Marcellus Drilling News

Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | West Virginia

29 States Ask Supreme Court to Stop Obama Clean Power Plan ASAP
February 8, 2016February 8, 2016

On January 26, 2016, 29 states and state agencies, including Ohio and West Virgina, filed an application with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking an immediate stay of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan (CPP). A week before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied such a stay, so the states are taking it to the final authority in such matters. The states are begging the court for a stay because the CPP will do “irreparable harm” if it is allowed to be implemented by the dictatorial Obama Administration. For background on how this horrible plan will damage natural gas and our economy in general, see 9 Fatal Flaws with Obama EPA Clean Power Plan. Energy law firm Baker Hostetler LLP is the law firm of record for the State of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality in this case. Below is an update from Baker Hostetler on the Supreme Court filing…
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About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Feb 8 – May 7 (90 Days)
February 8, 2016February 8, 2016

Below are upcoming events for the next three months (90 days). To see the full list of future events, visit this page: //marcellusdrilling.com/calendar/.

NOTE: To have an item included, please email it to: calendar@marcellusdrilling.com.
Read More “Calendar of Events for Feb 8 – May 7 (90 Days)”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Feb 8, 2016
February 8, 2016February 8, 2016

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Enough time already on Constitution Pipeline; CONSOL sets natgas production record; law firm chasing NEXUS landowners, instead of ambulances; Wolf to submit new budget with severance tax, again; natural gas facts & fiction; four shale plays quit drilling; Obama’s $10/barrel tax on oil; Pride and Prejudice and Zombie oil companies; Boone Pickens gets out of oil altogether; Fear the Bern; and more!
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Feb 8, 2016”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Shell

Exclusive: Shell Leasing Land for 2 Pipelines to PA Cracker Plant
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

MDN received an exclusive tip from a trusted source (who is also an MDN subscriber) yesterday about the Shell ethane cracker plant in Monaca (Beaver County), PA. Our source, who lives in Beaver County, told us he was approached by a Shell landman about signing a pipeline right-of-way through his property to build a pipeline to the plant. We have an account of our source’s conversation with the landman, and some key information the landman let slip about Shell’s plans for two such pipelines…
Read More “Exclusive: Shell Leasing Land for 2 Pipelines to PA Cracker Plant”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Taxation | Washington County

EQT 20-Well Pad on the Way in Washington County, PA? Maybe!
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

A recent meeting of the Nottingham Township (Washington County), PA Board of Supervisors proved to be a font of useful information about Marcellus drilling in the town, both past and future. Nottingham currently has three drilling sites, two of which are already active and one future. The two active sites have 11 and 12 wells either drilled or planned to be drilled. According to a local fractivist, the third site, which is planned by EQT, will have 20 wells on it. EQT says the eventual number of wells has not yet been determined (but they didn’t rule out 20 wells). Nottingham shares a border with Peters Township. Peters, you may recall, was one of the seven selfish townships that sued to overturn portions of the Act 13 law dealing with local zoning of oil and gas projects, eventually winning at the PA Supreme Court level (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). Nottingham has active drilling within its borders. Peters has still not allowed any drilling within its borders. Nottingham got $70,000 in impact fee money last year. Peters got $360,000 in impact fee money. What’s up with that?…
Read More “EQT 20-Well Pad on the Way in Washington County, PA? Maybe!”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Susquehanna County | Williams

Maple Syrup Farm in Path of PA Pipeline, Antis Make Most of It
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

We’ve often said that pipelines should not be allowed to use eminent domain. But what about when there’s no other choice? What if there are one or two holdout landowners whose land over which a pipeline must travel if it is to get built at all? In those cases, pipeline companies are left with no other choice but to invoke eminent domain. Williams, in planning and now beginning to build the Constitution Pipeline from Susquehanna County, PA into New York to Schoharie County, NY, has bent over backwards, forwards, and sideways to accommodate landowners along the proposed route. In fact Williams has changed more than half of the route in response to requests from landowners. Williams is, today (Feb. 5), beginning to selectively cut down trees along the route–in Pennsylvania for now (New York is next). There’s one small portion of the route Williams wanted to avoid but could not–running through a stand of maple trees. The owners of those trees have aligned themselves with some of the most radical of radical anti-drillers to oppose the pipeline and they are now running a public relations campaign to attempt to try and create a public uproar. We at MDN do NOT sympathize with them–for a number of reasons…
Read More “Maple Syrup Farm in Path of PA Pipeline, Antis Make Most of It”
Accidents | Belmont County | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio | Trucking | West Virginia | Wetzel County

