• Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Oct 16, 2017

    The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: PA House committee cancels meeting on severance tax bill; the many benefits of fracking IN the Delaware River Basin; thoughts on Carrizo’s Marcellus asset sale; Ohio the “key anchor” to Appalchia’s bright plastics future; convering WV buses to run natgas; Cheniere starts up 4th LNG export facility; OPEC’s message to shale drillers; drilling mud separator expands into US shale; Clean Power Plan’s counterfeit benefits; and more!
    Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Oct 16, 2017”

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    Former GreenHunter Expanding in West Virginia with 160 Jobs

    Fountain Quail Energy Services, which is the new name for the company that used to be called GreenHunter Resources, is planning to expand in Lewis County, WV. A WV lawmaker says he’s talked Fountain Quail into expanding in an industrial park in Jane Lew, bringing 160 jobs to the site. In December 2015 MDN reported that Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (see Sad Day: Magnum Hunter Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). MHR has a variety of subsidiary companies. One of those companies, GreenHunter Resources (water and wastewater), also succumbed and filed for bankruptcy–in March 2016 (see Another Sad Day: GreenHunter Resources Files for Bankruptcy). Restructuring was completed for GreenHunter in May 2016 and the company emerged from bankruptcy under the ownership of a private equity firm. A few months later, GreenHunter shed its former name and merged with/took on a new name: Fountain Quail. The CEO of Fountain Quail is the former Executive Vice President and COO of GreenHunter, Kirk Trosclair. The COO of Fountain Quail also previously worked for GreenHunter. Here’s the update that Fountain Quail is once again on the road to expansion, putting the past behind it…
    Read More “Former GreenHunter Expanding in West Virginia with 160 Jobs”

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    Williams Launches Major WV Expansion to Serve Southwestern Energy

    Yesterday Williams announced a new, major deal with Southwestern Energy to expand its network of gathering pipelines and processing facilities in West Virginia, to serve Southwestern’s increasingly aggressive drilling program in the state. Williams will expand its its Oak Grove processing plant to handle extra wet gas that will flow into it from Southwestern’s 135,000-acre wet gas (i.e. NGL) drilling program in Marshall and Wetzel counties. Southwestern targets wet gas in the Marcellus and Upper Devonian in those two counties. The expansion will give the Oak Grove plant the capability to process an additional 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of wet gas. But wet gas isn’t the only focus. Williams is also expanding its pipeline network to an additional 71,500 dry gas acres, again in Marshall and Wetzel counties, targeting Southwestern’s dry gas Utica program. In the same announcement, almost as an afterthought (but for us is a really big deal), Williams announced it will connect its system to Columbia Pipeline’s (now TransCanada) Leach XPress and Mountaineer XPress pipelines, “to boost market access and diversify gas pricing opportunities.” Leach XPress, which is part of a project including Rayne XPress, will send gas all the way to the Gulf Coast (see Columbia Gas: $1.75B for 2 Projects to Send Marcellus Gas to Gulf). Leach XPress began construction earlier this year. Mountaineer XPress will send gas to Leach, Kentucky (as will Leach Xpress), and from there on to a variety of other markets in the Midwest and South–as well as the Gulf Coast (see Details on Columbia Pipeline Mountaineer XPress Pipeline Project). Mountaineer Xpress received a favorable final environmental impact state from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in July of this year, but is still waiting on other permits before it begins construction. Here’s the news about Williams expanding in the Mountain State…
    Read More “Williams Launches Major WV Expansion to Serve Southwestern Energy”

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    Antero Taps Veolia to Handle TENORM Waste at WV Water Facility

