Pennsylvania

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Wastewater

CT May Pass Frack Wastewater Ban; Should PA Pass CT NatGas Ban?
April 15, 2014April 15, 2014

Even though there is no frackable shale under the ground in Connecticut, state legislators on Monday advanced a bill that will ban frack wastewater and (presumably) drill cuttings from states with fracking operations–like Pennsylvania. We’re reasonably certain no frack wastewater or drill cuttings have ever been hauled to Connecticut for disposal, so this bill seems to be yet another empty gesture. However, the bill does seem to be headed for passage by a May 7 deadline.

So MDN would like to propose a new bill for PA legislators: How about a law that prohibits the sale of natural gas extracted by fracking to states like Connecticut that don’t want to help out with waste disposal? Seems fair to us. It’s not like Connecticut residents would have to go without natural gas–they can buy it from Russia’s Gazprom for oh, $100-$150 per thousand cubic feet (instead of purchasing PA’s Marcellus gas for $3-4 per Mcf). How about it PA? Let’s play a little hardball and see how those conceited New Englanders like a little taste of their own legislative medicine…
Read More “CT May Pass Frack Wastewater Ban; Should PA Pass CT NatGas Ban?”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Wastewater

Range Resources Fined $75K by PA DEP for Brine Spill
April 14, 2014April 14, 2014

On Friday the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection slapped Range Resources with a $75,000 fine for a brine spill of 3,066 gallons at its Cornwall Mountain Hunting Club Unit A well pad in Lewis Township, Lycoming County. The spill occurred in July 2012, but according to the DEP it took Range nearly a year to remediate the spill, resulting in the fine.

Here’s what happened (and when), and what the DEP said about it…
Read More “Range Resources Fined $75K by PA DEP for Brine Spill”
Blair County | Energy Services | HalenHardy | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Supply Chain

Marcellus Entrepreneur Donny Beaver: Silica Dust, Mud & Heck Out
April 14, 2014April 14, 2014

Donny Beaver is a serial entrepreneur. He co-founded New Pig in the mid-1980s–a company that absorbs anything that leaks, drips, splatters or spills. In 2001 Donny founded what would become a series of exclusive fly fishing clubs/retreat centers called the HomeWaters Club across Pennsylvania. In January 2013 he co-founded and launched HalenHardy, which solves problems for the Marcellus (and by extension construction) industry. Donny would talk to Marcellus workers who frequented his HomeWaters Club and his natural curiosity landed him in a new venture to help solve problems for the industry.

First up was the excellent and award winning Mobile Air Shower by HalenHardy (MASHH) units that remove silica dust from workers in 30 seconds (see HalenHardy Wins Ben Franklin EHS Award for Silica Air Shower). Next up is a device that removes mud from boots in 30 seconds. And after that? Portable barriers that will keep people away from dangerous construction sites or emergency scenes–as in “keep the heck out,” a product called Heck Out. Perhaps Donny’s key insight, something all entrepreneurs should learn and tattoo on their hearts: “People don’t care about companies; they care about stuff that helps them.” Smart guy. He surrounds himself with talented, creative people. Really smart guy…
Read More “Marcellus Entrepreneur Donny Beaver: Silica Dust, Mud & Heck Out”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Marcellus/Utica Anti-Drilling Group Back with Impacts “Research”
April 14, 2014April 14, 2014

The Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative (MSSRC) attempts to pass itself off as a non-partisan, “just the facts ma’am” kind of organization dedicated to measuring the “impacts” of Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling. They are anything but. The organization is extremely partisan and anti-drilling, backed by the likes of the Heinz Endowments and Park Foundation, two organizations that back only anti-drillers when it comes to the issue of shale drilling (just ask Bobby Vagt, former president of the Heinz Endowments, Bobby Vagt Out as Pres of Heinz Endowments – Fracking Connection?).

