Pennsylvania

Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

It’s Official: Williams Files with FERC for Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline
April 1, 2015April 1, 2015

It’s finally time for the sun to rise on Williams’ Transco Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project. It seems like we’ve covered the story of Atlantic Sunrise forever–a $2.1 billion project consisting of compression and looping of the Transco Leidy Line in Pennsylvania along with a greenfield (brand new) pipeline segment of 178 miles, called the Central Penn Line, connecting the northeastern Marcellus producing region to the Transco mainline near Station 195 in southeastern Pennsylvania (see Atlantic Sunrise Will Pump $1.6B into Economy, Create 8K Jobs). We’ve covered many of the anti-drilling nutball antics in opposing the pipeline (see Convicted Lancaster Protesters Taunt Williams After Court Date). Even though Williams has conducted countless meetings and filed reams of paperwork–it was only yesterday that Williams filed the full, complete, and official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), asking FERC to approve the project…
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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

PA DEP Signals Approval for Shell Ethane Cracker Air Quality Plan
March 31, 2015March 31, 2015

We understand it’s a really big commitment to decide to spend $2 billion or more on a single project, like the Shell ethane cracker plant announced in June 2011 that may (or may not) be coming to the Marcellus (see Shell Commits to Building a Billion Dollar Chemical Plant in the Marcellus Region of U.S.). But after a while (nearly four years!), the waiting grows tiresome. In March 2012 Shell settled on a potential site in Monoca (Beaver County), PA, about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh (see Shell Announces Location of Ethane Cracker Plant). In June 2012, a Shell official said a final decision on whether or not to build was “18 to 24 months away” (see Shell: Final Decision on Cracker Plant Still 18-24 Mo. Away). Er, right. The end of the 24 months was nine months ago. Still, there have been some positive signs, including a very positive sign from last Saturday…
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Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Westmoreland County

Urban Drilling in the Marcellus/Utica? Yes, in Some Locations
March 31, 2015March 31, 2015

Is Marcellus (and Utica) Shale drilling going urban? Coming to cities and towns? In some cases, the answer to that question is, yes! Don’t look for drilling rigs to pop up in the city limits of Pittsburgh (it’s banned there anyway). But for smaller towns and cities surrounded by farmland and open fields, it’s not only possible, it’s actually happening. At least the leasing of those smaller urbanized areas is happening. Take West Leechburg (Westmoreland County), PA, for example…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Pittsburgh Economic Leader Says Wolf Severance Tax Really 15% Rate
March 31, 2015March 31, 2015

Last Friday Dennis Yablonsky, the CEO of the Allegheny (PA) Conference on Community Development, had a rather sobering and shocking assessment of PA Gov. Tom Wolf’s high severance tax. He said the effective rate of Wolf’s severance tax is actually 15%, not the 5% touted (lied about) by Wolf and his DEP Acting Secretary John Quigley. According to Yablonsky, the tax as proposed is just too high and will (our words) kill the industry in the state…
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Industrywide Issues | New York | North Carolina | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide VA | Statewide WV | Virginia | West Virginia

USGS Says There’s Plenty More Fossil Fuels to Come in Appalachia
March 31, 2015March 31, 2015

There were plenty of fossil fuels in the past 150 years in Appalachia–an area stretching from the northeast to the south–and there’s plenty more where those came from. That’s the conclusion from an updated series of papers collected together in a new U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper (#1708) called “Coal and Petroleum Resources in the Appalachian Basin: Distribution, Geologic Framework, and Geochemical Character” (free access, linked below). The USGS says, “Professional Paper 1708 is a modern, indepth collection of reports, cross sections, and maps that describe the geology of the Appalachian basin and its fossil fuel resources. This publication supplements and updates older USGS regional studies of Appalachian basin coal and petroleum resources.” Here’s an abstract/summary of what’s in the new report…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Syracuse U Study: Fracking Doesn’t Cause Methane in PA Water Wells
March 30, 2015March 30, 2015

