Marcellus Drilling News

Belmont County | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | PTT Global

Ongoing Demolition Work at Future Belmont OH Ethane Cracker Site
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

Bulldozers and heavy equipment continue to demolish an old coal-fired electric plant in Belmont County–at the site where PTT Global Chemical says they want to build a $5.7 billion ethane cracker plant. It’s a good sign that PTT continues to spend big money on the project. PTT is in the midst of spending $100 million on engineering plans for the plant (see PTT Announces 2 Contractors Working on Belmont Cracker Plant). The project is the first of all the announced cracker projects in the northeast to get its own website (see Getting Serious: Ohio Ethane Cracker Gets its Own Website). And now, demolition at the FirstEnergy R.E. Burger power plant site…
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Energy Services | Huntingdon County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Sunoco Logistics

Court Grants Mariner East 2 Right to Clear Trees in Huntingdon, PA
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

It’s always sad when a pipeline company has to resort to eminent domain in order to install a pipeline through/under a property. Once the pipeline is there, you don’t even know it. Our observation is that pipeline companies bend over backwards to avoid sensitive areas and to reroute away from properties that don’t want it. Sometimes that’s not possible. It seems to us like reasonable people should be able to come to terms when it’s not possible to avoid having a pipeline installed. However, some people are not reasonable (able to be reasoned with)–that’s life. And that’s why eminent domain exists. A sad necessity. Such is the case with the Mariner East 2 pipeline being built by Sunoco Logistics Partners. Many landowners have signed agreements with Sunoco LP for Mariner East 2–but some have not. Those not granting permission have been sued using eminent domain, to allow Sunoco to clear trees and begin building. In almost every case Sunoco has won the eminent domain argument in court. The latest instance of victory for Sunoco comes in Huntingdon County, PA. Start the chainsaws! Today more trees are coming down in Huntingdon to make way for Mariner East 2…
Read More “Court Grants Mariner East 2 Right to Clear Trees in Huntingdon, PA”
Bradford County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources Gets $110 Million for Bradford County, PA Assets
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

In February MDN told you that Range Resources had inked a deal to sell non-operated assets–some 11,000 acres of leases along with shale wells located in Bradford County, PA–for $112 million (see Range Resources 2015: $714M Loss, Sells Non-Operated Marcellus). Range is famously tight-lipped about these kinds of deals and didn’t identify who the buyer is. Yesterday Range issued another press release to say that the deal is now done and dusted–the money received and already spent. In the end, Range got $110 million (not $112 million). They still don’t say who the buyer is…
Read More “Range Resources Gets $110 Million for Bradford County, PA Assets”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Bear Head LNG Facility Buys More Land, Opens Halifax Office
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

A Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility planned for Nova Scotia received final authorization from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) to export LNG to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the United States (see Bear Head LNG Exports Get Final DOE Approval – Good for Marcellus. Bear Head LNG, a $2.2 billion project proposed by Australian company Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (LNGL) received Canadian approval a year ago (see Canada’s 1st LNG Export Facility Gets Green Light; Marcellus Gas?). The project then received DOE approval to export to free trade agreement countries in July of 2015 (see 2nd Canadian LNG Plant Gets U.S. Approval to Export Marcellus Gas). This project is keeping its foot on the pedal. LNGL announced today they’ve purchased more land surrounding the site where they plan to build. Companies don’t sink this kind of money into projects they are not serious about. Here’s the latest on Bear Head LNG…
Read More “Bear Head LNG Facility Buys More Land, Opens Halifax Office”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

Antis Stitch Together Pipeline Quilt in Lancaster County, PA
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

Last Thursday MDN editor Jim Willis and his wife made a day trip to Amish country–Lancaster County, PA. Jim loves the region. Jim’s wife loves to shop in the region! The flowers were already blooming, the grass green and being mowed, and the crops planted. Nothing like a good whiff of manure from a nearby farm! Wouldn’t you know that a small group of anti-fossil fuelers opposing pipelines in the region would wait until Monday to stage a media event? Why couldn’t they have done it while Jim was there?! The protesters got the bright idea of creating a quilt 50 feet wide–the distance of a pipeline right-of-way–and getting sympathetic media types to come take pictures…
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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Sand/Proppant

OSHA Publishes New Silica Dust Rule, O&G Must Comply by 2018
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

Last December MDN warned you that the Obama Administration’s latest attempt to regulate the oil and gas industry was coming from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)–via new silica dust regulations (see New Dust Regulation Latest Obama Attempt to Regulate O&G). As predicted, last week OSHA published their new rules (full copy below). We certainly have nothing against being safe and guarding the safety of workers. Silica dust is nasty stuff–effectively like asbestos particles. But once again the Obamadroids have taken a serious issue and have gone to extremes. The “good news” if there is any, is that the new rules don’t take effect for the oil and gas industry for two years…
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Antero Resources | Energy Companies

