Statewide WV

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

New Marcellus Drilling Rules for WV Delayed Until 2012
August 18, 2011August 18, 2011

It now looks like West Virginia lawmakers will not adopt new regulations for drilling in the Marcellus Shale this year. In July, acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed an executive order creating “temporary” new Marcellus Shale drilling regulations, which have not yet gone into effect (see this MDN story). The new regs are intended to be in place for up to 15 months to give the legislature time to draft a comprehensive overhaul of drilling rules. There was talk of speeding the process along and taking advantage of the current special session of the legislature, meeting this week to rework a redistricting plan, to tackle the drilling issue. But any more work on new drilling regulations for this year is now all but dead:

Read More “New Marcellus Drilling Rules for WV Delayed Until 2012”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Invests $250K in Marcellus Ethane Processing Plant
August 12, 2011August 12, 2011

The state of West Virginia is investing $250K in a company that turns ethane from Marcellus gas wells into ethylene. Think of it as a “mini-cracker plant”. Shell and other large energy companies are looking to establish large cracker plants in the Marcellus region—a chemical plant that will take over $1 billion to build (see this MDN story). In the meantime, smaller and leaner companies are providing some of the same kinds of service a cracker plant provides—at much less of an investment. Aither Chemicals is one of those companies.

Read More “WV Invests $250K in Marcellus Ethane Processing Plant”
Energy Services | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

MarkWest Processing Plants in PA & WV Ramp Up Output
August 9, 2011August 9, 2011

MarkWest Energy Partners and its subsidiary companies concentrate on what the industry calls the “midstream” area of natural gas drilling—that is, gathering, processing and transporting natural gas. MarkWest’s quarterly report includes an update on their expanding capacity to process natural gas and natural gas liquids in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania and West Virginia as well as news about a new pipeline to Canada:

Read More “MarkWest Processing Plants in PA & WV Ramp Up Output”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Methane Present in 11% of WV Water Wells Before Drilling Begins
August 8, 2011August 8, 2011

In response to a study released in May by Duke University showing elevated levels of methane in water wells near active gas wells being drilled, Chesapeake Energy has released its own water testing data. One of the chief criticisms of the Duke study is that baseline measurements were not taken—that is, Duke did not test water wells before active gas drilling took place to eliminate the possibility that methane in those water wells was naturally occurring. Chesapeake has that data for wells close to its active drilling sites. The results are indeed interesting.

Read More “Methane Present in 11% of WV Water Wells Before Drilling Begins”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | Wastewater | West Virginia

GreenHunter Energy to Establish New Fracking Wastewater Treatment Facility in WV, Including Injection Wells
August 3, 2011August 3, 2011

Texas-based GreenHunter Energy, Inc. announced they’ve purchased acreage in West Virginia where they will establish a facility to treat and dispose of fracking wastewater. Part of GreenHunter’s plan includes disposing wastewater using an existing injection well with plans for additional injection wells. The press release (in full below) does not mention the exact location for the new facility and injection wells.

Read More “GreenHunter Energy to Establish New Fracking Wastewater Treatment Facility in WV, Including Injection Wells”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wetzel County

WV Drillers Threaten Economic Boycotts of Local Businesses in Cities that Ban Marcellus Drilling
July 29, 2011July 29, 2011

Here and there, some city municipalities in West Virginia—like Morgantown—have banned hydraulic fracturing and Marcellus shale gas drilling inside, and even outside of their borders. The latest WV city to do so is New Martinsville (Wetzel County). The West Virginia Independent Oil & Gas Association has had enough and is threatening to stop supporting local businesses in cities that have enacted bans.

Read More “WV Drillers Threaten Economic Boycotts of Local Businesses in Cities that Ban Marcellus Drilling”
Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Association Launches Weekly Radio Program Dedicated to the Marcellus Shale
July 18, 2011July 18, 2011

A new weekly half hour radio program dedicated to the Marcellus Shale will soon be on the air in West Virginia:

Read More “WV Association Launches Weekly Radio Program Dedicated to the Marcellus Shale”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Gov. Tomblin Signs Executive Order 4-11 Creating “Temporary” New Marcellus Shale Drilling Rules
July 13, 2011July 13, 2011

Yesterday, West Virginia Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed Executive Order 4-11 directing the state Department of Environmental Protection to immediately draft and implement temporary new regulations controlling Marcellus Shale drilling in the state. Temporary in this case means the rules will be in place for up to 15 months—until the WV legislature can craft a set of permanent laws. Below is the press release issued by Gov. Tomblin’s office, along with a full copy of EO 4-11.

