Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA NatGas Production up 58.5% to 1.42 Tcf (!)
August 20, 2013August 20, 2013

The top-notch editors at NGI’s Shale Daily have put together a must-see report on Marcellus Shale production in PA. Natural gas production in PA was up an astonishing 58.5% in the first six months of this year–to a new high of 1.42 trillion cubic feet. The report identifies the state’s top-producing well (in Bradford County, find out which driller and how much gas it produced in the report), and includes a handy chart showing production by county, breaking out methane, condensate and oil production.

The article/report begins this way:
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Democrats: Internal Fighting Over Vote to Ban Shale Drilling
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

Well well, finally a mainstream media outlet that is talking about the elephant (or in this case the donkey) sitting in the room that’s so big, it can no longer be ignored–i.e. the firestorm that has erupted inside the Pennsylvania Democrat Party over their idiotic vote in June to support a statewide, ongoing moratorium/ban of Marcellus Shale drilling (see PA Democrat Party Votes to End Marcellus Shale Drilling Statewide). MDN previously told you about the building dissension within elected Democrat ranks over the vote (see 18 PA House Democrats Dissent from Party’s Vote for Frack Moratorium).

We wouldn’t call the internal squabbling in the Democrat Party a full-blown internecine war–yet. However, it’s getting there, according to an article printed over the weekend in the Harrisburg Patriot-News. Be forewarned that the Patriot-News article is written from a Democrat apologist viewpoint that tends to downplay how serious this issue is within Democrat ranks–but they can’t cover up the truth. The article is more of a begrudging, feet-dragging “guess we have to write about this” article than a gleeful “screw the Republicans again” article they would rather write. Keep that in mind as you read:
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Crime | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Student Intern Vandalizes 3 Gas/Oil Wells in PA Allegheny Forest
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

What are those anti-drilling professors teaching in college these days anyway? A very misguided student intern, working on a project to clear a trail in the Pennsylvania Allegheny National Forest, decided he would vandalize three gas and oil wells drilled in the forest–wells that are legally there, with the blessing of PA state officials. Wells that are helping to reduce carbon in the atmosphere (if that sort of thing is important to you). Wells that may or may not have been horizontal shale wells.

So this so-called student–Jeffrey Branham (from Arizona)–damaged three wells and caused oil to spill on the ground, contaminating the precious environment he thinks he’s saving. What a dope…
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Should the Full 7-Member PA Supreme Court Re-Hear Act 13 Case?
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

The PA townships that sued the State of Pennsylvania last year over a section of the new Act 13 law that prevents towns from slapping their own zoning requirements on top of a uniform state zoning standard sense they may have won at the state Supreme Court level (which will allow them to zone) and are arguing against having oral arguments re-heard by all seven justices.

The original case–arguably one of the most important to come before the state Supreme Court in a long time–was originally heard by seven justices last fall–but one of the seven has since resigned due to campaign fundraising irregularities. The six justices remaining are three Democrats and three Republicans. Court watchers predict the Act 13 case decision will break down along party lines. If it’s a split decision at the Supreme Court level, the lower court ruling which favors the towns will stand. So the towns are arguing they don’t want the case re-heard by a full panel, now that a seventh justice (a Republican) has just taken the bench.
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Court: Preparing to Drill Locks Up All Land in a “Unit”
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

PA landowners listen up: If your gas/oil lease is near the end of its term with no drilling and you looking forward to signing a new lease, you may have a problem. If the driller holding the lease decides to do work in preparation for drilling on your neighbor’s property, you’re locked in too if your land is part of the drilling “unit.” According to a court case recently decided in PA, if a driller prepares to drill (which may be as little as moving around some dirt, depending on the language in the lease), the obligations of the lease are then fulfilled and all land in that unit is locked in–even if actual drilling doesn’t happen for a long time.

