Industrywide Issues 1306 - Marcellus Drilling News

OOGA Comes Out Swinging Against Kasich Tax Proposal

March 28, 2012March 28, 2012

The Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) issued a press release on Monday taking Ohio Gov. John Kasich to task for his proposal to slap a severance tax increase on the nascent Utica Shale drilling industry and use the proceeds to give taxpayers an income tax reduction. The new tax increase on drillers has been tentatively removed from budget discussions, but OOGA believes Kasich won’t let it rest and will likely try to resurrect it.

From the OOGA press release:

After 7 Years of No Drilling, PA Families Sue to End Contract

March 28, 2012March 28, 2012

Seven Beaver County, PA families filed a lawsuit yesterday in Common Pleas Court accusing O&G Investments of Wooster, Ohio of not drilling on their land (and not paying them) for the past seven years. The lawsuit also names Chesapeake Energy, who purchased the leases from O&G last year and who now, “at the last minute,” is trying to tie up the land and continue the contract by moving in equipment to start a drill pad—even though they haven’t received any permits to drill.

Marcellus Waste Processing Facility Planned for Sunbury, PA

March 28, 2012March 28, 2012

Clean Harbors Environmental Services of Norwell, Mass. has applied for a permit to build a “waste processing facility” in Sunbury (Northumberland County), PA. The facility will accept up to 1,000 tons of Marcellus Shale drill cuttings, drilling mud and other materials per day. Although the waste is not toxic, some local officials are concerned and upset that the state DEP alone will make a decision about whether or not to approve the permit (Sunbury has no say in the matter). Sunbury mayor David Persing supports the new facility.

Change in Location for MarkWest Processing Plant in Ohio

March 28, 2012March 28, 2012

A new natural gas processing plant to be built by MarkWest Energy was supposed to be built in Monroe County, Ohio, but the geography has now shifted west and the plant will be built in neighboring Noble County, Ohio instead.

Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Private Investors Aim Their Money at Pipelines/Midstream

March 28, 2012March 28, 2012

Pipelines and the “midstream” are the next big investment opportunities for investors—so says an article by Bloomberg.

A quick primer on the oil and gas business. Drilling for oil and gas, often referred to as exploration and production (or E&P) is what is usually called “upstream.” The term “midstream” refers to the pipelines, compressor stations and processing plants that move and refine oil and gas. “Downstream” is the distribution and marketing of oil and gas to end customers. There’s some blurring of those lines; for example, big oil refineries are usually considered downstream. But you get the idea.

Alternative Energy | Industrywide Issues

Fracking’s Existential Threat to Green Energy

March 28, 2012March 28, 2012

Check out an excellent column today by Paul Driessen on the TownHall.com website. Paul is a senior policy adviser for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), and a senior policy adviser to the Congress of Racial Equality. He’s also author of Eco-Imperialism: Green Power – Black Death.

In today’s column, Paul makes the point that the Sierra Club and other so-called environmental groups oppose clean-burning natural gas and shale drilling because it’s a threat to their alternative-energy-nirvana ideology (something MDN has long pointed out). The column starts this way:

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

Wells Fargo Study: 60% of New PA Jobs from Gas Drilling

March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

jobs Wells Fargo Securities economists recently issued a report on the effects of Marcellus Shale drilling on Pennsylvania jobs (a copy of the 12-page report is embedded below). The report offers both an optimistic and pessimistic forecast of job growth, along with what they believe to be a realistic forecast. And all of their numbers are backed up with plenty of commentary so the reader understands why they predict what they predict. The bottom line?

Shell’s ‘Silent’ Partner in Building Cracker Plant: The EPA

March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

Shell will decide whether or not to build an ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA over the next two years (see this MDN story). If they decide to build, which seems likely, it will take between four and 10 years and $3 billion to build it. It’s a massive project. And Shell will have the federal Environmental Protection Agency looking over their shoulder the whole time, according to an EPA rep from Texas:

Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD | Taxation

Maryland House Votes to Tax Non-Existent Shale Drilling

March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

From the “things that amuse us from Maryland” file: The Maryland House of Delegates passed a vote on a severance tax on shale gas drilling in the state. They generously reduced the original proposal from a 15 percent tax down to 7.5 percent. Thing is, there is no shale gas drilling in the state and there won’t be until 2014 at the earliest when a report commissioned by Gov. Martin O’Malley is due. And it’s a big “if” as to whether or not Maryland will ever allow drilling. The House seems awfully eager to tax something they haven’t even decided they will allow.

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Marcellus Revitalizes PA Company 150 Miles from Nearest Well

March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

PA State Senator Tim Solobay, a Democrat serving western PA’s 46th district, made the following report about the “broad-reaching economic impact” of Marcellus shale drilling and it’s power to revitalize businesses in the state:

Federal Judge Upholds Water Ban in Allegheny National Forest

March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

In a lawsuit to allow active drilling in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) in Pennsylvania, a federal judge ruled last Friday that the U.S. Forest Service does not have to end a ban they imposed on drillers who want to use surface water from the ANF for hydraulic fracturing. Drillers have argued that the Forest Service’s actions in banning water withdrawals from the ANF, and in delaying signoff on new drilling permits, have in essence stopped drilling in the ANF—a de facto ban. For a background on the long-running dispute, see this MDN story from last November.

Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Number of NatGas Drilling Rigs Continues Slow Decline in PA

March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

The number of gas drilling rigs continues a slow decline in Pennsylvania as companies reallocate those rigs to Ohio and to areas in the country where shale oil drilling is expanding.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Enviro Groups Warn Against Water Withdrawals for Fracking

March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

With the rapid expansion of natural gas drilling in Ohio’s Utica Shale comes a need for water used in the hydraulic fracturing process. Each well drilled can use upward of five million gallons of water. Some it comes from recycled wastewater from other fracking operations, but there’s still an ongoing need for water.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Boone Pickens: Fracking’s Long History Proves it’s Safe

March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

Speaking at last week’s Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference, Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Energy Management and a Texas oil billionaire going way back, says if you want to see whether or not hydraulic fracturing is safe, all you have to do is look where it’s been actively used, underneath aquifers, for decades:

Alternative Energy | Industrywide Issues

Anti-Drilling Stupidity on Display for All to See

March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

Once again, a shining example of the obtuse philosophy that drives the anti-drilling crowd, on full display in a commentary in (where else?) the Ithaca Journal. This particular commentary is on the high price of gas and why that’s really a good thing:

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Dem Seeks to Tax Marcellus Towns to Cover Trooper Costs

March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, wants to assess a tax on rural municipalities in Marcellus Shale areas without a police department who rely on PA State Troopers to assist them, to help fund the expense of the troopers. Sturla, chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee, says the money the state spends on troopers for some 1,300 municipalities is money not available to spend on other transportation-related purposes.