New York

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:

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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Energy Services | GASFRAC | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY | Tioga County (NY)

Anti-Driller Campaign Against LPG Fracking Begins in NY
April 2, 2012April 2, 2012

It certainly didn’t taken long for anti-drillers to start talking down LPG (waterless) fracking. Just last week, a Tioga County, NY landowner group announced they will sign a lease with eCorp to allow drilling on 135,000 acres in New York using a proprietary technology by Canadian company GASFRAC (see this MDN story). The waterless technology uses liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a gel-like substance that replaces water in fracking. Perhaps most importantly, by using LPG fracking, eCorp can move ahead with permitting and drilling now (in New York!), ahead of the release of new fracking regulations that have been stalled in a four-year review process.

MDN predicted that with almost all stated reasons to oppose water-based fracking now removed, anti-drillers would invent new reasons to oppose LPG fracking. MDN’s prediction has already come true. An article printed in the “news” section of the Albany Times Union, which clearly is an opinion piece, says this:

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New York | Tompkins County

Park Foundation Continues to Fund Anti-Drilling Groups
April 2, 2012April 2, 2012

Once again the Park Foundation, a philanthropic organization started by famed media mogul Roy Park, continues to fund anti-drilling activities. The latest example is the announcement of nearly $6 million in new grants from the Park Foundation. Nearly $3.3 million are scholarships for Ithaca College students, class of 2017. Just over a half million dollars will go to organizations, projects and programs in Tompkins County.

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Anadarko | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Otsego County | Regulation | Statewide NY | Tompkins County

Dryden & Middlefield NY Drilling Bans Officially Appealed
March 30, 2012March 30, 2012

An update on the two New York lawsuits recently decided in lower courts that upheld local municipal bans on hydraulic fracturing and gas drilling:

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Energy Services | GASFRAC | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Tioga County (NY)

GASFRAC’s LPG Fracking Method (and Future) Looking Good
March 30, 2012March 30, 2012

In a follow-up to yesterday’s blockbuster news that fracking may begin in New York sooner rather than later if Tioga County, NY landowners move forward with LPG fracking (see this MDN story), the website Seeking Alpha makes the following interesting comment about the proprietary LPG technology used by GASFRAC, and about GASFRAC’s future prospects:

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New York | Statewide NY

Preservation League New York’s Newest Anti-Drilling Group
March 30, 2012March 30, 2012

Surprise! There’s a new anti-drilling organization in New York State (where new anti-drilling organizations pop up like flies). You can now add the Preservation League of New York State to the list of those who want to strip away property rights from individuals in order to enforce their worldview on others. From the New York Times Green blog:

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Energy Services | GASFRAC | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Landowner Coalition News | New York | Regulation | Tioga County (NY)

Alternative Fracking Method May Soon Debut – in New York!
March 29, 2012March 29, 2012

The anti-drilling crowd is about to be tested as to their true reasons for opposing shale gas drilling, and it will happen in leftist paradise—New York State.

What if you removed 99 percent of the stated objections to fracking? Took away the millions of gallons of water needed to frack a single well? Took away almost all of the chemicals used? Took away fracking wastewater that either needs to be recycled or treated or injected into a deep well? Took away almost all of the heavy truck traffic and noise and other industrialization concerns? In short—what if you took away almost every reason to oppose gas drilling?

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

NY Universities to Buy Cheap PA Marcellus Shale Gas
March 29, 2012March 29, 2012

Oh the irony of it. New York State wants cheap natural gas—and in fact the state wants shale gas—but they won’t allow drilling. That doesn’t stop state officials from recognizing a good deal when they see it. So New York has struck a deal to buy shale gas from Pennsylvania for five NY state universities. Why? Because it’s cheap!

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New York | Statewide NY

NY Anti-Fracking Groups Join Forces
March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

Sensing that Gov. Andrew Cuomo may be close to moving forward with issuing permits for shale gas drilling, anti-drilling groups are joining forces in New York State to form a coalition called New Yorkers Against Fracking. Movie star Mark Ruffalo, who plays Bruce Banner (the Hulk) in the upcoming movie The Avengers, is on board with the effort. (Those who support drilling may want to consider bypassing The Avengers to send a message to Mr. Ruffalo and Hollywood.)

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Statewide NY

New NatGas Pipeline to NYC Receives FERC Endorsement
March 19, 2012March 19, 2012

A proposed natural gas pipeline extension that would run from Staten Island through Bayonne, NJ, and Jersey City to the West Village in Manhattan has received the endorsement of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commisssion (FERC), the agency that has final say in the $850 million project.

The project has faced opposition from groups in both NY and NJ. A final decision will be made in a vote by the five-member commission.

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Energy Companies | New York | Norse Energy | Statewide NY

Norse Energy Sells Off Another Piece of the Company
March 15, 2012March 15, 2012

Norwegian driller Norse Energy’s U.S. subsidiary, with significant acreage in upstate New York, continues to sell off bits and pieces of its New York operation. Norse’s strategy has been to stay alive long enough for New York to adopt new drilling regulations and lift the de facto moratorium on Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling in the state. Norse’s latest sale is to a former Norse CEO.

From the Norse press release:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

NY Democrat Assembly Tries New Tactic to Derail Fracking
March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

In a measure backed by the anti-drilling Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the New York State Assembly has set aside $100,000 to conduct an “independent” health impact study of hydraulic fracturing in its budget for next fiscal year. The measure was proposed by NY State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (Democrat from Ithaca, NY). Lifton is part of an anti-drilling cabal of the NRDC, Park Foundation and others who are desperately trying to prevent hydraulic fracturing from happening in New York State. Chief tactic number one? Slow it down by delays and studies until they can eventually kill it.

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