In legalese it’s called the habendum clause…
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Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA

PA Director of Game Commission Double-Dipping with Gas Leases?
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

An extensive investigative article about the director for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, William A. Capouillez, appears in yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer. The article spotlights a potential conflict of interest between Capouillez’s day job and his moonlighting side job as an agent for property owners who lease their land for oil and gas development. The issue? He signs private deals with the same companies that often work with his state agency. For one driller–Range Resources–it’s become a serious (legal) issue.
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Sierra Club Looks for a New Warmist to Lead the Faithful
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

The head of the extremist Sierra Club for the state of Pennsylvania is retiring, and the “race is on” to find someone just as extreme to fill his shoes. What does the PA Sierra Club’s Jeff Schmidt think is the most pressing issue facing the Keystone State? Of course it’s the mythical bogeyman “climate change.” What utter folly to say the climate changes! It’s like saying the sun shines and the earth rotates–which happen to be the two things that most affect the weather on this chunk of rock we call planet earth. Of course the climate changes–it’s definitional. What Schmidt means is that he believes man is causing catastrophic global warming–or anthropogenic warming. When the so-called “average temperature” on earth stopped warming about 15 years ago, the true believers had to quickly rename their manufactured crisis to “climate change.”
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Research | Statewide PA

Shale Gas Roundtable Issues Recommendations for PA Gas Drilling
August 16, 2013August 16, 2013

In March, MDN told you about the Shale Gas Roundtable, a group of high level participants from industry, government and academe organized and run by the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute on Politics (see Out of the Shadows: Another New Group Wants to Regulate PA Shale). The Roundtable has intentionally maintained a low profile–some might call it secrecy–in an attempt to craft a set of recommendations that will be taken seriously by both sides of the drilling debate and actually acted on, instead of being shelved as just another list of “nice to do” initiatives.

The group, which first met in September 2011, came all the way out of the shadows yesterday by releasing a 139-page report (full copy below) on their best thinking and recommendations to date. The report is a duesy–and we mean that in a mostly good way. Thorough and long, and full of concrete recommendations, the report tackles everything from proposed changes in the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection to new standards for water sourcing, biodegradable fracking chemicals, erosion controls, proposed new laws and even (yes) a vote in favor of forced pooling as the best way to minimize disturbance of surface land…
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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot Launches CNG Fueling Station in NE PA
August 16, 2013August 16, 2013

MDN editor Jim Willis (that’s me) had the pleasure of a late summer/early autumn drive from Binghamton to Dimock, PA yesterday. I attended the official opening of Cabot’s compressed natural gas (CNG) facility near Dimock. On hand for the ceremony were not only officials from Cabot, but also local politicians, a rep from the state DEP, local colleges and others.

George Stark, Cabot’s chief spokesman and director of external affairs, kicked off the event by calling the Marcellus Shale in Susquehanna County (the only place in PA they drill), a “generational” shale play. He said “production here is just prolific” and that what Cabot and others are doing in Susquehanna County is “changing the world.” His comments may seem like hyperbole, but indeed they are not…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Is an “Independent” Shale Research Organization Possible?
August 16, 2013August 16, 2013

The Shale Gas Roundtable–a southwestern PA group made up of representatives from the oil and gas industry, government and academe–released an important new study on Wednesday with a list of comprehensive recommendations for how shale drilling can and should go forward in Pennsylvania (see today’s companion story). One of the boldest proposals by the group is the establishment of an independent research organization to study the effects of shale drilling. The trick is to craft an organization whose research is unassailable–no accusations that “industry” or “enviro groups” funded the research and therefore said research is skewed or tainted. How to do that?

The Roundtable proposes to borrow an idea from the automotive industry…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Astonishing: Marcellus Gas Production Up Estimated 50% Over 2012
August 15, 2013August 15, 2013

According to Bentek Energy, Marcellus Shale gas production is up 50% compared with the same time last year–much more than energy experts had predicted. And apparently there’s no end in sight.

