Summit Midstream Partners, formed in 2009 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, operates natural gas, crude oil, and produced water gathering (pipeline) systems in several unconventional shale plays, including the Marcellus and Utica. Last week Summit issued its first-quarter 2021 update. The company’s Utica Shale segment continued to be the star performer.
Read More “Summit Midstream 1Q21 – Utica Volumes & Profits Go Up”
Ohio has roughly 1,000 sites on its official orphan well inventory list. But that’s just the official list. Based on recent tests using drones equipped with magnetometers to locate undiscovered orphaned wells, there are “likely many more” according to Eric Vendel, chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management. Orphan wells are wells where no legally responsible owner can be found. However, you first have to know the well exists before you can work on getting it plugged.
Read More “Using Drones to Find Hidden Orphaned Oil & Gas Wells in Ohio”
Anti-fossil fuel activist Jill Antares Hunkler (whom we had never heard of before) testified before the same House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s environment subcommittee that Swedish special needs child (and minor celebrity) Greta Thunberg testified before on Earth Day. The two (plus others) peddled the same tired lies they always peddle about fossil fuels in general, and the Ohio shale industry in particular. A member of the Ohio O&G industry is standing up to challenge their lies.
Read More “Ohio O&G Responds with Truth to Enviro-Lies of Thunberg, Hunkler”
Each year Cleveland State University publishes a report for JobsOhio looking at how much money has been invested by the private sector in the Utica Shale (and related) industry. CSU’s ninth Shale Investment Dashboard report (full copy below) was recently released and shows some eye-popping numbers. Total shale investment in upstream, midstream, and downstream from January through June (1H) 2020 was $4.2 billion, up 37% from $3.06 billion invested in July through December (2H) 2019. However, there are some key differences in the spending between the two periods.
Read More “$4.2B Invested in OH Utica First Half 2020; Downstream Explodes”
Last November Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled), filed for a “pre-arranged” Chapter 11 bankruptcy (see Gulfport Energy Files for Pre-arranged Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). Gulfport’s bankruptcy road has been bumpy (see Gulfport’s Bumpy Bankruptcy – Asset Transfer, Exec Bonuses Questioned). Apparently, the bumps have been smoothed over. Earlier this week the judge in the case approved the plan after Gulfport reached settlement terms with unsecured creditors.
Read More “Gulfport Cleared for Ch. 11 Plan, Cuts Debt by $1.4B”
According to an extensive article appearing in the Pipeline & Gas Journal, “the oil and gas industry [in the Marcellus/Utica] is ready to pick up where it left off in 2019.” The Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) says “2021 is looking up.” However, nobody in the midstream is planning to build new pipelines anytime soon. That spells trouble ahead for prices. Increasing production without new pipeline capacity to transport the increased production to other markets equals stagnant (or even falling) prices.
Read More “M-U Drillers Begin to Increase Activity, but No New Pipes”
Ohio’s Seventh District Court recently delivered a ruling that affects landowners/rights owners as well as drillers. In Tomechko v. Garrett (full copy below), the justices ruled that “adverse possession” of shallow gas rights expands to include deep gas rights (i.e. shale rights) in cases where shallow production “modified the subterranean structure.” According to the legal experts at Frost Brown Todd, “the Seventh District’s ruling strains credulity” and has the potential to “have unintended consequences and will almost certainly result in greater uncertainty and litigation.”
Read More “OH Court Rules Adverse Possession of Shallow Minerals Includes Shale”
Here’s an interesting twist on building new oil and gas pipelines in Ohio. Due to a late filing made by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), from now on interstate pipeline builders will *not* need to seek and receive a federal section 401 water permit under the Clean Water Act from the Ohio EPA to build the pipeline. Instead, the pipeline builder can just ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP12). Ohio EPA has been problematic for pipelines in the past (see Ohio EPA Takes One More Swipe at Rover Pipe with FERC Notice). Perhaps the days of EPA interference are now gone in the Buckeye State?
Read More “O&G Pipe Builders in OH can Bypass EPA, Get Permit from Army Corps”
Ohio’s House Bill (HB) 6 law granted billions (plural) of dollars to FirstEnergy in an attempt to prop up the company’s economically failing nuclear power plants. FirstEnergy is accused of bribing state legislators to pass, and keep passed, HB 6 by paying out $61 million (see FirstEnergy Involved in Bribery Scheme to Pass $1B Nuke Bailout Law). It is the biggest bribery scandal in Ohio history. FirstEnergy finally, openly, admitted they paid the bribe money (see FirstEnergy Admits to $61M Payment in Massive Bribery Scandal). However, the company has refused to admit that what they did is a crime. That appears to be changing.
