Allegheny County

Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Seismic Testing

Monroeville Seismic Testing Ordinance Challenged in Court
October 25, 2017October 25, 2017

Monroeville, PA (Allegheny County, suburb of Pittsburgh) is hostile toward the shale industry. In September, Monroeville Council voted to enact a super-restrictive seismic testing ordinance (see Monroeville, PA Passes Restrictive Seismic Testing Ordinance). The ordinance was meant to hassle Huntley & Huntley (H&H), which had wanted to conduct seismic testing in two rural areas of the municipality. As an aside, H&H’s headquarters is in Monroeville. Maybe they should move it, taking their jobs and tax contributions with them? At any rate, the contractor doing the seismic work for H&H, Geokinetics, has taken Monroeville Council to court over their punitive seismic ordinance. In the complaint, Geokinetics says, “Monroeville’s intransigence is not motivated by any legitimate concerns for the health and safety of its citizens, but rather by its council’s concerns about November elections.” One of the Democrat councilors up for reelection, Linda Gaydos, replied, “It had nothing to do with my election and it certainly wasn’t for political gain.” However, Gaydos’ actions speak louder than her words. Gaydos and other anti-drilling Council members voted earlier this month to ban shale drilling in most places within the municipality (see Monroeville, PA Hostile to Shale, Bans Drilling in Most Places). We hope the residents of Monroeville enjoy paying more in taxes to fund lawsuits brought against the municipality because of the actions of “leaders” like Gaydos…
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Allegheny County | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

2 Marcellus-Fired Electric Turbines Coming to Downtown Pittsburgh
October 17, 2017October 17, 2017

Two (2) Capstone C65 Microturbines provide Combined Cooling, Heating & Power (CCHP) to the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

This story has delicious irony. Pittsburgh proper, like most large cities, is mostly populated with lefties, including anti-drilling zealots. There has been some shale drilling in outlying areas of Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located (MDN’s forthcoming Marcellus & Utica Shale Almanac shows 65 producing shale wells in 2016 in Allegheny County). Pittsburgh prides itself on its green/sustainable energy initiatives. So when we saw the news that two microturbines using natural gas (i.e. Marcellus Shale gas) to generate heat and electricity are coming to downtown Pittsburgh, well, we just knew we had to spread the good news. Do Pittsburgh antis realize that shale gas will produce electricity in *downtown* Pittsburgh? Capstone Turbine Corporation, a California company that manufactures small electric-generating plants that run on natural gas, announced two of their microturbines will power the Energy Innovation Center (EIC) in downtown Pittsburgh. The two units will provide cooling, heat and power for the downtown EIC building, using natural gas to do so. This isn’t the first time we’ve written about Capstone. In February, Capstone sold three of their microturbines to midstreamers in the Marcellus Shale play (see Calif. Microturbine Company Sells More Units in the Marcellus). In August, Capstone sold a microturbine to a driller operating in Monroe County, OH, in the Utica Shale (see Calif. Microturbine Company Sells First Unit in Utica Shale). And now they’ve sold two units to power a building in downtown Pittsburgh. Love it!…
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Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Monroeville, PA Hostile to Shale, Bans Drilling in Most Places
October 13, 2017October 13, 2017

Monroeville, PA

For whatever reason, Monroeville, PA (Allegheny County, suburb of Pittsburgh) is hostile toward the shale industry. In September Monroeville Council voted to enact a super-restrictive seismic testing ordinance (see Monroeville, PA Passes Restrictive Seismic Testing Ordinance). The ordinance was meant to hassle Huntley & Huntley, which had wanted to conduct seismic testing in two rural areas of the municipality. But that wasn’t enough for the anti-drilling zealots of Monroeville. On Tuesday, Monroeville Council voted to ban oil and gas well drilling everywhere except for those areas marked M-2 industrial zoning. This is a big change. Previously drilling permits were “conditional use,” meaning each permit was evaluated on its own merits, regardless of which zoning district it was located in. By limiting drilling to M-2, the Council has effectively banned drilling in the municipality. Which is a shame, as Huntley & Huntley’s headquarters is located in Monroeville. We think they should seriously consider moving out of the municipality, taking their considerable economic impact (jobs, tax revenue) with them…
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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Plum, PA Gives Huntley & Huntley Green Light for Shale Drilling
October 13, 2017October 13, 2017

