Pennsylvania

Allegheny County | Meetings | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Still Time to Attend SGICC’s Free May 12 Event & See Cool Tech
May 5, 2015May 5, 2015

Who says there’s no free lunch?! On May 12, you can attend the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center’s (SGICC) free event (with lunch!) at the Southpointe, PA Hilton Garden Inn. And what’s the event? It is the unveiling of four winners of the SGICC’s annual Shale Gas Innovation contest. Each year the SGICC runs a contest to highlight early-stage technologies that enhance responsible stewardship of the environment while properly utilizing our bountiful Marcellus Shale as an asset. Four winners (out of the final 14 selected) will receive a $25,000 cash prize each–$100,000 total. The event will celebrate the newest winners and give YOU the opportunity to mill around and review each of the 14 finalists and their truly unique and innovative technologies. Here’s more details and how to register…
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Energy Companies | Forest County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | SWEPI | Tioga County (PA)

PA DCNR Publishes Lease Agreements for Deals Under Rivers/Creeks
May 4, 2015April 30, 2018

In February 2015, MDN did a deep dive into the issue of Pennsylvania leasing underneath rivers and streams to allow Marcellus/Utica Shale drilling (see PA DCNR Program Leases Under Rivers/Creeks for Marcellus Drilling). PA maintains the state owns the land underneath any river or creek that is “navigable” and therefore has the right to lease it for drilling, denying the landowners who own the land along the banks of that stream signing bonuses and royalties. It is a thorny issue. Does the state actually “own” the land under rivers and creeks? It’s an issue that (seems to us) should be litigated and decided. In that story in February MDN brought you a list of river and creek deals signed, as of early January, with an indication of who signed and how much the signing bonus was for. At the bottom of that list (we’ve included the list below for your convenience) are six deals with Shell’s SWEPI–five of the deals for tracks of river/creeks in Tioga County, PA, and one in Forest County, PA. Interestingly, the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the state agency doing the leasing on behalf of the state, has just published notification for those six SWEPI deals in the May 2 Pennsylvania Bulletin which include the full details for each deal…
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Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

US Attorney Looks for “Environmental Crimes” in Marcellus/Utica
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

On Friday MDN told you of an observation about anti-drillers trying to criminalize accidents and (in some cases) sloppy neglect when it comes to Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling (see Youngstown Injection Wells Previously Shut Down Resume Operation). The emphasis on so-called “environmental crimes” seems to be coming from the federal government–in the Youngstown case, from the EPA. We spotted another such effort–this one from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in southwest PA (Pittsburgh). U.S. Attorney David Hickton began meeting (colluding?) in December with the FBI, EPA, and the PA DEP and PA anti-drilling Attorney General “to discuss opportunities for improved environmental enforcement.” Another such meeting is scheduled for this week…
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Energy Services | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Williams

Williams Says Some Marcellus Drillers Shutting in Production
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

Last week top management from midstream heavyweight Williams participated in an analyst call to discuss first quarter 2015 results and to talk about what to expect going forward in 2015. The one that that stands out about the call is that Williams is facing lower volumes of gas flowing through their pipelines in some areas of the Marcellus Shale because drillers are “curtailing” or shutting-in some of their wells to wait for natgas prices to go up. Sometimes drillers do that. They have a lot of expenses sunk into a well. If they believe the price will rise in the near or medium term, they sometimes throttle back and wait. How much are drillers shutting in? Williams figures it will be between 300-500 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d) of production…
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CNG/LNG | Dauphin County | Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles | Pennsylvania

UPS Adds 64 New LNG Tractor Trailers to Fleet in Harrisburg, PA
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

Two years ago we tipped our hat to UPS, the worldwide package delivery service, for their commitment to growing their natural gas fleet with a plan to add 700 new LNG (liquefied natural gas) tractor trailers to the fleet (see UPS to Grow NG Fleet with Additional 700 LNG Tractor Trailers). Good news: UPS has done it again. The company announced last week they are adding another 64 new LNG tractor trailers to the fleet–this batch based in Harrisburg, PA. No doubt cheap, abundant Marcellus Shale gas had something to do with that decision…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Education | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania

PA Teacher Pollutes Minds of 7th Graders Against Electric Plant
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

An anti-drilling teacher is brainwashing her seventh grade students into opposing the Invenergy natural gas-fired electric plant proposed for Jessup. Using lessons she’s teaching her students about the great Aristotle and his teachings on rhetoric, Ms. Grace Piconi-Augelli claims her students can sniff out fraud and subterfuge when they see it–and they (or rather Ms. Piconi-Augelli) see it with Invenergy and their plan to use clean burning Marcellus Shale gas to power what will be the state’s largest natural gas-fired electric plant. Ms. Piconi-Augelli is teaching her students about rhetoric, but apparently she skimmed over the section on Aristotle’s teachings on logic…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Washington County