    In 2015 Antero Resources hired Veolia Water Technologies Inc. (subsidiary of France-based Veolia) to build a new shale wastewater recycling facility in Doddridge County, West Virginia (see Antero Building New 60K Bbl Wastewater Recycling Facility in WV). The new facility, which is slated to take two years to build and cost Antero $275 million, will process 60,000 barrels of wastewater per day. The facility is still under construction. The plant will separate water, salt and radioactive particles. The salt can be sold to municipalities for use as road salt–but frankly there’s not enough of a market to sell it all. And not all of it will be of sufficient quality to be sold that way. So Antero is also spending $20 million to build a landfill next to the plant (see Update on Antero’s $275M Wastewater Facility in WV). This week we also learned that Antero will spend another $70 million with Veolia–in addition to the $275M they’re paying Veolia to build the plant–paying Veolia $70M over 10 years to handle the “loading, packaging, transporting and proper disposal of water treatment sludge” the plant will produce. The sludge contains TENORM–technologically enhanced, naturally occurring radioactive materials. Veolia will ensure the TENORM sludge is carefully handled and properly disposed…
    Read More “Antero Taps Veolia to Handle TENORM Waste at WV Water Facility”

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    Monroeville, PA Hostile to Shale, Bans Drilling in Most Places

    Monroeville, PA

    For whatever reason, Monroeville, PA (Allegheny County, suburb of Pittsburgh) is hostile toward the shale industry. In September Monroeville Council voted to enact a super-restrictive seismic testing ordinance (see Monroeville, PA Passes Restrictive Seismic Testing Ordinance). The ordinance was meant to hassle Huntley & Huntley, which had wanted to conduct seismic testing in two rural areas of the municipality. But that wasn’t enough for the anti-drilling zealots of Monroeville. On Tuesday, Monroeville Council voted to ban oil and gas well drilling everywhere except for those areas marked M-2 industrial zoning. This is a big change. Previously drilling permits were “conditional use,” meaning each permit was evaluated on its own merits, regardless of which zoning district it was located in. By limiting drilling to M-2, the Council has effectively banned drilling in the municipality. Which is a shame, as Huntley & Huntley’s headquarters is located in Monroeville. We think they should seriously consider moving out of the municipality, taking their considerable economic impact (jobs, tax revenue) with them…
    Read More “Monroeville, PA Hostile to Shale, Bans Drilling in Most Places”

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    Plum, PA Gives Huntley & Huntley Green Light for Shale Drilling

    Plum, PA

    Unlike the anti-drilling Luddites in Monroeville, PA who seek to stifle shale drilling in their municipality (see today’s story: Monroeville, PA Hostile to Shale, Bans Drilling in Most Places), the leaders in Plum, PA (shares a border with Monroeville, in Alleghany County) has approved a plan by Huntley & Huntley to drill a series of Marcellus wells in their municipality. Last week MDN told you that H&H plans to begin constructing a well pad in Plum next month (see Huntley & Huntley Starts Shale Drilling in Plum, PA Next Month). Plum officials gave H&H their blessing on the plan at a meeting on Wednesday. About 150 people showed up for the meeting, many against H&H’s plan to drill. Among the antis was a representative from FracTracker Alliance–a non-profit that pretends to be an impartial “watchdog” of the drilling industry. At the meeting the FracTracker rep revealed his out-of-the-mainstream, anti-drilling bias. He outted his organization as an anti-fossil fuel, Big Green group. Although there was plenty of the typical anti moaning and groaning at the meeting, to their credit, the Plum Council voted 6-1 to approve H&H’s plan to construct a well pad, and to drill several fracked Marcellus wells at the site…
    Read More “Plum, PA Gives Huntley & Huntley Green Light for Shale Drilling”

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    Annual SRBC Water Report Finds No Impacts from Shale Drilling

    Susquehanna River Basin

    The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) established the Remote Water Quality Monitoring Network (RWQMN) in January 2010 in response to natural gas drilling activities in the basin. More than 50 water quality monitoring stations are operating in watersheds experiencing unconventional shale gas development. Each station continuously monitors the following parameters: pH, temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and relative water depth. The data are collected at five-minute intervals and uploaded to SRBC’s publicly accessible web site. Each year the SRBC releases an annual report evaluating their findings. So far, since, 2010, the SRBC has found no adverse impacts on the basin’s water supplies due to Marcellus drilling and fracking. The SRBC has just released the latest report, for 2016 (full copy below). The trend continues yet again for last year: no impacts from natural gas drilling on the Susquehanna River Basin…
    Read More “Annual SRBC Water Report Finds No Impacts from Shale Drilling”

