Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Apr 16, 2015
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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American Energy Partners | Chesapeake Energy | EMG | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio
EMG Stabs McClendon in the Back re Chesapeake Data Lawsuit
This is a strange and complicated tale that boils down to this: Aubrey McClendon has a singular talent for finding and taking money from people who later turn around and stick a knife in his back. You may remember in February the story we brought you that Chesapeake Energy had sued its former co-founder, Aubrey McClendon, claiming he stole data on his way out the door (see Chesapeake Energy Sues McClendon for Taking His Rolodex with Him). McClendon responded that he contractually had every right to take the data he took with him (see McClendon Hires Top PR Firm to Respond to “Stolen Data” Charge). This is where it gets complicated. Aubrey has spun off several companies from his new company American Energy Partners (AEP). For example, one of the companies (named in the Chesapeake lawsuit) is American Energy-Utica, LLC, (AEU), operating in Ohio’s Utica Shale region. A major funding partner for AEU is Energy & Minerals Group (EMG). EMG is, essentially, in charge of AEU. EMG has just cut a deal with Chesapeake, behind Aubrey’s back, to give Chesapeake 6,000 acres of leases in northern Harrison County along with $25 million in extortion, er ah hush money, er ah “damages” thereby removing EMG/AEU from the Chesapeake lawsuit. The lawsuit against Aubrey and mother company AEP will continue–but the child company/EMG investors won’t be part of it. Aubrey is hopping mad because EMG didn’t tell him nor seek his blessing on their deal with Chesapeake…
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Eclipse Resources Nixes Joint Venture Idea, Cuts Capex 57% in 2015
Eclipse Resources is a relatively new driller formed by a group of former Rex Energy people. Eclipse is headquartered in State College, PA but does most of its drilling in the Ohio Utica. Eclipse announced yesterday they have decided not to pursue a joint venture after all. As recent as a month ago, Eclipse was saying, “…the Company is currently in negotiations with certain financial partners regarding a potential joint venture to accelerate drilling on its assets without burdening the Company’s balance sheet” (see Eclipse Resources has “Transformative” 2014, Cutting Back in 2015). Eclipse previously announced a cutback in their 2015 budget of 20% over 2014 spending levels (see Eclipse Resources Gets $440M from New Stock, Trims 2015 Capex 20%). Because they’ve decided not to do a jv, Eclipse is now cutting back this year’s budget by 57% over 2014. They will now drill just 19 new wells this year and place 29 wells into production…
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Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | Regulation | West Virginia | Williams
WV DEP to Fine Williams for Condensate Pipeline Leak in WV
A follow up to our story from Monday when we told you that Williams experienced two pipeline ruptures in Marshall County, WV following heavy rains (see Williams Pipelines Rupture in Marshall County After Heavy Rains). One of the pipelines that burst was a 4-inch condensate pipeline. West Virginia regulators have signaled they will fine Williams for the condensate pipeline leak because it ended up in the nearby Little Grave Creek–contaminating some six miles of the creek. We now know how much condensate leaked out. According to the WV DEP, 132 barrels of condensate (or roughly 5,500 gallons) leaked out. Cleanup and sampling of the creek is still in progress. But that begs the question, what the heck is condensate?…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | XTO
Democrat County Judge Rules PA AG’s Case Against XTO Can Proceed
Not long after she took office, Pennsylvania’s Democrat Attorney General, Kathleen Kane, brought criminal charges against XTO Energy for an accidental spill in Lycoming County, PA that happened two years before she was in office (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). Yes, this is the same Kathleen Kane who may be forcibly removed from office because she lied under oath, a little criminal offense called perjury (see PA Grand Jury Finds Anti-Drilling AG Kathleen Kane Lied Under Oath). Meanwhile, Kane continues her reign of terror against XTO and others (see Minuteman Enviro Says PA AG Office “Terrorized” Family Members, Filing Lawsuit and PA Attorney Gen. Kane Abuses Office Again, Arrest Warrant for EQT). The latest on the XTO sham case is that Democrat Lycoming County Judge Marc Lovecchio has (surprise!) refused to dismiss the charges against XTO…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide PA
New Bill Aims to Keep Drilling/Pipelines Out of Dela. River Basin
A new bill aimed at restricting shale drilling and pipelines in the Delaware River Basin has just been re-introduced by a pair of Delaware Democrats in Congress. It flies under the name of the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act. This is the fifth time the bill has been introduced (in 2013 it was HR 644, click here for the full text of the bill). The bill would vest the already out-of-control U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with power and money to “identify and implement conservation activities” in the Delaware River Basin. The tipoff that this is anti-drilling is that it’s being promoted by the William Penn Foundation as well as the Delaware River Basin Commission. DRBC board members say the bill doesn’t step on their toes at all. In fact, DRBC welcomes the bill because it will help with “defending environmental quality in ways that are outside of its [DRBC’s] operations.” In other words, it’s one more tool to ensure shale drilling never happens in the Delaware River Basin…
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EIA Outlook: US Will be Energy Independent in 5-15 Years!
