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Marcellus Drilling News
  • Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide VA | Virginia | Williams

    FERC Approves Transco Expansion Projects in NYC & Virginia

    July 29, 2016July 29, 2016

    approvedIn July 2015 Williams filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the $130 million New York Bay Expansion project, which will flow Marcellus gas to 500,000 additional New York City residents by the 2017/2018 heating season (see Williams Announces New Upgrades to Transco Pipeline into NYC). In March 2015, Williams filed an application with the FERC for the Virginia Southside II Expansion project, to provide 250,000 dekatherms per day of Marcellus gas to power Dominion’s new monster 1,580 megawatt natgas-fired electric generating plant in Greensville County, VA (see Dominion Begins Building Virginia’s Biggest NatGas Power Station). GREAT news! Yesterday FERC approved both projects…
    Read More “FERC Approves Transco Expansion Projects in NYC & Virginia”

  • Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Meigs County | Ohio

    Meigs County, OH Tosses Anti-Frack Nov. Ballot Initiative

    July 29, 2016July 29, 2016

    rejected.jpgIn May MDN told you agitators from the PA-based radical anti-drilling group called CELDF–Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund–had gone fishing for dupes in Meigs County, OH (among other locations) to see if they could trick enough dumb dumbs into signing a petition to get a so-called Community Bill of Rights initiative on the ballot in November (see PA-Based CELDF Looks for New Dupes in Meigs County, OH). A “Community Bill of Rights” is nothing more than “frack ban” as you’ll see below. We’re sorry to report the CELDF found enough stupid people in Meigs to sign (see More Frack Ban Ballot Measures Coming to OH in November). However, county leaders in Meigs, and other locations, have had enough of the CELDF and their troublemaking. The Meigs County Board of Elections has ruled the ballot initiative invalid. The crazies are, of course, threatening to sue…
    Read More “Meigs County, OH Tosses Anti-Frack Nov. Ballot Initiative”

  • Energy Companies | EQT Corp

    EQT Changes Course, Slowing Utica, Ramping Up Marcellus/UD

    July 29, 2016July 29, 2016

    EQT logoEQT, one of the big Marcellus/Utica drillers, with its headquarters in Pittsburgh, released an interesting second quarter 2016 update yesterday. Along with the update came a quarterly conference call with analysts. You may recall that the Utica Shale play previously turned the head of EQT (see EQT Dumps Marcellus Drilling, Concentrates on the Utica in 2016 and EQT is in Love with the Utica – Comments from Analyst Call). EQT has done a 180 degree about face. On the call and in the update from yesterday, the company said they are slowing their Utica program and instead ramping up their Marcellus and currently dormant Upper Devonian (UD) drilling program again. Why the change of heart? It’s a whole lot cheaper to drill a Marcellus or UD well than it is a Utica well. Plus, you have to drill UD wells at the same time you drill the deeper Marcellus, otherwise you’ll lose the UD layer. You can’t go back and drill/frack the shallower UD layer after you’ve already drilled the Marcellus layer. We also learn from yesterday’s update that after making $5.5 million in profit in 2Q15, EQT lost $259 million in 2Q16. However, the stock market was unfazed and EQT’s stock price actually closed up yesterday…
    Read More “EQT Changes Course, Slowing Utica, Ramping Up Marcellus/UD”

  • Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | NGLs | Pipelines

    MPLX Cornerstone NGL Pipe Done by End 2016, New Projects Coming

    July 29, 2016July 29, 2016
    Cornerstone Pipeline Route Map
    Cornerstone Pipeline Route Map – click for larger version

    Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s MPLX midstream/pipeline division, which includes what used to be called MarkWest Energy, issued its second quarter 2016 update yesterday. Among the important bits of news, MPLX’s Cornerstone Pipeline is currently under construction and will be completed by the end of this year. Cornerstone is a $250 million, 50-mile natural gas liquids pipeline being built by Marathon from the MarkWest cryogenic processing plant in Cadiz (Harrison County, now owned by Marathon), northwest connecting to M3’s fractionator plant in Scio (also in Harrison County) and M3’s cryogenic processing plant in Leesville (Carroll County) before terminating and connecting to Marathon’s refinery in Canton, OH (see Marathon Petroleum’s Newly Announced “Cornerstone” Utica Pipeline). The pipeline will carry, at various times, crude oil, condensate and natural gasoline. From Canton, Marathon plans to move condensate and NGLs to Midwest refining centers and into Canada. Other exciting news: Marathon’s engineering teams continue to “evaluate synergistic projects” for the Marcellus/Utica, including “a butane-to-alkylate facility, a regional NGL export solution in the Northeast, and a long-haul pipeline to the Gulf Coast, such as a reversal of the Centennial Pipeline.” Very cool. Here’s the MPLX update…
    Read More “MPLX Cornerstone NGL Pipe Done by End 2016, New Projects Coming”

