New York

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

Will Fracking in NY Only be Done in Supportive Communities?
April 23, 2012April 23, 2012

$frack here frack now$ In an interesting development in the long fight to allow shale gas drilling in New York State, two key state senators are signaling a compromise may come in the form of, “if you want it, you can get it” with respect to fracking. That is, communities that support fracking will likely be the ones who will get it, at least at first, and maybe they will be the only ones to get it.

Read More “Will Fracking in NY Only be Done in Supportive Communities?”
Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation

Binghamton Fracking Ban Heading to Court
April 23, 2012April 23, 2012

Last December, at the eleventh hour shortly before Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan knew he would lose his all-Democrat city council and hence an opportunity to stick it to the drilling industry, Ryan forced through a vote on a measure to ban fracking within the city limits for a period of two years (see this MDN story). There’s just one problem with the ban as enacted—it isn’t legal, at least according to attorneys Robert Wedlake and Kenneth Kamlet, who have sent a letter to the city demanding they either follow the law or they’re going to court.

Read More “Binghamton Fracking Ban Heading to Court”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Update: New Rules Won’t Be Done Before Fall
April 20, 2012April 20, 2012

Is it any surprise that eager beaver, go-get-em NY Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens now says that his department’s review of comments on proposed new fracking rules won’t be done before end of summer, “perhaps”? No, not a surprise at all. This is typical Martens delay tactic behavior.

Martens, speaking in Albany on Thursday, told business leaders of this arbitrary new delay. Can anyone say “productivity challenged”?

Read More “NY Update: New Rules Won’t Be Done Before Fall”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Timeline for New York Drilling Ban Court Case
April 20, 2012April 20, 2012

Tom West, an attorney handling a combined appeal of two New York cases where local judges upheld drilling bans passed by local townships, laid out a timeline for when the combined case will be heard and decided at an Albany conference yesterday. The two original cases are from Dryden, in Tompkins County, and Middlefield, in Otsego County.

Read More “Timeline for New York Drilling Ban Court Case”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

NY Post Picks Up on Anti-Fracking Preservation League
April 20, 2012April 20, 2012

At the end of March, MDN told you about the latest anti-fracking group to come along, The Preservation League of New York State (see this MDN story). The editorial page of the New York Post has now picked up on the same story:

Read More “NY Post Picks Up on Anti-Fracking Preservation League”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

Park Foundation Admits Anti-Fracking Advocacy
April 16, 2012April 16, 2012

Kind of interesting that the anti-drilling Park Foundation has outted itself as one of the major funding sources of anti-fracking movement. An article in the Sunday Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin (and run in other Gannett newspapers) chronicles that the Park Foundation, a foundation started by Roy Park, media mogul, has funneled more than $3 million to anti-drilling groups since 2009. Energy in Depth has long exposed the Park Foundation, headquartered in Ithaca, NY as a major source of funding for anti-drilling groups. Apparently the mainstream media can no longer ignore this 800 pound gorilla in the room, and so has spun a story about how wonderful it is that the tiny Park Foundation is doing this bit of community work as an antidote to the evil, nasty behemoth drilling industry. Nice try MSM.

Read More “Park Foundation Admits Anti-Fracking Advocacy”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

Anti-Drillers Organize to Oppose LPG Fracking in NY
April 13, 2012April 13, 2012

It’s time for MDN to say, “I told you so.” More than two weeks ago MDN said the following when it was announced a group of New York landowners are about to sign a lease and move forward with waterless LPG fracking technology:

So MDN asks, what will the enviro-left do when all of their stated reasons for opposing fracking are gone? That’s right, they’ll invent new reasons to continue covering the ugly fact that they are prejudiced against fossil fuels and that anything not “sustainable” and “alternative” is not acceptable in their worldview. It will be fascinating to watch how this develops. (MDN: Alternative Fracking Method May Soon Debut – in New York!)

Read More “Anti-Drillers Organize to Oppose LPG Fracking in NY”
Broome County | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | New York

Packed House for First-Ever NY NatGas Career Expo
April 12, 2012April 12, 2012

Jobs in the shale gas industry was the focus of the first ever Natural Gas Career and Education Expo held at Broome Community College in Binghamton, NY yesterday. MDN editor Jim Willis attended.

Upon arriving, there was a line of 50 or more people waiting to get in to a packed exhibition area with more than 40 vendors, most of whom were looking for people to fill open positions. Exhibitors ranged from large oil and gas companies like Williams, Cabot Oil & Gas and Chesapeake Energy, to environmental consulting firms, equipment dealers and educational programs. Much of the time between 3 and 7 pm the exhibit area was packed, elbow to elbow, with job seekers. Early estimates MDN heard were that more than ~~400~~ 2,300 people attended the four hour event (see this article by the Press & Sun-Bulletin).

Read More “Packed House for First-Ever NY NatGas Career Expo”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Otsego County | Regulation

Pittsfield, NY Votes to NOT Ban Fracking
April 12, 2012April 12, 2012

While attending the first ever Natural Gas Career and Education Expo held at Broome Community College yesterday, MDN learned of some good news—news that does not get reported by local or statewide media. Board members for the Town of Pittsfield, NY voted earlier this week to table a measure that would ban fracking. Pittsfield is a small township in Otsego County, not far from Middlefield where a lawsuit is underway to overturn a fracking ban there.

