Bradford County

Bradford County | Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants

Rural PA County Hopes NatGas Electric Plant Attracts Businesses
March 31, 2014March 31, 2014

Here’s a new twist: Economic development leaders in Bradford County, PA are hoping a local natural gas-fired electrical generating plant now being built will be a magnet that attracts petrochemical businesses to the area. We’ve known for some time (since last year) that Moxie Liberty, which later sold the rights to Panda Liberty, would build a new electrical generating plant near Wyalusing (Bradford County), PA (see Moxie Liberty Sells PA Electric Plant Project to Panda Power). The Panda Liberty plant is now under construction with large cranes and more than 100 workers in and around the site.

Local economic development leaders are hoping the Panda Liberty plant, which will use locally mined Marcellus gas, will catch the attention of petrochemical manufacturers of waxes, lubricants and other products that use natural gas as an ingredient. Already inquiries from such “downstream” businesses have been coming in–a very good sign indeed…
Read More “Rural PA County Hopes NatGas Electric Plant Attracts Businesses”
Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Citrus | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County | Washington County

PA Gas Production #s Released: Top 10 Wells, Top 5 Counties & More!
February 19, 2014February 19, 2014

Pennsylvania released their second half 2013 production numbers yesterday and man oh man is it another sizzling hot report. Another 700 horizontal (mostly Marcellus) shale wells were brought online in the second half of 2013 in PA which brings the number of horizontal wells with reported production to 5,074. And, in what we believe is a first, Susquehanna County has displaced Bradford County as having the most production during a 6-month reporting period.

Not surprisingly Cabot Oil & Gas and their prolific wells in Susquehanna County top the list as most productive. Get this, when you look at average daily production by wells, Cabot has the top 13 most productive wells in the state for 2H13–all top 13 spots. When you expand it out, they have 17 of the top 20 spots, and 34 of the top 50 spots. Truly astonishing.

Below we have a few lists for you: Top 10 All Time Producing Wells in PA, Top 10 Wells by Production per Day, and the amount of gas produced by the top 5 counties in PA…
Read More “PA Gas Production #s Released: Top 10 Wells, Top 5 Counties & More!”
Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania

Bradford PA Landowner Rally over Chesapeake Royalty Shenanigans
February 17, 2014February 17, 2014

Landowners in Bradford County, PA feel like they’re getting screwed by Chesapeake Energy on royalty payments, a complaint they’ve been making for some time now (see Bradford County, PA Landowners Sue Chesapeake over Royalties). PA state law guarantees a minimum 12.5% royalty to landowners, but because Chesapeake keeps deducting post-production expenses (like pipeline costs, processing costs, perhaps marketing costs), landowners end up getting squat–in some cases a 1.5% royalty. The landowners have some righteous anger over the issue. More than 100 landowners and officials gathered at the Bradford County Courthouse in Towanda on Friday in a rally to raise awareness of the issue and to support passage of PA House Bill 1648, which would protect landowners from large deductions from their royalty checks for post-production costs.

We applaud these landowners and their elected representatives for seeking justice in this situation. The problem is, they’ve invited a fox into the hen house to help them out. State Senator Gene Yaw, whose district includes Bradford County, along with PA Gov. Tom Corbett, has asked PA’s anti-drilling Attorney General, Kathleen Kane, to investigate Chesapeake and this matter of landowners getting shorted on royalty payments. She’s only too glad to “help out.” Normally that would be a good thing, except Kane is just as likely to turn around and bite the people she’s supposed to be helping. She hasn’t met a driller yet she wouldn’t rather see behind bars (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). If it were up to Kathleen Kane, there would be no Marcellus drilling at all and consequently no royalties for landowners to argue about. We think it’s an ill-advised move to involve Kane, but that’s just our humble opinion…
Read More “Bradford PA Landowner Rally over Chesapeake Royalty Shenanigans”
Bradford County | Chief Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania

Chief O&G Adds Field Office/Jobs in Bradford County, PA
January 23, 2014January 23, 2014

Chief Oil & Gas is expanding–in Wyalusing, PA. Where the heck is Wyalusing (population 564)? Smack in the middle of Bradford County, not far from Towanda, PA. Bradford is one of (perhaps the most) drilled Marcellus Shale counties in the state. It certainly makes sense for Chief to set up shop there–especially since Chief owns 210,000 acres of leases and operates 100 wells in the area!

