Uncategorized

OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Behind the oil industry’s biggest divorce – Chevron vs California; NATIONAL: How a ‘cow fart’ vaccine could help tackle climate change; House passes bill blocking future presidents from banning oil drilling without approval; The trillion-dollar A.I. data center tsunami – coming to a field near you; INTERNATIONAL: Activist Elliott said to build stake in struggling oil major BP; Taiwan looks to buy Alaskan natural gas as it seeks to head off US tariffs. Read More “Other Stories of Interest: Mon, Feb 10, 2025”

At yesterday’s annual Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia (IOGAWV) Winter Meeting, WV Gov. Jim Justice stressed he “can’t be any more sympathetic” to the oil and gas industry in the state. Justice also said he has his pen ready to sign two bills the industry is pushing this year–one to fund and plug orphan wells (HB 4090), and the other to speed up new well permits (HB 4091).
Read More “WV Gov Signals Support for 2 Bills: Orphan Wells, Faster Permits”

You can just imagine it. Maya van Rossum (THE Delaware Riverkeeper), Tony Ingraffea (former Cornell prof and member of Trout Unlimited), Sandra Steingraber (paid by Ithaca College to be a climate protester) and other far-out lefties sitting in a room hatching yet another plan to block new pipeline projects, all in a bid to stop the use of all fossil fuels. “I know I know!” says one of them. “Let’s create a map of ‘high value streams and rivers’ and ‘areas of ecological sensitivity’ and then dare those filthy, nasty pipeline companies to build a pipeline across any of them. We’ll draw the map so every area is at ‘risk’–except for a few ditches in the middle of nowhere. That’ll do it!” And, voila, Trout Unlimited (TU), colluding with other Big Green groups, has just released a magical map to, you know, be “helpful” to pipeline companies, so they know where they can’t stick a nasty pipeline (i.e. anywhere). That’s what TU has just released.
Read More “Trout Unlimited Takes a Stab at Blocking Pipelines Using Maps”

Earlier this year the West Virginia legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 360, which Gov. Jim Justice subsequently signed into law (see WV Gov Justice Signs Bill to Guarantee 12.5% Minimum Royalty). The new law overturns a ruling by the WV Supreme Court in Leggett v. EQT Production, a case in which the Supremes (in a very unusual move) reversed their own previous decision and allowed EQT to deduct post-production expenses in old flat rate leases. In essence, SB 360 guarantees rights owners/landowners a 12.5% minimum royalty, regardless of post-production deductions–but only in flat rate leases. A flat rate lease is a lease in which a company pays a regular (in EQT’s case, annual) payment, regardless of how much oil/gas is produced. Traditionally drillers don’t deduct post-production expenses because the payments landowners get are piddly anyway. But then EQT began to claim deductions, prompting a lawsuit that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The legislature aimed to “fix” what they considered an error in the court’s ruling. EQT claims the new law is unconstitutional and in April filed a lawsuit asking a judge to stop the law from taking effect (see EQT Sues WV for Passing Minimum Royalty Law re Flat Rate Leases). WV has just responded, in a big way, by asking the judge to dismiss EQT’s lawsuit…
Read More “WV Files Motion to Dismiss EQT Lawsuit Targeting Royalty Law”

Earlier this week MDN brought you the dynamite news that Rice Energy is buying out Vantage Energy for $2.7 billion (see Rice Energy Buys Vantage Energy for $2.7B, 85K Marcellus Acres). The next day we answered they “why” question (see Why Did Rice Energy Pay $2.7B for Vantage Energy? It’s Simple…). The reason Rice bought Vantage was largely because of 85,000 acres of Marcellus leases in Greene County, PA. What we had overlooked was the fact that 27,000 of the 85,000 acres in Vantage’s Greene County portfolio was acreage they just bought from bankrupt Alpha Natural Resources (see Vantage Outbids Rice For Bankrupt Alpha Natural’s 27K Marcellus Acres). Rice had bid $200 million for that acreage, but Vantage came along and got it for $339.5 million. Now that Rice has locked up the Vantage acreage in addition to its own considerable holdings in Greene County, what’s left to do? Lease more unleased acreage in Greene. Rice says there is between 20,000-40,000 unleased acres in Greene and the company is full speed ahead trying to get that acreage signed up for themselves. Note to Greene landowners: expect a landman on your doorstep soon…
Read More “Rice Energy Ramps Up Leasing Activity in Greene County, PA”

