• | | | | | |

    PA Supreme Court Gives EQT “Procedural Victory” in $4.5M Fine Case

    Over a year ago the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) fined PA driller EQT $4.53 million for a leaky wastewater impoundment in Tioga County, PA (see PA DEP Levies Biggest Fine Ever, $4.5M Against EQT). While EQT is not saying there wasn’t a problem with leaks at the site, they are saying the way the DEP is calculating the fine is unreasonable and arbitrary. In fact, EQT says the DEP levied the fine and took EQT to court because a few weeks prior EQT has sued the DEP. Seems to be a tit for tat thing going on. There is, more than a year later, a development in the case. EQT appealed the fine and the case to PA Supreme Court and the high court has just handed EQT a “procedural victory” by saying EQT has a point about the manner in which the DEP is calculating the fine. The Supreme Court has sent the case back to a lower court for follow up work…
    Read More “PA Supreme Court Gives EQT “Procedural Victory” in $4.5M Fine Case”

  • |

    Court Approves Magnum Hunter’s “First Day” Bankruptcy Motions

    Two weeks ago MDN brought you the sad news that Marcellus/Utica driller Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (see Sad Day: Magnum Hunter Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). A few days after filing, MHR reported (see below) that the courts have already approved all “first day” motions related to the bankruptcy. The upshot is this: the courts have approved MHR’s plans that allow the company to continue to make payroll, pay royalty payments to landowners, and continue to work on getting a $200 million bridge loan to keep it all going. Here’s the details…
    Read More “Court Approves Magnum Hunter’s “First Day” Bankruptcy Motions”

  • | | | |

    Morningstar Outlook/Predictions for Oil & Gas in 2016 & Beyond

    Morningstar, Inc. is one of, if not THE leading providers of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Morningstar’s analysts keep a close eye on many different sectors, including the energy sector. Yesterday Morningstar published its Quarter-End Insights for the oil and gas sector, which include not only a look back at what happened, but predicts what they see coming in 2016 and beyond. Among Morningstar’s predictions: “Long-term” prices for oil will hit $70 per barrel for Brent crude and $64 per barrel for WTI. Near-term oil prices? They “could be ugly.” Morningstar recommends three specific E&Ps in which to invest. Two of them operate in the Marcellus…
    Read More “Morningstar Outlook/Predictions for Oil & Gas in 2016 & Beyond”

  • |

    Chesapeake Energy Races to Exchange Notes Before the Ball Drops

    The news for Chesapeake Energy continues to be downright dismal. And no, we’re not happy to say as much. We believe Carl Icahn deserves to lose every penny (and more) that he invested in the company in return for the mass firings he instigated through his chosen tool Doug Lawler. However, there are still a lot of good people who work at Chessy–and a lot of landowners who depend on Chesapeake drilling on and under their property (that is, when they pay fair royalties). It is in no one’s best interests to see Chesapeake file for bankruptcy. Yet increasingly, that’s the scenario being whispered (see Chesapeake Energy Faces Bankruptcy if Noteholders Don’t Cooperate). Chesapeake faces a deadline tomorrow with noteholders. If they don’t successfully seal the deal and get a majority of those noteholders to exchange their existing notes for new notes–let’s just say the alternative is not pretty…
    Read More “Chesapeake Energy Races to Exchange Notes Before the Ball Drops”

  • |

    Cabot O&G Attorney Sells $97K of Company Stock

    From time to time MDN brings you news of a company’s top management either buying (preferred, from our perspective) or selling (not so preferred) shares of company stock. We figure it’s a good sign when the people who run the company believe in it enough that they plunk down their own coin to buy shares of it. We should hasten to add selling company stock is not necessarily a bad sign or indicator of a lack of confidence. People have lives and need money: kids to put through college, renovations to the house, Christmas debt to pay off, etc. This latest buying/selling incident is one in which a top officer is *selling* stock. Cabot Oil & Gas’ General Counsel, George Cunningham, sold 5,670 shares of company stock on Monday for a total price of $97,297.20…
    Read More “Cabot O&G Attorney Sells $97K of Company Stock”

  • | | | |

    DOE Study: More LNG Exports Don’t Mean Higher Prices at Home

    What would happen if the U.S. increased LNG (liquefied natural gas) exports from 12 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) to 20 Bcf/d? A new report just published by the Dept. of Energy and researched by Rice University and Oxford Economics, titled “The Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing U.S. LNG Exports” (full copy below) finds that although prices for U.S. consumers may go up a little, what would happen is that the production pie would grow and most of the delta (the difference between 12 and 20 Bcf/d) would come from new production. In other words, it’s a win/win. More jobs, more money flowing into the U.S., while at the same time very little rise in gas prices here at home–even if we ratchet up exports significantly…
    Read More “DOE Study: More LNG Exports Don’t Mean Higher Prices at Home”

