Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Republicans Hold Firm in Opposing Wolf Severance Tax
June 11, 2015June 11, 2015

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf continues to face stiff opposition from the public at large, and (more importantly) from Republicans in the PA state legislature. The leadership of both the PA House and Senate have lined up against Wolf’s severance tax, which he claims is 5% but now everybody freely admits is really closer to 17% (see PA Official Admits Wolf Severance Tax Highest in Nation @ 17.3%). The PA budget is due by June 30. Negotiations between Gov. Wolf and the legislature continue. When the two sides meet, the temperature in the room noticeably drops. Wolf is in over his head and apparently doesn’t know it–or won’t admit it. He set an unrealistic expectation with teachers’ unions that he would pay them off for their support by taxing the #$#@ out of the Marcellus industry–transferring the hard-earned money of Marcellus producers to Big Education takers. PA Republicans in the state legislature are the firewall. Let’s hope the firewall holds…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pipelines | Regulation

Anti Drillers Demand DRBC Hold 7 Meetings on PennEast Pipeline
June 11, 2015June 11, 2015

Some 16 so-called “environmental and community” groups (leftist/socialist groups) are calling on the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to hold seven public hearings on the proposed PennEast Pipeline, a 114-mile pipeline slated to run from the Scranton, PA area to the Trenton, NJ area. Why stop at seven? Why not 10? Or 20? Or 50? Let’s have a public hearing every day of the week! The aim is, of course, to provide free publicity and a forum for anti-drillers to engage in their freak shows. We’ve watched plenty of them at the podium at these kinds of meetings–and yes, it’s a freak show. The DRBC, itself tending to the anti-drilling side of the isle, is trying to interfere with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) sole authority to permit or not permit the PennEast. Apparently there’s a bit of detente on the issue and FERC will hold one joint public hearing with the DRBC. The freaks, er, a “environmental groups” are demanding the DRBC up that number to seven–because two minutes allotted for each speaker in front of the microphones and cameras is just not enough…
Read More “Anti Drillers Demand DRBC Hold 7 Meetings on PennEast Pipeline”
Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Taxation

ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Says it’s Tax-Exempt in Ohio
June 11, 2015June 11, 2015

School districts and local governments in 13 Ohio counties along which the ATEX (Appalachia-to-Texas Express) natural gas liquids pipeline runs, are miffed that ATEX doesn’t want to pay property taxes on the pipeline. The 1,230-mile ATEX pipeline originates in Washington County, PA and connects to four fractionators in the Marcellus/Utica Shale region. The pipeline, which crosses 265 miles of Ohio, went online in early 2014 (see Let it Flow! ATEX Ethane Pipeline Testing Now, Online Soon). State law stipulates that only pipelines classified as public utilities are liable for property taxes. Private, non-public utility pipelines are not on the hook for local property taxes. However, ATEX may be liable for Ohio’s commercial activity tax…
Read More “ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Says it’s Tax-Exempt in Ohio”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

PA Electric Co Spending $6M in Upgrades to Help Mariner East Pipe
June 11, 2015June 11, 2015

Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., is an electric utility that serves 600,000 customers in 31 Pennsylvania counties. Penelec also serves some of the electric needs for the Marcellus/Utica industry in the state. Penelec announced Monday that the company is spending $6 million to construct several new power lines and rebuild several others. Why? To serve natural gas pumping stations being constructed in central Pennsylvania by Sunoco Logistics’ Mariner East pipeline. Penelec is quick to add that the improvements will also “enhance service reliability” for 3,000 customers in the area as well…
Read More “PA Electric Co Spending $6M in Upgrades to Help Mariner East Pipe”
Energy Companies | MDS Energy

Marcellus Driller MDS Sets up Financial Subsidiary in Denver, CO
June 11, 2015June 11, 2015

