Statewide PA

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Troubling Win in PA Court Victory that Allows State Land Drilling
January 13, 2015January 13, 2015

Last week MDN told you about the crushing defeat of the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF) in one of the their many lawsuits to stop drilling in PA (see PA Court Rules to Allow More Leasing/Drilling of State-Owned Land). What’s kind of funny about it is that the very case they sought to win–the Act 13 case that allows local towns to impose their own zoning on drilling–was used against the PEDF in the decision. Citing the “Robinson” case some 16 times, the Commonwealth Court told the PEDF that yes, the state can lease state land for drilling and yes, the General Assembly can decide how and where they want to spend the money such activity raises. Even though the outcome (for pro-drillers) was a positive, the way the court got there–using the Robinson decision–is troubling for the Marcellus industry…
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Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Shale Gas News Radio – January 10, 2015 [Audio]
January 13, 2015January 13, 2015

Every Saturday the one-hour Shale Gas News show airs on Scranton, PA’s 94.3 FM “The Talker” radio station. The show is co-hosted by Kevin Lynn of Linde Corporation and Bill desRosiers from Cabot Oil & Gas. MDN brings you the latest program show notes and recordings for Shale Gas News each week (well worth your time to listen). Here’s the latest program, recorded on Saturday, Jan. 10…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Impeachment, Arrest Looms for PA AG Kane, Caught Leaking Info
January 12, 2015January 12, 2015

It seems no one IS above the law, including Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, Kathleen Kane. She is, you may recall, anti-drilling and has targeted both large and small companies related to the Marcellus industry. She abused her office by filing criminal charges against XTO Energy for an accidental spill that occurred two years before she took office (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). She also abused her office by filing criminal charges against EQT (see PA Attorney Gen. Kane Abuses Office Again, Arrest Warrant for EQT). But it’s not only the big boys she has a vendetta against. She also shut down a small company that does environmental remediation and wastewater disposal (see Minuteman Enviro Says PA AG Office “Terrorized” Family Members, Filing Lawsuit). Now Kane has been caught red-handed leaking privileged grand jury information to a newspaper and she’s resorted to crying about men bullying her. So predictable…
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Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Laurel Mountain Energy | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

“New” Pittsburgh Company Forms to Target Marcellus/Utica in W PA
January 12, 2015January 12, 2015

A brand new baby is born! Or is it? Using money from private equity firm TPH Partners, the father-son team of Clark and David Nicklas have just given birth to a new “upstream” (exploration and production) company called Laurel Mountain Energy which will be headquartered in Pittsburgh and target the Marcellus, Upper Devonian and Utica layers in western PA. Dad Clark founded Vista Resources in 1987 and since that time the company has drilled over 1,000 wells in the northeast. This is Houston, TX-based TPH’s first investment in the Marcellus, and they couldn’t be happier…
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Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

DCNR Says PA May be Getting Shorted on Royalties for State Land
January 9, 2015January 9, 2015

Before he left office, Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell leased all of the state-owned land he could for gas drilling before he hypocritically slapped a moratorium on any further such leasing for his Republican successor, Tom Corbett. Turns out old Ed is crazy like a fox. PA not only got whopping big money from signing bonuses that Ed used to plug big holes in his overspending budgets, but now the state regularly receives $10 million PER MONTH in royalty revenues from all of that leasing. Thanks Ed! Just one problem, according to the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)–the state may be getting shortchanged on some of their royalty payments. The DCNR won’t say who they think is doing the short-changing. They’re running a full blown review right now…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Court Rules to Allow More Leasing/Drilling of State-Owned Land
January 8, 2015January 8, 2015

