Marcellus Drilling News

Alternative Energy | Dominion Energy | Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs

Virginia’s Largest Electric Plant to be Powered by Marcellus Gas
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

Yesterday Dominion, a huge natural gas and electric utility as well as a midstream company, announced plans to build the State of Virginia’s largest natural gas powered electric generating plant–in Greensville County, VA. (By the way, Dominion won the Award for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility at the Northeast Oil & Gas Awards on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Well done!) The $1 billion project will produce 1,600 megawatts of electricity using combined-cycle technology–enough electricity to power 400,000 homes. Dominion will use Marcellus Shale gas to power the plant, provided by Williams’ Transco pipeline. The plant will also be fed by a second Marcellus Shale pipeline–Dominion’s own Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a $5 billion, 550-mile pipeline slated to run from West Virginia through Virginia and into to North Carolina (see Dominion Commits to Major New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Project). Between just these two projects, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Greensville County electric plant, Dominion is pumping an astounding $6 billion into the economy of the Mid-Atlantic region, made possible by the miracle of fracking and the amazing Marcellus Shale. In addition to building the natgas-powered electric plant, Dominion also plans to build a large-scale solar project at the Greensville County site, which will make so-called environmentalists happy. Perhaps a spoonful of solar sugar will help the natgas medicine go down–in a most delightful way…
Read More “Virginia’s Largest Electric Plant to be Powered by Marcellus Gas”
Cambria County | Pennsylvania

PA Gas Utility Approved to Provide Marcellus on Installment Plan
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

Residents in Cambria County, PA want some of that abundant, clean-burning and cheap Marcellus Shale natural gas to use for heating their homes. But you need a pipeline to your house in order to get it–and in many rural locations, like Cambria, pipelines would need to be built. Pipelines are expensive to build. Until now, residents who want natural gas would have to pay–up front–to have new pipelines built. It costs on the order of $20,000+ (per household) to build the necessary infrastructure–a cost out of reach for 99% of the people who want it. How do you bridge the gap? In the great American tradition, use the installment plan! Utility company Peoples Natural Gas (PNG), the local gas utility in Cambria, asked the PA Public Utility Commission to approve a plan that allows customers to pay over time. The PUC has appoved the plan. PNG’s plan will cost the average resident $70 per month for up to 25 years–approximately $55 per month to build the mainline pipeline to a community, and $15 per month to run lines to individual homes. It adds up to a potential $21K for each household, but spread across 25 years it’s not all that bad. Most, perhaps all, homes would end up saving money because using Marcellus Shale gas to heat with is so much cheaper than heating with oil and electricity…
Read More “PA Gas Utility Approved to Provide Marcellus on Installment Plan”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Marshall County | Pipelines | West Virginia

More Love for the Leach Xpress Pipeline — in Marshall County, WV
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

Gotta love the Leach. On Monday, MDN told you that Noble County, OH is in love with the Leach XPress Pipeline (see Noble County, OH in Love with the Leach Xpress Pipeline). The pipeline is being built by Columbia Pipeline Group and will begin in Marshall County, West Virginia, cross Ohio and end up in Leach, Kentucky. Leach Xpress will pay out $6.2 million in yearly property taxes in Noble County, hence the lovefest. Another place they love the Leach is in nearby Marshall County, WV. Marshall County will see $2.3 million per year in property taxes from the Leach and create (while it’s being built) 955 new jobs in the county providing a $67.5 million bump in economic stimulus to the county. What’s not to love about the Leach?!…
Read More “More Love for the Leach Xpress Pipeline — in Marshall County, WV”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH

OOGA’s DeBrosse Report: 2014 a Breakout Year for Utica Shale
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

Each year the 3,200-member Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) issue the DeBrosse Memorial Report (full copy below). The report is a high level look at where (and how much) drilling there has been in the state–and what they’re finding (methane, oil, NGLs). The latest report, recounting 2014, was released at the recent OOGA Annual Winter Meeting in Columbus. Needless to say the latest report shows the exponentially increasing importance of the Utica Shale in the state. Last year a full 61% of all new wells drilled and completed in the state were shale wells. The report also shows the state produced 11 million barrels of oil from the Utica Shale. In 2013 the Utica produced 4.3 million barrels of oil. Welcome to Utica-land!…
Read More “OOGA’s DeBrosse Report: 2014 a Breakout Year for Utica Shale”
Anchor Drilling Fluids | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Ohio | Regulation

When the OH “CURE” is Worse than the Disease: Antis Nit Pick
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

