Washington County

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain | Washington County

Small Businesses Target Marcellus Industry in SW PA
May 12, 2014May 12, 2014

We’re always amazed at how many businesses find new work and new sources of revenue–which leads to expansions and new jobs–because of the Marcellus and Utica Shale. It is an economic engine like nothing we’ve seen in our lifetime. Not even Obama spending your money like a drunken sailor can come close to matching the economic miracle created by the Marcellus Shale. (Reminder: Every time the government spends money it comes from YOU and it destroys wealth–it never creates wealth.)

Recently a sign shop and a screen printing business (think customized t-shirts) in Washington County, PA merged to form a new business. That new business has just opened a second location in the heart of the Washington, PA business district. The main attraction? You guessed it–the Marcellus Shale and all of the businesses it’s attracting. The new sign sign shop, which bills itself as a “business branding company,” is targeting, in part, companies in the Marcellus supply chain…
Read More “Small Businesses Target Marcellus Industry in SW PA”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Wastewater

Low Levels of Radiation Found in Range PA Wastewater Impoundment
May 5, 2014May 5, 2014

Very low levels of radiation were present in leftover sludge from a tank where wastewater is stored at a Range Resources wastewater impoundment in Mt. Pleasant Township (Washington County), PA. The good news is that rigorous testing, as Range and others do, caught the issue. The better news is that the radiation levels are so low, they’re barely above “background levels” and you would literally have to sleep next to the tank for years to be affected. In other words, it’s a non-issue, something that doesn’t happen often but when it does, the industry handles it.

Of course if you live near the impoundment and your anti-drilling, you over dramatize it and make it seem as though you’ll be glowing in the dark any day now…
Read More “Low Levels of Radiation Found in Range PA Wastewater Impoundment”
Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

PPG (Incredibly) Supports Discredited Dem Rep. Jesse White
May 1, 2014May 1, 2014

It’s no surprise to MDN that the left-leaning and increasingly anti-drilling Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board published an editorial today supporting PA State Rep. (and Democrat) Jesse White, from Washington County, in a primary set for May 20. You may recall that Jesse himself is strongly anti-drilling, unethical, a fraud and should have been removed from office months ago. White used fake online IDs to attack and smear the reputation of some of his own pro-drilling constituents (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry). Incomprehensibly, the PA Democrat Party refused to remove him from office. Profound ethical lapses are nothing new for Dems, so this, apparently, was ho-hum for them. Stretching the bounds of incredulity, White is running once again–for a fifth term. But this time he has a challenger (see PA Rep. White (He of Fake Online IDs) Gets a Primary Challenger). Constituents from White’s district have written to MDN to tell us how hard they are working to get rid of the anti-drilling, unethical White. We endorse their efforts.

We have to ask–who in their right minds would vote for a fraud like White? Do ethics and standards mean nothing anymore? Shame on the editors of the PPG for their endorsement of someone who should have been removed from office months ago…
Read More “PPG (Incredibly) Supports Discredited Dem Rep. Jesse White”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Washington County

EQT Sells Jupiter Pipeline System to Itself for $1.18 Billion
May 1, 2014May 1, 2014

Yesterday Marcellus Shale driller EQT sold it’s Jupiter natural gas gathering pipeline system in Greene and Washington counties (PA) to…itself. Or rather, EQT Corporation has sold the Jupiter system to EQT Midstream Partners LP. Two different companies on paper, but still the same company overall. The deal to itself was for $1.18 billion–$1.12 billion of cash and $59 million of common and general partner units. All of which will keep the accountants busy and happy for a few months.

You may recall this is not the first time EQT has sold something to itself (see EQT Sells Sunrise Pipeline Operation to Itself for $540M). Oh the hoops we jump through to try to make a living under our bizarre tax codes. Here’s the announcement, with some interesting details about the Jupiter gathering system…
Read More “EQT Sells Jupiter Pipeline System to Itself for $1.18 Billion”
Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain | Washington County

Safety Products Reseller’s Unique Way of Selling to Gas Industry
April 28, 2014April 28, 2014

An interesting look at how one drilling industry supply chain company is smart about selling to the industry. Shannon Safety Products of Bridgeville, PA (near Pittsburgh) doesn’t manufacture anything. They are a reseller–a vendor. Historically and today Shannon sells to diverse industries, not just the shale drilling industry. However, shale drilling has become an important part of the business. How does Shannon stand out from hundreds of other vendors who want to sell to those involved in the shale industry?

