Susquehanna County

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

PA County Official Calls Local Anti-Driller “Stupid” at Meeting
May 8, 2013May 8, 2013

Sometimes anti-drillers become unhinged and behave very badly. Case in point: Susquehanna County’s most famous anti-driller Vera Scroggins, who used her potty mouth on FrackNation filmmaker Phelim McAleer in January when Phelim tagged along to ask Yoko Ono and Susan Sarandon about fracking when they came to Susquehanna County (in a Mercedes bus) to promote Artists Against Fracking. Scroggins didn’t like McAleer posing tough questions to the goddesses she worships, so she made it her mission to use every foul word and anti-Irish, prejudiced comment she could think of to insult McAleer, making a video of it and posting it on Youtube (see “The Final Ploy of the Desperate” Natural Gas Opponents).

You can appreciate that the normally patient folks of rural Susquehanna County grow tired of Vera’s antics. At a recent county commissioners meeting, a Susquehanna County official had had enough of Vera’s tiresome antics and actually called her “stupid” before the assembled audience. Cool! Wish we had been there to video it and put it on Youtube. Here is what prompted the outburst:
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County | WPX Energy

PA DEP Not Releasing Report on Franklin Forks Contamination
May 2, 2013May 2, 2013

If you thought (like we did) that the matter of potential water well methane contamination in Franklin Forks, PA was put to rest with the recent announcement by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) that drilling is not to blame, you would be wrong. In December 2011, three families in the Franklin Forks (Susquehanna County) area complained their well water had gone bad. Nearby drilling by WPX was to blame, according to the homeowners. But after an exhaustive 16-month investigation, the state DEP announced earlier this week that WPX’s drilling is not to blame (see PA DEP Says Drilling Did NOT Contaminate Water in Franklin Forks). The DEP said the same natural conditions that closed down a nearby trailer park more than a decade ago was the cause. Case closed, right?

No. And here’s why… According to at least one news source, the DEP refuses to release a copy of the report that discloses their findings and the methodology they used to arrive at the conclusions they did. You can bet that anti-drillers will attack this like vultures picking over a dead carcass. Here is what the Epoch Times is reporting about the “missing report”:
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Energy | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County

More on Chesapeake’s Fire Sale of PA Acreage to Southwestern
May 1, 2013May 1, 2013

A blogger on the Seeking Alpha website delivers a bit more information about the announcement earlier this week that Chesapeake is selling their leases for 163,000 acres in NE PA to Southwestern Energy for what MDN called the “fire sale” price of $574 per acre (see Southwestern Energy Buys 162K PA Marcellus Acres from Chesapeake).

According to Seeking Alpha, Chesapeake paid an average of $610 per acre to lease that acreage between 2006-2009, so they actually lost money on the deal…
Read More “More on Chesapeake’s Fire Sale of PA Acreage to Southwestern”
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County | WPX Energy

PA DEP Says Drilling Did NOT Contaminate Water in Franklin Forks
April 30, 2013April 30, 2013

As Paul Harvey used to say, here is “the rest of the story” about the contaminated well water for three homes in Franklin Forks (Susquehanna County), PA… In December 2011, three families complained to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) that their well water looked and smelled like it was polluted. Since WPX was drilling natural gas wells nearby at the time, and since two of those wells had been cited by the DEP as having substandard well casings, the assumption was the drilling activity was polluting the water wells (see PA DEP Asks WPX to Help Families with Water/Methane Issues for background).

The rest of the story: After a 16-month thorough investigation, the DEP announced yesterday what residents of Susquehanna County already know–the water in Franklin Forks (and indeed most of Susquehanna County) sucks and has sucked for generations. The DEP found, contrary to the bleating of celebrities, that drilling did NOT pollute the Franklin Forks wells. Those wells are polluted from natural causes, the same natural causes that closed a nearby trailer park more than a decade ago (BGD, before gas drilling)…
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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot Monster Well in NE PA Yields 8 Bcf in 667 Days
April 30, 2013April 30, 2013

Energy analyst and Seeking Alpha blogger Richard Zeits listened in to the recent Cabot Oil & Gas investor’s conference call and came away with some mind-blowing numbers. The bottom line from the call and from Zeits’ analysis is that Cabot has indeed found a “super-productive” location in Susquehanna County, PA where they own leases on about 200,000 acres. New wells they’ve recently drilled prove that all of their acreage is in this sweet spot.

