PA House and Senate Panels Vote to Reject DEP’s New Drilling Regs
Yesterday the Pennsylvania State House and Senate energy committees voted to disapprove the state Dept. of Environmental Protection’s proposed new Article 78 and 78a drilling rules. In February when the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) approved the new regulations after those regs were vigorously opposed by conventional drillers in the state, the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) blasted the decision calling the DEP “deceptive” (see PA Board Adopts New Drilling Regs, PIOGA Blasts DEP “Deceptive”). The Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers Association (PIPP) filed a lawsuit on March 24, 2016, in the Commonwealth court of Pennsylvania challenging the legality of controversial new regulations (see PA Conventional Drillers File Lawsuit to Stop New DEP Regulations). The fight has now gone to the legislature, which has some, but not ultimate, authority to derail the new regulations. Yesterday the legislature used that authority when the energy committees for both houses voted to not approve the new regs. What happens next? The state’s the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) will review the new regs on April 21 and make a decision about whether to approve them or not…
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Last week MDN brought you news that mainstream media has all but ignored, in hopes of burying it: Cabot Oil & Gas has filed a legal motion to appeal the OJ jury decision to award two landowner families in Dimock, PA $4.24 million (see 
Forget about drilling, infrastructure is where it’s at baby! That’s our words summarizing a new study just released by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA). The new study, titled “North American Midstream Infrastructure Through 2035: Leaning into the Headwinds” (full copy below) says the U.S. and Canada need to invest $546 billion (real 2015$) total over the 21-year period from 2015 to 2035–or $26 billion per year–in natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure. Natural gas infrastructure includes “gathering and transmission pipelines, compressors, laterals, gas-lease equipment, processing, gas storage and liquefied natural gas export facilities” (NGI). Our tongue-in-cheek opening statement isn’t completely true. You need drilling or sooner or later you have no gas to flow through the infrastructure. However, for the time being, investors (and engineers and construction firms, etc.) need to pay attention to infrastructure buildout…
The International Gas Union (IGU) released their “2016 World LNG Report” at the LNG18 conference yesterday taking place in Perth, Australia. The report (we have a full copy below) shows global LNG, or liquefied natural gas, is set to grow. It will play an increasingly important role in the world’s energy mix. In addition to giving a great overview of the worldwide LNG industry, the report contains some really cool appendices, including a list of active liquefaction (i.e. export) plants, a list of export plants under construction, a list of receiving terminals (and terminals under construction), and a list of LNG ships that cart it from point A to point B. LNG, as we’ve said a number of times, will be an important market for Marcellus/Utica drillers. We look at this report like “everything you wanted to know about LNG”…
In an interview on CNBC, Chevron chairman and CEO John Watson said some interesting things. Among them: Watson believes the oil markets will “balance out” (price/production-wise) in the “coming months.” He also spoke about the prospects for LNG, saying it’s “maturing” and we are entering “a new phase”…
Rex Energy has stepped up to be the second Marcellus/Utica driller to cut a deal using the Mariner East pipeline to ship ethane, propane and (eventually) butane from western PA to the Marcus Hook refinery in Philadelphia, and from there load it onto ships heading to (in this case) Europe. Range Resources was the first driller to use Sunoco Logistics Partners’ Mariner East pipeline to send ethane to Marcus Hook and on to exporting (see 
Don’t tell Crazy Bernie Sanders, but apparently Big Banks (like the ones he wants to dissolve) believe Chesapeake Energy is (like the banks themselves) “too big to fail.” Yesterday Chesapeake’s Big Bank backers reaffirmed the company’s $4 billion line of credit. Twice each year oil and gas company holdings/assets are evaluated and a determination made of their value–because those holdings/assets are used as collateral should a company like Chesapeake go bankrupt. Which lately has seemed like a distinct possibility (see 
Yesterday MDN’s favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), issued our favorite monthly report–the Drilling Productivity Report (DPR). The DPR is the EIA’s best guess, based on expert data crunchers, as to how much each of the U.S.’s seven major shale plays will produce for both oil and natural gas in the coming month. First interesting observation about the report just issued: The rate of production decline in the Marcellus has gone down. That is, although the Marcellus is predicted to produce less shale gas in May than it will in April, the amount of less production has decreased–meaning we may be close to equilibrium where the Marcellus produces around the same amount of gas each month, month after month. Second interesting observation: Utica natgas production has continued to grow each month while the other six plays have declined in production each month. The EIA is predicting that in May the Utica will not grow by much–just 1 million cubic feet per day of additional production. Essentially, Utica production of natgas is now flat month over month. Will it also go in the red when the next monthly report comes out?…
Last week MDN updated you on progress (or lack thereof) for Marathon’s Cornerstone Pipeline project–a 50-mile liquids pipeline connecting several processing plants in Ohio to Marathon’s refinery in Canton (see 
On May 18, the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center (SGICC) will announce four $20,000 winners of this year’s Shale Gas Innovation Contest. In addition to showcasing the 12 finalists, this year’s event will also feature a Poster Contest highlighting research underway related to the oil and gas sector–from four major regional research universities. Below we have the list of all 12 finalists with a description of their qualifying technologies. Among the list is one of our favorite companies, HalenHardy, a previous winner of another SGICC award for Shale Gas Environmental, Health, & Safety (see 
Last week the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and ShaleDirectories.com co-hosted the Utica Upstream conference at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. MDN previously gathered up reported comments from the person who seemed to steal the show, Maria Cortez of energy research firm/consultant Wood Mackenzie (see 
Not long ago researchers at the University of Cincinnati that found fracking in Carroll County, OH taking place near water wells did not affect those wells (see 
We don’t have to tell you it’s bad out there in the oil and gas patch. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have disappeared in the last year or so. Many workers are on unemployment. Some have transitioned to other jobs within the oil and gas industry–many to other industries completely. But there’s one guy–a former roughneck–who has transitioned to a job we never imagined. He creates Art Deco pieces by welding old machinery and leftover whatever together–into things like tables. Apparently he makes enough money from it to pay the bills, including the salary of one employee. He does admit, however, that he’s biding his time until the o&g industry turns around again. Meet a unique 50-something guy in Ohio who went from roughneck to artist…