion committed full force to building a 550-mile, $5 billion natural gas pipeline that will run from West Virginia, through Virginia and into North Carolina (see Dominion Commits to Major New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Project). The project, called the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, will transport Marcellus and Utica Shale gas to the southeast. In November, Dominion asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin an environmental review of the project (see Dominion Asks FERC to Start Environmental Review of SE Pipeline). In order to do a proper review and to finalize plans for the route, Dominion surveyors need to get on property of landowners in Virginia who have, so far, refused them entry. So Dominion has now taken 40 Virginia landowners to court to force them to allow a survey…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | MarkWest Energy | NGLs | Pipelines

KY Antis Now Opposing Kinder Morgan Y-Grade NGL Pipeline
December 30, 2014December 30, 2014

Will Kentucky scuttle yet another pipeline project? A group of anti-drillers/anti-pipeliners, including a bunch of radical nuns, earlier this year successfully stopped the Bluegrass Pipeline project, a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline proposed by Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners that would run from the Marcellus/Utica region to the Gulf Coast (see Williams Stops Work on Bluegrass Pipeline, Boardwalk Says “It’s Not Dead”). In November, Boardwalk agreed with Williams that yes, the project is indeed dead as a doornail. The KY legislature, and later a KY judge, disallowed the use of eminent domain for the project, which effectively killed it (see Kentucky House Votes to End Eminent Domain for Bluegrass Pipeline and Judge Rules Bluegrass Pipeline Cannot Use Eminent Domain in KY). Mission accomplished for the anti-drilling faithful, like the nuns of Marion County (see Thank God the Bluegrass Pipeline will Bypass Marion County Nuns). But then Kinder Morgan and MarkWest came along with a plan to convert some 800 miles of the existing Tennessee Gas Pipeline, which runs through KY, into an NGL pipeline from the northeast to the Gulf (see Kinder Morgan Y-Grade NGL Pipeline from NE to SW Still Alive). The anti-drilling faithful are getting the band back together to go after this effort. They may not find it as easy to scuttle as the Bluegrass…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Trout Unlimited Says Lake Erie Threatened by Utica Drilling
December 30, 2014December 30, 2014

Trout Unlimited (TU) might have once been populated with reasonable people, but it long ago left behind reasonableness and became a radical “green” group, funded and controlled by anti-drilling foundations (see Trout Unlimited, Other Groups Outted as Radical Green Groups). Even though TU has been exposed as having a radical, anti-drilling agenda, they still pretend, with the help of PBS and others, to be “reasonable” on the issue of shale drilling. When a member of TU says the group isn’t anti-shale, you know you just heard a 100% lie. They ARE anti-shale–to the core. We find it repugnant when mainstream media unquestioningly reports yet another TU spin story. The latest such story says that Utica Shale drilling in the Buckeye State is a “threat” to Lake Erie. TU has just released a so-called report (PowerPoint presentation, really) called “10 Special Places” (full copy embedded below). The “report” highlights 10 areas in the Eastern U.S. that TU says are threatened by Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling–including Lake Erie…
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Industrywide Issues | Reserves (Proved and Unproved)

Defining O&G Reserves: Proved, Recoverable & In-Place
December 30, 2014December 30, 2014

A handy graphic and article from our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, explains the differences in what companies call their “reserves”–how much gas and oil they have in the ground, ready to be extracted. You often hear or read of “proved reserves.” How does that category differ from “economically recoverable” and “technically recoverable” reserves? And what about this nebulous “oil and gas in place”? EIA’s helpful primer ‘splains it to us…
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