Research

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

New Duke/USGS Study: Fracking Does Not Contaminate Well Water
May 16, 2013May 16, 2013

A new study by Duke University researchers and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) finds “no evidence of groundwater contamination from shale gas production in Arkansas.” The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Geochemistry (full copy embedded below), looked at samples from 127 water wells across the state. In those few cases where they found methane, it wasn’t methane from deep below (i.e. drilling) but rather naturally occurring methane from near the surface. No fracking chemicals were found in well water.

This study is yet another nail in the coffin of shrill, anti-drilling blathering that shale drilling “contaminates water supplies.” The science clearly says it does not.
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Research | Sunoco Logistics | Williams

3 Marcellus Midstream Companies Top Customer Satisfaction Survey
May 15, 2013May 15, 2013

EnergyPoint Research released an overview of their biannual Midstream Services Study this morning. Three companies with large Marcellus operations top the list Read More “3 Marcellus Midstream Companies Top Customer Satisfaction Survey”
Commodity Price | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Moody’s Report: Shale is Here to Stay, Gives U.S. Huge Advantage
May 15, 2013

A 16-page, $550 report from Moody’s Investors Service released on Monday says shale drilling in the U.S. is here to stay, gives America an ongoing advantage over Read More “Moody’s Report: Shale is Here to Stay, Gives U.S. Huge Advantage”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

SRBC Tells Anti-Drillers “We’ll Stay in Our Lane” on Water Study
May 10, 2013May 11, 2013

Unlike the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) refuses to be pushed around by mouthy anti-drillers. Read More “SRBC Tells Anti-Drillers “We’ll Stay in Our Lane” on Water Study”
Economic Impact | Exporting | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Research

Report: Benefits of NatGas Production/Exports for Small Biz
May 6, 2013

The nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy, research and education organization the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) published a new report last week titled “The Benefits of Natural Gas Production and Exports for U.S. Small Businesses” (full copy embedded below). The report looks at the period 2005-2010 and the rocket growth in jobs and new small businesses created by shale drilling in states like OH, PA and WV–three of the ten states highlighted in the report. It also looks forward to the opportunity for small businesses should the U.S. start to export natural gas.

An overview of the report from the SBE Council:
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

EPA Extends Deadline for Public Input on Fracking
May 1, 2013May 1, 2013

Yesterday, Apr. 30, was to be the final day for the general public to “submit data and scientific literature” to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assist the EPA with their multi-year study of fracking. However, the EPA posted a notice in yesterday’s Federal Register (see it embedded below) extending the deadline to Nov. 15. A final report from the EPA is due in 2014–no word if this extension will prompt a slippage in that date too.

Why the change in deadline?…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Research

House Members to EPA: More Details on Fracking Research or No $$
April 29, 2013April 29, 2013

On Friday, House Republicans at a hearing of the Energy and Environment subcommittee focusing on fracking raked the EPA representative over the coals because of the agency’s so-called research that has “misled the public” on the environmental and health risks of fracking. The House spent $45 million last year on said research, and the EPA is requesting another $38 million this year. House Republicans want to know more about that research before they’ll spend another dime on it…

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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Research

Obama Slashes EIA Budget, Nixes Annual Energy Review
April 29, 2013April 29, 2013

The Obama administration, in a juvenile, punitive exercise to punish as many Americans as possible to make a political point about the recent budget sequestration vote to reduce the rate of increase in federal spending by 2%, continues to select key agencies like the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) and now the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to make highly visible, draconian cuts, instead of shaving a dollar or two off the monthly welfare checks for those who refuse to work.

Last week the EIA announced because of budget cuts they will no longer publish their Annual Energy Review and its companion publication, Energy Perspectives—publications they’ve issued for decades. Once again the Obama administration behaves like a petulant child…

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Research | Trucking

Three Ways the Shale Boom will Impact the Trucking Industry
April 22, 2013April 22, 2013

In January, MDN told you about the results of a survey conducted by Benesch, a large law firm with offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other oil and gas states, the National Tank Truck Carriers association and the Ohio Trucking Association (see Marcellus/Utica Shale Drilling is Good for Trucking Industry). The survey found shale activity is having a positive impact on the trucking industry, creating an increase in opportunities and profits that is expected to continue into the future. The survey also found significant job growth is a byproduct of shale drilling.

Benesch has written and released a new white paper based on the findings of the survey (embedded below), titled: “3 Ways the Shale Boom Will Impact the Trucking Industry.” The paper is short, well-written, and shows how the growth in trucking is directly tied to the growth in shale drilling—and a harbinger of economic growth for the future…

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Industrywide Issues | Research

API’s 1Q13 Well Completions Report: NatGas Wells Down 26%
April 17, 2013

Although (sadly) MDN does not have access to the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) Quarterly Well Completion Report, we do have the high level takeaway from the first quarter 2013 edition: oil well completions are up 20%, and natural gas well completions are down 26%.

