Industrywide Issues

Antero Resources | Crestwood Midstream | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | West Virginia

Antero Sells WV Midstream Operation to Crestwood for $375M
February 29, 2012February 29, 2012

Antero Resources announced yesterday that they have sold their Marcellus Shale midstream gathering system in Harrison and Doddridge counties, WV to Crestwood Holdings for $375 million with a sweetener of an extra $40 million if certain production targets are met in 2012 and 2013.

From the Crestwood/Antero press release:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Otsego County | Regulation

Middlefield, NY Fracking Ban Stands in Court Decision
February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

A second court case decision in New York, this one in Middlefield (near Cooperstown) has ruled that local municipalities have the right to ban shale gas drilling within their borders. On Friday, Feb. 24 Acting Supreme Court Justice Donald F. Cerio, Jr. ruled that a previously passed drilling ban in the Town of Middlefield in Otsego County, NY is legal. A copy of the judge’s decision is embedded below. (Note: Thank you to an MDN reader for providing this exclusive copy of the decision that comes direct from the judge’s chambers.)

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Montgomery County | New York | Regulation

St. Johnsville, NY Town Board Votes to Ban Fracking
February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

Another Upstate New York municipality has jumped on the “ban fracking” bandwagon. The latest is St. Johnsville (Montgomery County), NY. In a unanimous vote last week, the town board passed a one-year moratorium on fracking, ostensibly to buy time to study it more.

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Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Mahoning County | Ohio

Youngstown, OH Scores Another 100 Jobs from Gas Drilling
February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

More jobs coming courtesy of shale gas drilling—this time in Youngstown, Ohio. Exterran Energy Solutions has just announced plans to build a new $13 million facility that when done, will provide 100+ new jobs earning an average $23 per hour.

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Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Residents to Get Free Pipefitter Training for Gas Jobs
February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

Yet more drilling-related jobs on the way, this time in northern West Virginia. The West Virginia Northern Community College is teaming up with Dominion Natrium to train up to 100 local residents to be pipefitters to work at the Natrium processing plant.

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Accidents | Chevron | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Chevron Pipe Leak in SW PA Bigger Than First Thought
February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

On Dec. 20, Chevron discovered a pipe leak at a well pad in Robinson (Washington County), PA. At the time it was thought perhaps a few barrels of wet gas condensate had leaked into the ground. It now appears it may be closer to 80 barrels, or 4,000 gallons.

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Congressional Hearing: Shale Energy a “Game Changer” for Small Biz
February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

Dennis Heller is a small business owner—president and CEO of Stephenson Equipment in Harrisburg, PA. Stephenson Equipment employs 120 people selling and renting construction equipment and crane services, parts, and operator training at seven locations in Pennsylvania and New York. Heller recently testified at a U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Energy & Mineral Resources Subcommittee field hearing in Steubenville, Ohio, on the impact of shale energy development and what it means for small businesses (a copy of his testimony is embedded below).

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Anschutz Exploration | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Tompkins County

Another Look at the Dryden Fracking Ban Court Decision
February 27, 2012February 27, 2012

Last week, New York State Supreme Court Judge Phillip Rumsey ruled that the Town of Dryden has the right to ban gas drilling within its municipal borders (see this MDN story). As MDN pointed out, this is “round one” in the fight for landowner property rights. The Supreme Court in New York is only one step above county court. The Court of Appeals is the highest court in New York State.

Others have weighed in on the Dryden decision, including the Dryden Safe Energy Coalition (DSEC), a pro- but very much safe-drilling group headquartered in Dryden. From the DSEC press release following the decision:

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Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide OH

ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Hits Potential Snag in Ohio
February 27, 2012February 27, 2012

Enterprise Products Partners recently announced a 1,230 mile ethane pipeline from Pennsylvania to the Gulf Coast (see this MDN story). Dubbed the ATEX Express (Appalachia to Texas), the proposed pipeline includes building 353 miles of new pipeline through Ohio. But the Ohio stretch of construction has hit a potential snag.

Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) officials say Enterprise must get their approval before building it, but Enterprise disputes the OPSB has the authority to oversee construction the ATEX Express in the state. The dispute hinges on whether the natural gas liquid ethane that will flow through the pipeline is a liquid or a gas. Ethane under pressure is a liquid, but when it hits the air, it turns into a gas.

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Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Shale Gas on the Western PA Hot Jobs List, Solar Not Hot
February 27, 2012February 27, 2012

Which jobs are hot and which are not? That’s the question raised in a recent Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article. At number three on the “hot” list is the natural gas industry.

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Crime | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Penn State Study Finds No Crime Rate Increase in Drilling Counties
February 27, 2012February 27, 2012

Those who oppose drilling try to make the case that crime rates soar when drilling comes to a community. They say those “out of towners” have a lot of time on their hands in the off hours, and they use it to drink hard and play hard, and that leads to all sorts of criminal mischief. But a new Penn State study finds no evidence that when shale gas drilling comes to town crime rates increase. The preliminary findings of the study, performed by the Justice Center for Research at Penn State, were released in January but only announced just last week (a copy of the preliminary report is embedded below).

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Chesapeake Energy | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Ohio | Wastewater

Steubenville Selling 700K Gallons of Water/Day to Chesapeake
February 23, 2012February 22, 2012

The city of Steubenville in Jefferson County, Ohio has struck a deal to sell Chesapeake Energy treated wastewater, untreated river water and potable water—700,000 gallons of it a day for five years.

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Anschutz Exploration | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY | Tompkins County

NY Judge Rules Town of Dryden can Ban Shale Gas Drilling
February 22, 2012February 23, 2012

Yesterday, Tompkins County (NY) Supreme Court Judge Phillip Rumsey handed anti-drillers a first, and likely short-lived, victory. He ruled that the Town of Dryden, located near Ithaca, has the right to ban shale gas drilling. As with many legal issues, this one is complicated, so let’s take a look at the case, Judge Rumsey’s decision, and what happens next.

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

Cabot O&G Partners with Williams on New Marcellus Pipeline
February 22, 2012February 22, 2012

Cabot Oil & Gas is teaming up with Williams Partners to construct a new pipeline that will stretch from Cabot’s Marcellus gas wells in Susquehanna County, PA to Schoharie County, NY where it will connect to two interstate pipelines. The new pipeline will let Cabot sell its ever-increasing production of northeastern PA shale gas into more lucrative markets in New York and New England. The new pipeline is due to go online in March 2015.

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Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Wastewater

GreenHunter Buys 3 Marcellus/Utica Wastewater Injection Wells
February 22, 2012February 22, 2012

GreenHunter Water has just purchased three currently operating wastewater injection wells in Ohio and Kentucky for $8.8 million that they will use to dispose of Marcellus and Utica Shale wastewater.

From the GreenHunter press release:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Tompkins County

Ithaca-area Township Set to Ban Fracking – Is it Legal?
February 21, 2012February 21, 2012

The Town of Caroline in Tompkins County, New York is about to pass a one-year ban on hydraulic fracturing. The question is, is it legal to do so? Attorneys who understand New York State’s oil and gas law say no.

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