Pennsylvania

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    DEP GP-5 & 5A Regs – Imminent Threat to PA Marcellus Drilling

    In December 2016, 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 PA DEP Releases New Regs re Methane & Air Pollution at Drill Sites). The onerous new regulations, not in effect yet, were originally prompted by bullying from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Even though EPA pressure has disappeared under President Trump, PA Gov. Wolf still intends to push forward with these onerous (frankly, disastrous) regulations. According to the DEP, the proposed General Permit 5A (GP-5A) and the revised General Permit 5 (GP-5), “establish updated Best Available Technology (BAT) requirements for the industry regarding air emission limits, source testing, leak detection and repair, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements for the applicable air pollution sources.” After some final tweaks, the DEP released draft versions of the new permits (i.e. regulations) in February (see PA DEP Seeks Public Comment on Regs for Methane, Compressor Stns). The original public comment period was slated to last 45 days, ending in March. For no stated reason, the DEP extended the comment period until June 5th (see PA DEP Extends Public Comment Period for Methane Regs). In March, MDN editor Jim Willis heard former DEP Secretary Mike Krancer say if GP-5A is enacted as written, it will result in a 12-18 month moratorium on new production in Pennsylvania (see Big News from the O&G Awards Northeast Industry Summit). The shale industry is taking the changes very seriously and has initiated a full court press to oppose the new regulations as written…
    Read More “DEP GP-5 & 5A Regs – Imminent Threat to PA Marcellus Drilling”

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    PA NatGas Production for Jan-Mar 2017 Hits New High

    It’s shaping up to be another banner year for natural gas production in Pennsylvania, going by the latest quarterly production report. The PA Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released their latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for Jan-Mar 2017 (full copy below). It shows natgas production rose 1.7% compared to the same period last year. It also shows the number of producing wells is up 8% from last year. Total natural gas production volume was 1,305.7 billion cubic feet (bcf) and the number of producing wells in 1Q17 was 7,678. Perhaps the biggest news is that 1Q17 saw the highest quarterly production–ever. Another interesting fact from the latest report: Four counties (Susquehanna, Washington, Bradford and Greene) comprised two thirds of statewide production. The #1 county for natgas production in 1Q17? Susquehanna County. The #1 driller in that county? Cabot. You might say, with some justification, that the success of Cabot’s drilling program in Susquehanna County has translated into success for all of Pennsylvania…
    Read More “PA NatGas Production for Jan-Mar 2017 Hits New High”

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    Shell Lines Up 3K+ Parking Spaces for Cracker Construction Workers

    Believe it or not, Shell previously hired a third-party consultant to perform a traffic study in the area where Shell plans to build a $6 billion ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA. Based on the findings and recommendations of that study, Shell has begun to secure parking spots for construction workers that will descend on that location to build the plant–beginning later this year. One of the recommendations is to limit the number of parking spots to no more than 1,500 at any one location. Shell currently has three locations lined up and (mostly) ready to go, enough for 3,100 parking spots. At its peak, the project will employ something like 6,000 workers. So either Shell will line up more spots, or maybe workers will carpool…
    Read More “Shell Lines Up 3K+ Parking Spaces for Cracker Construction Workers”

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    ExxonMobil & Employees Contribute More than $50M to Higher Ed

    You know how money-grubbing, cheap, careless and in general no-good those Big Oil companies are, right? They only care about themselves. They seek to rape and pillage Mom Earth, keeping piles of gold in their coffers, killing humankind in the process. That’s the picture painted by anti-fossil fuel nuts. Here’s the real picture: In 2016, between employees and the corporation, Exxon Mobil donated more than $50 million to colleges and universities across the United States. That is a staggering number. Many of those colleges and universities were located in the Appalachian basin (Marcellus/Utica), including $2.7 million in PA, $800K in OH, $1.4 million in VA, $3.2 million in NY and $1.2 million in NJ. Just the opposite of the negative picture painted by the enemies of fossil fuels… Read More “ExxonMobil & Employees Contribute More than $50M to Higher Ed”

