Statewide PA

Centre County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Meetings | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Royalty Owners Meet in State College: Bills, Lawsuits, Boycotts
April 5, 2016April 5, 2016

Last week Pennsylvania landowners (royalty owners) from around the state gathered in State College, PA for the 2016 NARO (National Association of Royalty Owners) PA Annual Meeting and Convention. A variety of interesting topics were addressed, including: support for House Bill (HB) 1391 that guarantees a minimum 12.5% royalty payment to landowners; coming lawsuits from landowners against the state over the state’s aggressive action in claiming ownership of the land under rivers and streams; and a call to boycott all films which star anti-fossil fuel man-child Leonardo DiCaprio…
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Chevron | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Corporation of America | EQT Corp | Noble Energy | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Rex Energy | Rice Energy | Statewide PA | Vantage Energy | XTO

Top 10 Marcellus/Utica Drillers in SWPA – Ranked by Production
April 4, 2016April 4, 2016

Everybody loves a list. We do too! We spotted a ranking in a recent issue of the Pittsburgh Business Times that lists the top 37 shale gas producers in southwestern Pennsylvania, based on the amount of gas they produced in 2015. We pulled the names of the top 10, listed in order from most to least…
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Allegheny County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Winners of 2016 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards [FREE Access]
April 1, 2016April 1, 2016

Earlier this week (March 30th) the 2016 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards and Industry Summit was held in Pittsburgh. Once again the Awards and the Summit were a smashing success. Congratulations to all of the finalists and winners! Each year the Oil & Gas Awards recognize organizations operating responsibly and supporting the communities they operate within. Now in their 4th year, the Oil & Gas Awards are judged by over 100 senior industry professionals. Partners in the Northeast Awards are The US Chamber of Commerce, The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, The Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the Western Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association. Here is a complete list of the winners, by category…
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Air Quality | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Philly Green Group Throws Temper Trantrum After Energy Hub Meeting
April 1, 2016April 1, 2016

Petulant, spoiled rotten children often grow up to be petulant, spoiled rotten adults–adults who throw temper tantrums when they don’t get their own way. Such is the case with members of Green Justice Philly, a coalition of anti-drilling groups opposed to fossil fuels and opposed to a plan to bring more fossil fuels to Philadelphia as part of a northeastern “energy hub” concept. Yesterday we told you about Wednesday’s closed-door meeting where a new study was released, a “road map” that can be used to bring more natural gas and natural gas liquids to the City of Brotherly Love (see Philly Chamber Publishes Roadmap to Turn Region into “Energy Hub”). There certainly wasn’t much love displayed by a handful of boisterous protesters outside of the meeting. The meeting was private and the disruptive protesters were not allowed inside to conduct their normal mischief. And therein lies the winter of their discontent. Following the event Green Justice Philly issued a press release to pout like little children crying that mommy wouldn’t let them into the room. Awww, poor babies…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Research | Statewide PA

Philly Chamber Publishes Roadmap to Turn Region into “Energy Hub”
March 31, 2016March 31, 2016

Yesterday a large group of business, labor and political leaders gathered in Philadelphia to hear about plans to turn Philly into an “energy hub” with more pipelines delivering natural gas and natural gas liquids to the region. Chemical plants and manufacturers would spring up to use the gas and gas liquids–creating a huge economic impact for the region. According to press reports there were 200 or more gathered for the unveiling of a new report from the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s Greater Philadelphia Energy Action Team (GPEAT). The report is titled, “A Pipeline for Growth, Fueling Economic Revitalization with Marcellus and Utica Shale Gas” (full copy embedded below). Meanwhile, 20-30 silly anti-drillers (who don’t have lives apart from protesting) stood outside and tried their darnedest to shout and disrupt the meeting. How did they react inside? By making fun and laughing at them! Philip Rinaldi, GPEAT Chair and President/CEO of Philadelphia Energy Solutions said this to the crowd as he took the stage: “I’m inclined to ask for a brief moment of silence to hear the protesters a little better.” Love it! You had to have a ticket into the private event–and the antis couldn’t score any tickets to disrupt the event–something they bitterly complained about. We say it’s about time someone pushed back against these disorderly ne’er do wells. Here’s how it went down inside the event, a place the antis couldn’t go…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Radical Group PennEnvironment Repeats Debunked Lies re Fracking
March 31, 2016March 31, 2016