Last November the MSSRC issued a faux research “report” that said, “Nah, Marcellus/Utica doesn’t create all that many jobs after all” (see Anti-Drilling Cabal Issues Biased Report on Marcellus/Utica Jobs). The anti-drilling MSSRC is back with a series of four “case studies” on counties in the Marcellus/Utica and how they’ve fared with a number of metrics. As you might expect, the “study” found loads of negative impacts. It’s all crap, but we highlight it for you so you know that it’s crap and so you’re not taken in by their lame attempt at covering up who they really are and their insidious agenda…
Read More “Marcellus/Utica Anti-Drilling Group Back with Impacts “Research””
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Education | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot Oil & Gas Does it Again – $2.5 Million Gift to Lackawanna College
April 11, 2014April 11, 2014

Everyone knows how mercenary and evil those oil and gas companies are. They’re just in it for the buck. Rape and pillage poor Mother Earth–pollute the air, pollute the water, pollute everything! Those shale drillers are actually some of the worst, ya know. That’s what the anti-drilling left would have you believe. That’s the meme constantly drummed by mainstream media. Throw in a “Halliburton loophole” and “Dimock” or maybe a “Pavillion, Wyoming” and you’re good to go with the typical mainstream coverage of our industry. Just a teeny, tiny problem…none of it is true.

MDN previously told you about Cabot Oil & Gas’ largess in helping raise $4.4 million for a rural hospital in Montrose, PA (see Cabot Effort Raises $4.4 Million for PA Physicians Clinic). Of that $4.4 million, Cabot themselves donated $2.2 million to the kitty. That is serious money folks. And now, Cabot has done it again. Today, if you’re reading this on April 11, 2014, Cabot announced a $2.5 million gift to Lackawanna College (Scranton, PA). The gift will directly fund the School of Petroleum & Natural Gas located in New Milford, PA. It marks the largest single private donation in the history of Lackawanna College. Kudos to Cabot! Cabot is a sterling company–one of the backbones of the Marcellus Shale, the biggest (and best) shale play in the United States…
Read More “Cabot Oil & Gas Does it Again – $2.5 Million Gift to Lackawanna College”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Reserves (Proved and Unproved) | Statewide PA

EIA: Marcellus #1 Proved Reserves Shale in U.S., PA #2 for Gas
April 11, 2014April 11, 2014

Yesterday the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), our favorite government agency (the only one worth funding in our opinion) issued its annual U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves for 2012 report (full copy embedded below). It takes a long time to crunch and analyze the numbers, hence these kinds of reports are 2 years delayed. But wow! What an interesting report. It shows that in 2012 the Marcellus Shale became the nation’s largest shale play–at least by proved reserves–surpassing the Barnett Shale in Texas, the former reigning champ of proved reserves. Pennsylvania rocketed from fifth to second largest gas reserve state. The report also shows the Texas Eagle Ford Shale play passed the North Dakota Bakken to become the largest tight oil shale play in the U.S. That’s the big big news. But there’s plenty of smaller big news too.

First up, what the heck is proved reserves? The EIA defines it this way: “Proved reserves are volumes of oil and natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions.” You might think proved reserves are our best guess as to how much total oil or gas is down there, based on sound scientific data. But you would be wrong. It’s what’s down there that we’re willing to go get based on today’s economics. Important distinction. What that means is the commodity price for oil and gas has a lot to do with proved reserves numbers. The oil and gas can be locked away down there (indeed it is down there), but if we’re not willing to get it out of the ground because we can’t make a profit–it might as well not exist…
Read More “EIA: Marcellus #1 Proved Reserves Shale in U.S., PA #2 for Gas”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Sham Study by UK Authors Says PA Shale Wells Fail at High Rate
April 11, 2014April 11, 2014

A new “study” is starting to make the rounds in the incestuous echo chamber of anti-drillers and their sycophantic supporters in the mainstream media. The study, titled “Oil and gas wells and their integrity: Implications for shale and unconventional resource exploitation” is published in the “peer-reviewed” Marine and Petroleum Geology journal (full copy of the study embedded below). It’s written mainly by UK authors, with a couple of US authors thrown in to sweeten the pot. None of them are from universities in Pennsylvania. Here’s a typical headline generated by this new study: “Pennsylvania Fracking Wells Are Dangerous, Study Finds.” Which is a lie. But the media hopes you won’t read beyond the headlines. We actually do.

