Penn State Eats Crow: No Link Between Fracking & Earthquakes
In May MDN highlighted news that Penn State University had set up a seismic monitoring system throughout Pennsylvania to track earthquakes in the Keystone State (see Penn State Claims Link Between Fracking & Earthquakes, Without Research). We pointed out at the time that researchers had jumped the gun by theorizing fracking may be the cause for some of the earthquakes. At the time they said: “We have not done enough analysis of the data to make any conclusions yet, but there is a correlation spatially and temporally between the fracking and the earthquakes.” In other words, “We haven’t actually done the research, but we’re going to say there’s a connection between fracking and earthquakes–because we feel like it.” Now that they’ve done some of the research, those same Penn State researchers have changed their tune. What they say in a recently issued report is this: “The report found no correlation between the seismic events during that period and Marcellus Shale fracking or gas injection wells.” Sounds to us like they’re eating crow…
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Cabot Oil & Gas, one of our favorite large independent drillers in the Marcellus, issued their second quarter 2016 update last Friday. There was plenty of good news, but we’ll start with the bad news first. Cabot lost $63 million during 2Q16 versus losing $27.5 million in 2Q15. Compared to some oil and gas companies with losses in the billions per quarter, Cabot’s loss is inconsequential. We’d call it treading water, financially. The good news is that they are planning to drill and complete more wells than originally planned for 2016. That is, the market is picking up again. Cabot announced they recently added back a second completions crew in Susquehanna County, PA, the only county where they drill in PA. They still operate just a single rig, but that rig is accomplishing a lot for the company. At the beginning of 2016 Cabot planned to drill 25 Marcellus wells (see 
Last week 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, filed for bankruptcy (see 
As you have no doubt noticed, we are in the midst of quarterly reports season. Public companies (those with stocks) must file quarterly financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Along with those filings comes a version of the same news constructed for consumption by investors and the general public. The overall “feel” of reports coming from most Marcellus/Utica drillers has been upbeat. The obvious trend is that the big drillers–EQT, Cabot, Southwestern, others–plan to drill more wells in 2Q16 than originally forecast. However, given the recent severe downturn, most drillers are sounding notes of caution as a balance to the good news that more drilling is on the way. Perhaps “cautiously optimistic” is the best way to put it…
Fairmount Santrol, an Ohio-based sand producer that sells sand as a proppant for use in Utica and Marcellus Shale drilling, recently released their preliminary second quarter 2016 results sounding a note of guarded optimism (see 
MDN sent an email to our list of daily headline subscribers last week (below). This is a quick reminder that 
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: Rig counts hold on cusp of more drilling; energy slowdown still affecting local banks; the coming fight between crackers and ethane exporters; Texas sues EPA over methane rules; Exxon’s 2Q income plunges; Chevron posts $1.5B loss; when will we see $60/barrel oil?; and more!
In 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 
In 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 
EQT, 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 