Shannon stands out by hosting an annual Safety Expo. At the expo they run a number of safety seminars throughout the day, and Shannon’s suppliers–the ones who do manufacture all of that safety gear, show up and put their products on display. There were some 50 tables set up near the seminar room so attendees could see and talk to manufacturers about potential solutions for their safety issues–solutions they will then buy from Shannon. Smart marketing on Shannon’s part…
Read More “Safety Products Reseller’s Unique Way of Selling to Gas Industry”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Seismic Testing | Washington County

Peters Twp School Board Votes Down Seismic Testing
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

Peters Township in southwestern Pennsylvania is one of the seven selfish towns that challenged the Act 13 oil and gas law passed a few years ago–and won (see Ongoing Fallout from PA Supreme Court’s Wrong Act 13 Decision). What did they win? The state is in disarray and doubt about the future of the $200 million plus per year collected from Marcellus Shale drilling, thanks to Peters and the other litigious towns. The “selfish seven” believe their own local zoning boards with no geologists or oil and gas experts are better equipped to handle complex matters of oil and gas drilling than the geologists and experts who work for the state Dept. of Environmental Protection. The very definition of hubris.

So it should come as no surprise that the Peters school board has just voted to deny a request by a seismic company to run some wires across school property to conduct seismic testing and mapping of what lies below not only the school’s property, but the land neighboring the school’s property…
Read More “Peters Twp School Board Votes Down Seismic Testing”
Allegheny County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Noble Energy | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Noble Energy’s Huge Vote of Confidence in the Marcellus
March 12, 2014March 12, 2014

Noble Energy has big plans for the Marcellus. Yesterday the company confirmed they will be new tenants in a huge new office building going up in the Southpointe business park near Pittsburgh. The new building being built by Horizon Properties will be 208,000 square feet, of which Noble is leasing 138,000 square feet. Noble’s president & CEO David Stover says the Marcellus is “the premiere gas play in the United States,” and the Marcellus figures prominently in Noble’s future plans.

Noble plans to employ 200 people in the new facility by the end of this year, and eventually–400-450 people at the facility. PA welcomes Noble to the Marcellus!…
Read More “Noble Energy’s Huge Vote of Confidence in the Marcellus”
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Rice Energy | Washington County

Rice Energy’s Washington, PA Town Meeting – 700 Turn Out
March 10, 2014March 10, 2014

Rice Energy and its CEO Toby Rice held a town meeting at the Bentworth High School gymnasium last Thursday evening. About 700 Washington County, PA residents showed up for the meeting which was, by all accounts, “well-mannered” and cordial–with no anti-drilling hecklers present (a minor miracle). Rice said the company will hold such meetings every six months to stay in touch with area residents and the landowners with whom they do business. Rice Energy recently went public, garnering even more money than they had hoped (see Rice Energy IPO Soars, Brings in $84M More Than Expected). The company is headquartered near Pittsburgh and is mostly focused on the Marcellus Shale. According to Toby Rice, drillers (like Rice) may turn to drilling Utica wells in the area, but only after exhausting their Marcellus options first.

Here’ more of what Toby said last week at the Bentworth High School…
Read More “Rice Energy’s Washington, PA Town Meeting – 700 Turn Out”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Mt. Pleasant, PA Continues to Ride Range Over Water Ponds
March 5, 2014March 5, 2014

As we told you last week, when PA towns make up their own zoning laws for oil and gas drilling, chaos and confusion reigns, as is the case in Mt. Pleasant (Washington County), PA (see Mt Pleasant Twp Shenanigans re Range Request for Water Ponds). Mt. Pleasant, one of seven townships that successfully sued the state to overturn Act 13 effectively screwing every municipality in the state out of millions of dollars of impact fee money, continues their snit fit over Range using a few water ponds to drill new shale wells in non-Mt. Pleasant locations.