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    PA Appeals Court Clears Way for EQT to Drill Jefferson Hills Well

    In December 2015 MDN told you about EQT’s application to drill a single shale well in Jefferson Hills (Allegheny County), PA (see Jefferson Hills, PA Antis Oppose EQT Well Near Future School Site). The well would be drilled “near” where a new school is due to be built, which provided anti-fossil fuelers with an excuse to oppose the project. As part of the a conditional use permit, EQT agreed to (a) not use Borough roads during construction, (b) use a pipeline from a local water company instead of trucks for the water needed to drill and frack, greatly reducing the amount of truck traffic, (c) pledged the project would not impact local streams and wetlands, (d) comply with local lighting regulations, and (e) install sound walls if needed. In other words, EQT bent backwards, forwards, sideways, jump through numerous hoops and turned itself inside out to comply with requests from the town. The Borough Planning Commission unanimously approved the conditional use permit request. But then the town, bowing to pressure from local antis, rejected the request in December 2015, saying the proposed project would endanger local health and the environment. In other words, they had no basis for rejecting the permit. EQT sued and won in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County in June 2016. Jefferson Hills appealed and last week, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the EQT verdict saying the town arbitrarily rejected the permit and EQT should be allowed to drill…
    Read More “PA Appeals Court Clears Way for EQT to Drill Jefferson Hills Well”

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    Another 7 Easements Signed for Shell’s Falcon Ethane Pipeline

    Click for larger version

    Last year MDN shared details about Shell’s Falcon Ethane Pipeline system–a pipeline with two “legs” that will feed Shell’s mighty ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA (see Shell Working on 94-Mile Ethane Pipeline to Feed PA Cracker). Before the pipeline system had a name (Falcon), Shell had begun the process of signing up landowners to allow the pipeline to cross their property–as far back as February 2016 (see Exclusive: Shell Leasing Land for 2 Pipelines to PA Cracker Plant). In January 2017, we reported on Shell’s progress in leasing land for the pipeline (see Shell Leases More PA Properties to Build Ethane Pipeline). This is a further update. Shell has signed an additional seven parcels of property–in Beaver County–bringing the total to 32 easements now secured for the project in Beaver County… Read More “Another 7 Easements Signed for Shell’s Falcon Ethane Pipeline”

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    Mon Valley in Catbird Seat, Close to Both Shell & PTT Crackers

    As we have endlessly covered, Shell is in the midst of building a $6 billion ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA (see Breaking: Shell Pulls the Trigger, PA Ethane Cracker is a Go!). Cracker plants chemically “crack” ethane to produce ethylene–the raw material used to make plastics, anti-freeze and more. As we point out in another article today, these ethane crackers (along with an ethane storage hub) have the ability to turn the Marcellus/Utica into a new Gulf Coast for petrochemical manufacturing (see Study: Appalachia the New Gulf Coast for Petchem w/NGL Storage Hub). Other cracker plants have been mentioned for the region–the most realistic being a second cracker in Belmont County, OH by Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical. PTT announced earlier this year they are delaying a final investment decision until “late 2017” (see PTT Global Delays Final Investment Decision for OH Ethane Cracker). However, most people (including MDN) think it’s a safe bet that PTT will move forward with the project. The Shell cracker, and the prospect of the PTT cracker, is stirring up a lot of interest in the part of manufacturers to locate in the Mon Valley–that area along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh. That region is ideally located–about an hour from the Shell cracker in Beaver County, and about an hour from the proposed PTT cracker in Belmont County, OH. We call it the catbird seat… Read More “Mon Valley in Catbird Seat, Close to Both Shell & PTT Crackers”

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    Getting to Know Rob Powelson, Our Next/New FERC Commissioner