PA DEP Gets an Earful About New Drilling Rules at Public Hearing
May 1, 2015May 1, 2015

The first two of three public hearings being held by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection on proposed new drilling rules, which were changed at the last minute by the incoming Gov. Tom Wolf administration, have now been held. What happened? What always happens at these things. Anti-drillers parading before the cameras and microphones to demand this and that, and (in this case) pro-drillers commenting on their dim view of the last minute changes made by the DEP. It seems that Wolf and his Acting Secretary of the DEP, John Quigley, have made precisely no one happy with their meddling with the rules…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | NGLs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

First Step in KM’s 1,000 Mile Y-Grade Pipeline Journey
May 1, 2015May 1, 2015

We have a lot of information to boil down and convey regarding what was once called Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) “Y-Grade Pipeline”–a natural gas liquids (NLG) pipeline some 1,000 miles long that will stretch from Pennsylvania to Texas (see our 2013 article for background: Kinder Morgan/MarkWest Proposed NGL Pipeline Gets a Nickname, Map). The Y-Grade Pipeline is now called the Utica Marcellus Texas Pipeline Project (UMTP). TGP has a series of 6 parallel pipelines that currently run from Louisiana to western Pennsylvania–carrying natural gas from the Gulf Coast to the northeast (and to points in between, running through Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio). The northeast and southeast doesn’t need that much gas from the Gulf given the enormous production coming from the Marcellus/Utica. The plan is to “abandon” some of the lengths of those pipelines and repurpose the “abandoned” pipelines, reversing the flow and instead of flowing natgas, flowing NGLs from the northeast to the Gulf–eventually (with a new pipeline) from LA into TX. That is the plan for UMTP. Kinder Morgan, owner of TGP, recently filed official paperwork with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to “abandon” certain sections and beef up the remaining pipelines with new compressor stations. We have the full details, including details about four new compressor stations to be built in Ohio…
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Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Range Resources Drills #1 Producing Marcellus Shale Well in 1Q15
April 30, 2015April 30, 2015

Range Resources released their first quarter 2015 results on Tuesday. We’ve spotted a several news outlets trumpeting the “news” in the release that Range has drilled the highest-ever initial producing Utica Shale well at 59 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d)–the Claysville Sportsman’s Club No. 1 well in Washington County, PA. Thing is, we reported that news back in December (see Range Resources Drills Highest-Ever Initial Producing Utica Well). The Claysville Utica well is not new news. However, Range did report some new news on Tuesday: Range has drilled what they claim is the highest ever initially-producing Marcellus Shale well. This Marcellus monster well is a wet gas well that produced an initial rate of 43.4 million cubic feet equivalent per day (Mmcfe/d). Range does not identify the well by name but says it, like their monster Utica well, is located in Washington County, PA. Range reports production in 1Q15 hit a record high of 1,328 Mmcfe per day–26% higher than 1Q14. On the financial side, revenues for Range were up 1% in 1Q15 vs 1Q14, but net income was down 15%…
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Allegheny County | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Greene County (PA) | Marshall County | Monroe County | Noble County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Utica Shale | Washington County | West Virginia | Westmoreland County

CONSOL Energy Narrows Future Marcellus/Utica Dev to 5 Counties
April 30, 2015April 30, 2015

CONSOL Energy released its first quarter 2015 update on Tuesday. Like virtually every other Marcellus/Utica driller, CONSOL’s 1Q15 profits dropped quite a bit–in this case 32%. But there was plenty of good news in Tuesday’s update. CONSOL reports Marcellus Shale production was up an impressive 75% year over year for the first quarter. They cut their costs in the Marcellus–from $3.18 per Mcfe in 1Q14 to $2.62 per Mcfe in 1Q15–$0.56 per Mcfe improvement (18%). The company achieved all-in cash costs of only $1.67 per Mcfe in the Marcellus Shale, which “continues to be the growth engine of the company.” Meanwhile, CONSOL continues to ramp up their Utica program. The company is currently drilling Utica wells in four counties: Greene and Westmoreland counties in PA; Monroe County, OH; and Marshall County, WV. CONSOL says the Utica wells they are currently drilling will come online in the second half of this year. However, given the current low price climate and cutbacks, CONSOL streamlined both its Marcellus and Utica operations in 1Q15. They’ve narrowed future Marcellus development to primarily Greene, Washington and Allegheny counties in PA; wet Utica development to Noble County, OH; and dry Utica development to Monroe County, OH…
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Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Rice Energy | Washington County

Rice Energy Signs Lease for New 150K Sq Ft HQ in Canonsburg
April 30, 2015April 30, 2015