A small Marcellus-focused drilling company based in western Pennsylvania is expanding–to Denver, Colorado! But not to drill wells. MDS Energy was established in 2005 by Michael D. Snyder. By 2006 the company offered its first investment partnership. Drilling companies today are as much about investments and finance as they are about sinking holes in the ground. MDS quickly grew and in 2007 founded a sister company to concentrate on oilfield services (drilling, construction, etc.) called First Class Energy. First Class has gone on to drill over 1,000 wells, mostly for MDS competitors since MDS themselves haven’t drilled all that many wells–we count 39 permits in PA, some of which are likely duplicates, issued to MDS Energy from January 2013 through April 2015, according to the newest edition of the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook just released. In 2011 MDS formed MDS Energy Development, LLC, an investment firm concentrating on oil and gas investments. In order to offer investments as a broker-dealer (able to execute trades for themselves or others), MDS formed the subsidiary MDS Securities, LLC. It is MDS Securities that is expanding and moving its headquarters to Denver…
Read More “Marcellus Driller MDS Sets up Financial Subsidiary in Denver, CO”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Jun 11, 2015
June 11, 2015June 11, 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, Jun 11, 2015”
American Energy Partners | Ascent Resources | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Jefferson County (OH) | Monroe County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Big McClendon News: Sells 35K Utica Acres, Creates New Company
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

We have major news coming from Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners (AEP). A lot of news. So buckle in. First we’ll tell you the news, then we’ll give you our take on that news–what it means. In brief, the news coming from AEP HQ in Oklahoma City is this: (1) AEP’s Marcellus/Utica AEP subsidiary, American Energy Appalachia Holdings, has been spun out into a 100% standalone company and has changed its name to Ascent Resources; (2) the CEO of Ascent is the same guy who was the CEO of American Energy Appalachia Holdings–trusted McClendon lieutenant Jeffrey A. Fisher; (3) Ascent has cut a deal with Gulfport Energy to sell 35,000 prime Utica Shale acres for $407 million; and (4) Ascent has just sold shares in the company and taken out new loans for $977 million, giving them $700 million in cash after they pay off certain other loans. Whew! Here’s the details, along with a little news of our own about AEP…
Read More “Big McClendon News: Sells 35K Utica Acres, Creates New Company”
American Energy Partners | Ascent Resources | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Jefferson County (OH) | Monroe County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Details on Gulfport’s Purchase of 35K AEP Utica Acres + New Stock
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

As we report in our lead story today, Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners has decided to spin out it’s Marcellus/Utica operation into a brand new, 100% independent company. That new company, formerly called American Energy Appalachia Holdings, is now called Ascent Resources. Ascent has turned around and immediately sold 35,325 net acres in prime Utica Shale country–Monroe, Belmont and Jefferson counties in Ohio–to one of AEP’s chief competitors in the Utica, Gulfport Energy. In addition, Gulfport has just announced they are floating another 10 million shares of stock. If the new shares sell for anything close to today’s current share price, that will net the company another $440+ million. Below we have the details (from Gulfport) on the deal with AEP to purchase prime Utica acreage complete with four drilled wells and a pipeline gathering system, along with Gulfport’s announcement about the new stock offering…
Read More “Details on Gulfport’s Purchase of 35K AEP Utica Acres + New Stock”
Industrywide Issues | Research

A Sad First: EIA’s June DPR Reports Marcellus Production Slips
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

This is a sad milestone in the Marcellus Shale. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued their latest Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) on Monday. We thought last month’s edition would show production in the Marcellus Shale would contract–but surprisingly it did not (see EIA DPR May 2015: Shale Production Slips, But Not in Marc/Utica). Overall production of natural gas in the U.S. did slip in May, but in the Marcellus and Utica natgas production went up. But the June edition of the report brings us the sad news that production in the Marcellus will decline from last month–by 28 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d). Also of note in the June report: There was a single shale play in which natural gas production will increase from the previous month. Can guess which one? It was the Utica!…
Read More “A Sad First: EIA’s June DPR Reports Marcellus Production Slips”
Centre County | Chevron | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania

Chevron Lists Another 6,630 Marcellus Acres for Sale in Central PA
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

Chevron continues a slow bleed of selling Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale assets in 2015. In February the company put up for sale 12 tracks of Marcellus acreage in Bedford, Blair and Cambria counties in PA–just over 17,000 acres total (see Chevron Selling 17K Marcellus Shale Acres, More Sales Coming). In May, Chevron posted another 11,700 acres for sale in Clearfield and northern Cambria counties (see Chevron Shops Another 11,700 Marcellus Acres in Central PA). In June the company has just listed another 6,630 acres along with four drilled wells–all of it in Centre County…
Read More “Chevron Lists Another 6,630 Marcellus Acres for Sale in Central PA”
Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Drillers Hope to Get Forced Pooling Law Passed in WV This Year
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