    As MDN alerted you on May 10, President Trump has nominated two highly qualified individuals to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission–Neil Chatterjee and Rob Powelson (see Trump Nominates 2 New FERC Commissioners – Powelson & Chatterjee). Rob is a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and currently the president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). Big Green is amping up its opposition to Rob Powelson. In March, Powelson had the temerity to tell the truth. During a speech he compared wacko pipeline protesters who were camping out at FERC members’ homes–threatening the commissioners–to Islamic jihadists (see Powelson Under Fire for Calling Enviro Jihadists, “Jihadists”). The enviro jihadists jumped on that, demanding Powelson be dropped from consideration for a FERC post. We’re happy to see Trump metaphorically stick his finger in their eye. We spotted an article that goes into a bit more depth on Powelson’s background and qualifications to hold this very important position. Let’s get to know Rob Powelson just a little bit better… Read More “Getting to Know Rob Powelson, Our Next/New FERC Commissioner”

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    MDN Guide to the PA DEP 2016 Annual Oil & Gas Report

    The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) yesterday published its 2016 Oil and Gas Annual Report. This year the DEP has published the report in an interactive, electronic (i.e.online) format ONLY, with a stated purpose “to improve public access to well information.” This is the first time the report has been published electronically. While it’s interesting to have the report issued online only, it’s not as useful as a PDF or printed document, in our humble opinion. DEP Acting Secretary Pat McDonnell said, “Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the country and one of the most transparent states in making oil and gas data publicly accessible. Making the Annual Report completely digital is just the next step in our continued effort to share as much information as possible.” We’ll give the DEP an “A” for effort, but a “C” for execution. What does the report show? The number of unconventional (shale) well drilling permits issued in 2016 decreased 59% since 2014. The total number of conventional well drilling permits issued in 2016 decreased 87% since 2014. It is a dramatic drop. There were 1,321 unconventional well drilling permits issued in 2016, and 158 conventional well drilling permits issued in 2016. Even though the number of permits to drill new wells dropped from 2015 to 2016, the number of well inspections hit an all-time high in 2016–some 35,556 inspections. The boys and girls at the DEP have been busy beavers. Below we have the DEP announcement about the new report and its format, along with select charts & information–so you don’t have to wade through the (somewhat confusing) report yourself. We call it the MDN Guide to PA’s 2016 Oil and Gas Annual Report…
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    Digital H2O Comes to the Marcellus/Utica

    Digital H2O is a “digital oilfield water management solutions company.” What the heck does that mean? Water is not only the key ingredient in life, it’s also the key ingredient in the shale industry. It takes a lot of water to drill and frack a shale well. Locating sources for that water, getting it shipped to and then from a well pad, and disposing of it, is a logistical challenge. Digital H2O helps helps drillers source water, transport it, and dispose of it–at a cheaper cost than they otherwise could have. Digital H2O accomplishes this magic with a sophisticated computer software program–populated with all sorts of information (i.e. data). Until now, Digital H2O has concentrated its service on the Permian and Bakken shale regions in Texas, North Dakota, and New Mexico. The company has now turned its attention to the Pennsylvania Marcellus and now offers it service in our neck of the woods… Read More “Digital H2O Comes to the Marcellus/Utica”

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    Tiresome: Philly RINO Rep Gene DiGirolamo Intros Severance Tax Again

    Rep. Gene DiGirolamo

    Pennsylvania State Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, a Republican-in-Name-Only (RINO) from the Philadelphia area, has been trying to punish the Marcellus industry in the state since 2011 when he first introduced legislation to impose a Marcellus-killing severance tax. And pretty much every year since then he has re-introduced a severance tax bill. Sometimes it’s for 3.2%. Other times 4.9% (see our DiGirolamo stories here). It appears he just plucks a number out the air and goes with it. DiGirolamo is back with yet another such plan. He has just introduced House Bill (HB) 1401, which would slap a 3.2% severance tax on all shale gas production. The socialist CLEAR Coalition–which advocates theft of other people’s money to fund their favorite “public” causes–held a rally to support the thefty HB 1401. RINO DiGirolamo showed up, the only “Republican” to do so. All of the other officials present were liberal Democrats. What does that tell you about this bill and its sponsor?… Read More “Tiresome: Philly RINO Rep Gene DiGirolamo Intros Severance Tax Again”

