Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Warren County | Wastewater

WTC Upgrades Warren, PA Plant, Accept Marcellus Wastewater Again?
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

We’re returning to a story we last wrote about over a year ago. In October 2013 MDN told you the radical national anti-drilling organization Clean Water Action (CWA) had sued a small Pennsylvania company by the name of Waste Treatment Corporation (WTC) in Warren, PA in federal court claiming the company continued to accept, treat and discharge Marcellus drilling wastewater into the Allegheny River (see CWA Sues/Accuses Waste Treatment Corp of Continued Shale Pollution). WTC was supposed to have stopped that practice two years earlier, in 2011, after then-Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), Michael Krancer, got all such operations to cease and desist. Responses to the CWA lawsuit from both the WTC and the DEP raised more questions than they answered for us (see Waste Treatment, PA DEP Respond to CWA Lawsuit). In September 2014, CWA announced they had reached a settlement of the case with WTC agreeing to immediately stop accepting/discharging Marcellus wastewater (even though they say they don’t), install expensive new equipment, and then restart accepting Marcellus wastewater processing again (see CWA v Waste Treatment Corp Wastewater Discharge Lawsuit Settled). The new news is that WTC has installed the aforementioned new technology, news that we get from a press release from the company that sold them the technology. What we don’t know is when, or if, WTC will once again begin to accept Marcellus Shale wastewater at the plant…
Read More “WTC Upgrades Warren, PA Plant, Accept Marcellus Wastewater Again?”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Marathon Petroleum | MarkWest Energy

War of Words Continues: 2 More Proxy Cos Endorse MarkWest Sale
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

The public relations battle between the current management and board of MarkWest Energy, who stand to personally benefit from a sale of the company to Marathon Petroleum (via Golden Parachutes), continues. On Friday MarkWest issued another press release (seems they’re coming along almost daily now) to encourage people to vote “yes” with their units. MarkWest is claiming two more proxy advisory firms have endorsed the deal–Glass Lewis and Egan-Jones. It was just last week that MarkWest’s former CEO issued another press release of his own telling the world this is a bad deal for common unitholders and should be voted down (see War of Words: Battle to Sell MarkWest Energy to Marathon Heats Up). MarkWest, in their latest press release, re-issued their plea for anyone with even a couple of units (think “shares of stock) laying in a drawer somewhere to vote–every vote counts in this battle…
Read More “War of Words Continues: 2 More Proxy Cos Endorse MarkWest Sale”
Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | Taxation | West Virginia

WV Politicians: Raise Severance Tax, Lower Property Tax
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

What is it about politicians needing to get their grubby hands on YOUR money? A group of West Virginia state politicians–delegates and one state senator, both Democrats and Republicans–held a town hall meeting at West Virginia Northern Community College last Thursday in which they pontificated that the severance tax in WV is too low, and property taxes for Marcellus/Utica Shale landowners are too high. Below is a summary of the back and forth at the meeting. The somewhat ominous (from our perspective) talk at the meeting is that in this down market politicians want to further kill the drilling industry (the one bright spot) in their state by taxing it higher…
Read More “WV Politicians: Raise Severance Tax, Lower Property Tax”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Antis Use Radiation Fears to Oppose Drilling in Wayne Natl Forest
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

You just have to shake your head. We’ve heard just about every anti-drilling objection a thousand times before, but it never ceases to amaze us how objections get recycled. And every last one is a ruse–meant to distract from the real issue, which is anti-drillers believe in the global warming myth and THAT is the REAL reason they oppose drilling. They don’t/can’t object to drilling for reasons like fracking contaminates water supplies (it doesn’t), or because it causes earthquakes (it doesn’t), or because it releases enough radon to give you cancer (it doesn’t). That last one is the latest objection anti-drillers who live in or near the Wayne National Forest in Ohio are using to try and scare people into support a ban on fracking in the Forest. We’ve been hearing that canard since 2012 (see The Latest Anti-Drilling Scare Tactic: Radon in Shale Gas). The thing about radon, an isotope of radium, is that it’s naturally occurring and found just about everywhere in the northeast–and people aren’t dropping like flies. In fact, the U.S. Geological Survey did a study and found both methane and radon in the water supplies in Pike County, PA–where there IS NO shale drilling (see USGS Study: Pike County Water has Methane, Radon – No Drilling). How do you mitigate radon if you have it in your basement? You vent it to the air where it become inert! But facts haven’t stopped the nutters from coming out of the woodwork in Ohio to claim radium/radon is going to kill everyone if fracking is allowed in the Wayne National Forest…
Read More “Antis Use Radiation Fears to Oppose Drilling in Wayne Natl Forest”
Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Slavishly Supports Obama’s CPP Takeover
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