Here’s the first thing to know about this “study”: There is no (that is zero) new data in the study. It’s a review of other people’s data and research in “the published literature and online.” That is, the authors didn’t do any actual science or field work–they just read what anti-drilling wackos have published on websites and in print and rounded it all up and called it science. The second thing to know, regarding their evaluation of the data from Pennsylvania, is this: “the search criteria used to categorise leakage incidents in Pennsylvania followed the approach described by [Anthony] Ingraffea.” That is, the authors intentionally chose to ignore the better data of what constitutes well leakage in Pennsylvania tabulated and tracked by the agency charged with monitoring it (the PA DEP) and instead chose to use Cornell anti-drilling professor Tony Ingraffea’s wild interpretations of the DEP data. That right there tells you all you need to know about this sham of a “study”…
Read More “Sham Study by UK Authors Says PA Shale Wells Fail at High Rate”
Accidents | Chevron | Energy Companies | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PA DEP Says Chevron Blocked Access to Greene County Well Fire
April 10, 2014April 10, 2014

On Feb. 11 Chevron’s Lanco 7H well in Greene County, PA exploded and caught fire. Although it’s not clear what caused the explosion, workers were connecting the well to a gathering pipeline (i.e. welding) and it’s not much of a stretch to connect the dots. One of the workers at the site tragically lost his life (see Remains of Chevron Contractor Found at Greene County Well Site). The fire at Lanco 7H spread to the well next it–Lanco 6H. After five days the twin fires were put out and eventually the wells were capped (see Chevron Well Fire Update: 2nd Well Capped, Work on 7 Wells Stopped).

Both the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Chevron continue to investigate what went wrong. However, three weeks ago the DEP issued a preliminary Notice of Violation about the accident and fires (see it embedded below). The surprising revelation in the NOV is that Chevron blocked DEP personnel from accessing the site for two days while the fire burned. DEP personnel, by law, have carte blanche access to any well anywhere at any time. Chevron was no doubt trying to protect the DEP agents, however, blocking them from the site clearly rankled the agency and will now be part of a fine they eventually assess on Chevron…
Read More “PA DEP Says Chevron Blocked Access to Greene County Well Fire”
Accidents | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Conference Speaker Says PA is Tops with Spill Containment Regs
April 10, 2014April 10, 2014

The main focus for the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association’s ShaleSafe Conference and Expo at Oglebay Park in Wheeling this week was silica dust exposure (see MDN’s related article published today). However, another session was a close second as Topic A–the session on spill containment. The sole presenter on spill containment was Beth Powell from New Pig Energy. Spill containment became a huge topic for everyone in West Virginia after a chemical spill related to coal mining affected the drinking water for 300,000 WV residents earlier this year. In the aftermath of that spill, the WV legislature passed new regulations for chemical storage tanks–regulations that affect not only the coal industry guilty of the spill, but also the shale drilling industry too (see Impact of WV’s New Chemical Tank Law on Marcellus Drillers).

