Pennsylvania

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Economic Impact | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA | Washington County

New Heinz-Funded “Study” on Marcellus Boom/Bust in SWPA
August 4, 2014August 4, 2014

Washington & Jefferson College, located in Washington, PA (Pittsburgh suburb) has a Center for Energy Policy & Management–which makes sense since Washington County, PA sits in the middle of the wet gas Marcellus drilling zone. W&J recently teamed up with the Washington, DC-based Environmental Law Institute (ELI) to study the “boom and bust” cycle that communities face with resource extraction like the Marcellus Shale. The thought was to produce a document–in this case a series of documents–that can guide local and state politicians as they plan for the future. How can, and even *can* a community avoid a “bust” after a huge boom? That’s what the documents aim to answer. The only problem is, the ELI seems to tilt anti-drilling, and the entire study was funded by Mamma Teresa Heinz-Kerry and her Heinz Endowments–a strongly anti-drilling organization. So you know where this is headed…
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Bradford County | Energy Companies | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Energy | Susquehanna County

Southwestern 2Q14: Marcellus Output Doubles, Investment Lowered
August 4, 2014August 4, 2014

Southwestern Energy released its second quarter 2014 financial and operating results last week. Among the big news is that Southwestern nearly doubled output in the Marcellus region from 34 billion cubic feet in 2Q13 to 61 Bcf for 2Q14–approximately 668 million cubic feet per day. Likewise Southwestern’s midstream division saw a 27% increase in revenue for 2Q14 over the year before. Noticeably, the company gathered 417 million cubic feet per day of natural gas from 61 miles of company-owned gathering lines in the Marcellus Shale. Unhappily, the company has revised down its project investment for drilling in the Marcellus from $760 million to $700 million in 2014. It appears the company will spend that (plus money from other scaled back plays) to invest in a new venture in the Niobrara basin in Colorado and Wyoming…
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Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PPG Uses Auditor General “Report” to Slam Shale Industry – Again
August 4, 2014August 4, 2014

The increasingly anti-drilling Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PPG) continues to recycle a DOA crap report issued by the anti-drilling Pennsylvania Auditor General–who took office promising to give the drilling industry a black eye and further his own aspirations to one day be governor (see Anti-Drilling PA Auditor General Criticizes DEP in “Report”). As MDN pointed out, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale produced a report that uses data a) now more than two years old, and b) largely looks at the state Dept. of Environmental Protection as it was under Gov. Ed “Fast Eddie” Rendell (when John Hanger was Secretary of the DEP). Those little facts seem to escape the PPG who have just generated yet another anti-drilling article that supposedly finds drillers didn’t discover or report their own spills half the time (at least through the end of 2012)…
Read More “PPG Uses Auditor General “Report” to Slam Shale Industry – Again”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

New Electric Line Thru PA Anticipates Marcellus-Fired Plants
August 1, 2014August 1, 2014

PPL Electric Utilities Corporation announced yesterday that they plan to build a major new electric power line that will run 725 miles from western and north/central Pennsylvania to New York, New Jersey and Maryland. The exact route for the new 500-kilovolt line has not yet been determined, but if approved, PPL would begin construction in 2017 and complete construction by 2025. PPL says it will create a boatload of new jobs and cost between $4 and $6 billion to complete. Wait. What does this have to do with Marcellus drilling? Glad you asked…
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Anadarko | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Southwestern Energy | Statewide PA

Loyalsock Drilling Update: Public Will Have 15 Days to Comment
August 1, 2014August 1, 2014

Last Friday MDN told you about the latest spin job being run by the reliably anti-drilling PBS StateImpact Pennsylvania against the PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) over their constitutional requirement to allow drilling in the Loyalsock State Forest (see Save the Loyalsock Coalition Attempts a New Spin Job Against DCNR). PA does not own the mineral rights for 25,000 acres of the forest. Anadarko Petroleum and Southwestern Energy are the owners of those mineral rights and have, for years, been attempting to work out a plan to drill there. DCNR is working with both companies to get a plan in place, which has anti-drillers in a dither. Today we bring you the news that DCNR has issued an announcement about where they stand in the process–to let the public know that when a plan to drill has been worked out, the public (meaning anti-drillers) will have 15 days to gripe and moan before the microphones and via email and letters…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Regulation | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