Question: How do you know when PennEnvironment is lying about fracking? Answer: When they open their mouths to speak. That about sums up a conference call held by the radical Big Green group PennEnvironment yesterday. The call was held to repeat and regurgitate the same old lies, and otherwise bamboozle stupid people who don’t know any better–about the so-called harms of fracking, particularly on human health. Apparently PennEnvironment believes if you wait a few years until after your lies were 100% debunked, and just repeat the same lies again, people will forget and believe you the second, third, or fourth time. Here’s how it went down yesterday…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Earthquakes | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Harrisburg “Reporter” Blames Republicans for Earthquakes in Ohio
March 31, 2016March 31, 2016

Truly amazing. That’s our reaction to the latest anti-drilling article published by the Democrat-controlled Harrisburg Patriot-News from “reporter” (i.e. anti-drilling advocate and propagandist pretending to be a reporter) Candy Woodall. Woodall used the news about a report recently released by the U.S. Geological Survey regarding earthquakes caused by injection wells to blame a series of earthquakes in Ohio on the previous Republican governor Tom Corbett. Yep. Corbett and his hated (for Democrats) Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection at that time, Mike Krancer, are why there was a series of earthquakes near Youngstown, OH, including a 4.0 magnitude quake on Dec. 31, 2011 (see Youngstown Earthquake and Fracking: Is There a Connection?). Those wicked Republicans who just love to destroy everything. Here’s how the propagandist Woodall used a legitimate story and prefaced it with a totally made-up introduction, just so she could hammer Republicans on fracking one more time…
Read More “Harrisburg “Reporter” Blames Republicans for Earthquakes in Ohio”
Ethane | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Cracker Plant in Scotland “Brought Back to Life” Thx to Marcellus Ethane
March 30, 2016March 30, 2016

The Swiss-based company INEOS is a young but rapidly growing chemical company with roughly $40 billion in sales per year. INEOS’ competitors would be companies like BASF, Bayer and Dow Chemical. One of the projects owned by INEOS is an ethane cracker/chemical plant complex in Grangemouth, Scotland. It is Scotland’s biggest manufacturing complex hosting Europe’s biggest ethane storage tank–able to store up to 33,000 tonnes of liquid natural gas. INEOS announced yesterday that the second manufacturing unit at the Grangemouth plant has been “brought back to life” some eight years after being mothballed. The reason? To begin processing Marcellus shale ethane that will be shipped to it later this year from the Marcus Hook refinery near Philadelphia…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Marcellus King in PA – Which Other Layers are Actively Drilled?
March 30, 2016March 30, 2016

Over the past few years MDN has highlighted and brought to your attention an excellent data service called MarcellusGas.org. The service contains data on every Marcellus (and other layer) wells drilled in Pennsylvania. It also covers waste disposal and injection wells. And it posts detailed statistics–down to the individual well level–including production numbers. It’s a really great service that only charges $20 per year for a membership. We highly recommend a membership if you’re into data and numbers. Note: We have no vested interest in the service. We’ve never even received a simple “thank you” for mentioning it and no doubt driving a number of subscriptions their way. No matter. We promote it because it’s a great service. Recently MarcellusGas sent an email to members (yes, we pay our $20/year like everyone else) to highlight how many wells have been permitted, and actually drilled–by rock layer. As you can imagine the Marcellus is king, head and shoulders above all the rest, with 9,359 actively producing wells and another 7,125 wells permitted (for a total of 16,484 Marcellus wells). What caught our eye is the numbers for the other layers. You might guess the second highest number of producing wells would be from the Utica Shale layer–but you would be wrong…
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Conventional Drillers File Lawsuit to Stop New DEP Regulations
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

Pennsylvania’s small, conventional oil and gas drillers have had enough of Gov. Tom Wolf and his Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, John Quigley. Last week a trade association representing many of PA’s small, independent oil and gas drillers–the Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers Association (PIPP)–filed a lawsuit against implementation of new rules and changes to existing rules known as Chapters 78 & 78a (see PA DEP Issues “Final” New Drilling Regulations; Industry Pushback and PA DEP On Course to Jam New Regulations Down Drillers’ Throats). PIPP objects to conventional drillers being subjected to many of the same rules as unconventional (shale) drillers. PIPP says the two types of drilling are apples and oranges and to make small drillers jump through the same hoops as big shale drillers will literally eliminate small drillers from the Keystone State–making it unprofitable to continue drilling. So PIPP, on behalf of those drillers, sued to stop the new regulations…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Won’t Renew Permits that Allow Drill Cuttings to be Reused
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