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    Atlantic Sunrise Work in NEPA Beginning “Very Soon,” Locals Hired

    Williams representatives were on hand earlier this week in Tunhannock, PA (Wyoming County) to present a briefing to local politicians and community leaders on the status of the now-under construction Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project. Atlantic Sunrise is a $3 billion, 198-mile natural gas pipeline project running through 10 Pennsylvania counties to connect Marcellus Shale natural gas from northeastern PA with the Williams’ Transco pipeline in southern Lancaster County. Much of the attention has focused on Lancaster County and a small group of antis who oppose the project there. However, Atlantic Sunrise will begin its journey to Lancaster in Susquehanna County, PA–in the northeastern tip of the state. Construction in Susquehanna and adjacent counties is scheduled to begin “very soon,” according to Williams rep Mike Atchie. When it does begin, some of the people working on it will come from the same counties where it’s getting built. Last week the Teamsters held a job fair in Harrisburg (see Harrisburg Job Fair Oct 6-7 Looks to Fill 400 Pipeline Jobs). Of those streaming through, nearly 200 people filled out job applications. Five of the people who showed up have already been hired and are on job sites working–less than a week later! Another 100+ were enrolled in safety training classes and instructional courses. Here’s an update on the advent of Atlantic Sunrise construction in NEPA…
    Read More “Atlantic Sunrise Work in NEPA Beginning “Very Soon,” Locals Hired”

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    Antis Release Fake Report Claiming PA Children at Risk from Drilling

    The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has done it again. They’ve posted another fake news story about the Marcellus Shale industry. Here’s how it works: A Big Green group, like the odious Earthworks, enlists the help of a servile, biased “reporter”–feeding all sorts of false information to said “reporter”–the “reporter” essentially takes dictation, writes it up, and publishes it as “news.” Earthworks and Moms Clean Air Force, both national, radical, out-of-the-mainstream anti fossil-fuel groups, have colluded with the Post-Gazette to release a fake news “report” that says because some of Pennsylvania’s children go to school within a half mile of an oil or gas well, those children are endangered from emissions, including methane. Yeah, methane–you know, natural gas. IF methane happens to leak (which doesn’t happen often) it simply goes straight up into the atmosphere where it supposedly contributes to man-made global warming. It certainly doesn’t endanger anyone on the ground. The Big Green groups publishing the report say 311,000 kids in PA go to school near an oil or gas well (the vast majority being conventional, non-shale wells). Big Green totally lies about the risks. But let’s set that aside for the moment. Why are only children endangered? Why not adults too? Or pets? Or zombies? Big Green is (ab)using children in their narrative because everyone has a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to kids. We all will protect our children with our own lives–it’s an ingrained, automatic reaction. These sleazeballs are playing off that fear with a false report–and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is complicit in spreading the lie…
    Read More “Antis Release Fake Report Claiming PA Children at Risk from Drilling”

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    Dividing Line: Role of NatGas in NE PA vs. NY’s Southern Tier

