Marcellus Drilling News

Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Residents of NEPA Village Want Marcellus Leasing & Drilling
February 22, 2016February 22, 2016

We’ve written in the past that in most cases villages and cities don’t participate in leases and being drilled under not because of any inherent danger (the drilling happens a mile or more down, through solid rock), but because of practical reasons. It’s far easier in time and effort and expense to lease the property of two or three farmers/landowners who own hundreds of acres than it is to lease tiny quarter-acre or less parcels you find in a village or city. One drilling unit is sometimes one or two landowners (maybe a half dozen at most), whereas a drilling unit of one square mile (640 acres) in the village may involve hundreds of landowners. Those hundreds all need to read and sign a lease, and their deeds need to be research to be sure it’s a clear deed and the person signing actually owns the mineral rights. It’s a daunting task. But some communities are up for the challenge. In some communities, like New Milford, PA (in Susquehanna County, about 20 miles from MDN headquarters), the village (in this case called a borough) some residents WANT to sign a lease and get drilled under. The borough held a meeting last week to discuss the possibility…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Susquehanna County | Williams

Judge Tells NEPA Family to Let Williams Cut Maple Trees, Or Else
February 22, 2016February 22, 2016

Starting this week the sugar maples along the path of the Constitution Pipeline will come down. MDN previously told you about the Holleran family in New Milford, PA who make maple syrup by tapping the trees on their five acres of land (see Maple Syrup Farm in Path of PA Pipeline, Antis Make Most of It). While it’s unfortunate that Williams, the builder of the pipeline, could not find an alternate route (they did try), and unfortunate that media reports say up to 80% of their maple trees (~200) will need to be cut, we’re not sympathetic. The Hollerans have steadfastly refused any kind of offer from Williams to compensate them, instead aligning themselves with some of the most radical of radical anti-drillers in a publicity quest to pressure Williams to stop. It didn’t work and now a federal judge is telling the family if they prevent the trees from coming down, starting today, they’re going to the clink…
Read More “Judge Tells NEPA Family to Let Williams Cut Maple Trees, Or Else”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp

EQT Floats ~7.5M New Shares of Stock, Hopes to Raise $437M
February 22, 2016February 22, 2016

Last Friday EQT, one of the largest Marcellus and Utica Shale drillers, announced they are floating 6.5 million shares of new common stock, and a potential extra 975,000 shares for the underwriter, Goldman Sachs, for a total of nearly 7.5 million shares. Not long after announcing the stock offering, they made a second announcement of the price–$58.50 per share. If EQT sells all 7,475,000 shares of stock for $58.50 per share, it will net the company $437 million in cash. What will they do with it? It will be used for “general corporate purposes” and potentially to pay down some debt. Here’s the twin announcements from Friday…
Read More “EQT Floats ~7.5M New Shares of Stock, Hopes to Raise $437M”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

FERC Says Rover Pipeline as Planned Negatively Impacts Environment
February 22, 2016February 22, 2016

In December 2014 Energy Transfer Partners filed their draft Resource Reports of environmental survey data with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the ET Rover pipeline (see ET Rover Pipeline’s 800-Mile Journey Begins with FERC Filing). Rover is an 800-mile, $4.4 billion pipeline that will connect Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, crossing pretty much the entire state of Ohio heading northwest before entering Michigan and eventually taking a dog-leg into Ontario. In February of 2015, exactly a year ago, ET filed a full application with FERC. Last week FERC responded with a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)–and the news was not so good for Rover. FERC found “adverse and significant” impacts from the project as planned and delivered to ET nearly 25 pages of recommendations that ET will need to fix before they get an approval. Is this a fatal blow to Rover? Or just a speed bump? Time will tell…
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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

2 Bills Favorable to Drillers Advance in WV Senate – SB 508 & 565
February 22, 2016February 22, 2016

Two bills that favor the drilling industry in West Virginia have recently advanced in the WV Senate. One of the bills we previously told you about–Senate Bill (SB) 508, a bill that would stop endless, frivolous lawsuits from being filed against drillers (see WV Senate Bill Stops Frivolous Nuisance Lawsuits Against Drillers). The other bill is new for us, SB 565, a bill that “would allow oil and gas drillers to begin building well pads and access roads prior to getting a well work permit approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection.” SB 508 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, and SB 565 was passed in the Senate Energy Committee. They are both on their way and likely to pass the full Senate and House…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

John “Severance Tax” Hanger Quits Tom Wolf Administration – Why?
February 22, 2016February 22, 2016