3 Marcellus/Utica Truck Accidents in Ohio Valley – in Past 7 Days
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

With Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling comes truck traffic–a lot of truck traffic. Which is great if you’re a driver who needs work, or a trucking company who wants to chase the business. But not so great if you live in the area where trucks are jamming up the roadways. Another downside to the truck traffic is the occasional accident. In the past week there have been three truck accidents in the Ohio Valley area–in Wetzel and Marshall counties in WV, and Belmont Count in OH. Two of the three required a hazmat team to deploy. Here’s the details…
Read More “3 Marcellus/Utica Truck Accidents in Ohio Valley – in Past 7 Days”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Utica Shale

EQT is in Love with the Utica – Comments from Analyst Call
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

On yesterday’s fourth quarter and full year 2015 analyst phone call, EQT’s upper management positively gushed with affection for the Utica Shale. Steve Schlotterbeck, president of exploration and production for EQT, said, “…we expect the Utica returns in the core area will be competitive with or better than the core Marcellus, and we will work on a plan to include Utica in our future development plans.” Meaning what? EQT will drill fewer Marcellus and more Utica wells? That seems to be the implication. Here’s more of what Steve had to say about the Utica on yesterday’s call…
Read More “EQT is in Love with the Utica – Comments from Analyst Call”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp

EQT 2015 Update: Production Up 27%, Price Received Down 35%
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

EQT issued its fourth quarter and full year 2015 numbers yesterday. EQT is one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale, and increasing in the Utica (see today’s companion article, EQT is in Love with the Utica – Comments from Analyst Call). The bad news is that EQT lost $134.5 million in just 4Q15. The good news is that unlike many other companies, EQT actually made money for the full year–a profit of $85 million–although that’s down from $387 million in 2014. EQT pulled 27% more gas from its wells in 2015 than it did in 2014, but the company saw a 35% decline in the average price it received in 2015. Yesterday’s update yields some bad news, but on the whole we’d say it’s good news for EQT. Some interesting stats from the update: As of Dec. 31, 2015, EQT has drilled 854 Marcellus wells with 693 of them online and flowing and another 57 wells completed but not yet hooked up to a pipeline. Here’s the full report…
Read More “EQT 2015 Update: Production Up 27%, Price Received Down 35%”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Did Deerfield, MA Just Threaten Citizens Who Want Pipeline?
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

Deerfield, MA seems to be inhabited (infested?) with radical anti-fossil fuelers who get the creepy crawlies when they think about a pipeline being buried in the ground–even though miles of pipelines are already in the ground under their feet right now and have been for decades. The Deerfield town health board, in the past, has claimed “unlimited power” to stop Kinder Morgan’s proposed Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline (see MA Town Health Board Claims “Unlimited Power” to Stop TGP). The town tried to get Kinder Morgan to sue them over the pipeline (see Deerfield, MA Hoping Kinder Morgan Sues Them over Pipeline “Ban”). When that didn’t work, Deerfield tried to sue the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see Mass. Town Sues FERC to Stop Pipeline Claiming Gas is for Export). When that didn’t work, the town filed a second lawsuit against the federal government (see Deerfield’s 2nd Bite at the Litigation Apple Against NED Pipeline). Now the town is claiming its police force will stop surveyors from entering a property–even if those surveyors have permission from the state–if the landowner doesn’t want them there. Deerfield is on very thin ice and about to fall through. But what if a resident wants to allow a surveyor and wants the pipeline? “Deerfield residents who choose to grant Kinder Morgan access to their private property do so at their own risk, according to the town.” Is that a not-so-veiled threat, from the town against it’s own citizens?…
Read More “Did Deerfield, MA Just Threaten Citizens Who Want Pipeline?”
Commodity Price | Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WVONGA’s Corky DeMarco Comments on Need for Forced Pooling in WV
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

The West Virginia Press Association hosted their annual Legislative Breakfast yesterday in Charleston. A number of speakers addressed the group to discuss a range of issues. One of those speakers was Corky DeMarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association. Corky talked about how long the oil and gas industry will be around in WV (“a thousand years”) and about why the price of oil and gas is so low today (“we’ve kind of priced ourselves out of the market”). He also spoke about the need for forced pooling legislation…
Read More “WVONGA’s Corky DeMarco Comments on Need for Forced Pooling in WV”
Energy Companies | Seneca Resources

