Statewide OH

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    Utica Driller Halcon Resources Up for Sale According to CEO

    MDN recently reported that Halcon Resources has stopped drilling on their leased land in the Utica Shale (see Halcon Resources Stops Drilling, Gives Up on the Utica Shale). Halcon’s blunt-talking CEO, Floyd Wilson, famously said he didn’t want to drill any more underperforming (he used more colorful language) wells in the Ohio’s northern Utica and instead seemed to say the company’s focus would be further south. Then the company said nyet–no more wells drilled in 2014 in the Utica. From Wilson’s remarks yesterday at the Howard Weil energy conference in New Orleans, it appears that Halcon may not drill any more wells in the Ohio Utica…ever.

    Wilson said yesterday at the investor’s conference that it is his end-game to sell Halcon to a bigger fish. Wilson started Halcon 2011. In order to sell the company, he’s working to make it more attractive to investors. Wilson knows a thing or two about building energy companies and selling them–he built up and sold Petrohawk Energy to BHP Billiton Plc in 2011 for $12.1 billion. Apparently he’s hoping to do something similar with Halcon, except this time around it’s more of a challenge. Below is a report on Wilson’s “Halcon is up for sale” remarks yesterday in New Orleans…
    Read More “Utica Driller Halcon Resources Up for Sale According to CEO”

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    Some Utica Players Tip Their Hand on Plans for Next 3-5 Years

    Although drillers are often mum on future plans, some drillers (and midstream companies) who participated in the recent Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) annual winter meeting earlier this month were helpfully chatty about what’s coming in the Ohio Utica over the next few years.

    Tom Knox, intrepid new reporter doing a great job at the Columbus Business Journal, was on hand at the OOGA meeting and took good notes. He reports on what PDC Energy, Antero Resources, Eclipse Resources and Enlink Midstream have planned in the next 3-5 years for the Utica…
    Read More “Some Utica Players Tip Their Hand on Plans for Next 3-5 Years”

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    FL Company Gets Contract to Process Chemical Sludge in Marcellus

    Handex Industrial Services (HIS), based in Winter Park, FL, announced yesterday that they’ve been awarded a $750,000 contract to clean and treat chemical “sludge” left over from treating frack wastewater for…someone. The customer is not named. Actually, we think the press release from HIS is a bit screwed up. It says the contract is with “an environmental engineering and consulting firm conducting hydraulic fracturing.” We think they mean “an oilfield services firm.” We’re not aware of any engineering firms that do fracking. Where is the unnamed company located? “…the Marcellus Shale Formation in east central Ohio.” Er, we think they mean the Utica Shale in east central Ohio. Is there Marcellus there? Yes. But not a lot of drilling in the Marcellus layer in that area at this time.

    At any rate, our point is this: A Florida company is doing work on cleaning up leftover chemical waste from frack wastewater. Other drillers/oilfield companies may be interested in knowing that, and other companies that can do the same thing located in the northeast should pay attention to the opportunities in their own back yard. Here’s the somewhat hard-to-understand press release from HIS:
    Read More “FL Company Gets Contract to Process Chemical Sludge in Marcellus”

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    More Predictions from Ohio’s State Geologist on Utica Drilling

    Yesterday MDN told you that the Ohio State Geologist, Mike McCormac, made a pretty bold prediction (see OH State Geologist Predicts 19K New Utica Wells in Next 19 Years). McCormac’s predictions and thinking are outlined in a new and as of yet, unreleased report. However, as we pointed out, the Akron Beacon Journal somehow got a copy and shared some of the highlights.

    The Beacon Journal has published a second article with even more tidbits from the soon-to-be-released report from McCormac:
    Read More “More Predictions from Ohio’s State Geologist on Utica Drilling”

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    New President Elected for 2 Year Term at OOGA

    Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) has a new president: David R. Hill has been elected to serve as president for a two-year term. Hill is a native Ohioan–a good thing since Gov. John “foreigner hunter” Kasich keeps an eye on these things. Hill is a long-time independent oil and gas producer and geologist based in Byesville, OH.

    The announcement from OOGA:
    Read More “New President Elected for 2 Year Term at OOGA”

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    OH State Geologist Predicts 19K New Utica Wells in Next 19 Years

    The Ohio State Geologist, Mike McCormac, predicts that 19,000 new Utica Shale wells will be drilled in Ohio in the next 19 years. Which sounds a bit ambitious to us–but then he’s the geologist and expert and we are not. We did, however, check the most recent available ODNR numbers and as of last Friday there have been 770 Utica wells drilled–in the last 3+ years. Hmmm. A thousand wells a year for 19 years?

    McCormac has drafted a new report with his predictions. It’s not been released to the public–yet. But apparently a copy was released to the Akron Beacon Journal. Intrepid reporter Bob Downing files this report, with a number of other interesting predictions and observations:
    Read More “OH State Geologist Predicts 19K New Utica Wells in Next 19 Years”

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    OH Landowners Question Chesapeake’s Royalty Calculations

    The bad news for Chesapeake just keeps rolling in. Not only are landowners in Pennsylvania up in arms over minuscule royalty checks (see Bradford PA Landowner Rally over Chesapeake Royalty Shenanigans), so too are Ohio landowners now questioning whether or not they’re getting the shaft from Chessy.

