Marcellus Drilling News

Bradford County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Energy | Susquehanna County

Rumor Mill: Southwestern Idles 2 Rigs in NEPA
April 14, 2015April 14, 2015

We’re passing along a bit of gossip–we call it gossip because we haven’t (yet) been able to verify it, but we believe it to be true. A long-time MDN reader wrote to tell us that he services most of the rigs operating in the Appalachian basin (Marcellus/Utica), and that Southwestern either has or is about to idle two rigs owned and operated by Precision Drilling in northeast PA: Rigs #538 and #539 in Bradford and Susquehanna counties. According to our source, the Bradford County rig was idled last week and the Susquehanna County rig will be idled this week. We don’t know if Southwestern has any remaining active rigs in northeastern PA owned by other companies.

UPDATE: Turns out Southwestern has no plans to scale back. The reason for idling the Precision Drilling rigs is because they plan to use their own rigs going forward. Another reader confirmed it and told MDN that the Precision Drilling rigs are being replaced with Desoto Drilling rigs #45 and #46. Southwestern owns Desoto. With activity in Arkansas slow (where the Desoto rigs had been located), it only makes sense!
Industrywide Issues | Regulation

OSHA Puts Shale Industry Under the Compliance Microscope
April 14, 2015April 14, 2015

Listen up Marcellus and Utica Shale industry and beyond–anyone whose company has a NAICS classification code of 211111, 213111 and 213112 (Crude petroleum and natural gas extraction; Drilling oil and gas wells; Support activities for oil and gas operations). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has its eye on you. The legal beagles at the Vorys law firm–with offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania, DC and Texas–have issued a “client alert” to let shale industry companies know that OSHA is about to put you under a microscope. If you get tagged as a “severe violator,” which only takes “two or more willful or repeated violations or failure-to-abate notices,” you can expect all of your operations to undergo an OSHA anal exam…
Read More “OSHA Puts Shale Industry Under the Compliance Microscope”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Medina County | Ohio | Pipelines

Medina County, OH Anti Group Targets Pipeline with “Bill of Rights”
April 14, 2015April 14, 2015

Wacko fossil-fuel hating anti-drillers know the best way to strangle future drilling is to stop pipelines–so that’s where they now spend their time and effort. A new group of that ilk has sprung up in Medina County, OH. Calling themselves Sustainable Medina County, this small group of people is hoping to hoodwink 4,900 people in the county to sign a petition to get a measure on the ballot in November that would create a new county charter with a so-called bill of rights. It’s all hocus pocus aimed at giving elected county leaders the “right” to refuse pipelines from being built–something not in their Constitutional power to do. If the measure gets on the ballot and passes, county residents can expect their taxes to go up to pay big legal fees to defend such an action…
Read More “Medina County, OH Anti Group Targets Pipeline with “Bill of Rights””
Industrywide Issues | Regulation

US Fish & Wildlife Fixes Wrong Problem for Northern Long-Eared Bat
April 14, 2015April 14, 2015

Recently the Obama administration’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) did a disservice to not only the drilling industry, but the wind industry, farmers and the construction industry. USFWS listed the northern long-eared bat as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). USFWS says a fungus is spreading through the bat population, killing it. The northern long-eared bat is found in pretty much the eastern two-thirds of the country, minus Florida (see the map below). The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) points out USFWS has admitted the the bat is threatened because of something called white nose syndrome–which has nothing to do with habitat destruction. Yet drillers and midstreamers will now be hamstrung with new regulations to “save the bats” even though they are not the ones causing harm to the bats. It’s a typical Washington solution–“fix” the wrong problem…
Read More “US Fish & Wildlife Fixes Wrong Problem for Northern Long-Eared Bat”
Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Hilcorp Energy | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Zombie Alert! Hilcorp Wants to Drill Under OH Cemetery
April 14, 2015April 14, 2015

This is truly brazen. We’ve previously written about callous drillers like Hess who drilled next door to a cemetery (see Hess Has Gall to Drill Utica Well Next Door to a Cemetery in OH). We mean, the gall! But never in our wildest dreams did we think somebody would drill UNDER a cemetery. You know, where the souls of the dead roam around? Yes indeed. Hilcorp Energy has asked Fairfield Township Trustees (in Columbiana County, OH) to sign a lease for a quarter of an acre of cemetery property. Signing bonus would be $500 along with a 15% royalty on anything produced. Bring on the zombies!…
Read More “Zombie Alert! Hilcorp Wants to Drill Under OH Cemetery”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Apr 14, 2015
April 14, 2015April 14, 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: Tue, Apr 14, 2015”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | West Virginia | Williams