The new field office in Wylausing consists of three trailers and 12 employees–at least for now…
Read More “Chief O&G Adds Field Office/Jobs in Bradford County, PA”
Bradford County | Energy Services | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Preston County | PVR Midstream | PVR Partners | West Virginia | Wyoming County (PA)

PVR Partners Marcellus Pipeline Flows Increase 60% in 1 Year
January 14, 2014January 14, 2014

Midstream company PVR Partners issued an update yesterday to brag about their Marcellus operations–and well they should. Average throughput on the PVR “Eastern Midstream Systems” increased 60%, from 1.1 billion cubic feet per day average in December 2012 to 1.8 Bcf/d in December 2013. They also completed a total of 101 well connections in 2013 for the Eastern Midstream area.

PVR’s Eastern Midstream includes operations in Lycoming, Wyoming, Bradford and Greene counties in Pennsylvania, and Preston County in West Virginia. Here’s the full PVR update with more details:
Read More “PVR Partners Marcellus Pipeline Flows Increase 60% in 1 Year”
Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Chief Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Sullivan County | Susquehanna County | Wyoming County (PA)

Chief O&G Buys 210K Acres/Operations in NE PA from Chesapeake
December 18, 2013December 18, 2013

Chief Oil & Gas announced yesterday that they’ve purchased 210,000 Marcellus Shale acres from Chesapeake Energy in northeast Pennsylvania. Along with the acreage comes 130,000 million cubic feet per day of natural gas production and 40 wells waiting to be completed and/or connected to a pipeline. This doubles the amount of Marcellus acreage for Chief.

The big question is, does this mean Chesapeake has now completely exited the Marcellus in northeast PA? It may well (we’re not sure). Here’s the statement by Chief about their deal with Chesapeake:
Read More “Chief O&G Buys 210K Acres/Operations in NE PA from Chesapeake”
Bradford County | Energy Services | Eureka Resources | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Wastewater

2 NE PA Wastewater Recycling Plants Get Upgrades
December 13, 2013March 7, 2019

The Marcellus Shale wastewater recycling plants in Williamsport and Towanda, PA, operated by Eureka Resources, have been upgraded. A crystallizer and a methanol recovery system have been installed at both plants allowing Eureka to separate out minerals and compounds that they have been trucking to Ohio for disposal in an injection well. The side benefit: They’ll now begin producing and selling oil, methanol and sodium chloride–a new revenue stream for the plants.

The two plants will bring the new upgrades online in January…
Read More “2 NE PA Wastewater Recycling Plants Get Upgrades”
Bradford County | Energy Companies | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Energy | Sullivan County | Susquehanna County | Tioga County (PA) | Wyoming County (PA)

Southwestern Energy’s Board Changes, Marcellus Plans for 2014
December 11, 2013December 11, 2013

Some fairly big news from one of the Marcellus Shale’s largest drillers–Southwestern Energy. In a flurry of announcements issued yesterday, we learn that Southwestern’s President & CEO, Steve Mueller, will take over as Chairman of the Board next May when current Chairman Harold Korell retires. Mueller plans to keep the title of CEO but apparently he will shed the title of President, so that begs the question, who will become Southwestern’s new president next year? Interestingly (perhaps related?) Southwestern also announced yesterday the promotion of Jeffrey Sherrick to the position of Executive Vice President for Corporate Development. Hmmm.