Sometimes the CURE is worse than the disease. Such is the case with the anti-drilling Communities United for Responsible Energy (CURE) in eastern OH. The group agitated and squawked and carried on with such histrionics that they’ve gotten the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) to order an oilfield services company to shut down a satellite location in Jefferson County, OH. The offense? Depends on who you ask. The company, Anchor Drilling Fluids, says it didn’t have a permit to store excess drilling mud–the stuff used by drillers to keep a drill bit cool and lubricated and free of bacteria. The ODNR says Anchor was recycling at that site and lacked a proper waste recycling permit. Question: If you mix drilling mud at a well site but don’t use all of it, and you then truck it back to HQ to store it for a few days or weeks before taking it somewhere else, is that “recycling”? Apparently it is for the ODNR…
Read More “When the OH “CURE” is Worse than the Disease: Antis Nit Pick”
Industrywide Issues | Research

Govt Report Says Shale Oil Will Run Out Soon, Start Drilling Offshore
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

We started by laughing out loud, then we grew perplexed, as we read a story by the Associated Press about a new study being released today in Washington, DC. The study is from the National Petroleum Council–NOT to be confused with our industry’s leading trade organization the American Petroleum Institute. Two completely different things. The National Petroleum Council (NPC) is a group of 200 people appointed by the Secretary of Energy who serve at his (or her) leisure and provide advice to the Secretary. The organization was created under President Harry Truman in 1946 and after the Dept. of Energy was created it was reassigned to that department. What’s curious is that it is funded by private sources. It’s a government-run organization providing information used to make government policy but funded by private sources–all somewhat shadowy if you ask us. Regardless, this group, which is comprised of individuals from the oil and gas industry, academe, environmental groups, and businesses of various kinds, is publishing a report due out today for Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz that says, in essence, shale oil in the lower 48 will run out sometime in the next decade and we should begin drilling like crazy right now off the shore of Alaska. In other words, its more peak oil bupkis…
Read More “Govt Report Says Shale Oil Will Run Out Soon, Start Drilling Offshore”
Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

2015 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards: A Quick Recap & List of Winners
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

This is a shout out to the marvelous people we (meaning me, Jim Willis) met in Pittsburgh on Wednesday at the 3rd Annual Oil & Gas Awards. I was truly humbled and thrilled to meet so many MDN readers! You gave me some great feedback on MDN–feedback that has me thinking about some new initiatives going forward. So stay tuned for the future and what I believe will be some good things coming. During the day I was privileged to host two panel discussions. A special thank you to the panelists on the “Minimizing Environmental Impact” panel: Melissa Hamsher, Vice President at Eclipse Resources; Lauren Parker, Principal at Civil & Environmental Consultants; and Gregg Stewart, Permitting Manager with PennEnergy Resources. And a special thank you to the panelists on the “Health and Safety” panel: Charlie Dixon, Safety and Workforce Director with Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program; Frank Harrison, President of Areion Energy; and Chad McCutcheon, Communications Professional with McCutcheon Enterprises. Stellar panelists all! They made me look good, and that’s a hard thing to do. 😉 There were about 150 attendees at the Industry Summit during the day. MDN will bring you videos (when they become available) for each of the sessions. The evening was the “main” event–a gala awards ceremony with folks decked out in tuxedos and evening gowns. We have the complete list of winners for the 2015 Northeast Oil and Gas Awards below…
Read More “2015 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards: A Quick Recap & List of Winners”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Mar 27, 2015
March 27, 2015March 27, 2015

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Mar 27, 2015”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

Obi-Wan Quigley: These are Not the TAB Droids You’re Looking For
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

Pennsylvania’s Acting Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary, John Quigley, continues to come under fire from PA Republican legislators over his (so far) less-than-transparent operation of the department–especially over firing the former Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board members and replacing them with his own people, including so-called “non-voting” members (see Why did PA DEP Acting Sec Quigley Mass Fire Gas Advisory Board?). Since he’s losing the PR battle on that front, he’s changed tactics, referring to the TAB almost as window dressing…no big deal…they don’t even have any authority or power to really do anything…nothing to see here, these are not the droids you’re looking for, move along…
Read More “Obi-Wan Quigley: These are Not the TAB Droids You’re Looking For”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Counties Line Up Against Wolf Severance Tax, Distrust Assurances
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