In a crushing blow to the litigious anti-drilling group Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF), the PA Commonwealth Court ruled yesterday against the PEDF’s lawsuit that attempts to stop all drilling and leasing of state-owned lands for oil and gas drilling. The court said a) such drilling is just fine and b) the decision of whether or not to allow drilling on state-owned lands (and which parcels) rests with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The court further said that the General Assembly can decide how the monies received from leasing and production royalties will be spent–even as part of the general budget (former Gov. Ed Rendell leased hundreds of thousands of acres so he could use the money to prop up his failing budgets). It was a clean sweep. The PEDF lost all of their points in the lawsuit. The downer is that incoming Gov. Tom Wolf has said he won’t lease any more state lands for drilling…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Reporter Falls for Delaware Riverkeeper Anti-Pipeline Bamboozle
January 8, 2015January 8, 2015

THE Delaware Riverkeeper and anti-driller, Maya van Rossum, continues her bamboozling ways. van Rossum finds conspiracy and evil intent behind every new pipeline project (or shale well) she hears about–and she’s only too glad to spread FUD–fear, uncertainty and doubt–about every announced project. The latest “angle” by van Rossum is to say when a huge pipeline company like Williams plans expansions to its largest pipeline system, the mighty Transco (10,200 miles of interstate pipelines), if Williams doesn’t combine all of those expansions in different geographic locations into one big, massive project, they’re trying to hide something. They’re trying to game the system. They’re trying to downplay the so-called environmental impacts all of those projects collectively will have on Precious Mother Earth. It’s just more fast talking by van Rossum…
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Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Reminder: Enter to Win $25K Prize in Shale Gas Innovation Contest
January 8, 2015January 8, 2015

Attention small businesses, researchers and entrepreneurs in Pennsylvania or West Virginia. If you have a new product or service that serves the shale energy space, submit your application (FREE to enter!) for the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center’s 4th Annual Shale Gas Innovation Contest before the February 1, 2015 deadline. If you do, you’ll be in the running to receive a $25,000 prize. Four such prizes are awarded each year. What are you waiting for?! Details…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Supply Chain

Primoris to Install Pipeline in NEPA
January 8, 2015January 8, 2015

Primoris Services Corporation, a pipeline building company based in Dallas, TX, announced yesterday they’ve landed two small contracts in the Marcellus Shale with “major midstream operators.” One project is for 2.5 miles of 24-inch pipeline and the other for 1.1 miles of 12-inch pipeline and 2.3 miles of 24-inch pipeline–both projects in northeast Pennsylvania. In addition, Primoris landed a contract to install 88.6 miles of 36-inch crude oil pipeline in the Texas Eagle Ford Shale play…
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Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Antero Resources Lays Off 250 Landmen, Blames Low Oil Prices
January 7, 2015January 7, 2015

Antero Resources said on Monday it will lay off more than 250 contract land brokers operating in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The layoffs will not affect any Antero employees–only contract workers (landmen and others) who work to get leases signed, sealed and delivered for future drilling. Antero blames the low price of oil, which causes the price they get for their Marcellus/Utica natural gas liquids to be low, which means they’ll stick to drilling on the half million plus acres they already have under lease…
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Bradford County | Greene County (PA) | Health Impacts | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA | Washington County

PA Study Finds No Negative Health Impacts from Marcellus Drilling
January 7, 2015January 7, 2015

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a bipartisan, bicameral legislative agency that serves as a resource for rural policy within the Pennsylvania General Assembly, has just published the second report in a series. Titled “The Impact of Marcellus Shale Development on Health and Health Care” (full copy embedded below), the report looks at whether incidences of certain health status indicators and demand for healthcare services changed in four heavily drilled PA counties–two in the northeast and two in the southwest–during the years that Marcellus drilling activity increased. Although the report says initial results are “preliminary” and “not conclusive,” so far it seems that heavily drilled locations have not seen an increase in people injured or harmed because of shale drilling. About the only thing that did increase was the number of calls for emergency first responders–which can’t conclusively be tied Marcellus drilling…
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Health Impacts | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Marcellus Shale Health Advisory Panel Proposed, Again
January 7, 2015January 7, 2015

