WPX Pays $1.2M Fine to Settle 2012 Case of Leaky PA Impoundment
In July 2014, MDN told you the water wells for two of three families living near a WPX recycled frack wastewater impoundment (i.e. “pond”), near Ligonier (Westmoreland County), PA, were determined to have been contaminated by that impoundment. That is, the Kalp impoundment leaked into the ground, according to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), and that caused a long-term problem with those wells (see WPX Wastewater Impoundment Source of Water Contamination in W PA?, and our follow-up story, Important Update on WPX Energy Leaking Impoundment in SWPA). A month later the DEP later made a final determination that the third family’s well, the elderly Ken and Mildred Geary, was also affected and that WPX will need to find a permanent water replacement solution for them too (see DEP Says WPX Needs to Replace 3rd Water Supply in SW PA). From the beginning, WPX owned up to the problem and worked hard to make it right by installing water treatment systems–for five (total) affected water wells. The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) continues to monitor the water for the affected wells. However, the DEP is now ready to close the door on this now three year-old case, by assessing WPX with a $1.2 million fine and a requirement that they complete a remediation of soil in the area that may still be affected…
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Across the Keystone State (i.e. Pennsylvania), the shale revolution is “boosting agriculture,” says a farm expert. How? By providing new sources of capital (cash) to buy new equipment, more livestock, fix buildings, etc. Shale is also lowering the cost of fuel and fertilizer for farmers. And it provides jobs for members of farming families–bringing in an important new income stream. It is not an overstatement to say that shale is literally saving the family farm in PA…
One of the big success stories about Marcellus drilling in Pennsylvania is the money generated from state land leased for oil and gas drilling. You may recall two governors ago Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell was hell bent for leather in leasing state-owned land for drilling ON said land. After his voracious appetite for money was sated and his Democrat cronies in the legislature spent (“blew”) all $444 million of it, Rendell tried to pretend that he’s an environmentalist by slapping an executive order–a moratorium–on any more leasing of state-owned land. Hypocrite. The next Governor, Tom Corbett, lifted that moratorium with an executive order of his own so that another $75 million of badly needed revenue could be raised by leases for drilling under (not on) state land. Then along came the disastrous Tom Wolf. He immediately signed a new executive order banning any new leases on state-owned land (see 
Several southwest Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers (and a Democrat lawmaker) addressed the League of [Liberal Democrat] Women Voters at the group’s annual question-and-answer session with area legislators in Washington, PA on Friday. The Lib Dems attending likely got more than what they bargained for, as the legislators who addressed them stuck up for fossil fuels. The moderator asked a question about so-called clean energy jobs and investing, and promptly got schooled about REAL clean energy–i.e., fossil fuels!…
Clearlake Capital Group, a private investment firm with gobs of money ($3 billion of assets under management) has purchased a Texas oilfield services company, Globe Energy Services, and a Texas-based industrial equipment rental company, Light Tower Rentals (LTR) and has merged them together into a new company called GlobeLTR. Details of the transaction (how much Clearlake paid) were not disclosed. What does this M&A story have to do with the Marcellus? According to its website, LTR has a meaningful operation in the Marcellus Shale (in Oakdale, PA, not far from Pittsburgh), and while the combined new OFS company will mainly target business in the expanding Permian Basin in Texas, it will also continue operations in other areas, including the Marcellus. Does that mean drilling and fracking (i.e. “pressure pumping”) services will be added to the existing equipment rental business in the Marcellus? We don’t know–but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on…
An interesting article in the Harrisburg Patriot-News looks (favorably) at a trouble-making anti from Lancaster County, PA who participated in the illegal activities at Standing Rock, ND. He earnestly hopes he can attract that kind of disruption and mayhem to peaceful Amish Country in an attempt to stop the Transco Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project from getting built. But just like Standing Rock, this effort will fail. What we found interesting is that this is an open admission of something we’ve been reporting (warning about) for months–that some of the miscreants from North Dakota are targeting the Marcellus/Utica for their next round of anarchy. There’s nothing “peaceful” about what these people do…
Anti-drilling zealots are sometimes maddening, sometimes funny, and often just plain bizarre. As they are with their latest publicity attack (aided and abetted by PBS reporters) by claiming a couple of townships along the pipeline’s proposed route have ordinances in place that would potentially stop the pipeline in those locations “if only” those lazy, corrupt townships would just enforce the ordinances. That’s the upshot of the argument. One of the towns, Thornbury (Delaware County, a Philly suburb) has a requirement that the subdivision where the pipeline will run must maintain at least 40% of the land in the subdivision as “open space.” The antis claim the pipeline will use enough acreage to reduce the “open space” to below 40%. Ah, Mr. & Ms. Anti, did you know that the pipeline will run underground? And that pipelines lead to MORE permanent open spaces? Nice green fairways that are well-maintained? Lawyers from the usual radical suspects are getting ready to file lawsuits for “force” the townships to pay money defending against this latest inanity…
