Industrywide Issues

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Shale is "Revolutionary" for Ohio’s Petrochemical Industry
October 9, 2012October 9, 2012

Ohio finds itself at the very front end of the shale energy revolution and all of the benefits that will mean for the state. Most stories on how the shale boom will affect the state economically concentrate on the exploration and production (E&P) aspects and talk about jobs and tax revenue—very important aspects.

Not mentioned so often is another beneficiary of the shale revolution: the petrochemical industry. Shale drilling, according to one trade group, will have a “revolutionary” (not just evolutionary) impact on chemical and plastics companies throughout Ohio. How?

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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Williams

Federal Agency Opposes Marcellus Constitution Pipeline
October 9, 2012October 9, 2012

MDN has previously reported on the proposed new Constitution Pipeline being planned by Williams and Cabot Oil & Gas (see this MDN story). The Constitution would run from Susquehanna County, PA into Central New York—Schoharie County—where it would link to both the Tennessee and Iroquois interstate natural gas pipelines.

A potentially powerful detractor of the proposed new pipeline has come forward: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). A field supervisor for FWS sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)—the federal agency charged with permitting pipelines—asking FERC to consider other possibilities before approving the Constitution Pipeline.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

New Technologies Being Patented for Fracking
October 9, 2012October 9, 2012

An interesting tidbit from the Foley & Lardner LLP law firm who’s been keeping an eye on new technologies being patented related to hydraulic fracturing:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Manufacturer Assoc Says Key to PA Drilling Success: Low Taxes
October 9, 2012October 9, 2012

A letter to the editor published in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal from the head of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association in response to an editorial on fracking in New York succinctly summarizes why Pennsylvania has been so successful in attracting and keeping drilling in their state. It also points out the differences between former Gov. Rendell and current Gov. Corbett in PA on the issue of shale gas drilling:

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

Heinz Funds Cornell Research – Will We See Outcry like UB?
October 8, 2012October 8, 2012

It’s interesting to MDN how a politically correct witch hunt has gone forth at University at Buffalo (UB) after the “revelation” that the authors of a new study at the university’s new shale institute had (gasp) done work for natural gas drilling companies in years gone by. Somehow the fact they have made a living outside of academe and (gasp) “in the industry” taints their ability to reason and research beyond acceptable (to the left) limits (see this MDN story).

Yet when anti-drilling organizations (like the Heniz Endowments) fund research at major universities (like Cornell and Carnegie Mellon) for millions of dollars in an effort to gin up so-called science to discredit natural gas drilling, not a peep from the same self-righteous crusaders. Why is that?

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Washington Post to Cuomo: Go Ahead and Frack
October 8, 2012October 8, 2012

More evidence that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is receiving media “cover” to give him room to make a decision to move forward with fracking in New York. This time it comes from none other than the editorial board of the Washington Post.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

AP Signals Andy: It’s OK to Frack, We Understand
October 8, 2012October 8, 2012

Is the AP attempting to give NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo media cover so he can make a pro-fracking decision? Perhaps. Cuomo and the left know that if Cuomo does not approve fracking—quickly—his political future nationally is toast. There is no way he gets elected president—ever—if he doesn’t approve fracking. His supporters know it. They don’t like it, but they know it.

It’s interesting to MDN that we’re now starting to see stories like the following that tacitly give Cuomo their blessing if he ends up “making the tough choice to move forward” with fracking:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

NC Startup Aims to Trace Fracking Fluid in Water Supplies
October 8, 2012October 8, 2012

A startup company in North Carolina is hoping to lay to rest (or validate) concerns that fracking fluid somehow gets from a mile underground into drinking water supplies near the surface. BaseTrace, started by a group of former Duke University students, is experimenting with a tracer chemical that can uniquely “fingerprint” fracking fluid used in each individual well and, theoretically, determine which well may be leaking—if indeed leaking ever happens.

Although similar ways of tracking drilling fluids have been done in the past, BaseTrace is different with its ability to individually encode the tracer chemical for each individual well. Here’s more background:

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Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

EPA Steps Up Enforcement Actions Against NatGas Drillers
October 8, 2012October 8, 2012

MDN reported today on the settlement of an environmental damage case in Weztel County, WV by Chesapeake Energy (see this MDN story). The story mentions that the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) got involved through the back door of the Clean Water Act. MDN has long maintained that the EPA is attempting to control more and more of natural gas drilling in the country (we believe they’re a rogue agency on this issue).

