Statewide WV

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WV Officials Angry with Chesapeake Over Ethane Pipeline Deal
November 7, 2011November 7, 2011

State officials in West Virginia are angry with Chesapeake Energy over the announcement that Chesapeake has signed a deal to ship ethane out of the Marcellus region via pipeline to the Gulf Coast for processing. A quick petrochemical lesson: Some of what comes out of the ground when drilling for natural gas is the chemical compound ethane—especially found in “wet gas” areas of the Marcellus like West Virginia. Ethane can be processed into ethylene, which is the raw material used to make plastics.

West Virginia and Pennsylvania have been heavily courting Shell and at least one other unnamed company to build a “cracker plant” to process the ethane (crack it) into ethylene. Building a cracker plant in the region would attract thousands of jobs and billions of initial investment, and billions in revenue from associated plastics industries that would sprout up around the plant. It’s like winning the biggest imaginable lottery jackpot when it comes to jobs, money and tax revenue.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Official: No Cases of Water Contamination from Fracking
November 3, 2011November 3, 2011

$frack here frack now$ The top oil and gas regulator in West Virginia said at a conference on Wednesday that he has not seen any confirmed cases of groundwater contamination from fracking in West Virginia.

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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

US Sen. Joe Manchin (D) Supports Drilling, Criticizes Obama
October 28, 2011October 28, 2011

It seems lately that it’s a rare Democrat who goes on the record to support shale gas drilling, so when it happens, MDN is happy to mention it. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia, former governor of that state who won a special election to fill the seat of Robert Byrd, said the following at a recent symposium on natural gas:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WVU Prof: Methane in Water Supplies is Not from Fracking
October 12, 2011October 12, 2011

Dr. Shikha Sharma, an assistant professor at West Virginia University and the lead researcher of a new WVU study looking at the source of methane found in water supplies (see this MDN story), says those who think that hydraulic fracturing is the cause of methane found in their water supply may be wrong. And she can prove it—scientifically.

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Magnum Hunter | MarkWest Energy | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Magnum Hunter & MarkWest Do Deal to Process WV Shale Gas
October 6, 2011October 6, 2011

Pipeline company Magnum Hunter Resources has signed a deal with natural gas processor MarkWest Liberty to deliver and process “liquids-rich” Marcellus Shale gas from northwest West Virginia. As part of the deal, a Magnum Hunter subsidiary (Eureka Hunter) is selling an under-construction gas processing plant to MarkWest. What it all means is that Magnum Hunter and MarkWest are joining forces to handle a large capacity of shale gas that needs processing in northwest WV.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

New WVU Study Looks at Methane in Water Supplies
October 6, 2011October 6, 2011

A new research study is on the way in West Virginia that tackles the question of “Is there methane in the water supply? And if so, how did it get there?” One of the charges often leveled at shale gas drilling is that it causes a migration of methane (natural gas) into water supplies. Perhaps the most famous case in recent years is that of Dimock, Pennsylvania (see MDN stories about Dimock).

A researcher from West Virginia University is conducting a new study by sampling and analyzing water samples in the Monongahela River watershed to determine if there’s methane in local water supplies, with an eye to determining how it got there if it is there.

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Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide WV | West Virginia

EQT Starts Construction on New Pipeline in WV/PA
September 22, 2011September 22, 2011

EQT has received federal approval to construct a new natural gas pipeline that will reach from West Virginia into Pennsylvania, and will begin construction immediately:

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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:

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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:

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