Plum, PA

Unlike the anti-drilling Luddites in Monroeville, PA who seek to stifle shale drilling in their municipality (see today’s story: Monroeville, PA Hostile to Shale, Bans Drilling in Most Places), the leaders in Plum, PA (shares a border with Monroeville, in Alleghany County) has approved a plan by Huntley & Huntley to drill a series of Marcellus wells in their municipality. Last week MDN told you that H&H plans to begin constructing a well pad in Plum next month (see Huntley & Huntley Starts Shale Drilling in Plum, PA Next Month). Plum officials gave H&H their blessing on the plan at a meeting on Wednesday. About 150 people showed up for the meeting, many against H&H’s plan to drill. Among the antis was a representative from FracTracker Alliance–a non-profit that pretends to be an impartial “watchdog” of the drilling industry. At the meeting the FracTracker rep revealed his out-of-the-mainstream, anti-drilling bias. He outted his organization as an anti-fossil fuel, Big Green group. Although there was plenty of the typical anti moaning and groaning at the meeting, to their credit, the Plum Council voted 6-1 to approve H&H’s plan to construct a well pad, and to drill several fracked Marcellus wells at the site…
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Air Quality | Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Big Green Group PennFuture Targets Shell Cracker w/Smear Campaign
October 6, 2017October 6, 2017

Last week the radicals at Big Green group PennFuture launched an advertising campaign that targets both U.S. Steel Corp. and the might Shell ethane cracker. The ad campaign, called “Your Toxic Neighbor” includes big ads on the sides of buses and on billboards in the Pittsburgh region. From the beginning of PA Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, PennFuture radicals have populated his administration. Two PennFuture radicals previously in the Wolf cabinet are now gone: former Secretary of Policy, John Hanger (now gone, supposedly to spend more time with his wife and daughter in Massachusetts) and former Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, John Quigley (fired for conspiring with Big Green groups and getting caught doing it). The one remaining PennFuture radical still in the Wolf cabinet is Secretary of the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Cindy Dunn. Time for Wolf to show her the door too (see Time to Fire Cindy Dunn, Last of Wolf Admin’s PennFuture Radicals). PennFuture tries to pass itself off as some sort of reasonable, pro-environment “let’s just make PA a better place to live” kind of group. Nothing of the sort. They are completely out of the mainstream, which is why we call them what they are: RADICALS. Here’s the latest smear campaign from a fringe group…
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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania

Huntley & Huntley Starts Shale Drilling in Plum, PA Next Month
October 5, 2017October 5, 2017

Plum, PA – click for larger version

Huntley & Huntley, a Marcellus/Utica driller headquartered in Monroeville, PA (near Pittsburgh), will begin drilling a shale well in Plum (Allegheny County, also near Pittsburgh), PA next month. It will be H&H’s first shale well in the Borough of Plum. Yesterday H&H spokesman Ed Valentas gave a presentation to the Plum Chamber of Commerce, to update them on what to expect and to dispel some of the fear mongering going on with respect to shale drilling. Construction of the well pad in Plum will begin next month. Drilling the first well is scheduled for February, with fracking soon to follow. Currently H&H has just one well pad (multiple wells) permitted in Plum–but they are considering other locations around Plum too…
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Allegheny County | Education | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Shell | Washington County

Allegheny Comm. College Offers Free Scholarships for Cracker Jobs
September 26, 2017September 25, 2017

Last week MDN told you that Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) is operating a program in process technology that leads to an associate’s degree as preparation for a job at Shell’s $6 billion ethane cracker plant, being built now in Beaver County (see Community College of Beaver County Preps Students for Cracker Jobs). Shell primed the education pump by offering 14 full-ride scholarships for the program. Not to be outdone by CCBC, Community College of Allegheny County is offering free tuition to Washington County residents, thanks to a $100,000 scholarship program that’s looking to build a cracker-ready workforce. Yikes! Yes, it does seem a bit odd to us that Community College of *Allegheny County* is offering free tuition to *Washington County* residents–but hey, it works for us. Students can get either a one-year mechatronics certificate, or a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The “Cracker Ready Grant” program is funded by the Remmel Foundation through PNC Charitable Trusts. Here’s the deets…
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Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Wastewater

Civil Debate in Plum, PA re Proposed Wastewater Injection Well
September 22, 2017September 22, 2017