  • | | |

    Duke U Study: Property Values Drop When Marcellus Drilling Begins

    Once or twice a year anti-fossil fuel “researchers” at Duke University issue another “publish or perish” term paper that takes aim at the Marcellus/Utica and call it a study. A few weeks ago the latest in a string of such biased reports was issued by Duke–this one claiming that property values go down when Marcellus Shale drilling comes to a community. Three researchers wrote the report. One of the researchers is from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The EDF is as anti-drilling as any of the far-left enviro-Nazi groups like the Sierra Club, Food & Water Watch, various Riverkeepers, et al. But the EDF usually tries to work with the industry, which often ostracizes them from the kooks on their left. It’s disappointing to see the EDF piling on in this latest sham study. The study is titled, “The Housing Market Impacts of Shale Gas Development” (full copy below). The problem for this study is that there are numerous other studies that look at property values and conclude the opposite–that property values go UP when drilling comes to an area. When you dig in to the the Duke study you’ll find that in some cases they did find property values increased, and other cases values decreased. We bring you this study to prepare you for the onslaught of sycophantic mainstream media stories that will mention it a time or two and then move on–typical “drive by” misinformation from the media where truth is the casualty…
    Read More “Duke U Study: Property Values Drop When Marcellus Drilling Begins”

  • | | | |

    Scranton Newspaper Supports Stealing Gas Money for Philly

    It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Democrat-controlled Scranton Times-Tribune doesn’t like the fair impact fee collected on Marcellus drilling in the state and instead prefers an unfair severance tax. It certainly doesn’t surprise us that they they think in such a twisted way. After all, 60% of the impact fee stays local and out of the hands of Harrisburg politicians. That’s just not “right” in Democrat-land. The other 40% that does go through the sticky fingers of Harrisburg politicians isn’t “enough” for good Lib Dems like those who control the Times-Tribune. So in their latest editorial, the Times-Tribune fans the flame of PA Democrat Auditor General Eugene DePasquale’s investigation into the industry in tracking down the “missing” $30 million of impact fee money (see PA Auditor General to Investigate “Lost” $30M Marcellus Impact Fee). True to Lib Dem form, the Times-Tribune wants DePasquale to go far beyond a simple investigation. They want DePasquale to somehow override the will of the legislature, and the residents of Pennsylvania, and extra-Constitutionally change the tax structure–throwing out the impact fee and instead slapping a nose bleed severance tax on the industry. That’s their preferred outcome. It will produce more money (so they reason) for them to play with and hand out to welfare slugs in “struggling urban areas” who keep voting for them…
    Read More “Scranton Newspaper Supports Stealing Gas Money for Philly”

  • |

    Art Berman’s Peak Oil Theories, Again

    Art Berman seems to have learned an important lesson from Barack Hussein Obama. When somebody points out the flaws in your policies and theories, just double and triple down and keep repeating said theories all the more. That’s what Art Berman does with his discredited “peak oil” theory. You know, the theory that the world is about to run out of oil and that oil will continue to get more and more expensive (and scarce) until it is either too expensive to use or just plain gone. Nightmarish stuff. Keeps little boys and girls who watch Captain Planet up at night. And then the shale energy revolution hit and all of Art’s theories went out the door. Except he’s still pedaling his debunked theories, twisting and turning them–even recanting them (“Peak oil is not about running out of oil”)…
    Read More “Art Berman’s Peak Oil Theories, Again”

  • Happy New Year! MDN Off Until Jan. 4; Our 2016 Prayer 4U

    happy new year 2016MDN will not publish on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1. We will be back on Monday, Jan. 4. MDN’s prayer for you in 2016 is this:

    May all of your land get leased (for obscenely high signing bonuses and royalty rates); may all of your drilling units get drilled on; may drilling rigs pop up like spring crocuses, providing jobs and new royalty income; may new pipelines pop up like summer dandelions, connecting hundreds and thousands of new wells; may all of those pipelines be filled to capacity; may the price of natural gas double in the New Year; may at least one ethane cracker plant receive a Final Investment Decision; and may 2016 be the safest year ever–with no fatalities in the oil & gas patch. Amen.

  • Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Dec 30, 2015

    The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: 2016 Marcellus budgets lower, production higher; Southwestern’s uncertain future; Range Resources’ asset sales & hedging; Millennium Pipeline donates $10K to food bank; OH has 1,120 producing Utica wells; partial budget passed in PA; forced pooling opponents gear up; FERC updates enviro reporting requirements; UK charity continues to invest in fossil fuel companies; China shale project goes into production; and more!
    Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Dec 30, 2015”

  • |

    Rig Counts Hit Lowest Level Since 1999

    1999What was happening in the year 1999? Let’s see. Then-President Bill Clinton went on trial in the Senate for lying under oath about getting a BJ in the Oval Office by a young girl, Monica Lewinski. Even though he was guilty, the Republican-controlled Senate lost its nerve and didn’t convict him. He was later stripped of his license to practice law in Arkansas for perjuring himself. The “Sopranos” debuted on HBO in 1999. Seth MacFarlane’s “Family Guy” first aired on Fox. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star in the movie “Eyes Wide Shut.” Basketball star Michael Jordan announced his (first) retirement–only to return in 2001. Hip Hop artist Eminem released his first major record album called ‘The Slim Shady’ which would win him a Grammy the following year. The great Wayne Gretzky played his last hockey game in the NHL. Gretzky’s New York Rangers lost 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Quarterback John Elway retired from the NFL in 1999. The third Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” was published. “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” directed by George Lucas, was released in 1999. Oh, and one more thing. The year 1999 was the last time oil and gas rig counts were as low as they were last week, just 700 rigs operating…
    Read More “Rig Counts Hit Lowest Level Since 1999”