Read More “WV Gov. Tomblin Signs Executive Order 4-11 Creating “Temporary” New Marcellus Shale Drilling Rules”
Berry Energy | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Update on Monongahela National Forest Study – an MDN Correction
July 12, 2011July 12, 2011

More details have come to light since MDN first reported on the new study published in the Journal of Environmental Quality about land application of fracking fluids in the Monongahela National Forest (see here). The press release about the published study was issued by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The release did not mention that the land application was authorized by the WV DEP as part of an ongoing drilling operation and not simply an intentional experiment. MDN does not knowingly distort the facts and is happy to “set the record straight” for any errors we publish. In that spirit, we offer this additional information about the 2008 land application incident and resulting published study:

Read More “Update on Monongahela National Forest Study – an MDN Correction”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Gov. Tomblin to Unveil New “Emergency” Fracking Rules Today
July 12, 2011July 12, 2011

West Virginia Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin will release new “emergency rules” today at 2 pm that direct the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to tighten controls on Marcellus drilling, in particular hydraulic fracturing.

Read More “WV Gov. Tomblin to Unveil New “Emergency” Fracking Rules Today”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Marion County | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Marcellus Legal Battle over Well Pads: Surface Rights Owners v. Mineral Rights Owners
July 5, 2011July 5, 2011

In West Virginia, mineral rights are more complex than in other states because those rights in many (perhaps most) cases were separated from the land above it long ago due to coal mining. It is a situation that sometimes pits the rights of the surface owners of the land against the rights of those who own the mineral rights below the land. Mineral rights owners have a right to access the surface in order to extract the coal, oil or gas beneath.

But in the case of horizontal hydraulic fracturing, do mineral rights owners have the right to to set up a multi-acre well pad on the surface to extract natural gas from neighboring properties? An interesting legal question that is being played out in Marion County, WV now.

Read More “WV Marcellus Legal Battle over Well Pads: Surface Rights Owners v. Mineral Rights Owners”
Industrywide Issues | Marion County | Preston County | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

How Long Does it Take to Approve a Marcellus Shale Drilling Permit in WV?
July 4, 2011July 4, 2011

Just how long does it take for West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to approve a new Marcellus shale gas drilling permit?

Read More “How Long Does it Take to Approve a Marcellus Shale Drilling Permit in WV?”
Brooke County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio County | Roads | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Road Damage from Gas Drilling in WV Overwhelms Highway Department
May 31, 2011May 31, 2011

Road damage from truck traffic to Marcellus Shale drilling sites has overwhelmed the West Virginia Department of Highways (DOH) ability to respond, according to one DOH official.

Read More “Road Damage from Gas Drilling in WV Overwhelms Highway Department”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Natural Gas Industry Already Employs 35K People with Average Salaries of $60K
May 26, 2011May 26, 2011

The Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia has just kicked off a new advertising campaign to educate the public to the benefits of natural gas drilling in the state.

Read More “WV Natural Gas Industry Already Employs 35K People with Average Salaries of $60K”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Soil | Statewide WV | West Virginia

West Virginia Officials Say Radioactivity from Gas Drilling a Non-Issue
May 20, 2011May 20, 2011

One of the issues raised in Marcellus Shale drilling is a concern that pumping water into, and then extracting it out of the ground will bring with it radioactivity from naturally occurring sources deep underground. In particular, the “cuttings” or leftover rock and dirt that come out of the bore hole might contain higher than normal levels of radioactivity. Officials in West Virginia say there’s no reason for concern in their state:

Read More “West Virginia Officials Say Radioactivity from Gas Drilling a Non-Issue”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Marcellus Drillers Attempting to Woo Chemical Companies to Build Plants in the Marcellus
May 5, 2011May 23, 2011

Marcellus Shale drillers and regional economic development agencies are trying to interest chemical companies in locating to southwest PA and northern WV by building “cracking plants” that would convert some of the compounds from Marcellus drilling into the raw material used to manufacture plastics and other chemical products. Just one such plant would mean a $1 billion investment, creating thousands of short-term jobs to build the plant, and hundreds of permanent jobs to staff it once built.

Read More “Marcellus Drillers Attempting to Woo Chemical Companies to Build Plants in the Marcellus”