Supporters of the forced pooling bill that failed to pass in the 60-day regular session of the West Virginia legislature this year are not done. MDN previously reported on House Bill (HB) 2688 which was “a sure thing” for passage earlier this year. But at literally the eleventh hour the bill died in a tie vote (see The Real Story of Why Forced Pooling Bill Failed in WV). It seems the bill died because Democrats got their knickers in a twist over other legislation they couldn’t get passed, so they denied the Republican-controlled legislature a win on this bill. Politics. We’ve previously covered the various aspects of this bill of which we are aware (see our stories here). We also predicted the bill may get another chance this fall (see WV Forced Pooling Bill HB 2688 May Get Another Vote This Fall). Seems that was prescient. WV media is reporting that forced pooling was once again front and center at an interim meeting of the Joint Committee on Energy in the WV legislature on Monday. The West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association is on a mission to educate and promote forced pooling with the hope of getting a compromise bill passed this year…
Read More “Drillers Hope to Get Forced Pooling Law Passed in WV This Year”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pipelines

PennEast Pipeline Hands Out Another $70,000 in “Grants”
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

Another round of “largesse” has just been served up from the PennEast Pipeline (see PennEast Payola? Buying Support One Community at a Time). Don’t get us wrong–the organizations receiving the latest round of $70,000 in “grants” from PennEast are exceptionally worthy organizations–volunteer fire departments, after school programs, etc. We just a have a problem with the timing of it all (see our thoughts here: Will Companies Continue Making Grants after Pipelines are Built?). Here’s the list of the 14 organizations that each received a $5,000 check from PennEast this week…
Read More “PennEast Pipeline Hands Out Another $70,000 in “Grants””
Beaver County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain

Marcellus Slowdown Causes Pittsburgh Pipe Plant to Close for 1 Mo
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

The slowdown in drilling in the Marcellus (and Utica) continues to reverberate and affect supply chain companies that depend on the industry for part or all of their livelihood. The latest example is TMK IPSCO, a pipe manufacturing plant located near Pittsburgh. Last year the company laid off 10% of its workforce. This year? They’re going to “take advantage” of the slow down by shutting the plant down for an entire month, to perform upgrades. The upgrades will allow the plant to do even better when drilling activity picks up again, but in the meantime, a one-month forced/unpaid “vacation” for workers will hurt…
Read More “Marcellus Slowdown Causes Pittsburgh Pipe Plant to Close for 1 Mo”
Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies

Carrizo CEO Chip Johnson Sells Another 6K Shares of Stock
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

Last week MDN told you that four of Carrizo Oil & Gas’ top managers had sold a cumulative 49,689 shares of company stock valued at $2,476,038 (see 4 Top Carrizo O&G Officers, Incl CEO, Sell 50K Shares of Company Stock). Carrizo’s CEO Chip Johnson sold 24,661 of those shares–about half of the total. This week Johnson just sold another 6,000 shares, netting himself another $308,760 to add to the $1,228,858 he got last week. Also selling 1,000 shares of Carrizo stock this week is a member of the board of directors, Roger Ramsey. Makes us wonder what’s going on–why the top brass in the company is selling some of their stock. Of course, it may be no big deal since Chip Johnson after selling 30,661 shares of stock still owns 631,843 shares worth $32.5 million. We suppose his stock sales thus far amount to little more than a rounding error!…
Read More “Carrizo CEO Chip Johnson Sells Another 6K Shares of Stock”
BP | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Research

BP’s Annual Energy Report: Smallest Demand Increase since 1990s
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

BP (what used to be known as British Petroleum) is, and has been for years, North America’s top natural gas marketer. Although first quarter 2015 marketer rankings aren’t out just yet, if you look at fourth quarter 2014, BP sold (i.e. marketed) twice as much natural gas on a daily basis as the next nearest company, which happens to be Shell (see NGI’s 4Q14 NatGas Marketer Rankings). Like other oil “majors,” BP issues a yearly outlook on worldwide energy consumption and trends. BP calls their version of this report the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. The company released the 64th edition of that review today (full copy below). BP themselves say this edition, “highlights the continuing importance of the US shale revolution, with the US overtaking Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest oil producer and surpassing Russia as the world’s largest producer of oil and gas.” Readers of MDN already know those two facts: that the US years ago dethroned Russia as the #1 natural gas producer, and that more recently we’ve dethroned Saudi Arabia as the world’s #1 oil producer. What else do we learn from this year’s report?…
Read More “BP’s Annual Energy Report: Smallest Demand Increase since 1990s”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jun 10, 2015
June 10, 2015June 10, 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: Wed, Jun 10, 2015”