  • Energy Companies | Epsilon Energy | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Susquehanna County

    Epsilon Energy: Still No Marcellus Drilling, Focused on NEPA Pipe

    July 29, 2016July 29, 2016

    Epsilon EnergyCanadian driller and midstream company Epsilon Energy had a shareholder rebellion in 2013 and threw out the sitting board of directors (see Shareholder Rebellion at Epsilon Energy – New Board as of Today). Epsilon CEO Michael Raleigh announced at the time that the company had embarked on a turnaround strategy of focusing on the Marcellus Shale–less than a year after saying they would scale back in the Marcellus (see Epsilon Energy Makes “About-Face” on Marcellus Drilling). Epsilon was and remains a very small player in the Marcellus–but the Marcellus is it’s entire focus. The company released its second quarter 2016 update yesterday. From what we can tell, the company has not drilled, and doesn’t plan to drill, a single Marcellus well since 2014. However, they do own a 35% interest in the Auburn Gas Gathering system in the northeast PA Marcellus (Williams is majority owner with 44%). Epsilon’s capital expenditures for 2Q16 were a grand total of $100,000 (i.e. nothing), all of it spent on the Auburn system. Here’s the latest from Epsilon…
    Read More “Epsilon Energy: Still No Marcellus Drilling, Focused on NEPA Pipe”

  • Baker Hughes | Energy Services

    Baker Hughes Laid Off 3K in 2Q16, No Drilling Recovery in 2016

    July 29, 2016July 29, 2016

    Baker Hughes logoOnce the Obama Dept. of Justice burst the dream of merging with Halliburton (see Obama DOJ Kills Halliburton/Baker Hughes Merger, Deal “Terminated”), Baker Hughes set out to right the ship and deal with the most serious down market in a generation. BH issued their second quarter 2016 update yesterday and held a conference call with analysts. Among the measure BH took in 2Q16 to righ the ship was laying off another 3,000 workers (always a sad thing). BH used $1.5 billion of a $3.5 billion break-up fee they collected from Halliburton to buy back outstanding debt. Perhaps the most ominous news coming from yesterday’s update is that BH believes drilling in North America is unlikely to rebound for the rest of the year. We had hoped the corner has already been turned (see Crack of Light – OH Sand Producer Says Market Turning Around). According to BH, such is not the case…
    Read More “Baker Hughes Laid Off 3K in 2Q16, No Drilling Recovery in 2016”

  • CARBO Ceramics | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Sand/Proppant

    CARBO Says 2Q16 “Likely” the Bottom for Proppant Market

    July 29, 2016July 29, 2016

    CARBO logoContrary to the BH view that drilling will remain in the crapper for the rest of 2016 (see Baker Hughes Laid Off 3K in 2Q16, No Drilling Recovery in 2016), CARBO Ceramics, a company that supplies sand and ceramic beads used in fracking, was more upbeat about the rest of the year in their second quarter 2016 update. CARBO’s CEO Gary Kolstad said, “…the second quarter likely marked the bottom for activity levels as both oil and natural gas commodity prices and the North American rig count started to recover,” and “Sales volumes began to improve as the quarter progressed. In addition, with the increasing commodity prices, we have received increasing customer inquiries about procuring ceramic proppant for completions in the second half of 2016.” In other words, things are beginning to look up–at least according to CARBO. Their own numbers don’t seem to reflect that optimism. Total proppant sales (as measured in millions of pounds sold) were down an astonishing 75% year over year: 448 million pounds sold in 2Q15 vs. 112 million pounds sold in 2Q16. Here’s the CARBO upbeat 2Q16 update…
    Read More “CARBO Says 2Q16 “Likely” the Bottom for Proppant Market”