  • | | | | | |

    NY Fractivists Block Seneca Lake Facility, Santa & Grinch Dance

    We’ve written many stories over the past few years about anti-drilling zealots who oppose the plan to convert a depleted salt cavern owned by Crestwood Equity Partners (nee Crestwood Midstream) along the shore of Seneca Lake, in Schuyler County, NY, to store liquefied petroleum gas (i.e. propane). The protests are typically a dozen people or less and often organized by Sandra Steingraber, a minor celebrity in fractivist circles. Steingraber is a so-called “scholar in residence” at Ithaca College. They pay her to do nothing but trot around making anti-fracking speeches, no doubt funded with money from the Park Foundation. A group of antis once again assembled in front of the Crestwood facility a few days before Christmas in an illegal blockade of the facility. What’s interesting about this latest infraction is that they no longer even pretend the facility would somehow be unsafe for Seneca Lake or nearby residents–a common lie they use in an attempt to scare the general public. No, this time the mask came off and their message was loud and clear: they oppose the facility because it would store a fossil fuel and in their irrational minds, all fossil fuels are evil. Or as their Christmas-themed sign said, fossil fues are “dirty energy” and that equals “naughty.” So-called renewable energy sources, like solar, are “clean” and “nice.” These nutters believe their “superior” intellect should dictate which energy sources *you* use, and they won’t stop insisting on your energy source until they’re either in jail, or in a retirement home (many of these old hippies are nearing that age)…
    Read More “NY Fractivists Block Seneca Lake Facility, Santa & Grinch Dance”

  • | | | | | | |

    Federal Judge Rules for EQT in Ohio Lease Dispute – Ramifications

    An important decision was recently made in a lease case in Ohio–a case which has implications for both drillers and landowners with Marcellus/Utica leases. Driller EQT signed a lease with Jefferson County, OH landowner Alex Cooper on Oct. 6, 2008. The initial term of the lease was for five years, with a five year extension IF EQT makes an extension payment. The lease also stipulates that EQT MUST drill a well on or before Oct 6, 2013–the end of the first term of the lease. EQT opted to extend the lease, making (or rather attempting to make) a payment to Cooper–but EQT did not drill a well by Oct 6, 2013. Cooper claimed since EQT hadn’t drilled, the lease expired on Oct 6, 2013 and he is free to lease again. The case ended up in Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley decided in favor of EQT, even though the language in the lease stipulates a well MUST be drilled during the first term of the lease. How and why did Judge Marbley decide the case as he did? Below is a recap of the case, followed by a copy of the full decision from Judge Marbley…
    Read More “Federal Judge Rules for EQT in Ohio Lease Dispute – Ramifications”

  • |

    ODNR Boss: Ohio Will be Net NatGas Exporter in 2016

    Little-know fact: Ohio is the seventh most populous state in the U.S. The only states with more population are California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Another little-known fact: In 2015 Ohio produced enough natural gas to meet the needs of 95% of what the state uses. Just four years ago that number was 9%. The director of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR), James Zehringer, predicts that next year Ohio will produce more natural gas than can be used by the entire state–making Ohio a net exporter of natgas. Zehringer issued a year-end message from ODNR to tout not only the enormous production coming from Ohio’s shale fields, but also the big emphasis his agency places on safety for people and the environment…
    Read More “ODNR Boss: Ohio Will be Net NatGas Exporter in 2016”

  • | | | | | |

    Judge Tosses Appeal to Re-Open Trumbull, OH Injection Well

    It appears that in Ohio it’s A.O.K. for regulatory bodies to write laws–something the legislature is supposed to do–and not only can they write laws, they can take their sweet time doing it, denying a legally permitted business the right to conduct operations in the meantime. And if the legally permitted business seeks justice in the court system? Yeah, even the judge sides with the all-powerful state to prevent that business from operating. That about sums up the situation in Ohio for American Water Management Services (AWMS). AWMS owns a wastewater injection well in Trumbull County that supposedly caused a low-level earthquake (that nobody could feel) in 2014. Two wells located at the site, both operated by AWMS, were “temporarily” shut down by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources following the quake (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake). One of the two injection wells was allowed to re-open, but not the other (see ODNR Clears Trumbull Co. Injection Well in August Quake). Why was one well allowed to re-open but not the other? Because the ODNR is supposedly crafting new regulations that will govern the offending well that may or may not have caused the low-level quake. When will we see those new regs? Who knows! AWMS appealed ODNR’s decision to keep the second well shut down to the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission, a body that works for (yes) the ODNR. Unsurprisingly the Commission found ODNR is within its right to keep the second well shut down while it takes its time writing new regulations. AWMS appealed the Commission’s decision to a court, and the judge threw out the case because of a filing deadline legal hoop AWMS didn’t jump through properly…
    Read More “Judge Tosses Appeal to Re-Open Trumbull, OH Injection Well”