    MDN editor Jim Willis lives right on the dividing line between New York and Pennsylvania–in the Binghamton, NY area (on the wrong side of the line). Pennsylvania, on the right side of the dividing line, has embraced shale drilling, and enormous economic benefits have flowed to communities where it happens. Cabot Oil & Gas alone (just one company) has spent over $4.6 billion in the last 10 years in Susquehanna County, PA (see Amazing: Cabot O&G Invests $4.6 BILLION in One PA County in 10 Yrs). Meanwhile, NOTHING is spent just over the border, in Broome, Chenango, Otsego and other Southern Tier counties on the New York (wrong) side of the border. It is a heartbreaking tale. Back in 2014 the Buffalo News ran a story comparing two farmers, one on each side of the border, to illustrate how the shale revolution has changed NEPA (see PA Farmers Flourish Thanks to Marcellus While NY Farmers Fail). We now have an updated version of that story line. The Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association (PMA) recently released a 28-minute MUST SEE video titled, “The Dividing Line: PA vs. NY Natural Gas Economics” (watch it below). Listen to landowners and business owners on both sides of the border talk about their experience. New Yorkers have been shafted by a corrupt governor, that much is clear…
    Read More “Dividing Line: Role of NatGas in NE PA vs. NY’s Southern Tier”

  • Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Oct 13, 2017

    The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: NEXUS says pipeline will be built by 3Q18; PA DEP hearing on natgas-fired power plant in Greene County; WVONGA urges FERC action on 11 pipelines; WV monitoring cybersecurity; Atlantic Sunrise donates $5,300 to NEPA school; Shell wants veterans for cracker jobs; Maine’s Sen. King pushes measure to speed up natgas pipeline permits; problems with rail transport of energy supplies; and more!
    Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Oct 13, 2017”

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    Rex Energy Improves Production for New Wells in Butler, PA

    Ahead of providing its third quarter 2017 update, yesterday Rex Energy, a driller focused mainly on the Marcellus/Utica (headquartered in State College, PA) has issued an update on two wells recently connected to sales. The two wells are located in Rex’s Butler County, PA “Moraine East” area. What’s unique is that both wells were completed with a newly revamped/tweaked completion design. Completions is that part of drilling a well when you frack it and hook it up to production. Rex doesn’t comment on how they tweaked their completion design. Typically, changing up completions may involve how long each frack stage is, the type (and quantity) of sand or other proppant used, the kind of slick water used, etc. Rex worked with an engineering firm to review their completions process and made some changes–and they are happy with the results. Initial daily production for the two wells averaged 9.4 million cubic feet equivalent per day (MMcfe/d). Rex reports the methane (natural gas) portion was 4 MMcf/d, NGLs of 820 barrels per day, and condensate averaged 70 barrels per day. Looks like Rex has a couple of winners, with more on the way using the new completion design…
    Read More “Rex Energy Improves Production for New Wells in Butler, PA”

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    PA Severance Tax Not Dead Yet, Industry Unites to Oppose

    Sadly, the severance tax issue in Pennsylvania is not yet dead, as we had hoped. Last week budget negotiations broke down and PA Gov. Wolf took matters into his own hands by borrowing $1.25 billion from the state’s Liquor Control Board to plug a gap in this year’s budget (see PA Gov Wolf “Acts” to Finalize the State Budget, No Severance Tax). However, it’s not enough money, and it’s temporary. So Wolf, the PA Democrat Party, and a variety of RINOs (Republicans in Name Only, i.e. swamp dwellers) continue to beat the drum for a severance tax this year. Yesterday Gov. Wolf went to Erie, PA to stump for “a reasonable severance tax.” He and others in his party still think it’s possible to get a tax passed this year. Next Monday the PA House Finance Committee (controlled by Republicans) will reconvene and hold a hearing on a plan to impose a 3.2% severance tax this year. The shale industry and their friends are holding a rally in Harrisburg on the same day, to make the point loud and clear that such a tax is a Marcellus-killer. Below is news about Wolf’s tax stump speech, the hearing next week, and details about the rally opposing the severance tax…
    Read More “PA Severance Tax Not Dead Yet, Industry Unites to Oppose”

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    Guest Post: An Opposing View of PA’s Severance Tax “Mess”

