Statewide PA

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Clash of the (Marcellus) Titans: MSC vs CSSD
March 21, 2013March 21, 2013

Yesterday saw the launch of The Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD), a new organization that aims to be the source that certifies drillers and other industry participants in the Marcellus Shale (see our companion story from today—very important to read it). Early in the press conference announcing the CSSD, the master of ceremonies and CSSD board member Robert “Bobby” Vagt (president of the Heniz Endowments) made a curious statement. He said the CSSD is “not simply about best practices” or “the how,” but is instead about “performance standards.” That statement immediately struck MDN as a swipe at the Marcellus Shale Coalition.

Has the gauntlet been thrown down?…

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Delaware County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA’s Ranking Dem on House Enviro Committee Big-Time Anti-Driller
March 20, 2013March 20, 2013

Need proof that many (most?) of Pennsylvania’s elected Democrats are anti-drilling dunderheads who have gorged themselves at the man-causes-global-warming-we-must-quickly-end-the-use-of-all-fossil-fuels buffet? How about this opinion piece, written by State Rep. Greg Vitali (Delaware County), the ranking Democrat on the PA House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee:

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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Seneca Resources | Statewide PA

PA Enviro Groups Oppose Using Acid Mine Water for Fracking
March 18, 2013March 18, 2013

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection and elected officials want Marcellus drillers to help them with a big problem in the state: acid mine drainage. To solve two “problems” at once—lessen the amount of acid mine water that drains into PA waterways and supply water for fracking—PA encourages drillers to use acid mine water with the Environmental Good Samaritan Act and with a Consent Order and Agreement (see PA Wants Drillers to Use Acid Mine Water in Fracking – Will They?). PA’s efforts have started to pay off. Seneca Resources and at least 10 other drillers have started to use acid mine water for fracking.

However, just like a bad Western movie, extremist environmental organizations have ridden in to ruin the day. Legislation to encourage more use of acid mine water for fracking was recently introduced by a Democrat (!) Senate member. PennEnvironment and other “environmental activists” have sidelined the legislation…

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Supply Chain

Marcellus Supply Chain: How Credit Union Targets PA Shale Workers
March 15, 2013March 15, 2013

MDN always marvels at the innovative ways businesses figure out how to market and do business in the Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling industry. Often referred to as “the supply chain,” businesses doing business in the shale industry is an often overlooked success story. We often hear about restaurants and hotels seeing a large increase in business, but numerous other businesses also benefit. Case in point: Utilities Employees Credit Union.

UECU has begun new marketing strategies to attract customers from those working in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale industry. Here’s their strategies to increase business from the Marcellus:

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Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

Columbia’s SE PA Pipeline Project Includes Compressor Upgrade
March 15, 2013March 15, 2013

Columbia Gas Transmission, a subsidiary of Nisource, has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to add 16 miles of new pipeline in southeastern PA and NJ to help fire a natural gas-fired electricity generating plant with cheap Marcellus Shale gas. As part of that project, Columbia is upgrading a compressor station in Forks Township (Northampton County), PA. The interesting thing about the upgrade? The compressor station’s next door neighbors don’t mind at all…

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

PA House Dem Introduces Bill to Ban New Drilling on State Land
March 14, 2013March 14, 2013

Pennsylvania Democrat State Rep. Greg Vitali introduced a bill last week (H.B. 950, full copy embedded below) that would permanently ban the leasing of any additional state land for Marcellus Shale gas drilling.

Here’s Vitali’s announcement about the bill, with his reasons for introducing it (complete with obligatory eco-nut language like “old growth forests” and “fragile ecosystems”):

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

New Study: PA Marcellus Shale Drilling Doesn’t Pollute Waterways
March 12, 2013March 11, 2013

A new research study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences shows that Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania does not pollute the state’s waterways—at least not appreciably. The paper is titled “Shale gas development impacts on surface water quality in Pennsylvania” (full copy embedded below) and looks only at surface water—not underground aquifers. The study is significant because it looks at nearly 5,000 shale drilling sites in the state, and according to the lead author, they “didn’t find evidence in waterways of significant chemical spills from drill sites.”

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Marcellus Shale will Hit 10 Bcf/d in Production in 2013
March 12, 2013March 11, 2013

Another stellar article on the Seeking Alpha website by energy analyst Richard Zeits. This one takes a look at the Marcellus Shale and notes that something “inconceivable” even a few years ago will become true this year: The Mighty Marcellus Shale will hit 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas production per day. Wow!

Here’s how the article starts:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Latest Fed Beige Book Credits Shale with Economic Expansion
March 8, 2013March 8, 2013

Two days ago the Federal Reserve released their bi-monthly survey of regional economic trends, called “the Beige Book.” One of the stars in the current edition of the Beige Book (full copy embedded below) is the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Shale drilling is mentioned prominently for Region III (Philadelphia) and Region IV (Cleveland).