  • Education | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

    WVU Launches INFUSE Program to Help Other Countries with Shale Dev

    July 29, 2016July 29, 2016

    WVU logoThe U.S. State Department and West Virginia University (WVU) want to give other countries interested in developing their own shale deposits a helping hand. The State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources has reached a cooperative agreement with WVU to create the International Forum on Unconventional Gas Sustainability and the Environment, or INFUSE, a unique technical program dedicated to increasing other countries’ understanding of best practices for unconventional gas resource development. INFUSE will use a mix of classroom and in-the-field activities. Here’s the lowdown on INFUSE…
    Read More “WVU Launches INFUSE Program to Help Other Countries with Shale Dev”

  • Best of the Rest

    Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jul 29, 2016

    July 29, 2016July 29, 2016

    best of the restThe “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Northeast natgas production vs. takeaway capacity; the ugly side of pipeline politics; more pipeline opposition in New England; pipeline opposition in NJ; M&A activity picked up in 2Q16; why oil prices are heading into the $30s again; National Oilwell Varco not ready to call the bottom of the market just yet; one nation, fueled by natgas (with liberty and justice for all); and more!
    Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jul 29, 2016”

  • Energy Companies | Halcon Resources

    Halcon Resources Files for “Pre-Packaged” Bankruptcy

    July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

    Halcon ResourcesOn Monday MDN brought you the news that Halcon Resources, a Utica Shale driller that “guessed wrong” by leasing 140,000 Utica Shale acres in the northern part of the play (in Ohio) and currently doesn’t drill on any of that acreage, had gotten buy-in from most of the people to whom it owes $1.8 billion to turn that debt into ownership in the company (see Halcon Gets Majority Buy-in for “Pre-Packaged” Bankruptcy). What we didn’t know is that Halcon actually has $3.12 billion in debt–far more than they previously (publicly) acknowledged. We know that because yesterday Halcon filed their pre-packaged bankruptcy plan in Delaware federal bankruptcy court. The filing (copy below) lists $3.12 billion in debt and $2.85 billion in assets. Although the plan calls for existing shareholders to be issued new stock in the company, the reality is that those who were previously debtholders (not owners) will become the new owners, while existing shareholders’ new stock will be worth toilet paper…
    Read More “Halcon Resources Files for “Pre-Packaged” Bankruptcy”

  • Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

    PA Court Rejects Radicalized Kids’ Global Warming Lawsuit

    July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

    rejected.jpgLast August MDN told you about a lawsuit brought by a group of left coast radicalized children who want to force the federal government to become communist and “force action” on mythical climate change (see Group of Kids Sues U.S. Govt to Force Action on “Climate Change”). In January of this year, we brought you an update, telling you that radicalized, fringe Catholic groups had joined the cause with the ignorant children (see Climate Change Lawsuit by Radicalized Children Gets Interesting). What we didn’t know is that at the same time manipulating adults on the Left Coast were (ab)using children to file their lawsuit, the same thing was happening in Pennsylvania. A group of minors, being manipulated by radical adults, filed their own version of the same lawsuit. In PA the lawsuit asked the court to use the state’s so-called Environmental Rights Amendment to force the Executive Branch (i.e. the governor) to develop a plan to protect these poor, defenseless children against mythological man-made global warming. That is, it was a lawsuit to stop all drilling for oil and natural gas–flying under the guise of protecting PA citizens from “climate change.” On Tuesday, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected this nonsensical lawsuit, tossing it out (full copy of the decision below). Now the radicalized children, still being manipulated by radicalized adults, are appealing the case to the PA Supreme Court…
    Read More “PA Court Rejects Radicalized Kids’ Global Warming Lawsuit”

  • Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pipelines

    FERC Agrees to Consider Hearing on Need for PennEast Pipe in NJ

    July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

    think about itWe’re not sure how important (or not) this news is, but it’s certainly worth reporting. Yesterday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced it will “consider” a motion for an evidentiary hearing on PennEast Pipeline’s application about whether or not the pipeline is needed in New Jersey. Last month radicals at the Eastern Environmental Law Clinic (EELC) on behalf of enviro-Nazis at the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJ Conservation) and Stony Brook – Millstone Watershed Association (SBMWA), filed a motion requesting FERC conduct a hearing to assess whether there evidence of public need in New Jersey for the proposed PennEast Pipeline. Yesterday FERC said they’ll consider a hearing–FERC has not (yet) said it would actually conduct such a hearing. Here’s the news as sent to us from the radicals…
    Read More “FERC Agrees to Consider Hearing on Need for PennEast Pipe in NJ”