State Sen. Joe Scarnati, Republican and President Pro Tempore of the PA Senate, says he will reintroduce a bill to form a Marcellus Shale health advisory panel. This is the second time Scarnati has pushed the concept (went nowhere in the last session). The panel would have nine members and would consider available research and provide expert guidance and opinion to PA elected officials, regulators and the general public. The problem is, Scarnati’s plan calls for half (four) of the nine panel members to be politicians, including Scarnati himself. Seems to us if the intent is to get at the science and offer untainted advice, you need to remove the politicians from the mix…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Lehigh County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

Delaware Riverkeeper: Short-Tempered & Outright Rude [Video]
January 7, 2015January 7, 2015

MDN friend Tom Shepstone, editor of the superb Natural Gas Now website, appeared a few weeks ago on Business Matters, a weekly business-focused television program on WFMZ in Allentown, PA. Tom was there as part of a four-person debate about pipelines and shale drilling. Also on the panel was the arrogant (and frankly adolescent-acting) Maya van Rossum, aka THE Delaware Riverkeeper (see Delaware Riverkeeper Gets a French Kiss from Phila. Inquirer). van Rossum put on quite the performance–a typical fast-talk and bully-your-opponent performance. Take time to watch the debate (embedded below)…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide PA | Williams

Earthjustice, Others Ask FERC to Reconsider Constitution Pipeline
January 7, 2015January 7, 2015

Thank God the Constitution Pipeline is fully authorized and permitted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see FERC Issues Final Approval for Constitution Pipeline in PA/NY). We still have to sit through nutty anti-drillers parading before the microphones at New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) hearings about the Constitution–but that should be just a formality. At least we hope it’s a formality–one never knows with anti-drillers like Joe Martens helming the DEC. It shouldn’t be long now before the backhoes start digging. But what’s that we hear in the distance? The hyena yapping of far-left environmentalist wackos? Yep. Earthjustice, Sierra Clubbers, Catskill Mountainkeeper and other anti-drilling groups have asked FERC to reconsider their permitting of the Constitution, telling FERC they didn’t do their job right…
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Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Forced Pooling for Utica Wells Remains Unclear, Confusing
January 6, 2015January 6, 2015

As MDN previously reported, the single most productive Utica Shale well ever (to date) was drilled by Range Resources–in Pennsylvania (see Range Resources Drills Highest-Ever Initial Producing Utica Well). Because of the way PA’s laws are written, producers cannot use forced pooling for Marcellus layer wells they want to drill–but they can use PA law to file forced pooling requests for Utica layer wells. Given the success of Range (and others) with drilling Utica wells in PA, it’s a sure bet that sooner or later such a request will be filed. Problem is, the forced pooling law was written in 1961 and was designed for conventional/vertical wells, not unconventional/horizontal wells. The law was due to have a test by Hilcorp, but Hilcorp abandoned their request in September 2014 (see Hilcorp Drops Forced Pooling Request in W PA). With that case gone, forced pooling for Utica wells remains a muddled mess in PA…
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Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lackawanna County | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Remarkable Change in PA Jobs Since Pro-Gas Corbett Lost Gov Race
December 31, 2014December 31, 2014

Funny how prior to the election on Nov. 4 you couldn’t read, watch or listen to a mainstream media report about employment in Pennsylvania without hearing how the job market under the Satantic Gov. Tom Corbett (Republican) sucked big-time. Ole Tom had sold his soul to Big Gas, ya see, with the promise of jobs jobs jobs. And guess what? No jobs. And if there were more jobs–they all went to foreigners–people from exotic places like Texas and Oklahoma and Louisiana. We can’t count how many such (false) stories we saw. After Nov. 4? Voilà. Something changed. Even though the pure-as-the-wind-driven-snow Angelic Gov.-elect Tom Wolf (Democrat) hasn’t yet taken office–somehow, magically, unemployment is at historic lows and there’s jobs popping up everywhere in the Keystone State. Why? The Marcellus Shale, of course…
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