Pennsylvania counties are saying “no thanks” to PA Gov. Tom Wolf’s severance tax plan. They don’t believe (justifiably so) that they’ll make out just as well under a severance tax as they have under an impact fee. They’re not falling for Wolf’s “just trust me, ya’ll will be just fine” routine. Wolf is not in a political pickle because the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania is lining up against his high severance tax proposal. Wolf tells counties they’ll still get what they were getting under the impact fee. They’re telling him, politely, that he’s full of beans…
Read More “PA Counties Line Up Against Wolf Severance Tax, Distrust Assurances”
Bradford County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County | Tioga County (PA)

PA DEP Issues Drought Watch in 27 Counties, Including Marcellus
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

Yesterday the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection issued a drought watch for 27 counties in the state, including some of the most heavily drilled Marcellus Shale well counties–including Susquehanna, Bradford and Tioga counties. A drought watch is, according to the DEP, the first and least-severe level of the state’s three drought classifications and calls for water users to voluntarily conserve 5% of the water they have been using…
Read More “PA DEP Issues Drought Watch in 27 Counties, Including Marcellus”
CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD

Dominion Needles Anti-Drillers by Throwing Party for Cove Point LNG
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

Dominion hosted a party yesterday and anti-drillers weren’t invited. Dominion’s party sported the Japanese ambassador the U.S., Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and other dignitaries–international, state and local–to celebrate the fact that the Cove Point LNG export facility is now under construction. Japan and India have together spoken for 100% of all the natural gas that can be liquefied and pumped through the new facility once it’s built and begins operations in 2017 (see Dominion’s Cove Point LNG Facility Achieves Important Milestones). As near as we can tell this was a party just to have a party. That is, there was no particular portion of the project completed or other “milestone” reason to celebrate. They just wanted to celebrate and (judging from the language in the announcement below) needle anti-drillers (the “doubters” who said it couldn’t be done) to point out that Dominion has won–and they have lost–despite their best efforts to scuttle the project…
Read More “Dominion Needles Anti-Drillers by Throwing Party for Cove Point LNG”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues

Bonnie Raitt Gives Them Something to Talk About – Stupidity
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

Bonnie Raitt has decided she’s going to give them something to talk about–and it’s not love. Raitt is the latest celebrity to mouth lies about fracking. She’s donating a couple of songs to a new album due out in June called “Buy This Fracking Album”–an attempt to fundraise for a losing effort. Raitt, whose musical talents cannot be denied (which makes this story so sad and painful to write), is regurgitating lies she’s been told. Raitt actually said fracking “destroys our water, our communities and our planet.” It’s just a shame that such a talent is so ignorant of the facts. The only way to get the attention of Raitt and the others contributing to the album is to never again buy a ticket to one of her concerts, never spend a penny on another song she sings, and deny her any kind of revenue. Money talks and it’s about the only language people like Raitt listen to, so let’s make sure she gets the message loud and clear…
Read More “Bonnie Raitt Gives Them Something to Talk About – Stupidity”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Liberty Says “Non-Fracked” Trinidad Gas Better than Marcellus Gas
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

For some time a controversy has been brewing in (where else?) New York State. But this controversy isn’t about fracking–at least not directly. Liberty Natural Gas filed a plan back in 2010, prior to the Marcellus Shale revolution, to construct an off-shore LNG import (not export) facility off the coast of New York and New Jersey–in the ocean. A floating LNG facility. A pipeline would run from the off-shore terminal to Jones Beach, NY and from there would connect to a Transco pipeline lateral. But something happened on the way to the forum–the Marcellus Shale boom. There is no longer a need for the terminal. Anti-drillers (anti-fossil fuelers, really) are dead set against it. The Marcellus revolution caught a lot of people by surprise, including Liberty. So did Liberty acknowledge the project is no longer needed? Nope. They’re trying to convince anti-drillers the project is still needed because it will bring in “non-fracked” gas from places like Trinidad. That is, they’re shooting the very industry they belong to right in the head, and attempting to appease the nutters on the other side that will never be appeased. Not a very smart move by Liberty…
Read More “Liberty Says “Non-Fracked” Trinidad Gas Better than Marcellus Gas”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Prof. Engineers Likely Need Contractor License to Keep Working
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

If you’re a professional engineer (PE) working in the Marcellus/Utica Shale in West Virginia, listen up. You may (probably will) be required to become a licensed contractor in the State of West Virginia. It’s a bit convoluted under what circumstance you do and do not need a contractor’s license. This is how law firm Steptoe & Johnson (who just won the “Law Firm of the Year” award at the Oil & Gas Awards for the Northeast, congrats!) explains it…
Read More “WV Prof. Engineers Likely Need Contractor License to Keep Working”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Mar 26, 2015
March 26, 2015March 26, 2015

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Mar 26, 2015”