The U.S. Constitution makes it clear that regulating oil and gas drilling is not a federal function but a state function. Using the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and other federal legislation, the camel’s nose of the EPA is not just under the flap of the tent, most of the camel is now inside the tent. Why do we say that?

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Accidents | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | West Virginia | Wetzel County

Chesapeake Pleads Guilty to Enviro Damage in Wetzel County, WV
October 8, 2012October 8, 2012

Two years ago Chesapeake Energy damaged some streams in Wetzel County, West Virginia. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) got involved because it involved violations of the Clean Water Act. Last week Chesapeake agreed to settle the case. Here’s the outcome:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide MD | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide VA | Statewide WV | Utica Shale | Virginia | West Virginia

USGS Releases Official Estimate of Oil & Gas in Utica Shale
October 5, 2012October 5, 2012

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has just released their first official assessment (i.e. estimate) of how much recoverable natural gas, oil and gas liquids is located in the Utica Shale throughout Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Virginia (a full copy of the USGS assessment is embedded below).

The USGS estimates the Utica is #3 in size behind the Marcellus (#1) and Green River Basin (#2) for volume of recoverable natural gas in the U.S. Here are the numbers from the USGS, along with and a brief introduction to their first-ever assessment of the Utica:

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Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Landfills | Pennsylvania

Scranton Landfill Wants to Double (Again) Shale Cuttings
October 5, 2012October 5, 2012

The Keystone Sanitary Landfill, located on the borders of Dunmore and Throop, PA (Scranton suburbs) applied to the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) last December to increase the amount of Marcellus shale cuttings—rock and soil leftover after drilling—from 600 tons to 1,000 tons per day. They also applied to accept “unprocessed” cuttings from drillers (see this MDN story for background).

The permit was granted in early March. Elected officials in Throop fought the increase but eventually dropped their fight from lack of interest and money (see this MDN story). Keystone just filed a new request to double the amount of cuttings again, from 1,000 to 2,000 tons per day. They also want trucks to be allowed to haul it in 24/7.

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Williams

Williams Official Gives WV Huge Compliment, Disses PA
October 5, 2012October 5, 2012

At a Chamber of Commerce dinner in Marshall County, WV held last night, Darrell Bull, the general manager of Williams Ohio Valley Midstream (a division of midstream giant Williams) paid a huge compliment to West Virginia and dissed Pennsylvania.

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Wastewater

PennFuture Challenges PA DEP Wastewater Treatment Permit
October 5, 2012October 5, 2012

On Monday, the anti-drilling organization PennFuture filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board over a permit granted by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) that allows treated Marcellus Shale wastewater to be used for purposes like keeping dust down on roads, and as a source of roadway salt (for wintertime).

According to PennFuture’s appeal (full copy embedded below), the DEP held public hearings were held for one use—simply treating the wastewater at a certain facility—and then the DEP turned around and issued a permit for a different use. PennFuture calls it a “switcheroo” in their official appeal.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Pro-Drillers Plan Massive Protest in Albany, NY Oct 15
October 5, 2012October 5, 2012

There’s a new kid on the block when it comes to pro-drilling organizations in New York State: Landowner Advocates of New York (or LANY for short). LANY is organizing what they hope will be the largest mass protest demonstration of pro-drillers ever in Albany, NY on Monday, Oct. 15. Although the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) is not involved with organizing the LANY event, they are supporting it by sending their members to march and protest. (JLCNY represents 77,000 landowners throughout New York.)

Here’s the email MDN received from the JLCNY and LANY announcing the mass protest:

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Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

MSC to Post-Gazette: Quit Lying to Our Kids
October 5, 2012October 5, 2012

The industry-backed Marcellus Shale Coalition, headquartered in Pittsburgh, not-so-gently chided the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette over a recent story it ran on shale gas drilling—a story with a number of inaccuracies. Here’s the letter MSC sent to the newspaper:

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