President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, in which he openly supports drilling for natural gas and the “safe” use of hydraulic fracturing, has given a glimmer of hope to landowners in New York State that perhaps the President’s support for fracking will finally end the moratorium on drilling in New York.
Read More “Obama Speech Gives NYers Hope that Fracking Will Soon Begin”
Norse Energy, with leased acreage in both the Marcellus and Utica Shales in New York State, has been fighting to keep the company afloat until New York finally allows hydraulic fracturing and they can take advantage of their leaseholds. But to keep holding on, they’ve sold off bits and pieces of their leaseholds, as well as bits and pieces of the company. A few weeks ago they converted $3.5 million of bonds (or debt) into stock (or ownership) of the company (see this MDN story).
Yesterday, we learned they’ve sold off another $12.5 million of the company in another bonds for stock swap deal. And now they’re making the same offer to all of their bondholders: Let’s make a deal—soon.
Read More “Norse Energy Continues Selling Pieces of the Company”
The fight to allow safe natural gas drilling to commence in New York State is being fought on multiple fronts. One of the most prominent groups standing up for landowner rights in New York is the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY). The group is in essence a “coalition of coalitions,” representing 38 landowner coalitions with an aggregate 800,000 acres of land in the Marcellus Shale.
The JLCNY issued the email below, outlining their opposition to yet another attack on drilling in the state—new legislation proposed by State Senator James Seward (Republican) that would tie up drilling in the state by allowing local municipalities to ban and regulate drilling within their borders.
Read More “NY Landowner Coalitions Push Back Against Home Rule Bill”
As predicted yesterday (see this MDN story), NY State Sen. Greg Ball, a RINO from Putnam County, introduced legislation into the Senate yesterday that would extend the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in New York until June 1, 2013. Fortunately not many of his colleagues in the Republican-controlled Senate agree with him, making passage of the bill unlikely.
Read More “Bill to Extend Fracking Moratorium until 2013 Hits NY Senate”
New legislation will be introduced in the New York Assembly today to extend the moratorium on fracking in New York State until either June, or “the end of” 2013, depending on the news source. MDN previously warned that this was coming (see this MDN story).
The bill will be introduced in the Assembly by Robert Sweeney, and likely will be introduced into the Senate by Greg Ball.
Read More “Bill Extending NY Fracking Moratorium Hits Assembly Today”
Although pro-drilling groups in New York are attempting to put a positive face on it, yesterday NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state has not yet made a determination on whether fracking will be allowed. Not “when” it will be allowed, but “whether” it will be allowed. He said, “We haven’t made that determination.” His remarks in context were about whether the state will add funding in this year’s budget (being released today) for an estimated 140 regulators that would be needed if fracking were to begin.
At a minimum, it seems Cuomo is saying that fracking won’t be a resolved issue during this budget year, although his remarks are not exactly clear.
Read More “NY Gov. Cuomo Signals Drilling Not Likely to Happen in 2012”
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a 26-page critique of New York’s draft hydraulic fracturing regulations, known as the SGEIS, three hours before the filing deadline on Wednesday (a copy of the letter is embedded below). This is the same EPA that just started a multi-year study of fracking that’s not due to be completed until 2014. Funny how they can be experts on fracking now, although their plan for how to study fracking was only released two months ago and they’ve barely begun to study it (see this MDN story).
This is also the same EPA who decided there was no problem with drinking water in Dimock, then said there’s gaps in the data, decided to ship water to Dimock residents, recanted on the water shipments less than 24 hours later, and has been silent since. Yeah, that EPA.
Read More “EPA’s Judith Enck Critiques NY Fracking Regulations”
Today is the latest deadline from New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens to file comments on New York’s proposed new drilling rules, known as the SGEIS. Yesterday, both pro- and anti-drilling groups descended on Albany with thousands of letters of support (or opposition). Prior to yesterday the DEC reported having received over 20,000 written statements. That number, after yesterday, is likely to double.
Read More “Today: NY Deadline Day for Comments on New Drilling Regs”
A surprisingly balanced article in the New York Times yesterday takes a look at the anti-drilling movement in New York State. The article, written by Peter Applebome, focuses on the “divide” in the anti-drilling movement between those who want strict drilling laws in New York versus those who want to ban drilling outright.
Read More “NYT: Kerfuffle Among Anti-Drilling Groups in New York”
Norse Energy, with substantial leases in New York State, clings to the hope that New York will soon allow shale gas drilling. In the meantime, they continue to try and hold on. Last week they sold some of their NY acreage along with a slice of the royalty rights on acreage they retain for $26.7 million (see this MDN story). Today we learn that Norse is converting $3.5 million worth of debt they owe into equity. That is, they’ve sold off another slice of the company by swapping bonds for stocks.
Read More “Norse Energy Converts $3.5M in Bonds into Stock Ownership”
Gannett reporter Jon Campbell reports that a bill to extend New York’s moratorium on hydraulic fracturing until June 2013 is now circulating in Albany and is expected to be introduced soon by the the Assembly environmental chairman:
Read More “New Fracking Moratorium Bill Coming in NY Legislature”
Yesterday, all eyes were on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his second “State of the State” address, delivered in Albany. The popular governor has walked a tightrope on the issue of hydraulic fracturing, but after yesterday’s speech, MDN wonders if he’s fallen off that tightrope.
Since his inauguration in 2011, Gov. Cuomo has seemed to be on the side of allowing gas drilling, but then, good politicians “seem” to be on everyone’s side at one point or another. Gov. Cuomo was due to address the issue of fracking in yesterday’s speech. In fact, there’s a short 125 words dedicated to it under the subtitle of “Hydraulic Fracturing in the Southern Tier.” The interesting thing is, he left that section out when he delivered the speech—he never uttered the words. Here’s what he was going to say:
Read More “NY Gov. Cuomo Dumps Reference to Fracking in Big Speech”
In the ongoing struggle to start gas drilling in New York State, those who oppose it, including State Senator James Seward of Oneonta (a RINO), are trying a new tactic. That new tactic is to take the fight local, in town by town, by using “home rule” laws. But they have a hurdle to jump first: New York State law currently does not permit local municipalities to regulate oil and gas drilling.
Read More “Anti-Frackers in NY Target Cuomo with Home Rule Legislation”
Norwegian gas driller Norse Energy has sold off some of its leased acreage in Central New York State, along with a slice of future royalties in acreage for which it retains control. The complicated deal to an unnamed buyer for $26.7 million is to sell all interests in 22,700 acres, and various rates of royalty interests on other leases that Norse retains (see the press release below).
Norse will retain control of 160,000 leased acres in New York, of which 110,000 acres are located in the Marcellus and Utica Shale play areas, in the hope that New York will soon release final drilling rules that will allow it to tap into shale gas in the state.
Read More “Norse Energy Sells Some of Its NY Acreage/Interests”
New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens continues the delay and stall tactics he’s become known for on the issue of shale gas drilling in the state. The latest Martens delay came this week when he asked an outside consulting firm—Ecology & Environment—to take a closer look at costs fracking would create for local communities.
Read More “NY DEC Joe Martens – Another Week, Another Delay in Fracking”
Results from two different surveys on resident’s attitudes toward shale gas drilling in New York and Pennsylvania were delivered at the Agribusiness Economic Outlook Conference, held Dec. 13 at Cornell University. Richard Stedman, associate professor of natural resources at Cornell, reported the following from a survey of 6,000 residents in both New York and Pennsylvania:
Read More “Cornell Conference: Majorities in NY & PA Support Drilling”