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    Thai Company Banpu Invests in Another 34 Marcellus Wells in NEPA

    One year ago, Banpu Pcl, Thailand’s largest coal producer, invested $112 million to purchase Range Resources’ Marcellus non-operated JV operations in Bradford County, PA (see Thai Company Buys Out Range Resources’ JV in NEPA for $112M). The “Chaffee Corners Joint Exploration Agreement” gave Banpu an ownership share in 62 producing wells and another 14 wells waiting on completion, and a share in 170+ more drilling locations. Talisman is the operator of the wells and the company that does the drilling (Banpu is just an investor). Banpu liked it so much, they did it again in January of this year (see Thai Company Banpu Makes 2nd Investment in Northeast Marcellus). The January deal gave Banpu a 10.24% stake in 10,000 acres of Marcellus leases, once again in northeastern PA, for $63 million. Chief Oil & Gas is the driller on the acreage in the second deal. Then in March, Banpu signed an agreement to invest $16 million into a venture with Tug Hill Marcellus (see Thai Company Banpu Invests Another $16M in PA Marcellus Wells). It seems that Banpu can’t get enough of the Marcellus in northeastern PA. The company just announced a fourth deal to invest in more NEPA acreage and wells. How many wells? What county is the new deal located in? And which driller is the operator of that acreage? We give you the details you won’t find elsewhere…
    Read More “Thai Company Banpu Invests in Another 34 Marcellus Wells in NEPA”

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    DEP Grants Air Permit for 2nd Gas-Fired Elec Plant Near Scranton

    The largest (so far) Marcellus Shale-gas fired electric plant in Pennsylvania is currently under construction in Lackawanna County, PA (near Scranton). The Lackawanna Energy Center, being built in Jessup by Invenergy, will produce 1,480 megawatts of electricity. However, there is a second, smaller Marcellus-fired electric plant also in the works. Last October, MDN brought you the news that Archbald Energy Partners, a collaboration between Canada-based EmberClear Corp. and New Jersey-based DCO Energy, wants to build a plant in Archbald, PA (again, near Scranton) that will produce 485 megawatts of electricity (see 2nd NatGas Electric Plant Proposed for Lackawanna County, PA). The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced yesterday they have issued an air quality permit for the Archbald project. This is an important step in the process of building the plant. Although more permits will be needed, we’d say the major hurdles have now been crossed. Below is the DEP announcement, a copy of the full air quality permit issued (68 pages), and responses to comments from members of the community who complained about the project…
    Read More “DEP Grants Air Permit for 2nd Gas-Fired Elec Plant Near Scranton”

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    DEP Appeals $4.5M Wastewater Leak Fine Against EQT to Supremes

