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WV Drillers Threaten Economic Boycotts of Local Businesses in Cities that Ban Marcellus Drilling

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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Dimock, PA Among Likely Locations for EPA Study of Hydraulic Fracturing

A critical component in the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to study hydraulic fracturing is where they will conduct case studies. Starting on page 42 of the draft proposal, we find out.

There were 48 proposed locations suggested to the EPA, from which they will select between five and eight locations. We know five likely locations right now, and two of those are in the Marcellus Shale region—the other three are in other shale formations around the country.

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West Virginia Now Employs 10K People in Marcellus Shale Gas Industry, Wetzel & Marshall Counties Most Active in Gas Drilling

WV - New Marcellus WellsAn article in today’s West Virginia paper The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register attempts to denigrate Marcellus gas drilling in the state by focusing on some of the problems. One of those problems, according to the article, is that 13 illegal aliens (undocumented workers) that have been caught working for drilling contractors in the state “in the last few years.” But 13 illegals apprehended out of some 10,000 workers employed by the Marcellus gas drilling industry in the state is an infinitesimally small 1/10th of one percent. That is, it’s a non-story. If the statistics are to be believed that there are some  20 million illegals in the U.S., and the population of our country is around 300 million, that means an average 6 1/2 percent of the entire population are illegal aliens! Point is: the drilling industry does not seek to employ illegals—it happens, like any industry.

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Dominion Expands Marcellus Shale Gas Processing Capacity, Plans to Convert & Expand Ohio-WV Pipeline

Not to be outdone by MarkWest’s recent announcement about expanding their processing and fractionation facilities in the Marcellus Shale, Dominion has announced they too have big plans for expansion in the Marcellus Shale, including converting transmission pipeline TL-404—running through Ohio and West Virginia—into a “wet gas service” line. Dominion’s plans also include building new processing facilities in West Virginia.
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Marcellus Leasing & Drilling in the West Virginia Panhandle Heats Up

West Virginia Marcellus Shale is getting hot. From an article* in the Steubenville (OH) Herald-Star, we get a mountain of good intelligence on what energy companies have and are paying in the West Virginia panhandle:

  • AB Resources is paying the New Vrindaban Hare Krishna Community in Marshall County $2,500 per acre for approximately 4,000 acres, and 18.75 percent production royalties. That works out to $10 million in lease payments.
  • Chesapeake paid $750 per acre and 14 percent royalties to the Wheeling Park Commission for leases in the Oglebay and Wheeling Parks in 2009. The park commissioner is not happy that Chesapeake is planning to pay more this year to lease public lands in neighboring Ohio County.
  • Chesapeake paid $2,800 per acre and 18.75 percent production royalties last month to the Marshall County Board of Education for rights to 177 acres in Sherrard.
  • Chesapeake has 11,000 acres under lease in Ohio County, and 45,000 acres (with 26 wells drilled) in Marshall County.
  • Trans Energy owns and operates 300 active wells in Marshall, Wetzel and Marion counties, with 40,000 acres under lease.

Also, according to the article:

Current lease contracts range from as low as $5 per acre to as high as $2,800 per acre, with production royalties ranging from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent. Landowners are being urged to think carefully before signing any contract.*

*Steubenville Herald-Star (Mar 8th) – Steubenville Herald-Star – Natural gas could bring riches to Panhandle

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Trans Energy Begins Drilling Third Horizontal Marcellus Well in Marshall County, WV

Trans Energy (Nov 18):
Press Release: Trans Energy Begins Drilling Third Horizontal Marcellus Well in Marshall County, WV

From the press release:

Trans Energy, Inc. announced today that it has begun drilling the Whipkey #1H well in Marshall County, West Virginia. The Whipkey #1H will be drilled and completed horizontally in the Marcellus shale.

The Company plans to drill the vertical portion of the Whipkey #1H well to a depth above the kick-off point of approximately 6,500 feet. A second, larger rig will follow-on immediately to drill the horizontal portion.

James K. Abcouwer, President and CEO of Trans Energy, said, “We have to-date successfully drilled four vertical Marcellus wells. We have also successfully drilled and completed one horizontal Marcellus well, the Hart #28H, and partially drilled a second horizontal Marcellus well, the Anderson #7H, both of which are in Wetzel County, West Virginia. Continuing our horizontal program in another county is another significant step forward for Trans Energy to properly develop its acreage position in northern West Virginia.”

The Company continues to expand its acreage position centered on Wetzel, Marion, and Marshall Counties in West Virginia, which it believes to be the heart of the most prolific natural gas resource in Appalachia, and one of the greatest in the United States.