One of the most left-wing partisans in Harrisburg, serving in the Tom Wolf Administration, is calling it quits. John Hanger, whom we once considered a reasonable man but who later proved he is not, is Wolf’s Secretary of Policy and Planning. Hanger has been one of the most shrill voices in Harrisburg in demanding a Marcellus-killing severance tax. Wolf is making a second ill-fated run at a severance tax and by all accounts Hanger was pushing it hard. And then he up and quit. Why? He says it’s because his wife and daughter live in Massachusetts (where she is vice-provost for faculty affairs at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.) To his credit, John has been married for 36 years to the same woman (she must be a saint!). However, we think he’s leaving for a different reason…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Feb 22, 2016
February 22, 2016February 22, 2016

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: NGI updates Rex Tracker for REX pipeline expansion; drillers may exit PA after all; Haynesville gets competitive with Marcellus; natgas replaces coal on U Kentucky campus; 2016 oil & natgas production & storage forecasts; dominoes toppling in shale; researchers’ own data contradicts conclusions on fracking & methane emissions; Clean Power Plan won’t survive legal challenges; is Russian money behind some fractivists; and more!
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Feb 22, 2016”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lewis County | U.S. Well Services | West Virginia

US Well Services Lays Off Nearly 50 in Jane Lew, WV
February 19, 2016February 19, 2016

U.S. Well Services, headquartered in Houston, TX but with a sizable office in Jane Lew, WV, is an oilfield services company providing hydraulic fracturing services in unconventional oil and natural gas basins–including the Marcellus and Utica Shale. According to their website, U.S. Well Services operates both diesel and electric fracking fleets. On Wednesday, with no warning, they laid off most of their workers in the Jane Lew office–just under 50 people, meaning the company was not required to give advance notice under the WARN Act. Here’s what happened on Wednesday, what U.S. Well Services calls an “unfortunate reduction”…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Pipeline Task Force Report: 658 Pages, 184 “Recommendations”
February 19, 2016February 19, 2016

In May 2015 Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and his underling Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary John Quigley created a “Task Force on Pipeline Infrastructure Development” (see Disaster on the Horizon: PA Gov Wolf Creates Pipeline Task Force). The purpose of the group was “to identify best practices for pipeline siting, permitting and safety.” We won’t recount all of the twists and turns–of how the Task Force was packed with government employees beholden to Wolf, etc. Along the way antis tried to protest and derail the meetings held by the Task Force (see PA DEP Sec. Quigley Calls Pipeline Protesters “Badly Misinformed”). The final meeting has been held and the final report is now in. Yesterday Quigley released the Task Force’s Final Report, all 658 pages of it with 184 recommendations (full copy below). Along with the release of the final report, Quigley also issued what he calls the top 12 recommendations coming from the Task Force for how PA can and should handle a coming expansion of gathering pipelines in the state…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Rice Energy

Drillers Leaving Wet Gas Areas of Marcellus/Utica for Dry Gas
February 19, 2016February 19, 2016

An excellent article appearing on the World Oil Magazine website explores an interesting phenomenon at work in the Marcellus/Utica. The article is wide-ranging and provides an update on the activities and strategies for many of our region’s top producers. But the beginning of the article is what really caught our attention. The author states that there is a shift happening away from drilling in the liquids-rich (i.e. areas with a higher concentration of natural gas liquids, like ethane, propane and others) to the “core” dry gas areas of the Marcellus/Utica. He quotes Rice Energy CEO Dan Rice in saying, “…there has been a noticeable shift in producer activity away from liquids-rich and non-core dry gas Marcellus and Utica areas, and into the Marcellus and Utica’s dry gas cores.” We have to confess that’s the first time we’d heard that. We thought it was the reverse–that there was more drilling headed to the wet gas areas. Huh. Here’s more from the article…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Athens County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Wastewater

Athens, OH Antis Lose Appeal in County Court re Injection Well
February 19, 2016February 19, 2016

In January 2015 (over a year ago) the radical antis of the Athens County Fracking Action Network (ACFAN) in Athens County, OH filed an appeal with the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission opposing a permit issued to K&H Partners to drill a new/second wastewater injection well in Athens County (see Athens County, OH Anti-Drillers Sue to Stop New Injection Well). The Oil and Gas Commission rejected the complaint because, they said, they don’t have jurisdiction over permits to drill wells. The case was appealed to county court and last week the county court judge sided with the Oil and Gas Commission. That is, ACFAN’s request to overturn the permit to drill the well has been rejected. The next move by ACFAN losers is to appeal it to a higher court–the 10th District Court of Appeals. No word yet if they want to waste their money on an appeal. However, they appear to have endless resources from Big Green groups to keep them going with endless lawsuits…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Williams