As MDN reported in July, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the agency in charge of approving oil and gas wastewater injection wells, is currently reviewing an application and plan from Penneco Environmental Solutions (division of Penneco Oil Co.) to convert a plugged gas well into a brine (wastewater) injection well in Plum, PA–near Pittsburgh (see New Frack Wastewater Well on the Way in Allegheny County, PA). PA has just a handful of wastewater injection wells–less than 10. The most recent two such projects were vigorously opposed by the municipalities where they are located–Highland Township in Elk County, and Grant Township in Indiana County. The towns eventually backed down when they were sued by the PA DEP over their illegal actions (see PA DEP Issues 2 Wastewater Injection Well Permits, Sues 2 Towns). Although we expected a huge push-back in Plum, if a meeting held yesterday to debate the project is an indicator, perhaps the push-back won’t be as much as we thought. Yesterday a panel of experts–both pro and con–interacted with a crowd of around 100 people in Plum Council’s chambers. One of the people on the pro side was MDN friend Dave Spigelmyer, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition. One of the people on the con side was Doug Shields, former Pittsburgh councilman and now paid agitator/protester for the radical Food & Water Watch. You might think there would be fireworks at such a meeting–but there wasn’t. The biggest surprise of the meeting is that there were no surprises–it was civil. No shouting. No theatrics. No loud-mouthed protesters. Such a project comes with serious questions and concerns–like earthquakes and water contamination. Those issues and more were addressed at the meeting…
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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Seismic Testing

Monroeville, PA Passes Restrictive Seismic Testing Ordinance
September 14, 2017September 14, 2017

Monroeville, PA (Allegheny County, suburb of Pittsburgh) voted last night to restrict seismic testing within municipal boundaries–a move meant to restrict future shale well drilling in the area by Huntley & Huntley. In a July story, MDN brought you the news that Cougar Land Services, a subcontractor working with Huntley & Huntley, is planning to conduct seismic testing in two rural areas of the municipality, including “small portions” of Monroeville’s northernmost and southernmost tips (see H&H: Seismic Testing Coming to Monroeville, Not to Oakmont). Monroeville Council voted in early August to publish a draft of its new seismic testing ordinance for 30 days of public comment, prelude to a final vote (see Monroeville, PA Close to Passing Restrictive Seismic Testing Ord.). The restrictions are meant to hassle anyone wanting to conduct seismic testing, i.e. Huntley & Huntley. Which is kind of sad, as H&H is headquartered in Monroeville. Kind of like spitting in the company’s face. Last night Monroeville hawked up a huge wad of phlegm and let a big one fly in the face of H&H. Not to worry. If the ordinance “is outside the state parameters,” H&H intends to sue. Just to add insult to injury and let the Marcellus industry know how unwelcome they truly are, the council also voted to put a new ordinance on the agenda that pretty much blocks all Marcellus Shale drilling throughout the municipality…
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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Seismic Testing

Penn Hills, PA Grudgingly Votes 5-0 to Allow H&H Seismic Testing
September 12, 2017September 12, 2017

What a difference two months–and the very real threat of a lawsuit–can make. At the end of July Penn Hills (in Allegheny County, near Pittsburgh) voted to ban seismic testing in their community as a symbolic action “meant to send a message to companies that the municipality is against oil and gas activities on Penn Hills property.” Driller Huntley & Huntley has hired Texas-based Geokinetics to conduct seismic testing in the region and had wanted to conduct testing on 37 municipal-owned properties in Penn Hills, about 390 acres total. But Penn Hills resisted. So H&H’s attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson sent a “we’ll sue your rear-ends” letter and that got the attention of the symbolizers. Last night another vote was taken. This time it was 5 to 0 in favor of allowing seismic testing after all. The mayor (grumbling) said the municipality did it’s best to resist…
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Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain

Babst Calland Adds 6 New Lawyers in Pittsburgh O&G Practice
August 21, 2017August 21, 2017

Babst Calland is one of the biggest and best energy law firms in the northeast, with its headquarters in Pittsburgh. MDN is a long-time fan and reader of the company’s Shale Energy Law Blog. One of the ways you know whether the shale industry is getting busier, or less busy, is to watch the law firms that practice in the shale space. Here’s a bit of good news to share. Babst Calland has, in one fell swoop, added six new members to its energy practice–all of them with experience and expertise in oil and gas. Yes, the firm already has some 130 attorneys on staff. Adding another 6 energy lawyers boosts the size of the firm’s headcount another 5%. That’s pretty significant–and evidence that the Marcellus/Utica shale space is heating up. Here’s BC’s announcement of who just joined up…
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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp

Findlay Twp Signs Deal w/Range to Drill Under Town Park, $3K/Acre
August 18, 2017August 18, 2017

