Marcellus Drilling News

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

Partisan PA Anti Groups in Urge Support of Onerous New DEP Regs
May 13, 2016May 13, 2016

Two more partisan organizations in Pennsylvania are publicly supporting PA Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed redo of drilling regulations–regulations that threaten conventional and unconventional drilling in the state. The fact that the radical PA Trout Unlimited and the League of [Liberal Democrat] Women Voters of Pennsylvania are supporting the Dept. of Environmental Protection’s update of Rule 78 and 78a is all you need to know about just how bad a proposal it is. These groups join other anti-drilling groups in supporting the new rules (see PennFuture “Lauds” PA Vote to Accept Onerous New Drilling Regs). Wolf hopes by having such groups publicly endorse the changes, he can force it through…
Read More “Partisan PA Anti Groups in Urge Support of Onerous New DEP Regs”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Williams

Dela. Riverkeeper Launches Lawsuit Against Atlantic Sunrise Project
May 13, 2016May 13, 2016

It’s time to sue THE Delaware Riverkeeper out of existence. The group is a litigious nuisance and anti-American. It is led by Maya van Rossum and fed by money from the Heinz Endowments and William Penn Foundation. Even with repeated calls the IRS has refused to investigate violations of the group’s non-profit status. The latest outrage from this group of virulent radicals is to launch a lawsuit to try and stop Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project through southeastern PA. Just last week Williams received a favorable Environmental Assessment (EA) from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Gets Positive EIS from FERC). That was all it took. The writing is on the wall that FERC will approve the project and Williams will build it. This is a last-ditch effort by van Rossum and other radicals to shut down the project…
Read More “Dela. Riverkeeper Launches Lawsuit Against Atlantic Sunrise Project”
Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

Appalachia NARO Calls for Drilling in Wayne Natl Forest – NOW
May 13, 2016May 13, 2016

Yesterday we reported that a group of Ohio landowners calling themselves LEASE (Landowners for Energy Access and Safe Exploration) are encouraging Ohio residents to write in support of drilling in the Wayne National Forest (see OH Landowners Urge BLM to Proceed with Wayne Natl Forest Drilling). The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been holding up drilling in WNF, even though some 60% of the mineral rights for the land in the forest is privately owned. Another landowner group has stepped up to add their voice–and to push back a little harder than LEASE has. The Appalachia chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) is calling on the BLM to allow drilling–now. NARO points out most of the mineral rights are privately owned–not controlled by the government. For the government to stop development of private land is an offense…
Read More “Appalachia NARO Calls for Drilling in Wayne Natl Forest – NOW”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Carl Icahn Installs New Puppet as CEO of Cheniere Energy
May 13, 2016May 13, 2016

Carl Icahn is an evil corporate raider–a man who invests just enough in companies to control them, who then fires a bunch of people and sells off assets so the price of the stock will rise from his initial investment so he can turn around and sell the stock and screw another company. That’s what evil corporate raiders do. Icahn has lately spent his time in the oil and gas industry making trouble. Last December he fired the CEO of Cheneire Energy, Charif Souki (see Evil Corporate Raider Carl Icahn Claims Another CEO Scalp). Earlier this month he gloated about it (see Corp Raider Carl Icahn Admits He Fired Cheniere CEO Charif Souki). Since firing Souki, Icahn has been looking for the appropriate puppet to install who will do his bidding. He found one in Jack Fusco…
Read More “Carl Icahn Installs New Puppet as CEO of Cheniere Energy”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, May 13, 2016
May 13, 2016May 13, 2016

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: FERC wants more info on TGP 300 Line project; big divide between Ithaca and Watkins Glen; $48.8 billion worth of Marcellus/Utica deals in 5 years; Doylestown seeks a NEXUS reroute; new natgas-fired electric plant coming to Florida; o&g board members survive bankruptcy, sometimes; and more!
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, May 13, 2016”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

More Progress at Shell’s PA Ethane Cracker Plant Site
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