You can’t tell us there isn’t political bias in the world of so-called hard science and whether or not important research gets reported. In 2011 Duke University published a shoddy “study” that attempted to show a link between the presence of 68 shale wells and high levels of methane in nearby groundwater supplies (see MDN In-depth: Duke University Study Links Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling with Methane Contamination of Water Wells). That study got all sorts of coverage in the media. After their sloppy work was exposed by a number of scientists, the same group doubled down to try and salvage what little credibility they had left by publishing a second study in 2013 concluding the same thing (see Duke Study #2: Drilling Causes Methane Migration in Water Wells?). More media fanfare of “See, it really is true!” There were several fatal flaws in Duke’s research: they cherry picked the wells they used, they used a small data set (68 water wells in the first study, 141 in the second), and they had no baseline measurements–no “before and after” measurements to know if the methane was already present (as it so often is in northeastern PA). So what if some real researchers were to come along and use a data set hundreds of times larger (data on 11,000+ northeast PA water wells) and what if that data has baseline information–the before picture. Seems like that would settle it, right? That would address the weaknesses and shortfalls of the previous, shoddy research. Such a study was just published in the peer reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology…
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CONSOL Energy | Crime | Energy Companies | Fayette County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County | West Virginia

CONSOL Employee Goes to Prison for Stealing $440K in Royalties
March 30, 2015March 30, 2015

A sad story, and one we wish we didn’t have to report, but we do. Scott Hamilton was the manager for CONSOL Energy’s land records department in 2009 when he fraudulently set up a fake company and transferred CONSOL’s ownership interest in land in two counties (Christian County, IL, and Fayette County, WV) to the dummy corporation. He then had royalty checks for the two properties (owed to CONSOL as the royalty owner) mailed to a post box in Washington County, PA. In all, Hamilton stole some $440,000 from CONSOL before he was caught. Hamilton has already paid all of it back and he will now, after pleading guilty, spend the next 30 months in federal prison…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Cuyahoga County | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Litigation | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

CELDF Costing Towns Big $ With Losing Pipeline/Drilling Bans
March 30, 2015March 30, 2015

Communities that attempt to block pipelines (and drilling) with illegal so-called community rights ordinances that seek to block those activities are losing in court and, in at least some of the cases, taxpayers in those communities end up paying the legal fees for the pro-drilling side. That’s the good news we find in an article by a PBS “reporter” (we’d call her an anti-drilling propagandist) writing on the StateImpact Pennsylvania website. To the small group of fossil fuel-hating nutters in Conestoga Township (Lancaster County), PA, you may want to consider the considerable cost of launching yet another campaign funded by outsiders Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), the shadowy group behind much of this mischief. Be sure to ask the CELDF if they’re willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees if you lose (as you surely will) a legal challenge to a pipeline ban in the township. Make them put their money where their huge mouth is…
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Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Public Opinion | Taxation

Poll: 70% of Lycoming County Residents Against Wolf Severance Tax
March 30, 2015March 30, 2015

It’s certainly not statistically significant, but it’s important nonetheless. The *Williamsport Sun-Gazette* (Lycoming County, PA) launched a poll last week that, as of this morning, is still open. It asks the question, “What do you think of Gov. Wolf’s plans to institute a severance tax for natural gas drilling industries in Pennsylvania??” In order to divide the opposition against this insane idea, the poll has three potential responses, two of them are against the severance tax and one response is in favor. As of this morning, if you add the two “against the tax” responses together, 30% think Wolf’s severance tax is a good idea and an overpowering majority, 70%, thinks its not a good idea. Head on over to //www.sungazette.com/page/polls.detail/id/413/ and vote now, before they close the poll. Here’s how the results looked as of this morning…
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Crime | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Report: Effects of Marcellus Shale Dev on Criminal Justice System
March 30, 2015March 30, 2015

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania (CRP), a bipartisan, bicameral legislative agency that serves as a resource for rural policy within the Pennsylvania General Assembly, continues to pump out the reports on the Marcellus Shale and its impacts on the state at a prodigious rate. They issued the third report in a series in January, another in February, and a third in March (see New Report: Housing and Marcellus Shale Development in PA). The reports each focus on a single topic and how the Marcellus Shale industry in the state is affecting (or not) that particular constituency. The newest/fourth this year (sixth in the series) study from the CRP is titled “Effects of Marcellus Shale Development on the Criminal Justice System” (full copy below). MDN friend Tom Shepstone of NaturalGasNow.org describes the report this way: “Once again, the narrative is an equivocal document apparently intended to give any reader something they’ll like. The data, however, is extensive, there is none of the unprofessional focus group commentary that has characterized some previous reports in this series and there are actual comparisons between Marcellus and non-Marcellus counties that allow for more useful analysis. What’s most interesting about the report is that it completely voids most of the fractivist junk science and junk journalism we’ve seen on the subject of shale crime.”…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Fireworks at First PA DEP Conventional O&G Board Meeting
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