  • Chevron | Energy Companies

    Chevron Appalachia Names Nigel Hearne’s Replacement

    July 28, 2016July 28, 2016
    Stacey Olson
    Stacey Olson

    In January, MDN was first to break the news that the head of Chevron Appalacia, Nigel Hearne, was leaving to run Chevron’s Australian operation (see Exclusive: Chevron Appalachia Head Nigel Hearne Going to Australia). It was one of the few times we get to break big news. At the time, we asked the question, “Who will replace Hearne in Pittsburgh?” It took a while, but we now have the answer. Stacey Olson, a senior vice president working at Chevron since 1989 (and someone who has served in a number of overseas postings), will take up the helm of Chevron Appalachia…
    Read More “Chevron Appalachia Names Nigel Hearne’s Replacement”

  • Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

    Both Conventional & Shale Drillers Continue to Oppose New PA Regs

    July 28, 2016July 29, 2016

    just say no7/29/16 Update: Please see the note at the end of the article for a clarification on when/how the new Article 78a drilling regulations may (or may not) take effect.

    An update on the status of new drilling regulations in Pennsylvania. The short version: both the conventional and unconventional (shale) drillers in the state are actively opposing new regs, even though new shale regs were recently passed into law. The slightly longer explanation: those new shale regs, referred to as Article 78a, were voted on and signed into law in June (see PA Gov Wolf “Eager” to Sign Drilling Law Forced Down His Throat). At the same time, conventional drilling regulations were sent back to the drawing board before being introduced again. Although new shale regs were ostensibly adopted, they are not (yet) in force. The shale industry recently attempted to tweak the new regs to make them less onerous, but that effort failed last week (see Bill Tweaking Article 78a Shale Drilling Regs Dies in PA House). Where does it all stand now? New Article 78a regulations, as adopted, are undergoing a review at the PA Attorney General’s office. AG Kathleen Kane, a committed anti-driller, is going to trial in two weeks for committing felonies while in office (unrelated to drilling)–so she’s distracted. After the AG’s office signs off (who knows how long?), then the new regs will go into full force. Unless it can be stopped…
    Read More “Both Conventional & Shale Drillers Continue to Oppose New PA Regs”

  • Empire Pipeline | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Seneca Resources | Statewide NY | Statewide PA

    NFG’s Northern Access Pipeline Gets Favorable FERC Review

    July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

    Empire Pipeline logoNational Fuel Gas (NFG), the Buffalo-based utility giant with both a drilling subsidiary (Seneca Resources) and a midstream/pipeline subsidiary (Empire Pipeline) filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in March 2015 for a pipeline project they call Northern Access 2016 (later renamed to simply Northern Access Project, dropping the “2016” part). The $455 million project includes building 97 miles of new pipeline along a power line corridor from northwestern Pennsylvania up to Erie County, NY. The project also calls for 3 miles of new pipeline further up, in Niagara County, along with a new compressor station in the Town of Pendleton (see NFG’s Marcellus Pipeline from NWPA to NY Hits Resistence). Although the project has faced some resistance from anti-fossil fuelers, FERC has just issued a favorable Environmental Assessment (EA), which means the project is on track for full FERC approval…
    Read More “NFG’s Northern Access Pipeline Gets Favorable FERC Review”

  • Energy Services | Patterson-UTI

    Patterson-UTI 2Q16: $86M Loss, “Well Positioned” for a Recovery

    July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

    Patterson-UTI logoEach month MDN tracks how many rigs oilfield services company Patterson-UTI Energy reports operating–as a proxy for when/if the drop in rig counts for the Marcellus/Utica will turn around. Patterson operates a number of rigs in the northeast, as well as other areas of the continental United States (and Canada). After more than a year, Patterson’s June report finally showed a small turnaround (see Tide has Turned: Patterson-UTI June Rig Count Ticks Up by 2). But what about Patterson’s financial health? The company released their second quarter 2016 update earlier today. Patterson reports losing $86 million in 2Q16, versus losing $19 million in 2Q15. The reason for the drop: Patterson averaged 55 operating rigs in 2Q16 versus an average of 71 rigs operating in 1Q16. According to comments by the company’s top brass, they are doing everything they can to make it through the downturn and believe they are “well positioned for a recovery.” If things have truly turned around and drilling is back, hopefully Patterson will come roaring back. The Marcellus/Utica is counting on it!…
    Read More “Patterson-UTI 2Q16: $86M Loss, “Well Positioned” for a Recovery”

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