Federal Judge Rules Fayette County Injection Well Ban Illegal
In January, three liberal Democrat county commissioners from Fayette County, WV, with the backing and help of the radical WV Mountain Party, voted to ban injection wells in the county (see WV County Officially Bans Injection Wells; Children Brainwashed). The ban was intentionally written so broadly it would also ban the operation of more than 500 vertical oil and gas wells in the county. The next day EQT sued to overturn the ban (see EQT Sues WV County that Banned Injection Wells, Seeks Injunction). Not long after, a U.S. District Court judge slapped an injunction on the county preventing them from enforcing the ban at least until a hearing was held (see Judge Stops WV County from Enforcing Injection Well Ban, For Now). One of the chief architects of the ban, from the Mountain Party, admits the ban was intended to stop all oil and gas activity in the county (see Anti Admits Fayette County, WV Ban Aims to Shut Down All O&G Wells). Fearing they would lose the EQT lawsuit, in March the commissioners backed away from the position of banning everything to do with drilling in the county. They revised the proposed ban regulation as a tactic to avoid losing their court case (see Fayette WV Commissioners Change Ban to Focus on Injection Wells). Last Friday a federal judge ruled as we knew he would to toss out Fayette’s illegal ban. That is, EQT just won the case and the taxpayers of Fayette County have three lib Dems to thank for wasting money in legal fees to defend the indefensible…
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As MDN told you in May, 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, is preparing to file for bankruptcy (see 
On Friday MDN reported that Antero Resources has just cut a deal with Southwestern Energy to purchase 55,000 net acres located in Wetzel, Tyler and Doddridge Counties in West Virginia for $450 million (see 
The euphoria over Shell’s announcement last week committing to building a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker plant in Monaca (Beaver County), PA still hasn’t subsided (see 
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century. Recently CRS wrote and published a report titled “An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems” (full copy below). The report looks at federal, state and local activities to help control air pollution from oil and gas–both drilling and pipelines. Without taking sides, this report provides information on the natural gas industry and the types and sources of air pollutants caused by the industry. The report examines the role of the federal government in regulating these emissions, including provisions in the Clean Air Act and EPA’s onerous regulatory activities. The report concludes with a brief discussion of the issues. Worth a read…
Each year the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issues an energy security risk report. The latest “Annual International Index of Energy Security Risk” (full copy below) shows the U.S. has jumped up the list by two spots in the world’s top 25 largest energy users. The jump up the list means the U.S. continues to improve its energy security. Why? According to the report–because of the miracle of hydraulic fracturing of shale. The report not only reviews America’s energy risk, but the risk for other countries as well. Who’s safe? Who’s vulnerable?…
Events related to drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shale, primarily pro-drilling.
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Cuomo uses Hulk to announce theft of upstate; Obama admin shakes down Marathon Petroleum for $335M; Mass. Senate passes 10-year fracking moratorium; the route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline; S&P says Chesapeake Energy technically in default; cheap natgas won’t last; Continental restarts drilling after oil hit $50/barrel; methane madness; and more!
What’s this? The all-but-dead ethane cracker project planned for West Virginia has new life! (Perhaps the Shell announcement has something to do with it?) Brazilian company Odebrecht has pulled out of the Appalachian Shale Cracker Enterprise (ASCENT) project previously announced for the Parkersburg, WV area (see 
Antero Resources announced yesterday that the company has just cut a deal with Southwestern Energy to purchase 55,000 net acres located in Wetzel, Tyler and Doddridge Counties in West Virginia for $450 million. Antero says the acreage is in the “core” of the Marcellus and some 75% of the acreage also includes Utica Shale rights. The acreage Southwestern is selling is acreage they themselves bought in 2014 from Chesapeake Energy. Chessy originally signed the acreage with landowners for $5 per acre (peanuts). Southwestern paid Chesapeake $12,000 per acre (see 
As we report today, Antero Resources is buying 55,000 acres of leases in the Marcellus (and Utica) Shale from Southwestern Energy (see