There’s a pretty simple equation at work: Low commodity price = less drilling = fewer completions. When the commodity price of natural gas is low, drillers slow down or stop drilling (as reflected by lower rig counts), and the the less drilling they do, the fewer wells get drilled and completed. The (very) brief press release from API which contains a few interesting numbers:
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Marcellus Region Contains Huge 33% of All U.S. Recoverable NatGas
April 10, 2013April 9, 2013

The Potential Gas Committee (PGC), a private non-profit organization loosely affiliated with the Colorado School of Mines, performs a comprehensive study of potential supplies of natural gas in the United States every two years. The 2012 study has just been released and it’s truly astonishing. PGC says as of the end of 2012, the U.S. has a technically recoverable resource base of 2,384 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas—the highest number they’ve seen since they started their evaluations 48 years ago. The 2012 number is a whopping 26% increase from just two years ago, when it was 1,898 Tcf. (MDN has embedded a slide presentation below with some useful charts—be sure to check out the chart on page 7.)

Aside from the sheer increase, the other major item to note about the 2012 study is that the PGC credits the Marcellus Shale with pushing the "Atlantic region" of the country to the top as the country’s "richest resource area" with a full 33% of recoverable natural gas. PGC credits the Marcellus Shale for the Atlantic’s rise to prominence. Thank you for fracking!

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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

New Report: Reasons for U.S. Dramatic Increase in O&G Production
April 4, 2013April 4, 2013

Robert Bryce, an author for more than two decades and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Energy Policy and the Environment has just released an important new report titled, “New Technology for Old Fuels: Innovation in Oil and Natural Gas Production Assures Future Supplies” (full copy embedded below). In the opening of the report, Bryce shares a startling fact: “In 2012, U.S. oil production rose by 790,000 barrels per day, the biggest annual increase since U.S. oil production began in 1859. In 2013, the Energy Information Administration expects production to rise yet again, by 815,000 barrels per day, which would set another record. Domestic natural gas production is also at record levels.”

How and why has production increased so dramatically in the past few years? The obvious (to us) answer is shale, but it’s not that simple. Bryce’s report delves into the confluence of reasons for why oil and gas production has gone up, and will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. His reasons include better technology and better methods of drilling. Here’s the executive summary of the report, which includes his key findings:

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

OOGA Report on Ohio Utica Drilling for 2012 – Charts & Maps
April 3, 2013April 3, 2013

At the recent winter meeting of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, OOGA presented the DeBrosse Memorial Report: 2012 Oil and Gas Activity in Ohio. Chock-full of interesting charts and maps showing who drilled wells in Ohio, where they drilled them and how far (distance) the wells were drilled, the report (full copy embedded below) is a must-read if you have an interest in the Utica Shale.

A few highlights:

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Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Research

New Report on Important-but-Overlooked Natural Gas Liquids
April 2, 2013April 2, 2013

The Brookings Institution, one of America’s oldest Washington, D.C.-based think tanks, conducts (and shares) research on a variety of topics, mostly economics-related. Brookings recently released a new report titled: Natural Gas Liquids (full copy embedded below). The report focuses on an aspect of the shale revolution researchers at Brookings believe is often overlooked–but critically important.

From the basics of describing what NGLs are and where they are found to how they are mined and the economics and key players–this short 15-page report does an excellent job of briefing readers without becoming a data dump. Here’s a brief description of the report and a summary of its five key takeaways, from the Brookings website:
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Education | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Penn State Establishes New Institute for Natural Gas Research
April 1, 2013April 1, 2013

Penn State is one of only 17 U.S. institutions with an accredited petroleum engineering program. As of March, it’s now one of just two with the term “natural gas” in the title of its program. In early March, Penn State announced the establishment of the Institute for Natural Gas Research (INGaR). The new program is a collaboration of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and the College of Engineering with professors from some other departments too.

INGaR’s aim is to keep Pennsylvania “at the forefront” of the shale gas drilling industry:
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Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Susquehanna County | Wildlife

USGS Study: Marcellus Drilling Fragmenting Forests in PA
March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

The U.S. Geological Survey earlier this week released a new report raising concerns about Marcellus Shale drilling in the Allegheny Plateau (pretty much the entire Marcellus region). The 38-page report (full copy embedded below) looks at two counties in particular: Susquehanna County in northeastern PA, and Allegheny County in southwestern PA.

Using a series of maps and data, the authors raise concerns that Marcellus drilling, along with drilling for gas in coalbed methane (a similar process), is leading to “forest fragmentation”—a situation where forested areas get “carved up” with roadways and drill pads that lead to limiting the geographic habitat area for some species of animals:

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