Rice Energy is expanding their office and staff–big time. According to the Pittsburgh Business Times, Rice Energy has just signed a lease agreement to take 150,000 square feet of new office space at the Southpointe II complex in Canonsburg (Washington County), PA. The new digs mean Rice can put all of their office people together, under one roof. Right now the Rice work force numbers around 335. By the time they are done expanding, they hope to employ around 700. Get those resumes ready!…
Read More “Rice Energy Signs Lease for New 150K Sq Ft HQ in Canonsburg”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

Wrath of Kann: Lancaster Anti-Driller Arrested/Ejected from Mtg
April 30, 2015April 30, 2015

All’s we can say is, it’s about time! A loud mouthed anti-drilling protester in Lancaster County, PA was arrested and removed from a public meeting Tuesday for disorderly conduct. That is, she wouldn’t shut her mouth. So the officials running the meeting removed her. The meeting was an educational forum about so-called home rule and what role the town can and should play when it comes to regulating things like pipelines. The Conestoga Township supervisor running the meeting asked for questions from the audience, not pontificating. The anti-driller wanted to use the forum as a platform to vomit her opinions about the Williams Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project. The supervisor repeatedly said it is an educational forum and the audience may ASK QUESTIONS ONLY. She wouldn’t relent and she wouldn’t ask a question–and she wouldn’t shut up. So they removed her and now she’s threatening a lawsuit…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania

Fossil Fuel Hatred Run Amok: Sierra Club Against Clean Air in PA
April 29, 2015May 4, 2015

Converting from burning coal to burning natural gas to produce electricity is, according to the vast majority of Americans, a good thing to do. Coal burns much dirtier than natgas–it’s a plain and simple fact. We’re not slamming coal or saying we should stop burning coal–we’re just keepin’ it real. When Invenergy announced they planned to build Pennsylvania’s largest gas-fired electric plant near Scranton, in Jessup Borough (Lackawanna County), PA, and fire it with cheap, abundant and clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas, most folks welcomed it (see Marcellus Gas to Power Combined-Cycle Electricity Plant in NE PA). Oh, there’s always a small minority who oppose such plans (see Gas-Powered Electric Plant to be Built “on Thousands of People”). You would think so-called environmentalists would be the first in line to support such a project because it makes the air cleaner. But then, you would be wrong. A classic case in point is the Sierra Club–an organization that exists to fundraise. The Sierra Club is against the Jessup electric plant project. Why? Because it will “encourage further natural gas hydraulic fracturing in Northeast Pennsylvania”…
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Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Sand/Proppant | West Virginia | Wetzel County

EQT Call: Fracking 1st Utica Well in June; Changing Proppant
April 29, 2015April 28, 2015

Last week MDN brought you EQT’s report on their first quarter earnings and performance (see EQT 1Q15: Production Volume Up 37%, but Price Received Down 33%). As is often the case with publicly traded companies, EQT’s top management hopped on an analyst phone call to discuss the results. And as sometimes happens, extra details came out on the call. During last Friday’s call, EQT management revealed in prepared comments and in a series of questions and answers that: (1) the company will begin fracking its first Utica well (in Greene County, PA) in early June; (2) the second Utica well EQT plans to drill will be in Wetzel County, WV; and (3) the company is considering a change to ceramic proppant instead of using sand–a move that will cost them an average of $2.5 million more per well than what they pay now using sand…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Congressmen Send Letter to Army Corps Over Pipeline Delays
April 29, 2015April 28, 2015

A majority of the Republican Congressman representing the great state of Pennsylvania sent a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers earlier this month encouraging the Corps to get off it’s collective rear-end and begin authorizing midstream/pipeline projects in the Keystone State. Nine of the 13 Republican Congressman from PA, and one of its senators (Republican Pat Toomey) sent a letter on April 8 to Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Jo-Ellen Darcy, to complain that the Baltimore District of the Army Corps is dragging its feet (our words) and their actions are putting PA at a competitive disadvantage compared with other states. One of the problems seems to be overreach by the Corps–in redefining projects and project scope. Here’s the letter that no PA partisan Democrat would sign (shame on them)…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dauphin County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania

Charges Against 2 PA Anti-Drillers Dismissed on Technicality
April 28, 2015April 28, 2015

Yesterday MDN told you about two Pennsylvania anti-drilling protesters who, among six others, were arrested in January for disorderly conduct at the inauguration ceremony of Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf. The two appealed their conviction (see Anti Protesters Who Disrupted Wolf Inauguration Appeal Conviction). There was a hearing yesterday in Dauphin County Court and, unfortunately, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office failed to produce witnesses to finger the two as lawbreakers. So the judge (whom we presume is anti-drilling) used that as an excuse to dismiss the charges against the pair of hippies, er, ah, protesters…
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