The board voted to uphold their zoning violations of four such ponds so Range has filed yet another lawsuit hoping they can find an impartial judge to set the matter straight. Here’s the latest…
Read More “Mt. Pleasant, PA Continues to Ride Range Over Water Ponds”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Mt Pleasant Twp Shenanigans re Range Request for Water Ponds
February 28, 2014February 28, 2014

This is what happens when local townships create their own oil and gas zoning laws: chaos and confusion. Like that in Mt. Pleasant (Washington County), PA over water impoundments (ponds) that Range Resources wants to use for drilling in nearby townships. Mt. Pleasant was one of seven infamous anti-drilling townships that sued the state (and eventually won) to overturn the Act 13 law, a law that provided for expert, even-handed and uniform zoning practices throughout the state with regard to oil and gas drilling (see Happy Story Ends Badly Because of 7 PA Towns). What’s left in the wake of overturning Act 13 is petty squabbling by town boards ill-equipped to handle complex oil and gas oversight–i.e., Mt. Pleasant.

We’ve chronicled the long history of Range’s ongoing disagreement with Mt. Pleasant over water impoundments (see previous MDN stories on Range & Mt. Pleasant). The latest Mt. Pleasant town board shenanigan is to impose yet another delay:
Read More “Mt Pleasant Twp Shenanigans re Range Request for Water Ponds”
Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Citrus | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County | Washington County

PA Gas Production #s Released: Top 10 Wells, Top 5 Counties & More!
February 19, 2014February 19, 2014

Pennsylvania released their second half 2013 production numbers yesterday and man oh man is it another sizzling hot report. Another 700 horizontal (mostly Marcellus) shale wells were brought online in the second half of 2013 in PA which brings the number of horizontal wells with reported production to 5,074. And, in what we believe is a first, Susquehanna County has displaced Bradford County as having the most production during a 6-month reporting period.

Not surprisingly Cabot Oil & Gas and their prolific wells in Susquehanna County top the list as most productive. Get this, when you look at average daily production by wells, Cabot has the top 13 most productive wells in the state for 2H13–all top 13 spots. When you expand it out, they have 17 of the top 20 spots, and 34 of the top 50 spots. Truly astonishing.

Below we have a few lists for you: Top 10 All Time Producing Wells in PA, Top 10 Wells by Production per Day, and the amount of gas produced by the top 5 counties in PA…
Read More “PA Gas Production #s Released: Top 10 Wells, Top 5 Counties & More!”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Rice Energy | Washington County

Rice Energy Picks Up Pipelines in SWPA in Deal with M3 for $110M
February 13, 2014February 13, 2014

Rice Energy, one of our favorite newer drilling companies, announced yesterday they’ve put some of that IPO money to good use (see Rice Energy IPO Soars, Brings in $84M More Than Expected). Rice has purchased a 28-mile pipeline gathering system already up and running in Washington County, PA from M3 Midstream for $110 million cash on the barrel head. The deal also includes rights of way to build more gathering pipelines in both Washington and Greene counties. Rice Energy owns leases and is conducting active drilling in both counties.

The Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook, Vol. 3 (just out) shows Rice with 28 unique well location permits in Washington County, PA for the last four months of 2013, and 9 unique well location permits in Greene County (via Alpha Shale Resources, which Rice recently picked up in a deal with Alpha Natural Resources). Makes perfect sense Rice would want to buy the pipelines that connect to their wells and get a piece of the midstream action in the white hot Marcellus region of SWPA. Here’s yesterday’s announcement:
Read More “Rice Energy Picks Up Pipelines in SWPA in Deal with M3 for $110M”
Housing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Marcellus Prejudice on Display at Washington, PA Church
February 7, 2014February 7, 2014

This is interesting, and sad, and maddening: A developer purchased a run-down, abandoned convent in downtown Washington, PA (for $11K) with plans to invest $300,000 to fix it up and put business offices in it. Or perhaps (this is the rumor) turn it into temporary housing for Marcellus Shale workers. That “M” word–that’s all it took. The pastor at the church across the street, Immaculate Conception, is against it. So too is the local town councilman. Their fear? Those disgusting, low-life “transient” workers will (don’t laugh) bring down the neighborhood. It won’t be safe to (don’t laugh) walk around at night. Because, you know, (whispering)…transients. Better to keep the old convent, a bombed-out looking eyesore, in downtown rather than have transients lurking about.