Well well. It seems by giving out the consolation prize of putting PIOGA (the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association) and other industry reps on the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection’s newly created conventional board isn’t working out quite as well as expected for Acting DEP Sec. John Quigley (see PA Marcellus Industry Consolation Prize: DEP Conventional Board). While PIOGA and other industry associations were denied a seat on the arguably more powerful Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board (TAB), they were given a seat (and a voice) on the Conventional Oil and Gas Advisory Committee (COGAC)–a rule-making board that covers traditional, vertical-only drilling. At the inaugural meeting of COGAC, yesterday, there were fireworks from PIOGA and others…
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Cambria County | Pennsylvania

PA Gas Utility Approved to Provide Marcellus on Installment Plan
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

Residents in Cambria County, PA want some of that abundant, clean-burning and cheap Marcellus Shale natural gas to use for heating their homes. But you need a pipeline to your house in order to get it–and in many rural locations, like Cambria, pipelines would need to be built. Pipelines are expensive to build. Until now, residents who want natural gas would have to pay–up front–to have new pipelines built. It costs on the order of $20,000+ (per household) to build the necessary infrastructure–a cost out of reach for 99% of the people who want it. How do you bridge the gap? In the great American tradition, use the installment plan! Utility company Peoples Natural Gas (PNG), the local gas utility in Cambria, asked the PA Public Utility Commission to approve a plan that allows customers to pay over time. The PUC has appoved the plan. PNG’s plan will cost the average resident $70 per month for up to 25 years–approximately $55 per month to build the mainline pipeline to a community, and $15 per month to run lines to individual homes. It adds up to a potential $21K for each household, but spread across 25 years it’s not all that bad. Most, perhaps all, homes would end up saving money because using Marcellus Shale gas to heat with is so much cheaper than heating with oil and electricity…
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Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

2015 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards: A Quick Recap & List of Winners
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

This is a shout out to the marvelous people we (meaning me, Jim Willis) met in Pittsburgh on Wednesday at the 3rd Annual Oil & Gas Awards. I was truly humbled and thrilled to meet so many MDN readers! You gave me some great feedback on MDN–feedback that has me thinking about some new initiatives going forward. So stay tuned for the future and what I believe will be some good things coming. During the day I was privileged to host two panel discussions. A special thank you to the panelists on the “Minimizing Environmental Impact” panel: Melissa Hamsher, Vice President at Eclipse Resources; Lauren Parker, Principal at Civil & Environmental Consultants; and Gregg Stewart, Permitting Manager with PennEnergy Resources. And a special thank you to the panelists on the “Health and Safety” panel: Charlie Dixon, Safety and Workforce Director with Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program; Frank Harrison, President of Areion Energy; and Chad McCutcheon, Communications Professional with McCutcheon Enterprises. Stellar panelists all! They made me look good, and that’s a hard thing to do. 😉 There were about 150 attendees at the Industry Summit during the day. MDN will bring you videos (when they become available) for each of the sessions. The evening was the “main” event–a gala awards ceremony with folks decked out in tuxedos and evening gowns. We have the complete list of winners for the 2015 Northeast Oil and Gas Awards below…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

Obi-Wan Quigley: These are Not the TAB Droids You’re Looking For
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

Pennsylvania’s Acting Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary, John Quigley, continues to come under fire from PA Republican legislators over his (so far) less-than-transparent operation of the department–especially over firing the former Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board members and replacing them with his own people, including so-called “non-voting” members (see Why did PA DEP Acting Sec Quigley Mass Fire Gas Advisory Board?). Since he’s losing the PR battle on that front, he’s changed tactics, referring to the TAB almost as window dressing…no big deal…they don’t even have any authority or power to really do anything…nothing to see here, these are not the droids you’re looking for, move along…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Counties Line Up Against Wolf Severance Tax, Distrust Assurances
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

Pennsylvania counties are saying “no thanks” to PA Gov. Tom Wolf’s severance tax plan. They don’t believe (justifiably so) that they’ll make out just as well under a severance tax as they have under an impact fee. They’re not falling for Wolf’s “just trust me, ya’ll will be just fine” routine. Wolf is not in a political pickle because the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania is lining up against his high severance tax proposal. Wolf tells counties they’ll still get what they were getting under the impact fee. They’re telling him, politely, that he’s full of beans…
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Bradford County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County | Tioga County (PA)

PA DEP Issues Drought Watch in 27 Counties, Including Marcellus
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

Yesterday the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection issued a drought watch for 27 counties in the state, including some of the most heavily drilled Marcellus Shale well counties–including Susquehanna, Bradford and Tioga counties. A drought watch is, according to the DEP, the first and least-severe level of the state’s three drought classifications and calls for water users to voluntarily conserve 5% of the water they have been using…
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