Setback for Mariner East NGL Pipe – Judges Say Not Public Utility
July 31, 2014July 31, 2014

Two “independent” administrative law judges for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission have dealt what could be a major blow to Sunoco Logistics’ request to have the Mariner East NGL (natural gas liquids) pipeline declared a public utility. The two judges–David Salapa and Elizabeth Barnes–handed down a decision yesterday that denies Sunoco’s request to have 18 pump and 17 value stations (in 31 locations) that would need to be built along the 300+ mile pipeline exempt from local zoning ordinances. If the pipeline is considered a public utility it would be exempt from local ordinances. Without that exemption, Sunoco Logistics faces a nearly impossible task of trying to gain permission to build the necessary new stations. Below is a copy of the decision, and MDN’s background on this important pipeline project, along with a “where do we go from here” analysis…
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Beaver County | Cardinal Gas Services | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation

Beaver County Organic Farm vs Cardinal Midstream Compressor Plant
July 31, 2014July 31, 2014

A drama playing out in Beaver County, PA that first came to public attention last week pits a midstream company against an organic farmer. Don and Becky Kretschmann operate one of (perhaps the) largest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) organic farms in western Pennsylvania. The vegetables, fruits and herbs they produce on the farm are sold to some 1,000 customers throughout the area. Cardinal Midstream plans to build a pipeline compressor station with first four compressors, and eventually eight compressors, at a location about 1/3 of a mile (2,000 feet) from the Kretschmann’s organic farm. The Kretschmanns say the compressor station threatens the existence of their farm and organic certification…
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Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Revisiting the EQT “Forced Pooling” Lawsuit
July 30, 2014July 30, 2014

Yesterday MDN wrote a summary and interpretation of an article appearing in the Harrisburg Patriot-News about the recent court decision known as EQT Production v. Opatkiewicz, et al (see EQT’s (Mis)Use of 2013 Royalty Law Creates Forced Pooling). MDN friend and one of our legal idols–Dr. Michael Joy (with top law firm Reed Smith, holder of advanced degrees in both geology and the law) wrote to tell us–you’re wrong about your opinion of that case! When someone of Michael’s stature tells you you’re wrong, you step back and do some reflecting to see where you came off the tracks…
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Allegheny County | Chevron | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania

Chevron Puts Moon Twp, PA Office Building Project on Hold
July 30, 2014July 30, 2014

In February 2011 Chevron completed the purchase/buyout of Atlas Energy and with it, some 622,000 acres of Marcellus Shale leases. Atlas was located in Moon Township, PA (Allegheny County, near Pittsburgh). In September 2011, Chevron picked up another 228,000 acres–this time from Chief Oil & Gas (see Chevron Continues Aggressive Expansion into Marcellus Shale in PA – Buys Leases for Additional 228K Acres from Chief Oil & Gas). In May 2013 it was rumored that Chevron would build a new, massive 350,000 square foot headquarters in Moon Twp, a rumor that was confirmed when Chevron gained initial approval for the new facility in September 2013 (see Chevron Wins 1st Approval for New Regional HQ Near Pittsburgh). Chevron has just put those plans on hold…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Butler County | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Rex Energy

Martians Still Trying to Invade Neighbors to Prevent Drilling
July 30, 2014July 30, 2014

Nasty, and frankly loony, anti-drillers in Mars, PA want to exceed their constitutional authority. They want a 2 mile exclusion zone around the school to deny landowners the right to allow Marcellus Shale drilling on or under their land. State law already prohibits drilling within 500 feet of a school. As we frequently point out, the Elk Lake School District in Susquehanna County, PA has a couple of wells right on school property (see Rural NE PA School Nets $1.7M in Royalties from 2 Marcellus Wells). The Elk Lake wells totally debunk any arguments from Mars parents that their little Martian crumb-crunchers would be damaged by drilling…
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Cameron County | Elk County | Energy Companies | Lycoming County | McKean County | Pennsylvania | Seneca Resources

Seneca Resources 3Q14: Drilling Moves Away from Lycoming County
July 29, 2014July 29, 2014