    As we mentioned last week, the anti-drilling site ProPublica published an “investigative” article trying to lay the blame for Chesapeake’s current bad behavior on the previous CEO (and founder) Aubrey McClendon (see Chesapeake Shafting Landowners out of Royalties Mess Gets Messier). In Ohio Chessy shows a big, fat zero in the column for post-production expenses deducted from the royalty payment. Some say that’s a lie…
    Read More “OH Landowners Question Chesapeake’s Royalty Calculations”

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    New Houston-based E&P Targeting Oily Plays, Including Utica Shale

    A brand new shale exploration & production (E&P or what we calling driller) has formed in Houston, TX, but it has its eyes set on the Utica Shale–at least in part. Rock Oil Holdings recently began operations and received a nice little $250 million cash infusion from New York-based energy equity firm Riverstone Holdings LLC. Rock Oil says they will concentrate their efforts in the Eagle Ford Shale, the Utica Shale and the Permian Basin, “which are well suited to the Company’s land and technical capabilities.” In other words, they’re targeting “oily” shale plays–those with the potential for crude and for natural gas liquids (NGLs).

    We’ll keep an eye out for Rock Oil in the coming months to see if they lease any Utica acreage. Meanwhile, here’s the announcement of Rock receiving start-up capital from Riverstone:
    Read More “New Houston-based E&P Targeting Oily Plays, Including Utica Shale”

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    OH Gov. Kasich’s One-Track ‘Tax the Utica’ Mindset

    You have to hand it to Ohio’s RINO Gov. John “foreigner hunter” Kasich–he has a single-track mind when it comes to taxing Utica Shale drilling. He wants a piece o’ that drillin’ pie so he can transfer the money from those who produce (the drillers and the landowners), to those who don’t (voters). Kasich is hell-bent on assessing a 2.75% tax on all Utica Shale drilling. The Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA), which did support a smaller increase, is pushing back against Kasich’s latest demand saying it’s “unacceptable to the association.” Good for them–someone needs to be the voice of reason on this issue.

    Here’s more on Kasich’s desire to take the easy way out–to tax more–instead of manning up and doing the right thing–cutting more:
    Read More “OH Gov. Kasich’s One-Track ‘Tax the Utica’ Mindset”

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    Fired ODNR Official Returns with Views on Best Locations in Utica

    Larry Wickstrom used to be Ohio’s official state geologist and chief of the ODNR’s Division of Geological Survey. He was fired in May 2012 because he updated and released a map showing new boundaries for the Utica Shale–where the best places to drill would be located (see Did This Map Get the Ohio State Geologist Fired?). The map update caused some of the previous lines to change, and that upset a few people, especially Larry’s political bosses. That map has since changed by quite a bit. Drilling has drifted south to counties like Harrison, Guernsey, Belmont, Noble and Monroe.

    The very talented Wickstrom had been employed for 29 years by ODNR, but his exit didn’t mean he was washed up. Far from it. Larry is back (in private business). Last week he shared his keen and experienced insights with the 1,500 people who attended the recent Ohio Oil and Gas Association winter meeting in Columbus on the latest thinking about the best places to drill in the Ohio Utica. He notes that the sweet spot for Utica drilling is much smaller than folks thought just a few years ago…
    Read More “Fired ODNR Official Returns with Views on Best Locations in Utica”

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    MDN’s Guide to New TENORM Rules for OH Utica Drillers

    Last year, the Ohio state legislature passed an omnibus “everything but the kitchen sink is in there” bill (HB59) that covered, among other things, a requirement that oil and gas drillers need to test drilling waste for TENORM–or Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material. Drillers need to test for TENORM (or naturally occurring radioactivity) in wastewater and drill cuttings under certain conditions, according to the legislation. MDN tracked down House Bill 59 and read it. We include the relevant section from the massive 699-page law below.

    It appears to MDN’s eye that if OH shale drillers recycle the waste and re-use it on site (in the case of fluids), there is no need to test. Likewise, if they cart fluids to another nearby drill site for re-use, no need to test. If they dispose of it via a Class II injection well–no need to test. That covers about all of the ways Utica drillers handle liquid waste. It seems to us the only real requirement will be to test drill cuttings (leftover rock and dirt) for radioactivity before disposing of them in landfills. The reason this is news now is because the Ohio Dept. of Health was charged with drafting guidelines for how such materials should be sampled and analyzed to determine whether TENORM levels are high enough to warrant special treatment. The DOH recently released those guidelines, which OH drillers will now need to pay attention to when it comes to testing at the drill site…
    Read More “MDN’s Guide to New TENORM Rules for OH Utica Drillers”

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    Investment Firm Backs 3 Hotels, in Hunt for Restaurants in Utica