Seneca Res. 2016: Lays Down Rig, Curtails Production, Cuts Budget
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), the utility giant headquartered in Buffalo, NY and parent of Marcellus driller Seneca Resources, issued what they call their first quarter 2016 update yesterday. NFG’s first quarter is everyone else’s fourth quarter–it covers the last three calendar months of the year (October through December). The big news coming from this update is that Seneca Resources will lay down another active drilling rig in March and will then operate just a single rig for the rest of 2016 and for all of 2017. Currently they are curtailing (closing the valves) on 14.6 billion cubic feet of production they could be sending to market–because of the low price of natural gas. Seneca has also whacked its drilling budget another $50 million. Previously Seneca planned to spend $200-$250 million in fiscal year (FY) 2016. Now? It’s down to $150-$200 million. In other important news, NFG has decided to delay the in-service date of their Northern Access pipeline project by full year–from late this year to late next year…
Read More “Seneca Res. 2016: Lays Down Rig, Curtails Production, Cuts Budget”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Marion County | Supply Chain | West Virginia

WV Oilfield Services Co. Extreme Plastics Files for Bankruptcy
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

Extreme Plastics Plus, Inc. is an oilfield services contractor that provides environmental lining services for oilfield and other commercial markets. The company offers above ground water containment, environmental lining, steel wall secondary containment, and rig mat services. The company’s environmental lining services include freshwater impoundments, double lined with a leak detection system, wastewater impoundments, primary and secondary lining, and rig pads. Extreme Plastics Plus was founded in 2007 and is based in Fairmont, West Virginia with other offices in eastern Ohio, northeastern Pennsylvania, Texas and Oklahoma. Other names used by the company are Three Amigos Rentals and American Well Services. On January 31, Extreme Plastics Plus filed for bankruptcy protection…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Feb 5, 2016
February 5, 2016February 5, 2016

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: National Grid bringing natgas to Long Island village; Cabot plays it conservatively; US energy bill good for PA natgas; opponents try to stall Atlantic Coast Pipeline in VA; fracking chemicals bill in VA; shale industry will get worse before better; US is world’s top energy producer; Keystone Pipeline foes getting the band back together, to oppose offshore drilling; CO2 continues to drop; and more!
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Feb 5, 2016”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Board Adopts New Drilling Regs, PIOGA Blasts DEP “Deceptive”
February 4, 2016February 4, 2016

Yesterday the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) approved “sweeping” new changes to the regulations governing oil and gas drilling in the state (for a copy of what was passed, see PA DEP Issues “Final” New Drilling Regulations; Industry Pushback). In the end the vote came down 15-4 to pass the onerous new regulations which, according to the Marcellus Shale Coalition, will cost the industry $2 billion per year without any corresponding safety improvements for the general public. The interesting thing is that two advisory boards appointed by Gov. Wolf and Dept. of Environmental Protection PennFuture Secretary John Quigley–the Conventional Oil and Gas Advisory Committee and the Technical Advisory Board (for unconventional)–came out against the new regulations. What does that tell you? A previous version of the new regs was ready to go at the end of 2014 and then Gov. Wolf won election, installed a radical environmentalist to run the DEP (Quigley) and promptly changed the rules to damage to the drilling industry–both conventional and unconventional. These new regs are the result. The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) minces no words by saying, “The four-year process of developing these regulations has been an exercise in deception, misinformation and disregard of the law by the Department of Environmental Protection that escalated under Gov. Wolf.” Below is a look at the sausage making behind the new rules, and industry’s response…
Read More “PA Board Adopts New Drilling Regs, PIOGA Blasts DEP “Deceptive””
Antero Resources | Crestwood Midstream | Energy Companies | Energy Services

Is Crestwood Exploring Sale of Marcellus Assets to Antero?
February 4, 2016February 4, 2016

The following is highly speculative and the equivalent of rumor, but sometimes it’s fun to engage in a bit of rumor-mongering. We spotted a post on the investor website Seeking Alpha that posits the following theory: Crestwood Equity Partners (i.e. Crestwood Midstream), owner of major pipelines and other facilities in the northeast and in other locales, “may” be looking to sell their Marcellus operations to Antero Resources and their Bakken Shale operations to Tesoro Logistic Partners. It must be said up front the person authoring the article owns units (i.e. shares) of Crestwood (CEQP) and is in no way objective. Articles on Seeking Alpha attempt to persuade investors to buy or sell securities. However, the rationale laid out in the article intrigues us and we think it’s worth pondering whether or not Crestwood is about to shed large parts of the company, and what that might mean for our region…
Read More “Is Crestwood Exploring Sale of Marcellus Assets to Antero?”