Bentek also says Marcellus production is so prolific it’s “actually starting to displace” natural gas production from the Gulf of Mexico…
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Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

July Permits Issued in Utica/Marcellus for Tri-State Area
August 15, 2013August 15, 2013

An excellent permit “check-in”–a roundup of how many drilling permits were issued by county and driller, from Farm and Dairy, for the month of July in eastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia:
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Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Courageous PA State Rep Tackles Shameful Forced Pooling Law
August 14, 2013August 14, 2013

Finally, a PA state representative with ~~balls~~ intestinal fortitude: Rep. Michele Brooks (Republican from Greenville, 17th District). MDN previously told you about bone-headed legislation (SB259) signed into law last month by PA Gov. Tom Corbett (see PA Gov Corbett Signs Back-Door Forced Pooling Bill into Law). No matter how you try to pretty it up, and no matter what redeeming qualities the legislation has for landowners who need more royalty calculation transparency–at the last minute a provision was slipped in to the law providing for forced pooling for some landowners with old leases. It’s a bad law for PA landowners. Already EQT has used the law against landowners in the Pittsburgh area (see Bad News: EQT Sues 70 Landowners Using New PA Forced Pooling Law).

PA Rep. Michele Brooks has had the courage to step forward to offer a new bill repealing the forced pooling provision in SB259. She’s currently looking for some of her fellow Republicans (and perhaps a few pro-drilling Dems) to stand up and be counted with her. Who will match her courage?
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Chesapeake Short-Changes PA Landowner on Royalty Checks
August 14, 2013August 14, 2013

MDN has brought you a couple of stories in recent weeks about landowners suing Chesapeake Energy over royalty checks, claiming Chesapeake is playing fast and loose with post-production expenses (see Bradford County, PA Landowners Sue Chesapeake over Royalties). A new Chesapeake royalty story (below) appears on the ProPublica website. It opens with a poignant tale of yet another landowner who was apparently screwed by Chesapeake with respect to royalties. It’s maddening.

However, we have to put the story in proper perspective. ProPublica is anti-drilling through and through. They have an agenda and that agenda is to make all drillers and anyone/anything connected to fossil fuels look bad, so as you read the story below, keep that in mind. Still, if even 10% of what is reported below is true, it’s disturbing. More than ever, it’s vital that landowners have a detailed, well-spelled-out lease that’s been reviewed and tweaked by a lawyer who knows oil and gas contracts inside and out. It’s also important to monitor every royalty statement…
Read More “Chesapeake Short-Changes PA Landowner on Royalty Checks”
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Range Resources Argues with Mt Pleasant over Water Impoundment
August 14, 2013August 14, 2013

Range Resources seems to have a problem maintaining good relations with southwestern PA townships on the matter of water impoundments. In May, MDN told you about Cecil Township’s concerns over a 15 million-gallon water impoundment still actively used by Range even though the three gas wells at the impoundment site were drilled long ago (see Cecil, PA Supervisors Want Better Relations with Range, but…). Range had another tangle with a town board last night–this one in Mt. Pleasant Township. The same issue has once again appeared: a water impoundment is being used not for the wells drilled at the site, but for other wells being drilled in the region.

According to Cecil and now Mt. Pleasant officials, Range has the habit of expanding the use of water impoundments from their original intent. Range says the water impoundments are properly regulated by the state and not the towns. Who’s right?
Read More “Range Resources Argues with Mt Pleasant over Water Impoundment”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Wayne County

Hypocritical Governor of Delaware: No for Thee But Yes for Me
August 14, 2013August 14, 2013

The anti-drilling Democrat governor of Delaware–Jack Markell–is one of five voting members of the Delaware Basin River Commission (DRBC). He’s been a reliable “no” vote when it comes to the release of new drilling rules to allow Marcellus Shale drilling in the Delaware River Basin since 2011, even though there is no Marcellus gas under his own state (see DRBC Says No Marcellus Vote Until Nov. 2012 Earliest).

Last month, Gov. Markell attended an event to celebrate the conversion of a coal-fired power plant in Dover, DE to clean-burning, cheap Marcellus Shale natural gas. Er, what’s wrong with this picture?…
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