Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Equitrans/EQT Midstream

EQT Floats IPO to Sell Off Some Ownership of Midstream Division
May 5, 2015May 5, 2015

Looks like the mad dash to raise cash has not yet ended. Major Marcellus driller and midstream company EQT announced yesterday they are, using a subsidiary company (EQT GP Holdings) floating an initial public offering of 20 million units (roughly equivalent to shares of stock). The new company, EQT GP, is a holding company that will invest the money it raises into EQT’s midstream operations. On paper EQT’s midstream operations are run by a different entity with the stock ticker symbol of EQM (EQT Midstream). It’s all under one roof, but split on paper for tax and high finance purposes. If you net it all out, it appears to us (warning: we are neophytes with this high finance stuff) that EQT is selling off some of the ownership of EQT Midstream without exactly saying so. How much does EQT hope to raise? They don’t say in the announcement (below). But EQM’s current stock price is running at $86.45 per share as of close of business yesterday. Let’s say EQT gets, oh, $70 per unit for this new IPO. That would be a huge $1.4 billion. What if they get just $50 per unit? That would be an even $1 billion. However you slice it, EQT is looking to raise some major cash by selling off ownership of EQM…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH

Spring 2015 List of Shale-Related Infrastructure Projects in OH
May 5, 2015May 5, 2015

We’re excited to share with you an update to a report we LOVE. The sharp researchers at law firm Bricker & Eckler produce a twice yearly called “Shale Economic Development Overview.” It is a list of projects details, by county in Ohio, of those projects started or planned because of shale drilling. The Spring 2015 edition is embedded below. The first edition of this list was published in October 2013 and showed projects worth $12.2 billion. Last October that number had risen to a staggering $21.5 billion. For this report, the new total rises to $28 billion–a more modest increase than before, but the fact that it’s increasing is a testament to the fact that although drilling has greatly slowed, the midstream (pipelines and processing plants) have not…
Read More “Spring 2015 List of Shale-Related Infrastructure Projects in OH”
Accidents | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Penn State Finds Chemical Migration in 3 PA Water Wells from 2010
May 5, 2015May 5, 2015

Media reaction to research findings that trace amounts of chemicals used in Marcellus fracking were found a mile and a half away in three water wells is nearly orgasmic. “Finally! We can shut down this evil, wicked, nasty drilling for fossil fuels!” That’s the unstated (but very clear) reaction from anti-drilling “reporters” at the Associated Press, Bloomberg, StateImpact Pennsylvania and other assorted mainstream media outlets. They do their best to hide all of the pertinent facts in their “reporting.” So MDN is here to set the record straight. First, researchers at Penn State set out to tackle a particularly thorny problem. Back in 2010 (yes, over five years ago) three (yes, only three) property owners near a shale drilling operation reported problems with their drinking water. The researchers, using breakthrough, new “nontraditional” methods have determined that it’s likely (not 100% sure, but reasonably sure) that flowback water that was stored in an open pit leaked out of that pit and hit some underground fractures that allowed the flowback water to travel up to 2 kilometers (1.6 miles) away and contaminate the water wells of those three nearby neighbors. It happened one time, to three water wells, five years ago and was related to a leaky impoundment. Those are the facts. Here’s some of the headlines you’re reading yesterday and today in over 100 major news outlets coast to coast currently bombarding the population with this earth-shattering “news”…
Read More “Penn State Finds Chemical Migration in 3 PA Water Wells from 2010”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Andrew Cuomo: Here’s $10M Instead of Billions from Fracking
May 5, 2015May 5, 2015

What a pathetic loser is New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He caves to his hard left (lunatic) fringe supporters by banning fracking–an activity that would bring BILLIONS of dollars into the state, and in its place he announces a program to grant $20 million in government welfare giveaways to lure so-called “clean energy” companies to upstate. And then he cuts that in half–to just $10 million! It’s like saying “forget that brand new $1 million Ferrari sitting over there, here’s a shiny new penny for ya.” LOSER…
Read More “Andrew Cuomo: Here’s $10M Instead of Billions from Fracking”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Energy Appoints New VP Exploration, Prev Guy “Retires”
May 5, 2015May 5, 2015

Chesapeake Energy’s CEO Doug Lawler, the man who loves to swing the ax to make his corporate raider boss Carl Ichan more money (see The Great Chesapeake Massacre: Lawler Fires 800 People in One Day), continues to raid his old company, Anadarko, for new (i.e. loyal) lieutenants. Doug’s latest hire is for the very important position of Executive Vice President – Exploration, Land and Subsurface Technology. The guy who previously held that position, John Kapchinske, doesn’t get much of a mention in the announcement. The press release says Kapchinske “recently retired from the company” and that’s all it says. We find it interesting because Kapchinske was just promoted to that position in January 2015! And four months later he retires? Perhaps he’s “retiring” because he served under Aubrey McClendon and Doug is still swinging the ax and purging the company…
Read More “Chesapeake Energy Appoints New VP Exploration, Prev Guy “Retires””
Energy Companies | Stone Energy

