Industrywide Issues

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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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation | Utica Shale

Hearings Underway on OH Plan to Bribe Voters with Utica Shale Tax
January 9, 2014January 9, 2014

Some RINO elected Republicans in Ohio and some oil and gas industry folks have combined forces to endorse a horrible idea: raising the drilling tax on Utica Shale drilling. MDN previously outlined our objections to the plan (see Taking a Closer Look at Ohio’s “Piddly” Utica Shale Tax Increase). The Ohio House is now holding hearings on the plan–listening to testimony both for and (presumably) against.

Here’s the latest on the Ohio hearings to retard the growth of the Utica Shale by increasing taxes on it to bribe redistribute some of the money to people who don’t have a thing to do with producing it:
Read More “Hearings Underway on OH Plan to Bribe Voters with Utica Shale Tax”
Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Property Value | West Virginia

Shale Drilling Leads to Higher Property Values in WV
January 9, 2014January 9, 2014

One of the old, trite, and untrue arguments trotted out by anti-drillers is that when drilling comes to town, property values decrease. It shouldn’t surprise you, if you read MDN, to learn that the exact opposite is true. The latest evidence of that comes to us from one of the most horizontally drilled/fracked counties in West Virginia: Marshall County.

Officials in Marshall County report that because of all the drilling in the county, property values in the county have risen by an average 10%. Put another way, if you were to sell your house today, you’ll get 10% more than you would have gotten just a few years ago. The only “problem” is that some peoples’ property tax bills will go up because of it…
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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…
Read More “Must-Read IHS Report: Midstream/Downstream Spending Hits $90B/Yr”
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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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Eureka Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Eureka Hunter Boasts 360% Yearly Increase in Marcellus/Utica Flow
January 8, 2014January 8, 2014

Eureka Hunter, the wholly-owned midstream (pipeline) subsidiary of driller Magnum Hunter, published their month by month flow numbers yesterday for how much gas they pumped through their pipelines in West Virginia and Ohio during 2013. It was an impressive year for Eureka Hunter. The average daily flow or “throughput” in 2012 was 23,291 million Btus (or MMBtus), which equates to 23.3 million cubic feet per day (or MMcf/d). If the “average” well is producing, say, 3 MMcf/d, that’s the equivalent of having 8 wells connected to the pipeline. The average daily flow in 2013 was 83,828 MMBtus, or 83.4 MMcf/d, or 28 wells hooked up and flowing. That’s a 360% year over year increase–nearly quadruple the volume!

What the average doesn’t tell you, however, is that by the end of the year, Eureka Hunter’s pipeline flowed nearly 160,000 MMBtus, or 160 MMcf/d, which is production from an average 53 wells. They predict in 2014 the daily flow rate will hit 206,500 MMBtus. Somewhere between 40-50% of the gas they flow is from Triad Hunter, another Magnum Hunter subsidiary (sister company to Eureka Hunter). Below is the press release with Eureka Hunter’s monthly flow numbers. With our explanation above, you now know how to view it!…
Read More “Eureka Hunter Boasts 360% Yearly Increase in Marcellus/Utica Flow”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Mahoning County | Ohio | Wastewater

Sierra Club Gets What They Want in OH, and It’s a Big Fat Nothing
January 8, 2014January 8, 2014

The anti-drilling Sierra Club–an organization that once lauded natural gas as an energy bridge to the future but now hates it (because it’s a good fundraiser for them to demonize it)–went fishing for information in Ohio, and came up with nothing. The Sierra Club previously sued the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) seeking all documentation (emails, etc.) for the case of D&L Energy/Hardrock Excavating–the company that repeatedly dumped untreated frack wastewater in the dead of night down a drain–untreated wastewater that ended up in the Mahoning River (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater).

Not only did the ODNR immediately take strong action against the perpetrators of this environmental crime by shutting down the companies involved, the drilling industry itself loudly and strongly condemned it. Not good enough for the Sierra Clubers. They thought there may be some teeny tiny sliver of something they could demagogue and use in yet another fundraising letter–if only they could sort through the pile of communications surrounding the case. So they sued. The ODNR finally relented and gave them what they wanted–and according to the Sierra Clubers, there were “few new details” in the document dump. In other words, it was a colossal waste of time and taxpayer money…
Read More “Sierra Club Gets What They Want in OH, and It’s a Big Fat Nothing”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Former PA Parks Head John Norbeck Joins the Anti-Drilling Brigade
January 8, 2014January 8, 2014

Sadly, the former head of Pennsylvania’s state park system, John Norbeck, has thrown in his lot with the strongly anti-drilling PennFuture organization and will become its vice president and chief operating officer. PennFuture has worked tirelessly to obstruct and stop drilling wherever and whenever it can. Apparently Norbeck was a closet anti-driller all along. Who knew?…
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Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Research