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), our favorite government agency, released a startling new analysis yesterday. As part of the EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015), EIA is predicting that sometime between 2020 and 2030 the United States will export as much energy as it imports. In other words, we will be 100% energy independent. In the next 5-15 years. Something that hasn’t happened since the 1950s when Doo-Wop music was all the rage. Just pause for a moment to reflect on that fact. True energy independence is something nobody thought possible, ever, just a few short years ago. How is it possible? The miracle of hydraulic fracturing and shale, of course…
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JLCNY Rally in NY to Support Defense of Property Rights Bill
In January of this year, an upstate New York Congressman, Tom Reed (Corning, NY) introduced a bill that would, if adopted, provide relief to NY landowners who have been screwed over by Andrew Cuomo’s decision to ban fracking in the Empire State. The bill is called the Defense of Property Rights Act (DOPRA) and it changes “takings” laws in an important way–it changes the law to say if government action causes a landowner economic harm “in whole or in part” the landowner has a takings claim (see Federal Defense of Property Rights Act Explained; End of Frack Bans?). The “in part” language is the key because until now, the entire value had to be “taken” in order to bring a takings claim. As we pointed out back in January, this is an important law for all landowners everywhere, not just in NY–a law that prevents tyrannical politicians like Cuomo from overstepping their authority. The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) is holding a rally this Saturday in Painted Post, NY to support Congressman Reed and his legislation…
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Athens, OH Anti-Drillers Appeal Injection Well Permit (Again)
The wacky anti-drillers of the leftist ACFAN (Athens County Fracking Action Network) are once again suing. They didn’t like the answer they got when they appealed a permit issued for a K&H injection well in Athens County, so they’re appealing their appeal. One wonders where the funds come from to engage in ongoing frivolous lawsuits? Would ACFAN care to open up its books and show us who, exactly, is giving them the money to do this? Which Big Environment organization is paying them to continue this kind of activity? Inquiring minds want to know…
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Could USA/Canada/Mexico Dethrone OPEC and Set Oil Prices?
Here’s an interesting idea: What if the U.S. got together with both Canada and Mexico and formed a price fixing coalition like OPEC to control the price of oil? The three North American countries together produce 15 million barrels of oil per day and if they formed a block, it might dethrone OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) as the world’s defacto oil price-setting body. That idea is being floated by Breitling Energy Corporation CEO Chris Faulkner. MDN editor Jim Willis met and chatted with Chris at last fall’s regional Oil & Gas Awards Industry Summit in Dallas, TX. The price of oil has a great deal of influence over the price of natural gas–in particular LNG. So any kind of price-setting body is of keen interest to MDN readers. The question is, would such a price-setting body work here in the U.S.?…
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Apr 15, 2015
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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PIOGA Turns Up the Heat on Wolf/Quigley Over TAB/Chapter 78
The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association turned up the heat on newly-elected Gov. Tom Wolf and Acting Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary John Quigley. In fact, the temperature is downright hot. The issue is Wolf and Quigley’s possibly illegal maneuver in firing the members of the previous DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Committee (TAB) and appointing all new members, PLUS appointing so-called non-voting members who are largely from environmentalist organizations–there to gum up what until now has been a well-oiled machine. In a letter addressed to current TAB members (minus the extra non-voting members), with copies going to Wolf, Quigley and a host of others, PIOGA tells TAB they should reject Quigley’s last minute reworking of Chapter 78 and 78a rulemaking (i.e. new regulations, see PA DEP Gives Public 45 Days to Comment on O&G Rule Changes). According to PIOGA, Quigley has clearly overstepped his authority as granted by the legislature and although it’s uncomfortable politically, the new TAB members need to “do the right thing” (our words) and reject Quigley’s changes…
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Cabot Drills Test Well in WV Rogersville Shale, More on the Way?