Antero Sells 8M Units in Midstream Subsidiary, Looks to Raise $179M
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

There’s a handful of Marcellus/Utica drillers who are still making money and still drilling in the northeast. One of the few is Antero Resources. In 2015 Antero made, after expenses, nearly $1 billion in profit (see Antero Resources Stands Above the Rest – Nets $941M in 2015). Impressive. For 2016, even though Antero will scale back on spending, they still plan to drill 110 wells in the northeast (see Antero Resources 2016: Spending 23% Less, Drilling 110 Wells). Really impressive. Although they’ve had enormous success, you can never have too much cash if you’re a driller. Last week Antero announced they are selling 8 million new “common units” (think shares of stock) in Antero’s midstream subsidiary, hoping to raise $179 million of cold, hard cash to keep the drill bits turning. After the announcement, Antero Midstream’s unit prices plunged…
Read More “Antero Sells 8M Units in Midstream Subsidiary, Looks to Raise $179M”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Mar 29, 2016
March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Rig counts continue to fall, everywhere; more CNG stations coming to PA; anti-pipeline bills in NH go nowhere; USGS issues report on induced earthquakes; Love’s loves CNG, completes Trillium deal; the devil is in the details of the PHMSA’s pipeline regs; the case for a free energy market; Krispy Kreme victim of low oil prices; and more!
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Mar 29, 2016”
Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Conventional Drillers File Lawsuit to Stop New DEP Regulations
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

Pennsylvania’s small, conventional oil and gas drillers have had enough of Gov. Tom Wolf and his Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, John Quigley. Last week a trade association representing many of PA’s small, independent oil and gas drillers–the Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers Association (PIPP)–filed a lawsuit against implementation of new rules and changes to existing rules known as Chapters 78 & 78a (see PA DEP Issues “Final” New Drilling Regulations; Industry Pushback and PA DEP On Course to Jam New Regulations Down Drillers’ Throats). PIPP objects to conventional drillers being subjected to many of the same rules as unconventional (shale) drillers. PIPP says the two types of drilling are apples and oranges and to make small drillers jump through the same hoops as big shale drillers will literally eliminate small drillers from the Keystone State–making it unprofitable to continue drilling. So PIPP, on behalf of those drillers, sued to stop the new regulations…
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Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | NGLs | Pipelines | West Virginia | Williams

Williams Pays EPA $14K Penalty for WV Condensate Pipeline Accident
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

In April 2015 a 4-inch condensate pipeline owned and operated by Williams ruptured in Marshall County, WV following torrential rains and landslides (see 2 Williams Pipelines Rupture in Marshall County After Heavy Rains). Ten days following the break Williams still hadn’t located the rupture which spilled 132 barrels of condensate into Little Grave Creek, a tributary flowing into the Ohio River (see Williams Still Can’t Find Leak in 4-inch WV Condensate Pipeline). Finally, after 15 days, Williams located the break and began repair work to fix it (see Williams Locates WV Condensate Pipeline Leak, Remediation Begins). When you have an accident, it’s costly. Not only will the state take a bite (see WV DEP to Fine Williams for Condensate Pipeline Leak in WV), but the feds want their pound of flesh too. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that a year after the accident they’ve shaken down Williams for $14,440 as a “penalty” for the accident. Under the terms of the shakedown Williams did not admit guilt or culpability–they just paid hush money to make it go away…
Read More “Williams Pays EPA $14K Penalty for WV Condensate Pipeline Accident”
Alternative Energy | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

Corrupt NY Gov. Cuomo Pushes Fields of Ugly Solar Panels in Upstate
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

New York’s Governor, Andrew Cuomo, is as corrupt a politician as they come. He single handedly stopped the safest, cleanest form of energy from taking root in upstate New York–shale gas extraction. In shale gas extraction, once the drilling is done and pipelines are installed–you don’t notice anything. There is no lasting effect. The grass and trees grow back. The “wound” in the ground is healed. There’s a small wellhead that sticks a up a few feet from the ground that can’t be seen from 200 feet away and that’s about it. Instead of allowing minimally invasive shale drilling, Cuomo is now pushing upstate farmers to agree to installing 30+ acre fields with solar panels that blemish the landscape for 30 years or more and kills birds stupid enough to fly directly over it. Cuomo pretends so-called “renewable” energy–like solar–has no side affects. FALSE. Solar has its negatives, just like every form of energy. One of solar’s negatives is that it destroys the landscape on which it sits–making it unusable for anything else and an eyesore that can be seen for miles. Solar is the opposite of shale energy, which allows farmers to plant fields and use their land–even over top of buried pipelines. Farmers can’t use their fields with solar panels sitting on them. This is how corruption works in New York State…
Read More “Corrupt NY Gov. Cuomo Pushes Fields of Ugly Solar Panels in Upstate”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Spectra Energy | Statewide NY