Proposed Shell cracker plant site plan – click for larger version

All signs continue to point to a “go” decision for Shell’s planned ethane cracker plant facility in Monaca (Beaver County), PA. Shell has now spent over half a billion dollars out of a projected $2-$3 billion (25%) on the project already (see Shell has Spent “Half a Billion Dollars” on PA Cracker Already!). Last month a local mall owner said that Shell has leased part of the mall’s parking lot for big bucks (see More Evidence that the Shell Ethane Cracker Plant in PA is a Go). And just last week Shell’s CFO said the PA cracker project is “an excellent project” and they expect to make a decision soon (see Shell Says PA Cracker Decision Coming < 12 Months – Looking Good). We can throw a few more positive signs into the mix. A bridge Shell was building over top a local highway to give trucks easy access to the site is now complete. Shell has committed $69 million to build a new water treatment plant for the local town. And they are now building a new dock facility which, according to Shell, will be “critical” to building the new plant…
Read More “More Progress at Shell’s PA Ethane Cracker Plant Site”
Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Supply Chain

New Tech Converts NatGas into Ethylene, Bypassing Cracker Plants
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

Siluria’s Oxidative Coupling of Methane to ethylene (OCM) demo plant in La Porte, Texas

Ethane cracker plants are big deals. We’ve been writing about cracker plants possibly coming to the northeast since 2012, when Shell first floated their idea for a plant and selected a site outside Pittsburgh, in Beaver County, PA (see Shell Announces Location of Ethane Cracker Plant). A cracker plant is a big deal for a couple of reasons. One reason is that building the plant generates thousands of short-term jobs and injects $2-$3 billion (or more!) into the local and regional economy. It’s an economic stimulus the federal government just can’t match–and it doesn’t come from taxpayer’s wallets! In addition, once the plant is built, manufacturing plants begin to locate around it, like mini-satellites. Why? Because an ethane cracker chemically “cracks” ethane turning it into ethylene, the raw material used to make plastics. And plastics are used in just about everything you touch every day. These satellite companies represent thousands of permanent jobs and perhaps an infusion of $15-$20 billion into the regional economy–off the charts! But what if cracker plants were not needed to create ethylene? What if you could bypass cracking ethane and instead go right from natural gas (or methane) to ethylene? That is the premise behind a disruptive new technology from Siluria Technologies. Siluria has operated a pilot plant in Texas for the past year that essentially converts methane into ethylene, without using ethane. Here’s the details…
Read More “New Tech Converts NatGas into Ethylene, Bypassing Cracker Plants”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Westmoreland County

Spectra Says PA Pipeline Explosion “Unacceptable,” Blames Pipe Tape
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

Last night representatives from Spectra Energy held a town hall meeting at the Congruity Presbyterian Church in Westmoreland County, PA to discuss the explosion of Spectra’s Texas Eastern Transmission’s (TETCO) “Delmont Line 27” which exploded in Westmoreland County, PA on April 29 (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate). Speaking and taking questions from the audience were Devin Hotzel, manager of stakeholder outreach, Tom Wooden, vice president of operations, Andy Drake, vice president of operations, and Randy Putt, local area manager. According to Spectra, they think a tape coating used on the welds of the pipeline is the culprit–having corroded over time. There may be other contributing factors, but right now they are concentrating on the tape coating which they say was only used for a short period of time–in the early 1980s when the pipeline was built. Here’s a report from the meeting…
Read More “Spectra Says PA Pipeline Explosion “Unacceptable,” Blames Pipe Tape”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues

Anti-Driller Wins Right to Nominate Candidates for CONSOL’s Board
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer

The anti-drilling nutjobs who run the finances for New York City have been (potentially) successful in interfering with the operation of CONSOL Energy, a coal company rapidly transforming itself into a Marcellus/Utica driller. The Comptroller for New York City is Scott Stringer, a hardened leftist and anti-fossil fuel nutjob. He apparently likes to invest in fossil fuel companies with OPM (other people’s money) in order to try and shut them down. At least that’s the way it appears. He uses the pension funds of NYC residents to try and force the companies he invests in out of business. And somehow he gets elected and re-elected–go figure. Stringer sponsored a proxy resolution that passed at CONSOL’s annual meeting yesterday–a resolution that will allow any single investor owning 3% (or more) of the CONSOL’s stock for three consecutive years the ability to nominate a candidate to the board of directors. The board, of course, hires and fires top management and essentially guides the company on the path it wants the company to go. The proposed candidate must still pass a vote by all shareholders. If Stringer can motivate enough other investors, over time he may be able to get anti-fossil fuel candidates elected, which would be a disaster for the company. Needless to say, CONSOL’s management was not happy…
Read More “Anti-Driller Wins Right to Nominate Candidates for CONSOL’s Board”
Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Attorney Predicts DMA Ruling to Come Soon, Settle Now
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

David J Wigham

MDN has been reporting on the Ohio Dormant Minerals Act (DMA) for years (see Video: OH Lawyers Explain Dormant Minerals Act & Impact on Utica). In a nutshell, there are two DMAs in Ohio–one passed in 1989 that went into effect in 1992, and another in 2006 which added certain additional procedural requirements to the 1989 version. The DMA in its various versions provides for mineral rights that had previously been separated from surface rights to transfer back to the surface owner under certain conditions. The problem, for drillers and for landowners in Ohio, is in knowing which set of DMA rules to use (1989 or 2006) in determining who owns the mineral rights. A number of DMA cases have gone before the Ohio Supreme Court. Some of the minor cases have been decided (see Ohio Supreme Court Rules in Important Dormant Mineral Act Case). However, most of the big cases remain stalled at the Supreme Court. That is, until now. Ohio attorney David Wigham (Roetzel & Andress law firm) says there are signs that the Supremes are about to release a massive, all-in-one-go ruling on the DMA. He says if landowners (and drillers) were waiting to see which way the wind will blow, they may want to settle now before the Big Decision comes down…
Read More “OH Attorney Predicts DMA Ruling to Come Soon, Settle Now”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines

Open Season to Expand 2 Midwest Pipelines for More Marc/Utica Gas
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

NGPL Chicago Market Expansion Project – click for larger version

In October 2014 MDN told you about plans by Kinder Morgan subsidiary Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) to expand their Gulf Coast mainline pipeline from the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) interconnection in Moultrie County, Illinois, to points north on NGPL’s pipeline system, called the Chicago Market Expansion Project (see Kinder Morgan Plans Chicago Pipeline Expansion for Marcellus/Utica). In March of this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved it (see FERC Approves Pipeline to Move More Marcellus/Utica Gas to Chicago). Kinder Morgan is also planning a second project called the Gulf Coast Southbound Expansion Project to send Marcellus/Utica (and other shale locations) gas to the Gulf Coast. Two days ago NGPL announced a non-binding open season–a period of time when drillers and others seeking capacity for each project–can register their interest in each project. NGPL already has customers signed up for the Chicago Market Expansion Project. This new open season is an attempt to see if there’s interest in expanding the Chicago Market Expansion project even more–and to register interest from drillers going the other way–to the south–via the Gulf Coast Southbound Expansion Project. The timing of the announcement is interesting. Observers theorize that Kinder Morgan is trying to make up for recently announced canceled Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline project in New England (see NED is Dead – Kinder Morgan Suspends $3.3B New England Pipeline). Kinder won’t comment. Here’s the details on the new open season…
Read More “Open Season to Expand 2 Midwest Pipelines for More Marc/Utica Gas”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

OH Landowners Urge BLM to Proceed with Wayne Natl Forest Drilling
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