    Energy investment firm Drill Capital is not only in the process of building one hotel in the Utica Shale with plans on the boards to build two more (all in eastern Ohio), the company also wants to lure a restaurant chain to the Utica too. You don’t put up investors’ money to build hotels and restaurant in rural locations unless you firmly believe the business will be there for years to come. That’s precisely what Drilling Capital’s young founder and managing partner, Farid Guindo, believes…
    Read More “Investment Firm Backs 3 Hotels, in Hunt for Restaurants in Utica”

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    Aubrey McClendon: Utica Shale ‘Man in Motion’

    If you (foolishly) believed the stories about Aubrey McClendon and his oversight of the company he co-founded, Chesapeake Energy, you would believe that after he was bounced out of the company no one would ever again give him a dime. Under McClendon, supposedly Chessy spiraled out of control with debt and mismanagement. McClendon was cast as a maverick–a wildcatter who threw money around on $300 champagne lunches and managed to grow the company beyond his ability to run it. The problem with that view is the truth of what’s happened to Chesapeake since McClendon’s departure. Corporate raider Carl Icahn is the one controlling Chessy these days–for his own personal benefit. Icahn and his lieutenant CEO Doug Lawler have sold off key assets right and left and fired thousands–actions that don’t have squat to do with improving the financial health of the company. It only improves Icahn’s per share value.

    McClendon, less than a year from being unceremoniously dumped by Icahn, has a new company with $3 billion of OPM (other people’s money) in his hip pocket to spend on drilling “at least” 1,600 Utica Shale wells in Ohio. McClendon’s new venture, called American Energy Partners, has already amassed 260,000 acres of leases in less than a year, on which to drill those 1,600+ Utica wells. McClendon right now has drilling rigs on the job in Ohio. The man does not let any grass grow under his feet (or on his drill pads). Here’s an update on Aubrey McClendon, a Utica Shale man in motion…
    Read More “Aubrey McClendon: Utica Shale ‘Man in Motion’”

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    Stupid Idea of the Year: Create Uniform Severance Tax in PA-OH-WV

    Socialists and hardened anti-drillers are trying a new approach. Adopt non-partisan sounding names, like the “Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center,” “Policy Matters Ohio,” and “West Virginia Center on Budget and Public Policy,” and use those names to try and pass a high severance tax across all three states–effectively killing drilling. Those groups are some of the most partisan in existence. If Socialist politicians like OH State Rep. Robert Hagan (Democrat anti-driller) of Youngstown, OH can’t stop drilling, they want to profit from it by “spreading the wealth around” in classic socialist fashion. Tax drilling at high rates, then redistribute the money to people who will continuously vote said politicians back into office over and over. That’s how it works. Enslave people on public welfare handouts and buy their votes. It’s sick, anti-American, and corrupt.

    Various politicians like Hagan, flying under the banner of the groups named above, are now preening about advocating a “common sense” and “uniform” severance tax of 5% (minimum) across PA, OH and WV. Such a stupid idea would immediately tank the economic miracle happening in PA. You WANT states competing against each other for shale drilling–lowering and even eliminating taxes. Everyone wins when states compete–it keeps natural gas prices low for consumers, benefits landowners in that state, generates thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in local and state tax revenues. A high severance tax is not needed. So when you read about this so-called “fair” proposal, you know what it really is: a naked political power grab meant to empower corrupt politicians to retain their hold on power…
    Read More “Stupid Idea of the Year: Create Uniform Severance Tax in PA-OH-WV”

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    OOGA’s DeBrosse Report: Utica Drilling Ramps Up in 2013

    reportEach year the 3,200-member Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) issue the DeBrosse Memorial Report. The report is a high level look at where (and how much) drilling there has been in the state–and what they’re finding (methane, oil, NGLs). OOGA’s Peter MacKenzie presented the findings of the latest DeBrosse Report at last week’s OOGA Annual Winter Meeting in Columbus. According to MacKenzie, the data in this year’s report, “should get people’s attention,” saying it sure got his.

    OOGA supplied us with a copy of the report to share with MDN subscribers (full copy embedded below). It’s chock full of great maps and charts and statistics about oil and gas drilling in Ohio. The numbers (and maps) show the dramatic impact Utica Shale drilling has had. First up are some of the highlights as shared by the Akron Beacon Journal, followed by the full report…
    Read More “OOGA’s DeBrosse Report: Utica Drilling Ramps Up in 2013”

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    Utica Shale Drilling Ripple Effect in Northern Part of Play

    Just because you don’t see a drilling rig and holes being drilled in the ground, it doesn’t mean Utica Shale drilling isn’t having enormous, positive economic benefits in a community. So says Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber officials. They point to the hundreds of permanent new jobs at area manufacturers–jobs created and sustained directly by the drilling industry.

    More on the Utica supply chain and how it’s benefiting areas that haven’t (yet) seen their own Utica wells drilled…
    Read More “Utica Shale Drilling Ripple Effect in Northern Part of Play”