CONSOL’s First Pittsburgh Airport Wells Begin to Flow NatGas
UPDATE 7/20/16: Yesterday afternoon, after we had published this story, CONSOL Energy issued a press release announcing a few more details. We have included the release below.
In early 2013 the Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County, PA signed a deal with CONSOL Energy to lease 9,000 acres surrounding the airport for natural gas drilling (see $50M Check in the Mail: Pittsburgh Airport Lease a Done Deal). The airport received a $50 million signing bonus and the promise of 18% royalties on anything produced and sold. In August, CONSOL released their drilling plan, which calls for 6 well pads, 47 Marcellus Shale wells on those pads (with the possibility of drilling Upper Devonian wells later on), three fresh water ponds (“impoundments”) and 17 miles of gathering pipelines (see CONSOL Energy Reveals Drilling Plan for Pittsburgh Airport). All told, in the coming years the airport may see as much a $1 billion in remuneration. It’s staggering. CONSOL has been busily drilling (MDN editor Jim Willis has spotted rigs when he’s flown into/out of the airport). Exciting stuff. Now, finally, the first six Marcellus wells are online and producing…
Continue reading
In May 2013 amidst much fanfare, Chevron purchased 61 acres to build a new regional Marcellus Shale headquarters in Moon Township, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh (see 
This week the Developing Unconventional Gas (DUG) East event was held in Pittsburgh, PA. There was a fair bit of news and a host of interesting stories coming from the event. Below we’ve listed stories worth your time, with a very brief summary of why to read those stories. To tease you: the money people think land deals are about to pick up in the Marcellus/Utica; Dept. of Energy Deputy Director Carmine Difiglio signs the praises of the Marcellus/Utica; in the weeds talking about technology; CONSOL’s plans for the Ohio Utica; and much more!…
The coming Shell ethane cracker plant complex in Monaca (Beaver County), PA, will create a lot of jobs–some in the near-term, but many in the medium-to-longer term. The plant won’t be complete for another five years. Between now and then it will take 6,000 temporary workers to build it. Once built, the plant will take 600 permanent employees to run it. Is Beaver County and the greater Pittsburgh region ready for that kind of jobs challenge? As of today, the answer would be “no.” But leaders in the area are working on it…
Something noteworthy has happened in western Pennsylvania and (so far) local media has chosen not to cover it. So MDN is happy to break the following story about South Fayette Township in Allegheny County (near Pittsburgh). South Fayette is one of seven PA towns that sued the state after the Act 13 law was enacted in 2012 (see 
Earlier this week (March 30th) the 2016 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards and Industry Summit was held in Pittsburgh. Once again the Awards and the Summit were a smashing success. Congratulations to all of the finalists and winners! Each year the Oil & Gas Awards recognize organizations operating responsibly and supporting the communities they operate within. Now in their 4th year, the Oil & Gas Awards are judged by over 100 senior industry professionals. Partners in the Northeast Awards are The US Chamber of Commerce, The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, The Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the Western Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association. Here is a complete list of the winners, by category…
Details are just now coming to light of a new E&P (exploration and production, or drilling) company headquartered in Pittsburgh and focused totally on the Marcellus and Utica region. Until now the company has flown under our radar. The company is American Petroleum Partners (APP)–not to be confused with Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners (AEP)–and is headed by Rice Energy alumnus Varun Mishra, who is the founder and CEO. The big news is that last September Mishra’s new company, founded in 2014, received a major injection of investment capital. Apollo Global Management invested $411 million in APP with the option to double it up to $800 million. MDN has it on very good authority that although APP quietly issued a press release about this last September (see it below), the company has intentionally kept the news quiet. Not any more! Big mouth MDN is blabbing it to the world. Below are the bits and pieces we’ve been able to put together about this newest Utica/Marcellus driller…
In 2013 MDN highlighted the news that a Brit, Nigel Hearne, had been appointed vice president (the guy in charge) of Chevron’s Appalachian-Michigan business unit (see