Industrywide Issues 1311 - Marcellus Drilling News

Rex Energy Stops Water Deliveries in Butler, Protests Begin

March 2, 2012March 2, 2012

About 75 people picketed in front of Rex Energy’s offices in downtown Butler, PA yesterday afternoon. They were protesting the decision by the PA Department of Environmental Protection that allows Rex Energy to stop water deliveries to 11 families in Connoquenessing Township community (30 miles north of Pittsburgh).

The families claim that nearby Marcellus Shale drilling by Rex contaminated their water wells. Rex has been providing water to the families for the past year while the DEP conducted an investigation. The results of the investigation show that Rex’s drilling has not caused any water issues for those families.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

New York’s 40 Year History of (Yes) Fracking

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012

In all of the trumped-up hysteria in New York with local municipalities banning hydraulic fracturing (see these MDN stories)—some banning it permanently, others for a year or two so they can “study it some more”—MDN wonders, do they know fracking has been going on in New York for the past 40 plus years? That indisputable fact apparently escapes most anti-drillers.

New PA Marcellus Law Does What Local Towns Wanted All Along

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012

Pennsylvania recently passed new Marcellus Shale drilling regulations (see this MDN story). One of the loudest objections to its adoption is a provision that state law will now mostly override local zoning ordinances designed to regulate and restrict drilling. The cry went up that Harrisburg does not know better than local municipalities where and how to control drilling in their local areas.

But municipalities are finding out the new law does exactly what they wanted to do locally all along—prevent drilling in more urban and sensitive areas. That’s what Etna, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh, has discovered.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

New Shale Gas Drilling Legislation Coming in Ohio

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is planning to introduce new energy legislation in the next few weeks that will impact Utica and Marcellus Shale drilling in the state.

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Washington County, PA Jobs & Wages Skyrocket from Marcellus

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012

Washington County in southwestern Pennsylvania has been named the third highest county in the country in job growth, due mostly to Marcellus Shale drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Not only that, but residents have seen an average increase of 8.8 percent in their wages.

Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Dimock Residents Band Together, Create New Website

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012

Residents in Dimock, Pennsylvania (Susquehanna County, northeastern corner of the state) have banded together to start a new website called DimockProud.com. The single word “Dimock” has become a rallying cry for anti-drillers. What has happened in this tiny, rural community has been shrouded in obfuscation by celebrity anti-drillers and the mainstream media echo chamber. Residents who live in Dimock are concerned that a negative impression of their community has become embedded in people’s minds. This new website is an effort to counteract the misinformation and impression that Dimock is a new Love Canal/chemical wasteland.

From the home page of the new site:

Southwestern Gives Away CNG Chevy Tahoe to Promote Marcellus

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012

There are over 100,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles on U.S. roadways, and roughly 400 CNG filling stations. Add one more CNG vehicle to that number in South Abington Township in Lackawanna County, PA—given away as a prize to promote CNG awareness.

The price to fill it up? How does $2 per gallon (gasoline equivalent) sound?

Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Consumers See Natural Gas Bills Go Down Again

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012

The low commodity price of natural gas, due in part to the large supply created by Marcellus Shale gas, is resulting in lower monthly utility bills for customers in Berks County, PA, in an area not even part of the Marcellus Shale play.

New Study Predicts 65K Jobs in Ohio by 2014 from Utica Shale

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012

The Ohio Shale Coalition released a new economic study yesterday prepared researchers from Cleveland State University, Ohio State University and Marietta College. The study projects annual production of oil and gas from the Utica Shale in the state will reach $9.6 billion by 2014 along with an eye-popping 65,000+ jobs. And those jobs will have an average salary of more than $50,000 per year, adding an additional $3.3 billion in labor income in the state. Both a high level overview and a copy of the full 81-page report are embedded below. (MDN is honored to have scored a few mentions in the “News Articles and Web Sources” section of the study.)

MDN particularly likes this graphic from page 39 showing net acreage leaseholds held by drilling companies:

Baker Hughes to Build $64M Facility in Ohio; Create 700 Jobs

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012

Baker Hughes is planning to build a $64 million facility in Massillon (Stark County), Ohio. The announcement comes just a month after Baker Hughes announced they are building a new $40 million facility in Harrison County, West Virginia (see this MDN story). The company plans to employ 700 people at the Massillon facility when it’s done (in three years), at an average hourly wage of $31.25. The economic impact in eastern Ohio will be profound.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

NYT: Environmental Defense Fund is OK with Fracking

February 29, 2012March 24, 2012

An interesting editorial in the New York Times authored by Joe Nocera, a business writer for the NYT, begins this way:

Ohio Landowners Sue to Break Utica Lease Contract

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012

A group of landowners in Columbiana County, Ohio have filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve lease agreements they say were improperly transferred from Anschutz Exploration to Chesapeake.

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:

Middlefield, NY Fracking Ban Stands in Court Decision

February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

court gavel 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.)

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.

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.