According to the Fed, shale drilling is expanding rapidly, and along with it an increase in banking, manufacturing and other sectors. Sort of “a rising tide raises all boats” theme.

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

Childish Protesters Berate DRBC Officials at NJ Meeting
March 7, 2013March 7, 2013

About 70 hippie protesters, led by the extremist group Delaware Riverkeeper, “packed” a dinky meeting room in Trenton, NJ where the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) held their regular meeting. The protesters were there to express their desire the DRBC put the breaks on any further natural gas pipelines to carry much-needed gas to New York City, Philadelphia and other East Coast urban areas where the DRBC has jurisdiction.

What seemed to escape the reasoning power of the protesters is that the DRBC has no jurisdiction in approving pipelines—and only a very limited role in the process. The protesters behaved badly at the meeting, as they usually do. They “took over” the meeting and refused to be orderly and wait their turn to speak, disrupting the meeting with their petulant, white-liberal-spoiled-rich-kid tantrums of “mommy listen to me!” If only their parents had raised them right…

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Leads NE in Corporate Facilities Expansion – TY Shale!
March 6, 2013March 6, 2013

What does Pennsylvania have that New York doesn’t? For one thing, fewer welfare deadbeats sucking off the public teat. For another, PA has shale gas drilling and NY does not. Shale gas drilling has propelled PA, for the second year in a row, to third place in the entire country for the number of new and expanded corporate facilities built. PA is #1 for new corporate facilities in the Northeast—thanks to Marcellus drilling. Too bad NY is missing out—the very real cost of not drilling is loss of infrastructure projects like these.

PA had 430 new or expanded corporate facilities built in 2012 with a minimum investment of at least $1 million and with each facility adding at least 50 new jobs. Translation: On the low end, PA had $430 million in new investment and 21,500 new jobs—most of which came from the shale industry. The actual number for new investment/jobs was more like double…

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Self-Serving Sierra Club Wants PA to Raise Taxes on Shale Drillers
March 6, 2013March 6, 2013

People like the Sierra Club have an interesting concept of what “fair” means. When it comes to other people’s money (OPM), the Sierra Club is only too ready to spend it—especially if they didn’t earn it. But that’s the way it is with socialists who like (their words) “spreading it around.”

The Pennsylvania Chapter of the extremist environmental group Sierra Club isn’t happy with “only” $200 million in impact fees/taxes. Oh no…they think a severance tax could easily more than double that amount—so it can be “spread around” among the enviro faithful—most particularly for themselves:

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Cumberland County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

The Folly of PA’s Impact Fee/Tax
March 5, 2013March 5, 2013

A number of stories coming from PA for the past several months revolve around how towns and counties will spend a windfall they’ve received from the state since instituting the first-ever shale well impact “fee” last year (for background on the fee-which-is-really-just-a-tax, see: List of PA Impact Fee Disbursements by County/Town). We’ve spared you the boring details. However, we bring you one of those stories to illustrate a point.

Cumberland County, PA has no active shale drilling, yet they will receive $200,000 in “walking around” money from the hard work of energy companies and landowners who are drilling. And what do the wise leaders of Cumberland County intend to do with this new-found pile of cash? Buy a new fire truck or two? Refurbish school classrooms? Refit snowplows with new equipment? Maybe convert some county vehicles to run on natural gas? Nope. They plan to put $149,000 of it into a program to give away (blow) on “green projects.” The squabbling over how to distribute it has already begun…

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Education | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Supply Chain

Penn State Launches 2 More Marcellus Initiatives for Businesses
March 4, 2013March 4, 2013

Penn State University loves the Marcellus Shale. In addition to operating the Marcellus Center for Outreach & Research and the Shale Education and Training Center (ShaleTEC), Penn State is offering two new Marcellus-related services: a shale energy seminar and supply chain services for businesses:

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Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

Columbia Gas to Expand Philly Pipeline, No Virgins Sacrificed
March 1, 2013March 1, 2013

Columbia Gas Transmission, a subsidiary of Nisource, filed plans with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Monday to expand their pipeline network in the Philadelphia area to bring more Marcellus Shale gas to the eastern side of the state.

Although anti-drillers are sure protest this latest proposal (as they do all such proposals), in what will no doubt be a relief to property owners, no “virgins” will be sacrificed. Let us explain…

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Anadarko | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide PA | Western Gas

Western Gas Enters the Marcellus, Buys 2 Pipeline Systems in PA
March 1, 2013March 1, 2013

Western Gas Partners, a master limited partnership created by Anadarko to “own, operate, acquire and develop midstream energy assets” has until now built and expanded pipeline and processing plants in the southwest, west and mid-continent region. They are now players in the Marcellus Shale as well by paying $623.5 million for a one-third ownership of two natural gas pipeline gathering systems in north-central Pennsylvania. Together, the two systems have a combined throughput of 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

The company’s announcement about the two deals and how they will finance them:

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