2 Williams Pipelines Rupture in Marshall County After Heavy Rains
April 13, 2015April 23, 2015

Apparently torrential rains in Marshall County, WV last week softened up the earth and led to soil shifting and two Williams pipelines rupturing–within hours of each other. One of the pipelines is a 12-inch gathering line that runs from wells in the area to the nearby Fort Beeler processing plant. The other pipeline is a 4-inch condensate pipeline. Condensate spilled out of a hole and into the nearby Little Grave Creek. Cleanup efforts are ongoing. For a short time, five families who live near the 12-inch gathering line were evacuated as a precautionary measure–but they returned home within a few hours…
Read More “2 Williams Pipelines Rupture in Marshall County After Heavy Rains”
Belmont County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

OH Dem to Introduce Bill Controlling Fresh Water Withdrawals
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

Is more regulation on the way in Ohio to control how much water drillers take from local streams and rivers? MDN editor Jim Willis moderated two panels at the recent Oil & Gas Awards Industry Summit in Pittsburgh in March (see 2015 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards: A Quick Recap & List of Winners). Jim always learns something new when attending and participating in these events. Something he learned in March was a bit of an eye-opener. In Ohio, water withdrawals from streams and rivers is pretty much on the honor system. Drillers are supposed to report it, and they do–but they report after the fact. There is no oversight to ensure a streams or rivers are too low to withdraw water. By all accounts drillers have been good stewards and careful not to overdraw–but it is on the honor system and that’s beginning to bother some, like Ohio Democrat Jack Cera from Bellaire (Belmont County)…
Read More “OH Dem to Introduce Bill Controlling Fresh Water Withdrawals”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Belmont County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Rex Energy

Belmont County, OH Landowners Spread the Wealth Around
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

One of the early slanders MDN heard against drilling is the typical class warfare argument. Some citizens (landowners and drillers) are winners of the “drilling lottery” and everyone else around them suffers with all of the negatives and none of the po$itive$. We call it the Beverley Hillbillies argument–rich, white, liberals who can’t stand the fact that flat-busted farmers have come into some money. They’re jealous. It’s a bigoted and repugnant argument we’ve heard made by people like a certain Cornell professor (see Everyone Wins – Not Just Landowners – When Marcellus Drilling Happens in a Community). The image they portray is that the people who make money from drilling–landowners and drillers–are money-grubbing misers. Ebeneezer Scrooge counting his piles of gold coins. The only problem with that image is, it’s not true. As you might expect, salt-of-the-earth farmers DON’T just hoard the money–they share it. Like a group of landowners (along with Rice Energy) in Belmont County who have donated, so far, $170,000 to a fund that benefits local community groups–like fire departments and food banks. Their goal is to see the fund swell to $10 million–all of it benefiting local groups and charities. Whoops! There goes another lie peddled by anti-drillers that’s been completely deflated…
Read More “Belmont County, OH Landowners Spread the Wealth Around”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

ODNR: Ohio Will Issue Fewer Utica Permits in 2015 than in 2014
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

Rick Simmers, chief of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas said last week he expects the state will issue up to 20% fewer Utica Shale permits in 2015 than they issued in 2014. If that happens, it would be the first time since the Utica became a household name that fewer permits have been issued. Permits, however, do not equal production. Production in the state is expected to continue rising…
Read More “ODNR: Ohio Will Issue Fewer Utica Permits in 2015 than in 2014”
Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | New York | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

AP Takes Swipe at NED Pipeline over Export Issue, MDN Responds
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

Once again the AP attempts to make a case against Kinder Morgan’s Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline project that would stretch from Pennsylvania through New York (following the Constitution Pipeline’s route) and into Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and back into Massachusetts near Boston. NED is a huge $6 billion project that will provide jobs for thousands (while it’s constructed) and abundant, cheap Marcellus Shale gas for New Englanders, saving them on the order of $1 billion per year on utility bills for decades to come. But irrational hatred of fossil fuels continues to rein in liberal New England, where many oppose the project (see Deerfield, MA Hoping Kinder Morgan Sues Them over Pipeline “Ban”). The AP has taken up the “most of the gas flowing through the pipeline will get exported” argument, in an effort to stop the pipeline (so much for unbiased “reporting”). Exported where and how? Via one of five planned LNG export facilities in Canada, four of them in Nova Scotia. Just one little problem there AP, it looks very doubtful that any of those plants will actually get built (see Moody’s: “Vast Majority” of LNG Export Projects Will be Canceled). That kind of takes the wind out of the “it’ll all get exported” argument, eh? But let’s assume at least one of those LNG export plants does get built…
Read More “AP Takes Swipe at NED Pipeline over Export Issue, MDN Responds”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