A fascinating story in Sunday’s Charleston Gazette shines a light on the Rogersville Shale formation in southwestern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. We’ve mentioned the Rogersville a few times on MDN–a shale layer that is older and much deeper than the Marcellus. The Marcellus is about a mile down. The Rogersville is between 9,000-14,000 feet down, or 2-3 times the depth of the Marcellus. Until now we’ve heard about potential Rogersville activity in Kentucky (see Fracking on the Way in the Bluegrass State? Quite Possibly and Kentucky Fracking One Step Closer: Commission Considers 1st Permit). Two exploratory wells have already been drilled in the Rogersville in Kentucky. But the new news, the thing that interests us, is that Cabot Oil & Gas has now drilled a test well in the Rogersville in West Virginia…
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First Time Ever: US Shale Produces Less Oil/Gas Month Over Month
As MDN pointed out a month ago, the U.S. has seen a turning point in the production of shale oil and gas (see Turning Point: EIA Drilling Report Shows Slow Down in Production). Our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, is fresh out with its monthly Drilling Productivity Report for April/May. It shows a couple of firsts. Last month the major shale plays in the U.S. produced about as much oil as they did the month before (April estimates vs March estimates). But the major shale plays produced 221 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d) more of natural gas in April than in March. This month that’s all changed. For the first time, the major shale plays, in May, will have produced 5,700 barrels of oil per day less than the month before, and 23 mmcf/d less of natural gas. However, the Marcellus and Utica shales will both produce more oil and gas in May than in April–although the rate of production in both has greatly slowed…
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Wolf Appoints Energy “Advisor”; Says Natgas Should Stay in PA
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf must have a fetish for staffers who can advise him on energy issues. Maybe he feels less-than-adequate following in the footsteps of Tom Corbett–someone who really understood the energy industry? Wolf has two former secretaries of the Dept. of Environment Protection (DEP) on his staff–Katie McGinty, his chief of staff, and John Hanger, his Secretary of Planning and Policy (i.e. Secretary of High Taxes). Wolf also appointed the former Secretary of the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resouces, John Quigley, to become his current Secretary of the DEP. He had loads of experts on the environment and energy, but apparently they aren’t enough to advise him on what he should think about energy in the Keystone State. So Wolf has appointed someone to be his “top” energy advisor, who happens to be (surprise!) a lawyer…
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Trumbull Injection Wells NOT the Source of Wetland Contamination
Last week MDN told you about 5 injection wells in Trumbull County, OH that had been shut down by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) following a finding that some of the frack wastewater intended for the wells had been found in a local wetland and nearby pond (see ODNR Shuts Down 5 Injection Wells in Vienna, OH After Spill). Yesterday MDN told you that no nearby water wells were affected by the spill (see Trumbull County Injection Well Spill Didn’t Affect Water Wells). Here is “the rest of the story.” The five injection wells, owned by Kleese Development Associates of Warren, OH, were NOT the source of contamination of the wetland and pond…
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This is a strange and complicated tale that boils down to this: Aubrey McClendon has a singular talent for finding and taking money from people who later turn around and stick a knife in his back. You may remember in February the story we brought you that Chesapeake Energy had sued its former co-founder, Aubrey McClendon, claiming he stole data on his way out the door (see 
The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association turned up the heat on newly-elected Gov. Tom Wolf and Acting Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary John Quigley. In fact, the temperature is downright hot. The issue is Wolf and Quigley’s possibly illegal maneuver in firing the members of the previous DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Committee (TAB) and appointing all new members, PLUS appointing so-called non-voting members who are largely from environmentalist organizations–there to gum up what until now has been a well-oiled machine. In a letter addressed to current TAB members (minus the extra non-voting members), with copies going to Wolf, Quigley and a host of others, PIOGA tells TAB they should reject Quigley’s last minute reworking of Chapter 78 and 78a rulemaking (i.e. new regulations, see