Update on LPG Fracking in New York – What Comes Next?
As MDN noted last Thursday, taking a break from being on break in breathtakingly beautiful Ogunquit, Maine, a group of Tioga County, NY landowners have painted Andrew Cuomo and his Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in a corner with respect to fracking in the Empire State (see NY Landowners File to Frack Horizontal Well w/Waterless Tech). Much of the case against fracking for the DEC is that it uses large amounts of water. The Tioga landowners aim to test LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas, fracking–which uses no water. According to the recently adopted Final Supplemental Environmental Generic Impact Statement (FSGEIS) in New York, “Well applications that specify and propose the use of LPG as the primary carrier fluid will be reviewed and permitted pursuant to the 1992 GEIS and Findings Statement”(FSGEIS 2015, pages 9-10). The Tioga landowners mean to use that exception to drill a small well–covering just 53 acres–to prove that fracking is safe. It’s a brilliant move…
Read More “Update on LPG Fracking in New York – What Comes Next?”
Whatever happened to the shotgun wedding between Halliburton and Baker Hughes–two of the largest oilfield services companies in the United States? After all, the boards for both companies approved the “blissful union” back in March (see 
In May Pennsylvania “in over his head” Gov. Tom Wolf announced the formation of the Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force (PITF)–an effort to “promote unprecedented collaboration of stakeholders to facilitate the development of a world-class pipeline infrastructure system” (see 
Wouldn’t you know? The very day that MDN goes on vacation, a HUGE story–at least for New York State–happens. So we’re back with a single posting today. Yesterday a press conference was held in the Town of Barton (Tioga County), NY to announce that a group of landowners flying under the name of The Snyder Farm Group (five families make up the group) have contracted with Tioga Energy Partners to drill a fracked Utica Shale well, and follow it up with drilling a fracked Marcellus Shale well, using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or propane) and sand. The wells will not use water for fracking–and therefore, according to the landowners, avoid the ban on high volume fracking recently imposed by Andrew Cuomo and his underling Joe Martens at the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). There is no doubt this is huge news throughout the state–and is giving heartburn to Cuomo and Martens. What cockamamie grounds can the DEC possibly use to refuse it? It’s a brilliant move by the landowners in Tioga County…
Dear MDN Subscribers (and site visitors):
In the midst of a political debate about whether or not to enact a severance tax comes another masterful one-two punch. First punch: the Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (which is manifestly NOT “independent” but indeed is VERY dependent–on the Democrat Party) has issued an analysis that the world is ending for the impact fee assessed on Marcellus drillers. The IFO, spreading FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) says this year the impact fee is on track to raise the least amount of money it has raised since it’s introduction in 2012 (gasp!). How much less? Somewhere between $14 million and $33 million less (between 6-13% less). Why? Because drillers have slowed down and in some cases stopped drilling new wells due to low prices for natural gas. We note the IFO has never before, according to our recollection, issued such a forecast this early in the year. Why is that? Because the Dems need something/anything to try and bludgeon and bully Republicans into accepting the worst idea ever–taxing a single industry to transfer its wealth to another group of people who don’t earn any wealth on their own–teachers’ unions. Big Education only takes–they never give (except to transfer some of their taken money via union dues back the Democrat Party in a quid pro quo). The second punch then arrives right on cue, from a Democrat sycophantic news outlet publishes this breathless “news”…