Two week ago the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) released a new report documenting liquids pipeline safety performance and outlining industry-wide efforts to improve pipeline safety in 2016 and beyond. “2016 API-AOPL Annual Liquids Pipeline Safety Excellence Performance Report & Strategic Plan” (full copy below) was developed jointly by AOPL and the American Petroleum Institute (API), and it highlights pipeline safety trends over the last five years. In short, pipelines are THE safest form of transportation period. The report finds that 99.999% of crude oil and petroleum products (like gasoline) that are piped reach their final destination safely. Essentially everything makes it to where it’s going safely, contrary to the wild claims by anti-fossil fuel nutters. The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) quotes from the report in a recent press release to support a number of proposed pipeline projects in the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “Report Documents Pipeline Safety: 99.999% Liquids Delivered Safely”

In April 2015 a “study” from Johns Hopkins University claimed fracking has led to high levels of radon in nearby homes in PA (see Johns Hopkins Says PA Fracking Causing High Radon in Nearby Homes). That study was a sham and was debunked. In October 2015 a “study” from Johns Hopkins University claimed fracking leads to premature births in PA (see New Junk Science Claims PA Fracking Leads to Premature Births). Again, it was debunked as a sham. In July of this year the same Johns Hopkins group released a “study” claiming fracking makes asthma worse (see Sham “Study” from Johns Hopkins Says Fracking Makes Athsma Worse). Also shown to be a fraud. See a pattern? When we saw yet another junk science “study” coming from the same group of virulent anti-drillers, using the once-great name of Johns Hopkins to cover for anti-drilling shillery, our first thought was to ignore it since this new “study” is more of the same agenda-driven, false “science” B.S. (Barbara Streisand). But report on it we must. The latest anti-fracking “study” coming from Johns Hopkins claims that fracking leads to headaches, fatigue and sinus problems. The one, big, glaring problem with this study is that almost all of the subjects whose doctor records were used live OUTSIDE of drilling areas! That’s what passes for science and academic rigor at Johns Hopkins. It’s all political science, absent any real science…
Read More “Johns Hopkins Junk Science: Fracking Gives You Headaches”

A new company we first reported on in May is Siluria Technologies (see New Tech Converts NatGas into Ethylene, Bypassing Cracker Plants). We’re excited about Siluria because of their intriguing technology that converts natural gas directly into useful petrochemicals, bypassing in-between steps like using ethane crackers. Very cool stuff. In early May Siluria picked up an Italian partner (see Siluria Gets Partner to Convert Methane Directly into Petrochems). In June the company picked up a French partner (see Siluria’s Disruptive Technology Gets French Partner – Air Liquide). The company has momentum. Now comes word that Siluria has a new CEO, a high-ranking Shell executive who spent his entire career at Shell. This is very good news indeed…
Read More “Siluria Appoints Former Shell Exec Robert Trout as CEO”

Cabot Oil & Gas is a great company that focuses most of its shale efforts in the Marcellus. And every single Marcellus well they drill is located in a single northeastern Pennsylvania county–Susquehanna County. Susquehanna County has been good for Cabot, and conversely, Cabot has been good for Susquehanna County–providing jobs and pumping millions into the local economy. So it was no surprise to learn that Cabot is the main sponsor of a county event being held tomorrow: the Susquehanna County Business Expo. The purpose of the expo? To lure companies to locate or relocate in a relatively rural but rapidly growing county–where the air is good, the people are nice, the taxes are LOW and the gas is plentiful. The not-so-subtle message to businesses located nearby in Broome County, NY (where MDN is written) is that they ought to consider relocating over the border. Specifically in their sights are manufacturers who can leverage the cheapest natural gas in the world! The sad truth is that businesses have been, and continue to, leave the Empire State in droves. Cuomo is driving them out with his obtuse policies. The Expo will be held tomorrow in Montrose, PA. MDN encourages Broome businesses (and business from other areas) to consider attending. Here’s the details…
Read More “Susquehanna Cnty Uses NatGas to Attract New Business, May 19 Expo”

Below are upcoming events for this week and next. To see the full list of future events, visit this page: //marcellusdrilling.com/calendar/.

NOTE: To have an item included, please email it to: calendar@marcellusdrilling.com.
Read More “Calendar of Events for Nov 17-30, 2014 [Free]”