Findlay Township (Allegheny County, PA, west of Pittsburgh) has just signed a deal with Range Resources to allow drilling under (not on) the towns 61-acre Clinton Park. Terms of the deal: Findlay gets a $3,000 per acre signing bonus and when the gas begins to flow, an 18% royalty. That means Findlay will get a nice, fat check for $183,000 in the next 90 days. The lease has been a long time in coming. Town supervisors worked on a deal five years ago, but then drilling slowed down and the deal was “put on the shelf.” Range will actually drill under the property from the Seibel Farm, which sits just over the border in Beaver County. The board of supervisors voted unanimously to approve the deal…
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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Seismic Testing

Monroeville, PA Close to Passing Restrictive Seismic Testing Ord.
August 14, 2017August 14, 2017

Monroeville, PA (suburb of Pittsburgh) is making moves to restrict seismic testing within municipal boundaries–a move meant to restrict future shale well drilling in the area by Huntley & Huntley. In a July story, MDN brought you the news that Cougar Land Services, a subcontractor working with Huntley & Huntley, is planning to conduct seismic testing in two rural areas of the municipality, including “small portions” of Monroeville’s northernmost and southernmost tips (see H&H: Seismic Testing Coming to Monroeville, Not to Oakmont). Monroeville Council recently voted to publish a draft of its new seismic testing ordinance for 30 days of public comment, which means they intend to adopt it following that period. The restrictions are meant to hassle anyone wanting to conduct seismic testing, i.e. Huntley & Huntley. Which is kind of sad, as H&H is headquartered in Monroeville. Kind of like spitting in the company’s face. Perhaps H&H should consider moving? At any rate, H&H says they are reviewing the ordinance now and if it “is outside the state parameters,” H&H will litigate…
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Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Wastewater

‘Father of Marcellus’ Weighs in on Proposed Plum, PA Injection Well
August 9, 2017August 9, 2017

As MDN reported in July, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the agency in charge of approving oil and gas wastewater injection wells, is currently reviewing an application and plan from Penneco Environmental Solutions (division of Penneco Oil Co.) to convert a plugged gas well into a brine (wastewater) injection well in Plum, PA–near Pittsburgh (see New Frack Wastewater Well on the Way in Allegheny County, PA). PA has just a handful of wastewater injection wells–less than 10 of them. The most recent two such projects were vigorously opposed by the municipalities where they are located–Highland Township in Elk County, and Grant Township in Indiana County. The towns eventually backed down when they were sued by the PA DEP over their illegal actions (see PA DEP Issues 2 Wastewater Injection Well Permits, Sues 2 Towns). We expect the project in Plum will also encounter stiff opposition. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review asked Terry Engelder, the now-retired Penn State University professor and geologist who first discovered the potential of the Marcellus (called “the Father of the Marcellus Shale”) to offer his opinion on the injection well proposal for Plum. Engelder’s advice to Penneco? “[B]e a little bit cautious because [you] don’t really know how the rock will respond to this foreign fluid”…
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Allegheny County | Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Shell Needs 450 Welders to Work on Ethane Cracker Plant
August 3, 2017August 3, 2017

Good news if you’re a welder, or interested in a welding career, and you live in southwestern Pennsylvania. Shell needs you. Shell is in the process of building a massive, $6 billion ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA (northwest of Pittsburgh). Cracker plants have lots of pipes that need to be welded as the plant goes up. While these jobs are not long-term, as in “the rest of you career,” they’re long enough, likely lasting several years. Steamfitters Local 449 is right now recruiting new apprentices, offering a free 17-week apprentice training program. Local 449 is holding an open house this Saturday…
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Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Wastewater

New Frack Wastewater Well on the Way in Allegheny County, PA
July 21, 2017July 21, 2017

The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is the agency in charge of approving oil and gas wastewater injection wells, will hold a hearing next Wednesday in Plum, PA (Allegheny County, near Pittsburgh) on whether or not to approve an application and plan from Penneco Environmental Solutions (division of Penneco Oil Co.) to convert a plugged gas well into a brine (wastewater) injection well. Typically when a hearing like this is held, it’s an indicator that the EPA will approve the project. However, just because the EPA approves it doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. After an EPA approval, the application then goes to the PA State Dept. of Environmental Protection where it goes through another round of reviews–and likely more public hearings. The stuff getting disposed of, which we generically call wastewater, is technically called brine, because of it’s salty/mineral-ly composition. Brine is naturally occurring water from the depths that comes out of oil and gas wells for years after they are drilled. Because of the high concentration of minerals in the water, it either must go through a rigorous recycling process, or get disposed of via an injection well. OH has more than a hundred such wells. WV has a few dozen. PA has less than a dozen, due to the geology needed. Every new injection well in PA is a big deal, including this one…
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