FERC Denies NY Request to Stop Work on Pipeline Near Nuke Plant
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just delivered a blistering slap across the face of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. You may recall in early March Cuomo asked FERC to stop Spectra Energy’s work on their Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) pipeline project, an $876 million expansion of the existing Algonquin pipeline system that will carry 342 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to New England states that badly need the gas. Cuomo wanted the work stopped because the pipeline will run close to a nuclear plant (see Gov. Cuomo Asks FERC to Halt Algonquin Pipeline Near Nuke Plant). FERC has just said “nope” to Cuomo’s request. The work to build the pipeline continues…
Read More “FERC Denies NY Request to Stop Work on Pipeline Near Nuke Plant”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Won’t Renew Permits that Allow Drill Cuttings to be Reused
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

A few years ago (not sure exactly when) three companies were issued permits by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) to reuse drill cuttings–leftover rock and dirt that come out of a borehole–on construction sites. The three companies were issued the permits on an experimental basis. The permits will expire March 1, 2017. Even though DEP officials openly state, on the record, that “drill cuttings aren’t dangerous,” the DEP has indicated they will not renew the permits after they expire. However, the DEP appears to leave the door open to issuing more permits in the future, once they make a final determination after reviewing the results from these three companies. Who are the companies that were issued permits?…
Read More “PA DEP Won’t Renew Permits that Allow Drill Cuttings to be Reused”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Supply Chain

Ben Franklin Tech Partners Invests $300K in Pipeline Sensor Co.
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

For more than 30 Years, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA has provided startup funding and business support services to tech-based startups and small manufacturers located in our 32-county footprint. Lately they’ve been investing in Marcellus industry companies. Earlier this month Ben Franklin Technology Partners invested $300,000 in a PA company called Sensor Networks Inc. The company manufactures a “non-invasive” sensor for pipelines that uses ultrasound allowing the pipeline operator to detect corrosion and how thick the wall of the pipeline is. It’s a cool technology and will be hugely beneficial to midstream companies in the northeast and beyond…
Read More “Ben Franklin Tech Partners Invests $300K in Pipeline Sensor Co.”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Michigan | Ohio | Pipelines | Public Opinion | Regulation | Statewide MI | Statewide OH

FERC Seeks Input on ET Rover Pipeline – MI Poll Shows 91% Favor
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) wants to know what landowners and residents along the path of the proposed Energy Transfer Rover pipeline think about the project. ET Rover is a 711-mile Marcellus/Utica natural gas pipeline that will serve mostly U.S. customers. The pipeline will cost $3.7 billion to build and run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada. The bulk of the pipeline would run through Ohio (see ET Rover Pipeline Launches New Website, Updated Route Maps). We say ET Rover is “for the children” because the pipeline will generate $91 million in taxes for local schools–in its first year alone (see For the Children: ET Rover Pipeline $91M in School Taxes 1st Year). We spotted a story in a Michigan newspaper about the project. The story says FERC is eliciting feedback until April 11 (be sure to comment!). The story is running a poll of its readers asking them if they support or oppose the project. The results aren’t even close. Some 91% (at the time we wrote this) support the project. See a copy of the poll results below…
Read More “FERC Seeks Input on ET Rover Pipeline – MI Poll Shows 91% Favor”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Court Says Leaseholder Can Sublease Production Rights
March 28, 2016March 28, 2016

We’re not sure how many landowners this may potentially affect, but we found a recent court decision by Pennsylvania Superior Court to be interesting. Landowners who had inherited property (and a lease) in Greene County, PA asked the court to “sever” the lease into two parts. The lease is with EQT and its affiliates and is 50 years old–long before Marcellus drilling. The landowner makes the case that because EQT had assigned the production rights to a third party and had never themselves drilled, the lease is terminated. There are two parts to the lease: one which said EQT had up to 10 years to extract oil and gas, the other that EQT can store natgas underground. The landowners were looking to end that portion of the lease that allows drilling because EQT never drilled on or under the property–and by assigning those rights to someone else, they have abrogated their rights under the lease. The court disagreed and said you can’t “sever” production rights from storage rights. If one OR the other happened, under the original lease, that is enough to make all parts of the lease ongoing and enforceable. Our description is likely not very good. Here’s what the legal beagles at Vorys say about the case, along with a copy of the decision…
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