In addition to personnel announcements, Southwestern issued a guidance statement about their plans for capital spending in 2014. The statement indicates Marcellus production will increase by a whopping 60% next year. Southwestern’s estimated Marcellus production for 2013 is 148-149 billion cubic feet (Bcf). Next year they expect it will be 244-249 Bcf based on superb well performance in Bradford, Lycoming and Susquehanna counties. Southwestern boasts that one of their Susquehanna County wells achieved an initial production of 32 million cubic feet per day! In 2014 Southwestern plans to begin drilling in three additional northeastern PA counties…
Read More “Southwestern Energy’s Board Changes, Marcellus Plans for 2014”
Bradford County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

PA Marcellus Property Sold as High as $16,700/Acre at Auction
November 8, 2013November 8, 2013

This has to be a record for the Marcellus… The Pennsylvania court had ordered an auction of various parcels of land in Susquehanna and Bradford counties (in the prolifically productive northeastern “dry gas” portion of the Marcellus). There were 222 acres of land in total located in prime Marcellus drilling country. An auction was held on Oct. 30 in Wysox, PA and the land was all sold–to various buyers from across the country. Here’s the kicker: Some of the land sold for $16,700 per acre! This is rural farm land folks, not prime real estate in the middle of downtown. The money paid was not for a gas lease but the new owners get mineral rights with the land. You know the land was purchased in hopes of turning around and leasing it for Marcellus drilling. We don’t know for sure, but some of the land may even have been purchased by drilling companies (time will tell).

If we might immodestly say so, the ad agency that helped promote the auction wisely sought out and purchased advertising on MDN. You may have recalled seeing the ads during October? Looks like that proved to be a wise decision! Here’s the “let us toot our own horn” press release issued by United Country Real Estate–the company appointed by the court to list and sell the property:
Read More “PA Marcellus Property Sold as High as $16,700/Acre at Auction”
Anadarko | Bradford County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Southwestern Energy | Sullivan County

PA DCNR Blocks Drilling in Loyalsock State Forest – For Now
October 28, 2013October 28, 2013

Back in April, MDN told you about a ginned-up “controversy” over Anadarko Petroleum’s plan to drill in the Loyalsock State Forest that covers parts of Lycoming, Sullivan and Bradford counties in PA (see Manufactured Controversy over Drilling in Loyalsock State Forest). Anadarko owns the lease rights to 25,000 acres underneath the Loyalsock. Even though Anadarko provided the state with their plan to drill (as requested, in March 2012), the state Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) last week temporarily refused their application to begin drilling. Why? Not because of any problems with the proposed plan, but because another driller, Southwestern Energy, owns the rights to about the same amount of acreage and has not submitted a plan to drill on their acreage.

Is it fair that Anadarko be held back because Southwestern isn’t ready to drill yet? Did the DCNR stipulate that all drillers must supply a drilling plan first, when Anadarko submitted their plan back in March 2012? Why did it take until October 2013 for the DCNR to tell Anadarko that Southwestern has to file too? Troubling questions…
Read More “PA DCNR Blocks Drilling in Loyalsock State Forest – For Now”
Bradford County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Are Marcellus Drilling Regs Killing Conventional Drilling in PA?
October 16, 2013October 16, 2013

A pair of north central PA Republicans from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives along with “hundreds” of independent oil producers are sending a message to PA politicians and regulators: You can’t use the same broad brush you’re using with unconventional shale drilling to paint the traditional conventional drilling in the state. The independents say that new regulations crafted for Marcellus Shale (deep) drilling should not apply to conventional (shallow) drilling and if this ongoing “unfair” situation continues, it will drive conventional drilling in the state, which has been around for 150 years, out of existence.