One startling find by Zeits: A well drilled by Cabot in Susquehanna County has, in just 667 days, produced a cumulative 8 billion cubic feet of natural gas–a single well! That equates to an average of 12 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from that one well. Astonishing. (No wonder Southwestern just picked up an additional 51,000 acres from Chesapeake in Susquehanna County earlier this week, for an average of $574 per acre. Chesapeake was taken to the cleaners).

Here’s some of Zeits’ analysis of the Cabot call, with lots of facts and figures:
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County

Big News: PA Supreme Court Decides Shale Mineral Rights Case
April 25, 2013April 25, 2013

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has just ruled on a case with huge consequences for the natural gas drilling industry in the state. We won’t keep you in suspense: the ruling is favorable to the drilling industry.

In Butler v Powers, the Supreme Court justices took up the issue of whether or not natural gas rights should be part of the broader concept of “mineral rights” in PA. In most states when a deed or lease agreement is signed for mineral rights it includes natural gas as well, on the theory that the gas comes from a mineral—shale rock. But that has not been the case in PA. Going all the way back to a case in 1882, PA has had “the Dunham rule” which separates natural gas rights from the broader concept of mineral rights (for background on the Dunham rule, see the MDN article PA Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Critical O&G Case).

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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot Keeps Rockin’ It in the Marcellus Shale
April 25, 2013April 25, 2013

Yesterday, Cabot Oil & Gas issued financial results for the first quarter of 2013. Natural gas production for the company was up a whopping 50% over last year, and up 13% from last quarter! As MDN had previously noted, the company was the first to hit 1 billion cubic feet of production per day in the PA Marcellus Shale (see Who’s a Member of the Marcellus “1 Bcf/d” Club?).

Net income for the company was up over last year ($42.8M as opposed ti $18.3M last year in 1Q). According to company CEO Dan Dinges, the key to their success is the Marcellus. The Cabot statement from yesterday:

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Economic Impact | Guest Post | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Guest Post: Susquehanna County’s Astonishing Resource Potential
April 4, 2013April 5, 2013

The following article was written by MDN friend and prolific contributor of links and story ideas, Chris Acker. Chris splits his time between Montrose, PA (in Susquehanna County) and Savannah, GA. Here is his biography from the Seeking Alpha website:

Christopher Acker, Geological Engineer with an MBA, grew up in the oil fields of Venezuela where his father, a petroleum engineer, was a drilling contractor for all the major players, onshore and off. Chris’ interest in energy economics and policy found him working for Exxon, Petroleum Industry Research Associates and Petroleos de Venezuela. He bought a parcel of land in the PA countryside twenty-five years ago and later semi-retired to work on antique pianos. See www.PianoGrands.com. A few years ago, it was established that Chris’ property in Susquehanna County sits atop one of the Marcellus shale’s most prolific areas. He is now happily engaged once again in energy economics, with emphasis, naturally, on gas.

Here is Chris’ thoroughly researched, extensively footnoted, superb analysis of Susquehanna County’s potential Marcellus Shale natural gas yield…

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Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Susquehanna County | Wildlife

USGS Study: Marcellus Drilling Fragmenting Forests in PA
March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

The U.S. Geological Survey earlier this week released a new report raising concerns about Marcellus Shale drilling in the Allegheny Plateau (pretty much the entire Marcellus region). The 38-page report (full copy embedded below) looks at two counties in particular: Susquehanna County in northeastern PA, and Allegheny County in southwestern PA.

Using a series of maps and data, the authors raise concerns that Marcellus drilling, along with drilling for gas in coalbed methane (a similar process), is leading to “forest fragmentation”—a situation where forested areas get “carved up” with roadways and drill pads that lead to limiting the geographic habitat area for some species of animals:

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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot Spins Gold from Hay with Low Cost Drilling
March 27, 2013March 27, 2013

Cabot Oil & Gas is, so far, the only driller to attain 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural production in the Marcellus Shale (see Who’s a Member of the Marcellus “1 Bcf/d” Club?). Perhaps the most astonishing part of their story is that all of Cabot’s drilling happens in rural northeastern Susquehanna County, PA. Although Cabot is some 10 times smaller than Chesapeake Energy, the value of their stock (market capitalization) recently surpassed Chesapeake (see Guest Post: Corporate Hubris Humbles Chesapeake – Cabot Soars Sure & Steady).