A few years ago (not sure exactly when) three companies were issued permits by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to reuse drill cuttings–leftover rock and dirt that come out of a borehole–on construction sites. The three companies were issued the permits on an experimental basis. The permits will expire March 1, 2017. Even though DEP officials openly state, on the record, that “drill cuttings aren’t dangerous,” the DEP has indicated they will not renew the permits after they expire. However, the DEP appears to leave the door open to issuing more permits in the future, once they make a final determination after reviewing the results from these three companies. Who are the companies that were issued permits?…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Supply Chain

Ben Franklin Tech Partners Invests $300K in Pipeline Sensor Co.
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

For more than 30 Years, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA has provided startup funding and business support services to tech-based startups and small manufacturers located in our 32-county footprint. Lately they’ve been investing in Marcellus industry companies. Earlier this month Ben Franklin Technology Partners invested $300,000 in a PA company called Sensor Networks Inc. The company manufactures a “non-invasive” sensor for pipelines that uses ultrasound allowing the pipeline operator to detect corrosion and how thick the wall of the pipeline is. It’s a cool technology and will be hugely beneficial to midstream companies in the northeast and beyond…
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Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Court Says Leaseholder Can Sublease Production Rights
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

We’re not sure how many landowners this may potentially affect, but we found a recent court decision by Pennsylvania Superior Court to be interesting. Landowners who had inherited property (and a lease) in Greene County, PA asked the court to “sever” the lease into two parts. The lease is with EQT and its affiliates and is 50 years old–long before Marcellus drilling. The landowner makes the case that because EQT had assigned the production rights to a third party and had never themselves drilled, the lease is terminated. There are two parts to the lease: one which said EQT had up to 10 years to extract oil and gas, the other that EQT can store natgas underground. The landowners were looking to end that portion of the lease that allows drilling because EQT never drilled on or under the property–and by assigning those rights to someone else, they have abrogated their rights under the lease. The court disagreed and said you can’t “sever” production rights from storage rights. If one OR the other happened, under the original lease, that is enough to make all parts of the lease ongoing and enforceable. Our description is likely not very good. Here’s what the legal beagles at Vorys say about the case, along with a copy of the decision…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Gov. Wolf Caves on Budget Deal After 9 Mo. of Temper Tantrums
March 24, 2016March 24, 2016

In the end, the recalcitrant and rabidly partisan Tom Wolf, governor of Pennsylvania, delayed his state’s budget for nine months…for nothing. He didn’t get his precious high Marcellus (or state income) tax hikes. He didn’t get pretty much anything he demanded. Like a petulant child stomping his feet and blaming every Republican he could find–in the end everyone saw Wolf for what he is: inept, inexperienced, and unprepared to govern the Keystone State. Like leadership-deficient people throughout history, he’s surrounded himself with suck-ups who won’t give him much-needed counsel that goes against his childish demands. They just tell him he’s right and to stick with it. Which has resulted in a disaster for PA. It was PA’s Democrats, in the end, that forced Wolf’s hand. Those in his own party. (Et tu, Brute?) PA’s Democrat legislators told Wolf if he didn’t allow the latest budget proposal to pass, they would vote with Republicans to override his threatened veto. And that would completely unmask him for the leaderless chump he is. So Wolf won’t veto the latest proposal–which contains no new taxes–allowing it to become law. Thank you to PA Republicans for standing firm and WINNING! The media can’t spin it, the Dems can’t spin it–Wolf lost and the Republicans won. Every citizen in PA is a winner because of it…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Columbia Gas of PA Asks PUC for Permission to Raise Rates
March 24, 2016March 24, 2016

Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, a division of NiSource, has filed a request with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to raise rates so it can recuperate costs spent in upgrading its natural gas delivery system for customers. Columbia Gas has spent $1.1 billion from 2007 to 2015. However, they’re only asking for a mere $55 million rate increase…
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Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Shale Companies Keep Giving to PA Charities, Even During Downturn
March 23, 2016March 23, 2016

Shale companies in Pennsylvania have been hammered hard. The prices they get for natural gas in PA are already among the lowest in the country (in the world!); they’ve cut back their budgets by 50-80% on average; they’ve laid off thousands of employees. In fact, things right now are fairly bleak in Marcellus-land. And yet….and yet these same companies continue to fund charities and non-profits at the same level they previously funded them when times were good. Which amazes and disappoints anti-drillers, both at the same time…
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