Do the independents have a point? Are they an “apple” being regulated by unfair and overly strict “orange” standards? Or to change up the metaphors, is this a case of the buggy whip industry grumbling about those newfangled automobiles?…
Read More “Are Marcellus Drilling Regs Killing Conventional Drilling in PA?”
Bradford County | Chief Oil & Gas | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

PA’s Top 10 Marcellus Shale Wells – Full Details
October 14, 2013October 14, 2013

Who doesn’t like a Top 10? We have one for you: What are the Top 10 producing Marcellus Shale wells in Pennsylvania? Would it surprise you to learn that 8 of the top 10 wells are found in a single PA county, drilled by the same driller?

Here’s the Top 10 PA Marcellus Well List, complete with the name of well, county, driller, estimated earnings per day and estimated royalties paid per day:
Read More “PA’s Top 10 Marcellus Shale Wells – Full Details”
Bradford County | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

435 Acres of Marcellus Land in NE PA Goes to Auction Oct 30
October 4, 2013October 4, 2013

MDN welcomes a new advertiser to our website this week. United Country Real Estate sought out opportunities to make know an upcoming auction of Marcellus acreage and MDN fit the bill–we thank them! (See their ad on the right side of any page.) The auction, which many MDN readers will be interested in, is for 435 acres of land, including mineral rights, in northeast PA. The seven separate tracts of land up for auction are located in prime Marcellus Shale country–in Bradford and Susquehanna counties. This is a court-ordered land sale. The auction will take place on October 30 at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Wysox, PA.

Here are the full details from United Country Real Estate:
Read More “435 Acres of Marcellus Land in NE PA Goes to Auction Oct 30”
Bradford County | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

NJ Company Becomes Agent for NatGas to Power PA Electric Plant
September 20, 2013September 20, 2013

In October 2012, Moxie Liberty LLC of Vienna, VA applied for and received permission from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to build Pennsylvania’s first new electric generation plant to use Marcellus Shale gas to power it (see PA DEP Approves 1st New Electric Plant to Use Marcellus Gas). The new plant will be built in Bradford County, PA, the state’s most heavily drilled Marcellus Shale county. A month ago we learned that the project had been sold to Panda Power Funds of Dallas, TX and will now be called Panda Liberty (see Moxie Liberty Sells PA Electric Plant Project to Panda Power). Yes, we childishly made fun of the name!

More “new” news about Panda Liberty. One might think (as we did) that the new power plant will just hook up to whatever local driller or midstream company wants to sell them cheap, locally produced Marcellus Shale gas. However, that would be the wrong conclusion…
Read More “NJ Company Becomes Agent for NatGas to Power PA Electric Plant”
Bradford County | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Moxie Liberty Sells PA Electric Plant Project to Panda Power
August 23, 2013August 23, 2013

Last October, Moxie Liberty LLC (i.e., Moxie Energy) of Vienna, VA applied for and received permission from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to build Pennsylvania’s first new electric generation plant to use Marcellus Shale gas to power it (see PA DEP Approves 1st New Electric Plant to Use Marcellus Gas). The plant will be built in Bradford County, PA–the state’s most heavily drilled Marcellus county. However, Moxie will no longer build it. Word came yesterday that Moxie sold the project to Panda Power Funds of Dallas, TX. Henceforth the project will be called Panda Liberty.

Yesterday’s announcement from Panda Power Funds:
Read More “Moxie Liberty Sells PA Electric Plant Project to Panda Power”
Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania

Bradford County, PA Landowners Sue Chesapeake over Royalties
August 13, 2013August 13, 2013

About a month ago, MDN told you that a couple of Scranton-area lawyers were looking for landowners with Chesapeake Energy leases who believe they’re getting the short end of the royalty stick, to participate in a class action lawsuit against Chessy (see Some PA Landowners Mull Decision to Sue Chesapeake over Royalties). At issue is how royalties are calculated–what is considered to be a post-production cost. Some landowners say Chessy is claiming too many expenses and in the process shorting payments to them.

Some landowners in Bradford County, PA have decided to join the lawsuit:
Read More “Bradford County, PA Landowners Sue Chesapeake over Royalties”