Once again the editorial writers from the Democrat, left-leaning Pittsburgh Post-Gazette show their true Democrat colors. President Obama, as we have reported, has made a breathtaking dictatorial power grab with his EPA’s so-called Clean Power Plan (CPP), a plan that not only screws coal royally, it screws natural gas too (see Obama Stabs Natural Gas Electric Plants in Clean Power Plan). The plan is so bad, 26 states (MORE THAN HALF) are suing to stop it (see 26 States Ask Federal Court to Shut Down Clean Power Plan Now). But America’s most liberal governor (Tom Wolf) and his Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection (John Quigley) support the natural gas-killing CPP (see PA Anti-Fossil Fuel Groups Praise Wolf/Quigley for Supporting CPP). And now the Post-Gazette feels it necessary to try and twist public opinion in favor of this horrible plan too…
Read More “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Slavishly Supports Obama’s CPP Takeover”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Obama Releases Timeline for Fed Power Grab of O&G Regulation
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

It’s time for the individual states of these United States of America to tell the federal government to screw itself–and REFUSE to comply with directives from the totally out-of-control Environmental Protection Agency and Obama’s so-called Clean Power Plan. Some 26 states (over HALF) have sued to stop the plan (see 26 States Ask Federal Court to Shut Down Clean Power Plan Now). The lawsuit isn’t slowing down the Dictator in Chief, Barrack Hussein Obama, whose administration on Friday released a timeline for a final push next year to take away more rights and freedoms granted under the Constitution by forcing the CPP down the throats of states who won’t comply. Obama and his various departments are going to illegally regulate oil and gas (something the Constitution leaves to the individual states)–unless we stop him. We say the states should rise up and refuse to comply and, if necessary, create a Constitutional crisis–if that’s what it takes…
Read More “Obama Releases Timeline for Fed Power Grab of O&G Regulation”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Research

EIA Stats Reveal Obama CPP Plan to Lower CO2 Isn’t Needed
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

Why in the world is Obama pushing so hard to regulate oil and gas when carbon dioxide emissions, ACCORDING TO HIS OWN ADMINISTRATION, are going down?! Today the U.S. Energy Information Administration, part of the Dept. of Energy (an executive branch agency), issued a post on their website chronicling the decrease in CO2 emissions coming from energy from 2005-2013. Why are CO2 emissions going down? One word: shale. We might add a second word: fracking. The planet is getting healthier (if you believe in global warming nonsense) because of shale energy–and yet Obama wants to throttle it! Maddening…
Read More “EIA Stats Reveal Obama CPP Plan to Lower CO2 Isn’t Needed”
About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Nov 23 – Feb 22 (90 Days)
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

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 Nov 23 – Feb 22 (90 Days)”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Nov 23, 2015
November 23, 2015November 23, 2015

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: What would Magnum Hunter bankruptcy mean for Antero Resources?; frackaphobia on the Hudson; smile! you’re on Earthworks candid camera; Philly refiners slow down crude from the Bakken; PennEast responds to enviro objections; EQT gets its day in Supreme Court; prominent scientists debunk CO2 nonsense ahead of UN summit in Paris; no $3 gas anytime soon; Bernie Sanders tells fossil fuel industry to go to hell; and more!
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Nov 23, 2015”
Industrywide Issues | McKean County | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Putnam County | Regulation | Warren County | West Virginia

EPA Fines PA Gas Plants for Accidents that Haven’t Yet Happened
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

It’s something straight out of the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has fined the owner of five Pennsylvania natural gas processing plants and one West Virginia plant (six plants total) $50,221 for spills and leaks at the plants–that never happened. The EPA says Elkhorn Gas Processing hasn’t done enough to prevent such incidents from potentially happening, and therefore the EPA is shaking them down and making them pay for possible future violations. Perhaps it’s more like The Godfather than the Minority Report? Talk about an abuse of power! Do you need any further evidence that the Obama EPA is totally out of control?…
Read More “EPA Fines PA Gas Plants for Accidents that Haven’t Yet Happened”
CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Westmoreland County

Western PA Municipal Authority Overpaid $785K in Gas Royalties
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

Oh oh. The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has been collecting royalties for gas drilling on property it doesn’t own the mineral rights for. How much? The Authority was paid $785,000 in royalties that actually belong to the heirs of the former property owner. The Authority will have to pay the royalties back–but not in a one-lump sum. They’ll stretch out payments from now until September 2017…
Read More “Western PA Municipal Authority Overpaid $785K in Gas Royalties”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Marathon Petroleum | MarkWest Energy

War of Words: Battle to Sell MarkWest Energy to Marathon Heats Up
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