In December the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) unveiled new regulations to clamp down on methane emissions and other other air pollution that allegedly comes from shale drilling sites (see 
Rice Energy turned in it’s 2016 update this week, along with a look at what’s coming in 2017. As for top line financial numbers, Rice lost about the same in 2016 as they did in 2015: A loss off $298 million in 2016 vs. a loss of $291 million in 2015. Although Rice owns and drills on a small acreage position in the Texas Barnett Shale, the vast majority of their focus continues to be in the Marcellus/Utica. The company plans to spend $1.5 billion in 2017, broken out as follows: $1.035 billion for drilling and completion activity in the Marcellus/Utica shale plays; $225 million for land purchases; and $315 million spent by Rice Midstream ($255 million for gas gathering and compression and $60 million on water services). With that money, Rice expects to drill 75 new wells and complete another 55 wells in the Marcellus in 2017. In the Utica, Rice plans to drill 20 new wells and complete 20 wells in 2017. Land acquisition will happen in three counties: Greene and Washington Counties (in PA), and Belmont County (in OH). How much will they pay, on average, to lease new acreage? We have an answer for that…
As we reported earlier this week, Sunoco Logistics Partners has begun active construction activities related to building the twin Mariner East 2 pipelines (see 
Each year Engineering News-Record (ENR) magazine publishes a list of its Top 25 construction projects that began to be built during the previous 12 months. ENR has just released the list for new starts in 2016, and as we looked over the list, we couldn’t help but notice that of the top 25–each project of which had to be worth at least $140 million to get on the list–many of the projects are related to Marcellus/Utica Shale and would not exist without abundant, cheap shale gas. Here is the list of the Top 25 projects begun last year in the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia…
There’s always a few holdouts, no matter how hard you try to be reasonable. We’re talking about landowners who refuse to negotiate in good faith with pipeline companies. Earlier this month amidst a flurry of activity, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) handed Williams a final final final approval for its Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project–a $3 billion, 198-mile pipeline running through 10 Pennsylvania counties to connect Marcellus Shale natural gas from PA with the Williams’ Transco pipeline in southern Lancaster County (see 
BREAKING NEWS, BREAKING NEWS: Anadarko well pad site leaks wastewater and kills 165 salamanders. Funeral services are being arranged. This would almost be funny, if it wasn’t real. No, not funeral services for salamanders (although it’s not beyond believable in this day and age). In 2014 Anadarko drilled a shale well in Lycoming County, PA. In February 2015, a storage tank at the well pad–used to temporarily store produced water coming from the well (wastewater storage happens at ALL shale well sites)–either experienced a leaky valve, or was overfilled, depending on whom you ask. About 1,000 gallons of produced water leaked out of the tank and subsequently out of containment and into a drainage ditch (i.e. “unnamed tributary”) and found its way into a local creek, killing 165 (or 169, depending on the source) salamanders. And now (no lie), the Environmental Crimes Unit of the PA Attorney General’s office is hauling Anadarko and their contractor into court, charging them with environmental crimes. A PA Fish and Boat Commission biologist estimates the dead salamanders were worth $6,156–or ~$37 each. Careful where you step! If you step on a salamander in PA and accidentally kill it, the state will charge you $37 and somebody from the AG’s office will pay you a visit. It can get expensive walking along a creek in PA….
We’ve known for the past couple of years that Sunoco Logistics Partners, owner and builder of the Mariner pipeline projects, wanted to build not one, but two Mariner East 2 pipelines–ME2 and ME2X. We wrote about their hope to build two pipelines back in June 2015 (see 
As politicians and analysts begin to dig into one of the centerpieces of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed 2017 budget–a 6.5% severance tax on Marcellus/Utica drilling–new details begin to emerge. Like this: Most lease contracts contain a provision that says any taxes paid, including severance taxes, are a post-production expense and deducted from landowner royalties. So if Wolf’s severance tax were to pass, the people paying it will be landowners. That’s $200 million or so coming out of farmers’ pockets. Wolf & co. knew that situation would not earn them any votes, so they include a provision in the budget disallowing severance taxes to be deducted from royalties. Overturning existing contracts is illegal and sure to be challenged in court, but if somehow that provision gets upheld and the tax passes, it’s easy to predict Marcellus drilling will mostly cease. Wolf’s proposed 6.5% severance tax would put the state at, or near the top of, all states in severance tax rates. Some of the biggest drillers in the state have recently leased acreage in other plays and have no problem with shutting down new drilling in the Marcellus, moving on to other plays where the economics make more sense. Let’s assume the tax passes and drillers sue to remove the clause about severance tax deductions not being allowed, and win. Landowners then fund the severance tax out of their pockets (the drillers are the “bad guys” and Wolf says “don’t look at me”). Now let’s assume the tax passes and drillers sue to remove the clause about severance tax deductions and lose. Drillers simply walk away from PA. Either way, the Wolf severance tax proposal is a hot, stinking mess…