Cuomo’s Response to Upstate on Fracking: Shut Up, New York
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

New York Post yesterday takes direct aim at the folly of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s frack ban. It calls him out for promoting an “economic development” program that so far has spent $28 million on advertising and has created 78 jobs ($368,000 per job). Cuomo is an utter failure on so many levels. In talking about the frack ban, we loved this particular passage from the column (and you will too)…
Read More “Cuomo’s Response to Upstate on Fracking: Shut Up, New York”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Maryland Closer to a 2-Year Fracking Ban, Will Gov have Guts?
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

We had high hopes that Maryland might begin shale drilling before New York, after years of making fun of Maryland as being the only state more dysfunctional that New York. Maryland’s outgoing governor, Martin O’Malley, released new regulations that would allow fracking to begin (see Fracking in Maryland (!) in 2015? Quite Possibly). We should have known O’Malley, after attempting to slow down fracking for four long years, had ulterior motives. He wants to run for president. Plus he knows his old cronies in the People’s Republic of Maryland Legislature won’t let fracking happen anyway–so there was no downside in releasing new regulations to allow it. After a glimmer of hope, it seems we’re now back to more delays in fracking. Last Friday the Maryland Assembly voted to block fracking for another two years, mirroring a bill passed by the Senate last week (see Maryland Republican Senator Votes to Delay Fracking (Say What?)). Both the House and Senate votes are “veto proof”–so says the Baltimore Sun. Will Maryland’s new Republican governor, Larry Hogan, cave and sign the bill under some pretense that fracking will get here sooner or later in order to avoid an early defeat? Or will he show integrity and stamp a big VETO across this nonsensical tomfoolery?…
Read More “Maryland Closer to a 2-Year Fracking Ban, Will Gov have Guts?”
Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Trumbull County | Wastewater

Trumbull County Injection Well Spill Didn’t Affect Water Wells
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

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). The operator is Kleese Development Associates of Warren, OH. The good news is that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has investigated and found nearby water wells are just fine–no contamination…
Read More “Trumbull County Injection Well Spill Didn’t Affect Water Wells”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Yet Another Court Case – Wanted Raw Data
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

Time to do a happy dance. THE Delaware Riverkeeper has lost yet another court case in their ongoing effort to make mischief with anything to do with fossil fuels. Maya van Rossum, head of the organization, uses fossil fuels every day of her life, but she hates them (a lotta angst and inner conflict, we imagine). She tried to stop Williams from clearing trees for a pipeline expansion until the clock ran out on April 1st in northeastern PA–you can’t cut from April through November because bats may roost in the trees. Of course where the tree cutting was happening is nowhere near the Delaware River Basin that the Riverkeeper organization is supposed to be minding with its non-profit status. Riverkeeper lost that court case, even though the case was filed in a liberal DC court (see Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Bid to Stop Transco Expansion in PA). Riverkeeper’s latest angle is to try and get the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection to turn over unanalyzed raw data the DEP has been collecting in a multi-year study on fracking and radiation levels. The DEP is still collecting the data, but Riverkeeper thought there might be some juicy bits they could exploit for fundraising headlines. So Riverkeeper sued under the open records law to get access. A Commonwealth Court panel of judges on Friday said “no”…
Read More “Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Yet Another Court Case – Wanted Raw Data”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Dela. Riverkeeper to Hold Stalker Training to “Hound” Gov Wolf
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

What happens when a pack of wacko anti-drillers stalks a governor and “hounds” him virtually to death on the fracking issue? If he’s a Democrat governor in New York, like Andrew Cuomo, he caves to the pressure just to get rid of the crazies from following him from event to event (see NY Gov Cuomo Comments on Fracking, Hounding by Protesters). And so we now have an unconstitutional ban on fracking in the Empire State. That lesson has not been lost on equally crazy anti-drillers in Pennsylvania. Get this: THE Delaware Riverkeeper is going to give lessons on how to stop fracking in the Keystone State by using the same tactic–stalking the governor at every event with anti-drilling messages, hoping to wear him down like the crazies in NY wore down Cuomo. They call it “Bird-Dog” training and starting this Saturday, you too can learn how to be a pompous, pushy %@#, just like THE Delaware Riverkeeper…
Read More “Dela. Riverkeeper to Hold Stalker Training to “Hound” Gov Wolf”