Ms. Powell had some interesting things to say about spill containment–and she should know since well pad containment systems are New Pig’s business. Among her comments, Powell said Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations are far more strict than either West Virginia or Ohio when it comes to spills and spill containment. Now that’s something you don’t hear from anti-drillers in PA who try to paint the DEP as lax, derelict in their duty, and in bed with the drilling industry…
Read More “WV Conference Speaker Says PA is Tops with Spill Containment Regs”
Bucks County | Industrywide Issues | Montgomery County | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

2 Spineless PA RINOs Join Call for High Marcellus Severance Tax
April 10, 2014April 10, 2014

Several mainstream media outlets are trumpeting that “Republicans join the call for tax on Marcellus drillers.” Of course you have to read the fine print of the story to learn the so-called Republicans, which are really Republicans-In-Name-Only (RINOs), are really just two Republicans from the Philadelphia area where there is no drilling. They both want to stick their fingers into the pockets of landowners and drillers so they have funny money to throw around and buy votes with. Yes, we’re talking to you Gene DiGirolamo (Bucks County) and Tom Murt (Montgomery/Philadelphia counties). Shame on both of you.

The real story is this: Two spineless RINO sellouts from the Philly area “join the call” for obscene taxes on the drilling industry. There is no mass movement among Republicans in Pennsylvania to kill off the drilling industry with high severance taxes being advocated by just about every Democrat legislator and Democrat candidate in the state. We sure hope the people of PA have wised up to the Dem drivel about taxing one industry (shale drilling) to give the Dems (and RINOs) boatloads of money to squander on pet projects–the chief pet project being to put money into the pockets of people who will vote for them…
Read More “2 Spineless PA RINOs Join Call for High Marcellus Severance Tax”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Bad to Worse: PA Royalty Owner Asks Court for Chessy Class Action
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

Chesapeake Energy continues to find itself under the metaphorical gun with respect to royalty payments in Pennsylvania. The PA legislature is considering a bill (HB 1684) that would plug a legal loophole and require Chesapeake and other drillers to pay landowners a 12.5% minimum royalty regardless of post-production costs (see PA NARO Alert: Tell Your State Rep to Vote YES on HB 1684). Landowners in Bradford County sued Chessy held an anti-Chesapeake rally to further express their extreme displeasure (see Bradford PA Landowner Rally over Chesapeake Royalty Shenanigans). Gov. Corbett asked PA’s anti-drilling Attorney General, Kathleen Kane, to investigate (showing how bad it’s gotten–to stoop to asking her to get involved).

And now from bad to worse: a company that owns royalty rights in PA, Scout Petroleum, claims they’ve been screwed out of royalties by Chesapeake and has asked a judge for a full refund and to force Chesapeake into arbitration and grant class-action status to the whole, festering mess…
Read More “Bad to Worse: PA Royalty Owner Asks Court for Chessy Class Action”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Act 13 Case Goes Back to Court, Drillers Petition to Join Lawsuit
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

The Marcellus Shale drilling industry in Pennsylvania is trying to make some lemonade from the truckload of lemons handed to them by the PA Supreme Court’s ill-fated decision to let seven selfish townships gut the state’s Act 13 drilling law passed in 2012. We’ve covered the issue extensively (see a list of MDN’s Act 13 articles here). Perhaps the most egregious and outrageous miscarriage of justice in the case is that the drilling industry, which is directly affected by the case, was never allowed to join the case. The courts said they didn’t have “standing”–and yet those same courts allowed the virulently anti-drilling Delaware Riverkeeper Network to be party to the case. Simply boggles the mind.

The PA Supreme’s in their “wisdom,” decided the zoning portions of the case and sent the rest of the case back to a lower court so they could finish gutting the Act 13 law. As MDN previously reported exactly a month ago, the drilling industry has, once again, respectfully requested they be allowed to join the case now that it’s in the home stretch (see Drillers Petition PA Court (Again) to Participate in Act 13 Case). While the drilling industry can’t undo what has been done by the Supreme Court, it is clear that they believe they can lessen the damage done if they win certain arguments in lower court–arguments like affirming the Public Utility Commission’s authority to review whether a zoning ordinance crosses the line and preempts state oil and gas law. In other words, the seven selfish towns may not have gotten their own selfish way after all–not entirely. The hearing on whether to allow the industry to join what’s left of the lawsuit is today…
Read More “Act 13 Case Goes Back to Court, Drillers Petition to Join Lawsuit”
Allegheny County | Energy Services | Ethane | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | NOVA Chemicals | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide PA

NOVA Visits Pittsburgh, Takes About Sarnia Cracker Expansion
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

Last December MDN brought you the news that NOVA Chemicals, which operates the Corunna ethane cracker plant in Sarnia, Ontario (Canada) plans to expand their cracker plant using more Marcellus and Utica Shale ethane (see NOVA Chemicals Plans Expansion of Corunna Cracker in Sarnia). At that time NOVA said they will expand capacity by an additional 20% gradually between 2014 and 2018.