CEO: What Williams Would Do if Chesapeake Declared Bankruptcy
February 19, 2016February 19, 2016

Alan Armstrong, president and CEO of Williams, spoke on an investor/analyst phone call yesterday to discuss Williams’ fourth quarter and full year financial and operational results. He had a lot to talk about. As we reported yesterday, the company saw massive losses in 2015 (see Williams 2015: $1.6B Loss in 4Q15, $1.4B Loss Full Year 2015). However, early in Armstong’s talk, he addressed an issue that’s gotten a fair bit of press lately: What would Williams do if Chesapeake Energy declared bankruptcy? Armstrong spent several minutes discussing such a possibility and how it might affect Williams. Here’s what he said on the call about a potential Chesapeake bankruptcy scenario…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Sunoco Logistics | Washington County

Judge Hears Eminent Domain Case Against Mariner East 2
February 19, 2016February 19, 2016

Five Washington County, PA property owners had their day in court yesterday with their case against Sunoco Logistics Partners and the Mariner East 2 pipeline project. The attorney for the plaintiffs argued that Mariner East 2 is an interstate pipeline (begins in Ohio, crosses the northern panhandle of West Virginia and then crosses Pennsylvania from west to east) and therefore it does not fit the definition of a public utility under PA law. Public utilities in PA have the right to use eminent domain, which is what this case appears to be about–denying Sunoco the right to use eminent domain in cases where it cannot come to an agreement with the landowner. But as you’ll see below, we don’t think that’s what this case is REALLY about. Sunoco argued that the pipeline is both an interstate and intrastate pipeline with “numerous public benefits.” He hastened to add one of those benefits is a $1.9 billion investment that will result in a $4.2 billion economic impact on the state…
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Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Columbia Pipeline 2015: $267M Income; Project Updates Galore
February 19, 2016February 19, 2016

Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG) turned in their fourth quarter and full year 2015 financial and operational update yesterday. Unlike Williams that lost $1.4 billion in 2015, CPG made $267.6 million in 2015. Along with a financial update, CPG also gives an extensive update on a number of Marcellus/Utica pipeline projects. Well worth the read! Here’s yesterday’s CPG update…
Read More “Columbia Pipeline 2015: $267M Income; Project Updates Galore”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

More on Wolf/Quigley 4-Point Plan to Reduce Methane Emissions
February 19, 2016February 19, 2016

In January Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced a 4-point plan to supposedly reduce the amount of methane leaking from various oil and gas related activities–like drilling, compressor stations, etc. (see PA Gov. Wolf’s Plan to Kill Drilling via Methane Emissions Regs). A few days later Wolf’s Secretary for the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), John Quigley, further expounded on this manifestly poor idea (see Quigley Expounds on Methane Emissions Plan: Drillers to Get Hosed). The concern is that methane is a so-called greenhouse gas and that “fugitive” methane escapes into the atmosphere and will toast ole Mom Earth. Dumb as rocks–but there it is. To prevent old Mom Earth from toasting, Wolf and Quigley’s answer is the same as every liberal Democrat’s answer: more regulation. Last week the DEP revealed a little bit more about where they’re going with this…
Read More “More on Wolf/Quigley 4-Point Plan to Reduce Methane Emissions”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

EPA Science Advisory Board *Affirms* Fracking Study
February 19, 2016February 19, 2016

An interesting public relations battle is happening in mainstream media. Last June MDN brought you the news that the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a long-awaited, four-year study of fracking and water–and found that fracking does not impact groundwater supplies (see EPA Draft Report Says Fracking Doesn’t Pollute Groundwater Supplies). That sent anti-fossil fuel radicals to their psychiatrists for increased dosages of Thorazine. Since that time antis have been looking for a way to reverse the finding. And we thought they had found it. The EPA appointed a Science Advisory Board (SAB) to re-evaluate the report (see Will EPA Whore Itself to Antis and Change Fracking Water Study?). From their initial meetings and comments, we though the fix was in (see EPA Science Advisory Board Engaging in Fraud re Fracking Study). The mainstream media trumpets the SAB’s statements as indicating the original report and its conclusions are wrong. But if you read what the SAB is saying, you come to a different conclusion. Can it be that the SAB is actually strengthening the case that fracking doesn’t contaminate water supplies?…
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