    There’s a reason hospitals and court rooms are frequently the settings for soap operas on TV–there’s always so much drama surrounding medicine and the law–the latter of which is our focus today. In January MDN reported what seemed like the final chapter in a long, drawn-out case between Marcellus driller EQT and the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). In October 2014, the DEP fined EQT a whopping $4.53 million for a leaky wastewater impoundment in Tioga County, PA (see PA DEP Levies Biggest Fine Ever, $4.5M Against EQT). While EQT did not say there wasn’t a problem with leaks at the site, they did say the way the DEP calculated the fine is unreasonable and arbitrary. In fact, EQT says the DEP levied the fine and took EQT to court because a few weeks prior EQT had sued the DEP over a different matter–that is, sour grapes. EQT appealed the fine and the case all the way to the PA Supreme Court. In December 2015, the high court handed EQT a “procedural victory” by saying EQT has a point about the manner in which the DEP is calculating the fine (see PA Supreme Court Gives EQT “Procedural Victory” in $4.5M Fine Case). The Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court, PA Commonwealth Court, for follow up work, and in January 2017, a three-judge panel ruled that the method the DEP currently uses to assess fines–by how many days pollution lingers, instead of by how many days the initial release of pollution lasted–is not legal nor common sense (see EQT Wins Court Case Against PA DEP re $4.5M Wastewater Leak Fine). The judges said such a method in fining, “would result in potentially limitless continuing violations.” Under the old way of calculating fines, the DEP was considering upping the fine on EQT to an insane $157 million. Calculating it under the new way will mean a fine of around $120,000. We thought with that ruling it was all done and dusted. Not so. The soap opera continued when the DEP appealed the Commonwealth Court panel’s ruling back up to the PA Supreme Court where the Supremes will consider it all over again. When you read the “friend of the court” brief just filed by those supporting the DEP in their case, it’s a Who’s Who of Big Green organizations and virulent anti-drillers–which tells you all you need to know about which side is in the right in the case of EQT v DEP… Read More “DEP Appeals $4.5M Wastewater Leak Fine Against EQT to Supremes”

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    ME2 Drilling Leaks 575 Gal of Bentonite Mud into Delco Creek

    Sand bags placed to contain a leak of bentonite clay into Chester Creek. Credit: Middletown Coalition for Community Safety

    When pipeline companies lay a pipeline–they dig a trench. But what happens when you come to a road, or a river, or a creek or another structure where you can’t just dig a trench? For those places, you drill horizontally underground–kind of like what shale drillers do. When drilling horizontally underground, the drill bit gets hot and needs to be cooled, so drilling “mud” is piped in to cool the bit as it chews away. Drilling mud for pipelines is, essentially, bentonite–a nontoxic clay. Bentonite is used to make shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and kitty litter. You’ve probably already used a product today that contains bentonite. Sometimes when drilling, the bentonite mud leaks out–traveling along cracks in the rock. It’s called an “inadvertent return” in the business. We call it a leak. Fortunately, bentonite can leak all day long and it doesn’t pollute anything. However, if enough of it leaks into a river, stream, or wetland (i.e. swamp), it can smother aquatic life. Poor little critters can’t breathe. And that’s not good. Such leaks are what have slowed down progress on building the Rover Pipeline in Ohio–where one such incident leaked 2 million gallons of drilling mud (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). A leak of 575 gallons of drilling mud into a creek is hardly worth mentioning, but it recently happened when Sunoco Logistics was drilling horizontally under the Chester Creek in Delaware County (near Philadelphia) for the Mariner East 2 pipeline project. According to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection, not a single fish was killed in the leak… Read More “ME2 Drilling Leaks 575 Gal of Bentonite Mud into Delco Creek”

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    Murrysville, PA Drilling Ordinance – Anatomy of a Compromise

    Westmoreland County, PA – click for larger version

    Pennsylvania State regulations require a “setback” of 500 feet from the bore hole of an oil or gas well when it’s drilled. That means there can be no habitable structures (house, school, barn, etc.) within 500 feet of where the hole gets drilled. Last fall in Murrysville Township (Westmoreland County), the town council proposed a 1,000 foot setback–doubling the state requirement. Such a setback would eliminate much of any future drilling planned in the town. Public hearings were held and the Marcellus industry let it be known a lawsuit will follow if the town persists in such a restrictive setback ordinance. After much toing and froing, Murrysville Town Council approved a new ordinance on May 3–with a 750 foot setback from the edge of the well pad (not from the bore hole). It’s still quite restrictive, but apparently acceptable to the industry. Only one town council member (out of seven) voted against the new ordinance–an anti-driller… Read More “Murrysville, PA Drilling Ordinance – Anatomy of a Compromise”