Read More “Pittsfield, NY Votes to NOT Ban Fracking”
Broome County | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Meetings | New York

NY’s First NatGas Career Expo Today in Binghamton
April 11, 2012April 11, 2012

If you live anywhere near the Binghamton, NY area, you might want to swing by Broome Community College this afternoon (April 11) between 3-7 pm. The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York together with Broome-Tioga Workforce NY is sponsoring the “Natural Gas Career and Education Expo” – reported to be the first such shale gas career expo in New York State. Over 40 vendors will have booths at the expo. (MDN was at first offered a booth, then the offer was retracted. We’re disappointed, but will still be attending to cover the event.)

There’s a full agenda of seminar sessions—see the agenda and list of vendors lucky enough to get a booth (embedded below). The event will be a great opportunity for those interested in jobs in the shale gas industry to gather and find out more. And yes, there are many New York residents in Broome County and surrounding areas who are landing jobs in the the drilling industry—because of the drilling that’s happening just across the border in Susquehanna County, PA and other northeastern PA counties. Thank you PA!

Read More “NY’s First NatGas Career Expo Today in Binghamton”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Ulster County

Olive, NY Town Board Votes to Ban Fracking
April 11, 2012April 11, 2012

Another town in New York has decided to ban hydraulic fracturing—this one in Ulster County:

Read More “Olive, NY Town Board Votes to Ban Fracking”
Chenango County | Lease & Royalty Payments | New York

TX Land Company Preys on Chenango County, NY Landowners
April 11, 2012April 11, 2012

Perhaps sensing an opportunity with an ongoing, now four-year-old drilling moratorium and the desperation of some landowners in New York State, a Texas-based land company is soliciting property owners in Chenango County, NY to purchase a 50 percent share of their mineral rights for $1,000 per acre. While it may technically be legal, county officials warn landowners that such a deal will damage the value of their property:

Read More “TX Land Company Preys on Chenango County, NY Landowners”
Commodity Price | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Statewide NY | Statewide PA | Steuben County

NY Customers See 50% Price Decrease from PA Marcellus Gas
April 10, 2012April 10, 2012

Utility customers of Corning Natural Gas Corp. in New York State’s Finger Lakes region can thank their neighbors south of the border in Pennsylvania that they are now paying 50 percent less for their natural gas than they paid just one year ago. And they can also thank the energy companies who use hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale.

Read More “NY Customers See 50% Price Decrease from PA Marcellus Gas”
Education | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

SUNY’s First Shale Institute to be Located in…Buffalo?
April 9, 2012April 9, 2012

The State University of New York (SUNY) system with 64 campuses across the state has its first bona fide shale institute, but it’s not located in the hotbed of where shale drilling will happen, when it happens. Drilling will likely be prevalent in what is known as the Southern Tier of New York, counties like Broome, Tioga, Chemung, Steuben, and perhaps northward into Tompkins, Cortland and Chenango, and east to Otsego, and Delaware. That’s likely where you’ll see the first permits and the first wells drilled.

But the first SUNY shale institute will be located at the University of Buffalo. From the UB press release:

Read More “SUNY’s First Shale Institute to be Located in…Buffalo?”
Broome County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Equinor/Statoil | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Tioga County (NY)

Judge Orders Arbitration in Chesapeake ‘Force Majeure’ Case
April 5, 2012April 5, 2012

U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd ordered that a lease dispute case between a group of landowners in Broome and Tioga counties (New York) and Chesapeake Energy will go to arbitration for about 150 of the landowners. That’s not-so-good news for those landowners who want to keep the case in federal court. But he also ruled a second case with 32 landowners can go forward in federal court because those leases did not contain an arbitration clause. That’s good news for those landowners, and may end up being good news for those in arbitration. A copy of the judge’s order is embedded below.

Read More “Judge Orders Arbitration in Chesapeake ‘Force Majeure’ Case”
eCORP International | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Landowner Coalition News | Lease & Royalty Payments | New York | Tioga County (NY)

eCORP & Tioga County Landowners Become Partners in Lease Deal
April 4, 2012April 4, 2012

eCORP International and the Tioga County (NY) Landowners Group, also known as Southern Tier Energy Partners (STEP), released details of their new deal to lease 135,000 acres in Tioga County, NY with an eye to using LPG waterless fracking (press release below). It is an interesting deal—not at all typical of the usual leases between drillers and landowners. Perhaps it’s the way of the future in a low commodity gas price environment?

Here’s the low down: eCORP and STEP crafted a deal that makes landowners majority owners of shell companies that control the land. That is, the landowners will become “drillers,” or rather silent partners with the main driller, eCORP—but partners nonetheless, and they collectively will be majority partners, with eCORP a minority partner. eCORP and STEP are tying the knot and getting married—for this deal.

Read More “eCORP & Tioga County Landowners Become Partners in Lease Deal”