Wayne National Forest

As MDN told you last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently seeking public comments on a plan to allow drilling in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest, or WNF (see Another Baby Step in Fracking Ohio’s Wayne National Forest). WNF is a “patchwork” of public land scattered among private land. Some 60% of the mineral rights below WNF are privately owned. Those mineral rights owners have been denied the use of their property rights going on a decade. Ohio landowners are fed up with waiting for the federal bureaucracy to get off its rear-end and allow drilling. In response to the latest BLM call for public input, a group of Ohio landowners calling themselves LEASE–Landowners for Energy Access and Safe Exploration–praising the BLM for its favorable Environmental Assessment (EA) on WNF drilling, and calling on Ohio landowners to provide comments to the BLM during this period. LEASE is hoping a strong showing from Ohio landowners may push the groaning, creaking federal bureaucracy into action to allow drilling…
Read More “OH Landowners Urge BLM to Proceed with Wayne Natl Forest Drilling”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Meigs County | Ohio | Regulation

PA-Based CELDF Looks for New Dupes in Meigs County, OH
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

We’ve written plenty in the past about the PA-based radical anti-drilling group called CELDF–Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (see our CELDF stories here). CELDF seems to have a lot of success in tricking people in Ohio into believing they can pass a so-called Community Bill of Rights to ban fracking, injection wells, etc.–illegal under Ohio state law. When such legislation is passed and then gets challenged, it loses in court. Every time. And when private companies sue for damages, taxpayers end up footing the bill and the CELDF is nowhere to be found (see Anti Group CELDF Won’t Help Grant Twp Pay $1M Judgement). The CELDF is trying their trickery again–this time in Meigs County, OH and in the City of Waterville (in Meigs County). As Forrest Gump said: Stupid is as stupid does…
Read More “PA-Based CELDF Looks for New Dupes in Meigs County, OH”
Housing | Industrywide Issues

Marcellus/Utica Keeps Trailer Park Operator Busy AND Profitable
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

We occasionally write about a New Jersey-based real estate investment company, UMH Properties, Inc., because they keep buying trailer parks in the Marcellus/Utica with the express hope that drilling activity in the region will lead to high occupancy rates (see our UMH stories here). You might think with the rapid slowdown in drilling UMH’s strategy is in peril. But you would be wrong. Net income for the company was up 165%–from $718,517 in the first quarter of 2015 to $1,906,469 in 1Q16. How can that be? Samuel Landy, president and CEO of UMH, says that the abundance of cheap shale gas has improved the economic lives of people living in their trailer parks. He also said even though there’s less drilling, there’s more pipeline work going on and in those areas UMH’s trailer parks have strong demand. The future looks bright for UMH–thanks to hitching its wagon to the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “Marcellus/Utica Keeps Trailer Park Operator Busy AND Profitable”
Industrywide Issues | Research

EIA: By 2040 World Energy Use Goes up 48%, Fossil Fuels Provide 75%
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

Let’s put this “keep it in the ground” and “we can use 100% renewables now” nonsense to rest, once and for all. Environmentalists–some of them well-meaning (some just stark raving mad) believe fossil fuels are evil and the cause of all sorts of problems. The opposite is true. Fossil fuels are what run this world, and without them, we’d be living in the Stone Ages again. Nothing points out the fallacy and fantasy of ridding ourselves of fossil fuels more than the International Energy Outlook 2016 (IEO2016), released yesterday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). IEO2016 predicts that energy use across the planet will go up 48% from 2010 to 2040, based on their research. The fastest growing (percentage-wise) power source will be renewables. Yeah! But by the end of that 30-year period, fossil fuels will STILL be providing some three-fourths of all the earth’s energy needs. There is no escaping the fact that fossil fuels will be around, powering the planet, for the next 2-3 generations–minimum. Here’s what the EIA said yesterday…
Read More “EIA: By 2040 World Energy Use Goes up 48%, Fossil Fuels Provide 75%”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, May 12, 2016
May 12, 2016May 12, 2016

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: PES eyes fossil fuel expansion in Philly; natgas comes to Riverside, PA; EPA gets ready to screw o&g industry again; Bill McKibben & friends flirt with inciting violence; the difference between Trump & Clinton as president – 1 million bbl/d; France considers banning US natgas imports; and more!
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, May 12, 2016”