Read More “FirstEnergy in Talks to Plead Guilty in Massive OH Nuke Bribery Case”
Each quarter the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) issues an update on Utica (and Marcellus) oil and natural gas production. ODNR no longer issues a summary press release as they once did, which means the quarterly updates kind of fell off our radar. An astute MDN subscriber emailed to ask about the 4Q numbers for Ohio. We checked and discovered we had only reported on 2Q numbers for all of 2020! Today we correct that oversight. ODNR publishes a detailed spreadsheet of all active wells showing oil and gas production by well. We make a copy of that spreadsheet, enhance it to make it more usable, and link to it–for each quarter in 2020. We also do our own sorting to show you the top 25 shale gas wells and top 25 shale oil wells for each quarter in 2020.
Read More “Ohio Utica Shale Production 2020 by Quarter + Top 25 Gas & Oil Wells”
Last week, after months and months of dithering around, the Ohio legislature passed a bill that overturns and rescinds House Bill (HB) 6, legislation adopted in 2019 due to $61 million in bribes spread around by FirstEnergy (see Kicking & Screaming, OH Legislature Votes to Overturn HB 6 Nuke Bill). Gov. Mike DeWine signed the new bill overturning HB 6 into law last Wednesday. HB 6 created a new tax on all Ohio electric ratepayers to funnel $150 million per year (for seven years) into FirstEnergy’s coffers in order to prop up the company’s two economically failing nuclear power plants in the state. At least, that was the reason given. Last week FirstEnergy refunded $26 million in previously collected fees back to ratepayers.
Read More “FirstEnergy Issues $26M Refund to Ohio Ratepayers re Nuke Bribes”
Finally! After months and months of dithering around, the Ohio legislature has passed a bill that will overturn and rescind House Bill (HB) 6, the legislation that got passed due to $61 million in bribes spread around by FirstEnergy in what has become Ohio’s biggest bribery scandal ever (see FirstEnergy Involved in Bribery Scheme to Pass $1B Nuke Bailout Law). HB 6 created a new tax on all Ohio electric ratepayers to funnel $150 million per year (for seven years) into FirstEnergy’s coffers in order to prop up the company’s economically failing nuclear power plants in the state.
Read More “Kicking & Screaming, OH Legislature Votes to Overturn HB 6 Nuke Bill”
The Enervus U.S. rig count continues to climb (a very good sign). For the week ending March 24, the U.S. rig count climbed another 11 active rigs to 513. The oil-focused Permian Basin added eight new rigs. The Marcellus stayed even at 33 active rigs while the Ohio Utica picked up one active rig and now has 12 active rigs. The other major shale gas play, the Haynesville, stayed even at 47 active rigs.
Read More “Everus U.S. Rig Count @ 513 (+11); Marcellus @ 33, Utica @ 12 (+1)”
Neil Clark, 67, was arrested last July and charged with racketeering as part of a federal investigation into House Bill 6 (see FirstEnergy Involved in Bribery Scheme to Pass $1B Nuke Bailout Law). Clark was a “close political ally of then-House Speaker Larry Householder.” Householder, since removed from his position, seems to be at the center of the scandal. Federal prosecutors described Clark as Householder’s “enforcer” who coordinated supporters and fundraising efforts. Clark was found dead in Florida on Monday.
Read More “Lobbyist Charged in FirstEnergy Bribery Scandal Found Dead in FL”
Earlier this week the Ohio Supreme Court expanded on one of its prior rulings concerning the Ohio Marketable Title Act (MTA) to try and make things a little bit clearer concerning previously severed mineral rights (severed from surface rights). What is at stake in the MTA is whether surface rights owners can regain possession of mineral rights by using the MTA–at least in some cases. Indeed they can, but certain rules must be obeyed.
Read More “OH Supreme Court Clarifies Nuanced Exception re MTA Mineral Rights”
Natural gas supporters in the Ohio and Pennsylvania legislatures are working to pass bills that will prohibit local municipalities in the state from banning the use of natural gas. Smart move. You might think such bans would not, could not happen in big oil and gas producing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia. You would be wrong. The cancer of anti-fossil fuel radicalism has spread across the country, funded by Big Green groups (like the Sierra Club), and is coming to a local municipality near you. Best to get out in front of it (on the state level) right now and ensure it doesn’t happen here, in the heart of the Marcellus/Utica.
Read More “OH, PA Bills Prevent Natural Gas Bans by Local Municipalities”