Seneca Resources, the Marcellus Shale drilling division of midstream and utility company National Fuel Gas headquartered in Buffalo, NY, issued their fiscal third quarter (everyone else’s calendar second quarter) update yesterday. Among the interesting items: Seneca has shifted its focus on new drilling away from Lycoming County, PA (Williamsport area) westward to Elk, McKean and Cameron counties. The shift in focus will remain until Williams completes its recently announced Atlantic Sunrise Expansion pipeline project. Also of note was the increase in Seneca’s production and where it came from…
Read More “Seneca Resources 3Q14: Drilling Moves Away from Lycoming County”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

EQT’s (Mis)Use of 2013 Royalty Law Creates Forced Pooling
July 29, 2014July 29, 2014

A Pittsburgh-based attorney who, it appears (from his byline) sues shale drillers for a living, nevertheless offers up an excellent article in the Harrisburg Patriot-News that helps us understand the ill-advised royalty bill signed into law one year ago this month (see PA Gov Corbett Signs Back-Door Forced Pooling Bill into Law). The bill was meant to help landowners receive better, more transparent information in their royalty statements, but at the last minute a provision was added that allows leased properties to be pooled for horizontal drilling. Immediately after the royalty bill passed, EQT used the eleventh hour provision, called Secton 2.1 of the law, to sue 70 landowners (see Bad News: EQT Sues 70 Landowners Using New PA Forced Pooling Law). As with all things legal, this is complicated, but thanks to the lawyer’s article, we now have a better understanding of it…
Read More “EQT’s (Mis)Use of 2013 Royalty Law Creates Forced Pooling”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

MSC Releases Annual Workforce Survey: Marcellus Continues to Hum
July 29, 2014July 29, 2014

Another 2,000 new Marcellus jobs are being added this yes–in 2014–by Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) members according to the latest annual Marcellus Workforce Survey conducted by the MSC. The latest survey (full copy of results below) is increasingly hiring skilled workers in engineering and construction. High-paying skilled jobs accounted for 26.5% of all new hires last year in the Marcellus Shale. And there’s lots more where that came from…
Read More “MSC Releases Annual Workforce Survey: Marcellus Continues to Hum”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Lt Gov Candidate Supports Raiding Drillers for Big Education
July 29, 2014July 29, 2014

Democrat Mike Stack, a PA State Senator from Philadelphia, is his party’s nominee for Lt. Governor this fall. Stack has close ties to big education and is a tool of teacher unions who want to raid another industry–shale gas drilling–to feed their addiction to ever-higher salaries while turning in ever-lower education standards for their students. So it’s no surprise that Stack is one of the toadies that introduced legislation to enact a sky-high severance tax on Marcellus Shale drilling…
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Industrywide Issues | Keystone Pure Water Tech | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Supply Chain | Wastewater

Exclusive: Breakthrough Tech Cleans Frack Wastewater <30 Minutes
July 28, 2014July 28, 2014

What if you were convinced an invention IS the greatest thing since sliced bread–at least as it applies to the world of shale drilling? And what if that invention could clean thousands of gallons of frack wastewater right on site and turn it into DRINKABLE water–in less than 30 minutes? And what if this process uses no chemicals, and even eliminates radioactivity, producing inert minerals (like iron) that can be sold for profit? Oh, and what if your cost, as the driller, was only $3 per barrel to work this magic? Would you believe such a tall tale? You would if you were me…
Read More “Exclusive: Breakthrough Tech Cleans Frack Wastewater <30 Minutes”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Pennsylvania | Utica Shale

EQT Takes the Plunge: Drilling 1st Utica Well in SWPA
July 25, 2014July 25, 2014

Yesterday EQT released an update for second quarter 2014 (see EQT 2Q14 Update: Profit & Production Way Up). The top brass for EQT also held an analyst phone call/update to discuss that update–to elaborate and add some color and additional information. It was an informative phone call. Among the most interesting items to be discussed is that EQT has finally found its way on the Utica. They plan to begin drilling what is likely the deepest Utica well ever drilled at a depth of 13,500 feet–in Greene County–Pennsylvania’s most southwestern county…
Read More “EQT Takes the Plunge: Drilling 1st Utica Well in SWPA”