Cabot’s ability to spin gold from hay is in no small part because of their Marcellus operation in Susquehanna County…

At a recent conference, Cabot made an investor presentation (full copy below) that shows, in part, why they’re so profitable—even in a low commodity price environment. As we’re writing this story, the commodity price of natural gas is exactly $4 per thousand cubic feet. Depending on geography, the cost to produce natural gas approaches $4/Mcf for many drillers. But for Cabot? Their average cost per Mcf in 2012 was $1.67, and for 2013 they estimate it will go even lower (see slide 10 below).

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Going Back to the Dimock Well, One More Time
March 27, 2013March 27, 2013

Let’s see, if you’re a former reporter who has written a book that trashes fracking and book sales aren’t so great, what can you do? I know! Try to juice sales by invoking two very magical words (be careful children, that you don’t utter these words in public): “fracking” and “Dimock.”

Even though both the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have investigated Dimock repeatedly and have declared water wells in the area to be free from chemical contamination, perhaps (because of fictitious movies like Gasland), just a little more hay can still be made from Dimock…

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Rural PA Bank has Too Much Cash from Marcellus Customers
March 18, 2013March 18, 2013

When was the last time you heard about a country bank that had so much money, it was having problems finding enough people and businesses to lend it to? Yeah, we’ve never heard of that either.

Until now…

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Education | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Lackawanna College Converts Branch Campus to Natural Gas Program
March 13, 2013March 13, 2013

On Tuesday Lackawanna College announced the establishment of a School of Petroleum Natural Gas at its New Milford (Susquehanna County), PA location. The program will offer two associates degrees. The branch college campus at New Milford is being transformed and dedicated to the new program. Lackawanna notes a number of major oil and gas companies have a local presence, providing a ready job market for graduates.

The Lackawanna announcement from Tuesday:

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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot O&G: Giant Marcellus Shale Wells in NE PA
March 1, 2013March 1, 2013

Last week energy analyst Richard Zeits posted a terrific piece on Cabot Oil & Gas on the Seeking Alpha website (see Cabot’s Drilling in Susquehanna County Moves Needle on U.S. Supplies). Zeits turns in a “part 2” on the Cabot story yesterday—and if anything, it’s even better. In his latest post, Zeits talks about the uber-productive wells Cabot has drilled in Susquehanna County, PA. Cabot had 30 wells in the fourth quarter of last year that turned in initial 24-hour flow rates of 20 million cubic feet of natural gas, settling back to a 30-day average rate of 16.6 Mmcf/d.

Even more astonishing? One well they drilled—with 35 frack stages—had a 24-hour initial rate of 41.4 Mmcf/d and settled back to a 30-day average of 35.9 Mmcf/d. Superlatives are not enough to express how big this news is. These are the highest numbers we’ve ever seen—higher than the Gulfport wells in the Ohio Utica Shale (although this is dry gas only, so it’s not a true apples to apples comparison). This is big news not only for Cabot and Pennsylvania…these wells are relatively close to the border of New York State. Hello Gov. Ditherer!

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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot’s Drilling in Susquehanna County Moves Needle on U.S. Supplies
February 26, 2013February 26, 2013

Another post from energy analyst Richard Zeits on the Seeking Alpha website—this time about the tremendous amount of natural gas Cabot Oil & Gas is mining in Susquehanna County, PA. Zeits says the gas Cabot is finding and selling “may be material to the U.S. supply.” You read that right. One “little” oil and gas driller’s efforts in rural Susquehanna County, PA may well end up influencing the entire U.S. energy picture.

Full of charts and maps and oodles of great information, here’s a small portion of Zeits’ analysis, a prediction for how long Cabot will be drilling in Susquehanna County, and how many wells they’ll end up drilling there:

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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot O&G Operational Update for Marcellus Shale
February 25, 2013February 25, 2013

Last week MDN told you about Cabot’s distinction in belonging to two different “1 billion” clubs (see Cabot O&G in 2012: Membership in 2 Different “1 Billion” Clubs). About the same time Cabot released their financial results, they also released an operational update which we neglected to report.

Below is the portion of that report for Cabot’s Marcellus Shale operations:

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