    Dan Markind

    You know how MDN feels about a new/extra severance tax in Pennsylvania–we’re dead set against it. We have been from the beginning. We think the impact fee (i.e. tax) is doing just fine, having raised over $1 billion in revenue from 2013 to 2017 (assuming the Independent Fiscal Office’s 2017 projections are accurate). The best part of the impact fee is that 60% of it stays local–in counties where drilling happens–instead of going to the black hole of Harrisburg overspending. However, there are Republicans in the state legislature addicted to spending, just like Democrats, and they continue to lobby for a new severance tax, to be placed on top of the existing impact fee. As we saw yesterday, PA’s rig count has been static to slightly down all year long (see Marcellus/Utica Rig Count Race Tightens: OH Count Closes in on PA). Does PA want to drive even more business out of the state and into neighboring Ohio and West Virginia? That, in our humble opinion, is exactly what a severance tax will do. Although, MDN doesn’t play favorites, we love all our state children equally! We don’t want PA to make a serious mistake. However, there are opposing opinions on the severance tax issue from people we respect. One of those people is Dan Markind, a partner with law firm Weir & Partners. Dan writes a regular email newsletter covering the Marcellus Shale in PA. Last week he wrote about the budget negotiation collapse and the (admitted) debacle of House Republicans clutching at alternative straws–first a warehouse tax and then a hotel tax–anything but a severance tax. Dan believes the shale industry in PA has alienated other industries, and has boxed itself into a corner by not accepting some form of a severance tax. We disagree with Dan’s view on this matter–but his view is shared by many. Which is why we bring you his email newsletter from last week (with his permission), to present an alternative view on the severance tax issue…
    Read More “Guest Post: An Opposing View of PA’s Severance Tax “Mess””

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    Utica Summit V: Investment in Utica Hits $55B, Petchem a Big Deal

    Yesterday Utica Summit V was held in North Canton, OH. MDN could not, unfortunately, attend. But others did and the reports we’re reading indicate it was another great event. Two major news items of interest came from the event. The first was the results of a recent economic study that show an amazing $54.7 billion has been invested in the Utica Shale play from 2012-2016, across upstream ($42.7 billion), midstream ($8.6 billion) and downstream ($3.4 billion). In a surprise statement, the report’s author said, “the biggest impact of the Utica may be the development of gas-fired power plants in Ohio and surrounding states.” The second news item was a big emphasis at the event on the downstream–on the really big deal the petrochemical industry is and will be for Ohio and surrounding states. Presenters made the point that some manufacturers in Ohio were cut off from plastics supplies from the Gulf Coast after the recent hurricanes to hit that area–and that with the Shell and potentially PTT Global cracker plants coming along, manufacturers in the region change where they source their supply of raw plastics. In fact, the petchem industry will explode in Appalachia. All thanks to the Utica (and Marcellus) and the ethane produced. Here’s a pair of reports from yesterday’s event…
    Read More “Utica Summit V: Investment in Utica Hits $55B, Petchem a Big Deal”

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    NEXUS Cleared to Begin Construction, Rover Cleared to Restart HDD

    Permission granted grunge rubber stamp on white, vector illustration

    Important pipeline news for the Utica Shale. Yesterday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave permission to NEXUS Pipeline–a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada–to begin construction. This is a momentous day! NEXUS had previously requested FERC allow it to begin by Tuesday, Oct. 10th (see NEXUS Pipe Seeks to Begin Construction Oct 10; List of Contractors). FERC was a day late, but certainly not a dollar short. We expect by the time you read this, some of the bulldozers and backhoes will already be fired up and working. What oh what will the antis do now (see CORNballs, Sierra Club Continue to Fight NEXUS Pipeline in Court)? The second bit of good news also from yesterday from FERC–Rover Pipeline is allowed to restart underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) at another four sites where such activity has been halted since May of this year. Rover has still not received permission to restart HDD drilling at the spot along the Tuscarawas River where they spilled 2 million gallons of drilling mud (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). However, Rover remains confident they will complete the entire project $3.7 billion, 711-mile natural gas pipeline running from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan by the end of this year…
    Read More “NEXUS Cleared to Begin Construction, Rover Cleared to Restart HDD”