The war of words continues in what increasingly appears to be a losing battle for MarkWest Energy to convince enough shareholders to vote in favor of a proposed sale to Marathon Petroleum. We told you two weeks ago that John Fox, former CEO of MarkWest Energy, came out strongly against the deal (see Former MarkWest Energy CEO Urges Vote Against Marathon Buyout). Since that time Marathon has increased the amount of cash they’re willing to offer–twice–from an original $675 million to now $1.28 billion (see Marathon Ups Cash Offer for MarkWest 2nd Time – Deal in Trouble?). The original deal was worth around $20 billion when you include unit swaps and other considerations. Now the deal is worth around $15 billion due to unit prices plunging over the past few months. Two days ago MarkWest promoted the news that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), an “independent” proxy advisory firm, was recommending unitholders vote in favor of the deal. Yesterday John Fox issued his own rebuttal to ISS and continues to say this is “fundamentally a bad deal” and that ISS’ own report supports his arguments against the deal. It’s getting hot in the kitchen!…
Read More “War of Words: Battle to Sell MarkWest Energy to Marathon Heats Up”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | NEXUS Pipeline | Ohio | Pipelines | Research | Spectra Energy | Statewide OH

OH Grange Issues New Study, Supports NEXUS & Rover Pipelines
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

The people who are most affected by pipelines being built across their property are farmers–that’s a fact. Farmers often have questions and concerns when a new pipeline project is proposed that will cross their land, rightfully so. They’re cautious, they’re careful, they have a vested interest in preserving their land. So it’s big news that the Ohio State Grange, part of the nation’s oldest national agricultural advocacy group, has endorsed both the Rover and NEXUS pipelines in the Buckeye State. Energy Transfer’s Rover is a big, $4.2 billion, 711-mile new pipeline project from the Midwest Hub near Defiance, OH to Livingston County, MI, connecting with the Vector pipeline. Spectra Energy’s NEXUS Gas Transmission pipeline project is a $2 billion pipeline that will carry Utica/Marcellus gas through OH, MI, and eventually connect to the Dawn Energy Hub in Canada. The Grange’s support of these two projects is a big deal. As part of their announcement, the Ohio Grange released a new report titled, “Natural Gas Pipeline Infrastructure and Its Impact on Michigan and Ohio Agriculture” (full copy below) which finds, among other things, that there is no SAFER way to transport natural gas than by underground pipeline…
Read More “OH Grange Issues New Study, Supports NEXUS & Rover Pipelines”
Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | New York | Statewide NY

Former Fed Prosecutor Says NY AG Targeting Exxon “Tip of Iceberg”
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

MDN is privileged to receive great insights from many sources. We currently have over 30,000 unique monthly readers. Sometimes those readers send us unsolicited comments and news worth sharing, like this time. John Marti, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota (now a partner with the international law firm Dorsey and Whitney) sent us his insights into the investigation being run by New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Schneiderman, you may recall, is conducting a witch trial in an attempt to shake down Exxon Mobil for billions over the company’s previous statements about mythical global warming (see NY AG Targets/Accuses ExxonMobil of Lying about ‘Climate Change’ and NY AG Schneiderman Launches the Climate Witch Trials). Schneiderman is attempting to criminalize First Amendment free speech. Marti has some sage advice for fossil fuel companies. He warns that Schneiderman’s action is “the tip of the iceberg”–with more companies likely to end up in the crosshairs…
Read More “Former Fed Prosecutor Says NY AG Targeting Exxon “Tip of Iceberg””
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lebanon County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Sunoco Logistics | Williams

Lebanon County Antis Want Public (Spectacle) Mtg or No Mtg at All
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

The demands of anti-drillers in Lebanon County, PA are illustrative of their true motivations. Two different anti groups–Lebanon Pipeline Awareness and Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County–are demanding Lebanon County commissioners have an open public meeting with two pipeline companies. The two pipeline companies are Williams (Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline) and Sunoco Logistics Partners (Mariner East 1 & 2 pipelines). If the meeting is not open and public, so these nutters can pummel representatives of the companies in public and have it broadcast everywhere–they want no meeting at all. Williams and Sunoco had agreed to non-public meetings that INCLUDE members of these two groups–to answer their questions. But the pipeline companies, and the county commissioners, don’t want a circus. That means no cameras/media, and the meeting is not open so it can be packed by large numbers of antis. The companies are willing to sit down and talk like adults and answer questions and address concerns–like adults. But that’s not what Lebanon Pipeline Awareness nor Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County really want. They want to behave like petulant children throwing a temper tantrum for everyone to witness. Evidence: Instead of taking the private meeting, they (the antis) want no meeting at all…
Read More “Lebanon County Antis Want Public (Spectacle) Mtg or No Mtg at All”
Ohio | Washington County (OH)

Overwhelming Support for Wayne Natl Forest Drilling @ BLM Mtg
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

On Tuesday, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held a hearing on the possibility of allowing shale drilling in Wayne National Forest (WNF), the only national forest in Ohio with portions in Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Lawrence, Perry, Scioto, Vinton, and Washington counties. WNF is a “patchwork” of public land scattered among private land. Some 60% of the mineral rights below WNF are privately owned. Some 250 landowners turned up at a hearing in Marietta (Washington County), OH to show their support for drilling in WNF…
Read More “Overwhelming Support for Wayne Natl Forest Drilling @ BLM Mtg”