Drill Capital Launches Drill Research; Nifty Antero/Utica Report
January 8, 2014January 8, 2014

MDN does not usually run self-serving press releases that are the sum total of “look at us.” But sometimes we do–when the release piques our interest. Such a release was issued yesterday by investment firm Drill Capital–a firm focused on investing in the North American energy sector. According to yesterday’s press release, Drill Capital has formed a separate, dedicated research arm called Drill Research that will evaluate energy sector investment opportunities. Of course this is a marketing technique to attract customers (i.e. investors) to join Drill Capital. Certainly nothing wrong with that! What piqued our interest is their publication of a sample model portfolio highlighting Drill Research’s top pick. Which is? One of the top drillers in the Marcellus and Utica Shale: Antero Resources.

By visiting the Drill Research webpage highlighted in the release, you can read their research and view the model portfolio. If you do, you’ll find interesting details about Antero, the Utica Shale, the Marcellus Shale and several other major U.S. shale plays. It’s definitely worthwhile info, which is why we share it with you…
Read More “Drill Capital Launches Drill Research; Nifty Antero/Utica Report”
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…
Read More “WVU Prof Stokes Radioactive Fears, Says DEP Study Missing Research”
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:
Read More “Gov Corbett Requests Drillers Continue to Honor Act 13 Setbacks”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | NiSource | Ohio | Pennant Midstream | Processing Plants | Utica Shale

Pennant Midstream Says Hickory Bend (OH) Cryo Plant Now Ready
January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

Good news! Pennant Midstream announced yesterday that its Hickory Bend cryogenic processing plant in Mahoning County, OH is now live and online and ready to receive “wet gas” from the Utica Shale. You may recall Gov. John “foreigner hunter” Kasich dedicated the plant back in October (see OH Gov. Kasich Dedicates Hickory Bend Plant, No Foreigners Found). However, the $375 million plant was not quite ready at that point. It is now, and the gas will start flowing soon.

The even better news is that Pennant, a joint venture between Hilcorp Energy and NiSource, is preparing to build two more plants at the same location. Each plant can handle 200 million cubic feet of raw gas per day, separating it into methane and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The NGLs are then pipelined elsewhere for further processing. Here’s yesterday’s announcement:
Read More “Pennant Midstream Says Hickory Bend (OH) Cryo Plant Now Ready”
Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues

The Wild Ride for NatGas Prices in the Northeast
January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

The price that utility companies and large users of natural gas pay at the pipeline is a lot higher than the price drillers sell it for. Like, multiples higher. However, the pipeline sale price does influence how much drillers will receive. Natural gas is a commodity, and like all commodity markets, the price of gas depends on supply and demand. Since gas is sold at hundreds of market points along transmission pipelines across the country, there are hundreds of different, tiny “markets” of supply and demand.

Platts issued an interesting press release/article yesterday about the yo-yoing price of gas right now due to the extreme cold in the northeast and Midwest. While some Marcellus gas is sold by drillers for under $3 per thousand cubic feet (or Mcf, which is the same unit as one million Btus, or MMBtu), some of that same gas is being purchased down the pipeline for upward of $60 per Mcf (or MMBtu)! The current situation is an extreme price spike and it won’t last, but it illustrates just how widely prices can swing in the natgas market…
Read More “The Wild Ride for NatGas Prices in the Northeast”
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…
Read More “Another Flawed Fracking/Health Study Emerges…from Economics Conf”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | UGI Energy Services | Wyoming County (PA)

UGI Wins! Auburn Pipeline with Marcellus Gas in NEPA Goes Live
January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

It’s been a loooong uphill battle for utility company UGI with their Auburn Pipeline system, but by persisting, they’ve finally won against staggering odds. We’re happy to report that the Auburn Pipeline is now fully operational and Marcellus gas is flowing through it. The final leg of the Auburn, which connects the Tennessee Gas Pipeline with the Transco pipeline, is now done. Initially UGI proposed a compressor station in Luzerne County, but that was scrapped (see Luddites of Luzerne: UGI Scraps Plan for PA Compressor Station). The compressor was later built in Wyoming County.

Next up was opposition to a simple “gate station” or metering station. Even though another gate station had been in the area for 50 years, UGI still had to battle the forces of anti-drilling to build a new one (see Back to Kindergarten: UGI Explains NatGas Gate Stations). The gate station got built. Once all the court battles were fought, and won, UGI prevailed and the Auburn is now complete, which is very good news for consumers who will benefit from cheap, regionally extracted Marcellus Shale gas…
Read More “UGI Wins! Auburn Pipeline with Marcellus Gas in NEPA Goes Live”
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:
Read More “ODNR’s Proposed New Water Handling Rules for 2014”