Now if the developer was wise he would have said something about housing “undocumented workers” (i.e. illegal aliens) at the convent. That would magically make the project A-OK. Here’s the interesting/sad/maddening story:
Read More “Marcellus Prejudice on Display at Washington, PA Church”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Regulation | Sunoco Logistics | Washington County

PA Judge Hears Mariner East NGL Pipeline Eminent Domain Case
January 22, 2014January 22, 2014

Sunoco Logistics–and for that matter, MarkWest–have a lot riding on a single court case in Washington County, PA. It might be a bit melodramatic to say the future of the Mariner East NGL (natural gas liquids) pipeline hangs in the balance, but it certainly is not inaccurate to say the case could cause an extended delay–if it goes the “wrong” way (for Sunoco). What’s the case about?

Sunoco’s Mariner East “refined products” pipeline spans the entire state of Pennsylvania. In order to connect to that pipeline to ship propane and ethane to the Marcus Hook refinery near Philadelphia, Sunoco first has to build a 50-mile feeder pipeline from the MarkWest processing plant in Houston (Chartiers Township) to Delmont (see the Sunoco map below). The problem is, a group of landowners in Washington County won’t play ball and lease their land to Sunoco to bury the pipeline. Sunoco got tired of negotiating with the recalcitrant landowners, and changed tactics to declare it (Sunoco) has eminent domain power under PA state authority. They sue the 25 landowners for force them to allow the pipeline. The landowners sued back arguing the 50-mile pipeline should come under federal, not state, authority. One of the 25 cases is being used as a proxy for the others and that case was just argued yesterday before a PA judge. A decision, according to the judge, will be “prompt”…
Read More “PA Judge Hears Mariner East NGL Pipeline Eminent Domain Case”
Crime | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Washington County

Warning: Marcellus Welders in PA Targets of Copper/Tool Theft
January 21, 2014January 21, 2014

Welders in the Marcellus Shale should be on the lookout–especially in western PA. There’s been a recent rash of thefts of welder’s tools and supplies–particularly copper welding cable. The thieves are bold–really bold. Sometimes a welding truck is targeted for theft while the guys are inside a restaurant having lunch!

Here’s the sad, and maddening, story:
Read More “Warning: Marcellus Welders in PA Targets of Copper/Tool Theft”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Mt. Pleasant Zoning Bd Says Range Water Impoundments in Violation
January 15, 2014January 15, 2014

Starting last August, Range Resources has been in a battle with the board of supervisors for Mt. Pleasant Township in Washington County, PA. The issue, the bone of contention, has been four water impoundments–three of which are for fresh water, essentially ponds (see Range Resources Argues with Mt Pleasant over Water Impoundment). The impoundments were originally used to drill nearby Marcellus Shale wells, several years ago. Since then, Range has continued using them, but now uses them to drill wells that are not nearby, in Mt. Pleasant Township. And the supervisors object.

In December it appeared there was a sliver of good news when the township said Range could proceed with converting one of the impoundments to an above ground enclosed tank impoundment for recycled waste water, subject to certain terms and conditions (see Range Strikes Deal with Mt Pleasant for 1 of 4 Water Impoundments). It now seems that was a bit too optimistic. On Monday the Mt. Pleasant Zoning Hearing Board (different group of people from the board of supervisors) voted unanimously to uphold notices of violation issued by the township’s zoning officer against the four Range impoundments, so here we go again…
Read More “Mt. Pleasant Zoning Bd Says Range Water Impoundments in Violation”