At a special event in Pittsburgh designed to strengthen the already-strong connection between Pennsylvania and Canada, called Pop-Up Canada, NOVA vice president John Hotz provided a few more details about NOVA’s plans for the Corunna cracker plant…
Read More “NOVA Visits Pittsburgh, Takes About Sarnia Cracker Expansion”
Accidents | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Tioga County (PA)

Anti-Drilling Groups Want PA DEP to Investigate 2-Yr Old EQT Spill
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

News flash: A bunch of virulently anti-drilling groups, including PennEnvironment, PennFuture, the [so-called] Responsible Drilling Alliance, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Clean Water Action, and the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper are asking the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to investigate a two-year old spill of frack water in Tioga County, PA by EQT. Further news flash: said virulently anti-drilling groups think EQT is an “irresponsible operator” in the Marcellus. Film at 11.

Here’s the propaganda fundraiser (also called a press release) issued by said virulently anti-drilling groups:
Read More “Anti-Drilling Groups Want PA DEP to Investigate 2-Yr Old EQT Spill”
Bradford County | Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain

Plugging in to Panda Power’s Electric Generation Supply Chain
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

As we reported in December, Panda Power Funds, a private equity firm located in Dallas, TX, purchased the rights to build two electric generating plants–one in Bradford County, PA and the other in Lycoming County, PA (see Panda Power Buys Rights for 2nd Marcellus-Fueled Electric Plant). Construction on the Bradford County plant, dubbed Panda Liberty, is under way now. Panda is spending northward of $1.3 billion to build the two plants–an incredible amount of money that’s being pumped into the northeastern Pennsylvania economy.

MDN spotted an article that mentions Panda and their projects, including the two PA electric plants. The reason that we bring it to you is that it provides background on the vendors Panda is using to build the plants. Which may be of interest to companies that would like to plug into the supply chain and see if they can drum up some business from these two projects…
Read More “Plugging in to Panda Power’s Electric Generation Supply Chain”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Rare Schism Between Landowners & Drillers over PA Royalty Law
April 8, 2014April 7, 2014

Several weeks ago MDN told you that the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners had sent out a flash email to encourage support of House Bill (HB) 1684, the Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act. The bill would clear up shady dealings from Chesapeake Energy (and perhaps others) in deducting certain expenses leaving some landowners with checks for royalties way under the 12.5% guaranteed minimum (see PA NARO Alert: Tell Your State Rep to Vote YES on HB 1684). Not long after NARO sounded the rallying cry, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau joined NARO in supporting HB 1684 (see PA Farm Bureau Joins Chorus Against Chessy on Royalty Issue).

However, this is one issue on which landowners, who are strongly pro-drilling, and the drilling industry itself, part ways. The Marcellus Shale Coalition, through its new grassroots organization called Shale Advocates, is asking shale supporters to oppose HB 1684. According to the Shale Advocates website, they want their supporters to “Take a few moments to contact your representative and let them know you oppose HB1684 and any effort by the Commonwealth to intervene in private contracts. Here’s your opportunity to be heard. Your voice will make a difference.” After HB 1684 has been larded up with amendments, NARO met to consider whether or not they would still support it and in the end, they see more to like than no like about the bill–so they issued the following press release last week to reaffirm their strong support:
Read More “Rare Schism Between Landowners & Drillers over PA Royalty Law”