Stone Energy 1Q15: No New Marcellus Drilling, But More Production
May 5, 2015May 5, 2015

Stone Energy, one of the smaller drillers in the Marcellus/Utica region, released their first quarter 2015 update yesterday. Previously Stone announced they would hit the pause button on any new Marcellus drilling after 1Q15 (see Stone Energy Will Suspend Marcellus/Utica Drilling after 1Q15). Even though Stone is not drilling any new wells, they did begin bringing 8 Marcellus wells online that were previously drilled, which led to a slight bump up in Marcellus production to an average of 130 million cubic feet per day during 1Q15. Below are select portions of yesterday’s update that touch on the northeast…
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Allegheny County | Meetings | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Still Time to Attend SGICC’s Free May 12 Event & See Cool Tech
May 5, 2015May 5, 2015

Who says there’s no free lunch?! On May 12, you can attend the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center’s (SGICC) free event (with lunch!) at the Southpointe, PA Hilton Garden Inn. And what’s the event? It is the unveiling of four winners of the SGICC’s annual Shale Gas Innovation contest. Each year the SGICC runs a contest to highlight early-stage technologies that enhance responsible stewardship of the environment while properly utilizing our bountiful Marcellus Shale as an asset. Four winners (out of the final 14 selected) will receive a $25,000 cash prize each–$100,000 total. The event will celebrate the newest winners and give YOU the opportunity to mill around and review each of the 14 finalists and their truly unique and innovative technologies. Here’s more details and how to register…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Research

MDN Thinks It’s Time to Divest Your Money from HSBC Bank
May 5, 2015May 5, 2015

If you still do your banking at HSBC (otherwise known as The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), perhaps it’s time you didn’t. We think it’s time to “divest” from doing business with, and putting your money in this anti-fossil fuel organization. The so-called Climate Change section of HSBC recently circulated a note to investors (copy below) telling them they should divest from fossil fuel companies and if they don’t, they “may one day be seen to be late movers, on ‘the wrong side of history'”. We’d like to make a little history ourselves. If you have your checking and savings account with HSBC, personal or commercial, why not move it now? Don’t be a “late mover” or you may not get your money once the stampede to divest from HSBC begins…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, May 5, 2015
May 5, 2015May 5, 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, May 5, 2015”
Energy Companies | Forest County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | SWEPI | Tioga County (PA)

PA DCNR Publishes Lease Agreements for Deals Under Rivers/Creeks
May 4, 2015April 30, 2018

In February 2015, MDN did a deep dive into the issue of Pennsylvania leasing underneath rivers and streams to allow Marcellus/Utica Shale drilling (see PA DCNR Program Leases Under Rivers/Creeks for Marcellus Drilling). PA maintains the state owns the land underneath any river or creek that is “navigable” and therefore has the right to lease it for drilling, denying the landowners who own the land along the banks of that stream signing bonuses and royalties. It is a thorny issue. Does the state actually “own” the land under rivers and creeks? It’s an issue that (seems to us) should be litigated and decided. In that story in February MDN brought you a list of river and creek deals signed, as of early January, with an indication of who signed and how much the signing bonus was for. At the bottom of that list (we’ve included the list below for your convenience) are six deals with Shell’s SWEPI–five of the deals for tracks of river/creeks in Tioga County, PA, and one in Forest County, PA. Interestingly, the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the state agency doing the leasing on behalf of the state, has just published notification for those six SWEPI deals in the May 2 Pennsylvania Bulletin which include the full details for each deal…
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Belmont County | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants

FirstEnergy Says Talk of Selling Land for OH Cracker “Premature”
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

Two weeks ago MDN brought you the good news that two foreign companies–one from Thailand and the other from Japan–are teaming up with the aim of building a $5 billion ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, OH (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). A day later we shared with you Belmont County’s enthusiasm for the project, and our own “cracker fatigue” (see Belmont County Elated with Cracker Plant Announcement (Drip)). These projects take years and have more ups and downs than a roller coaster. It seems our words of advice to temper enthusiasm for this new project are already bearing out. Utility company FirstEnergy owns the land where the cracker plant would, theoretically, be built. FirstEnergy is saying wait a minute, we haven’t agreed to sell that land to anybody…
Read More “FirstEnergy Says Talk of Selling Land for OH Cracker “Premature””
Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

US Attorney Looks for “Environmental Crimes” in Marcellus/Utica
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

On Friday MDN told you of an observation about anti-drillers trying to criminalize accidents and (in some cases) sloppy neglect when it comes to Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling (see Youngstown Injection Wells Previously Shut Down Resume Operation). The emphasis on so-called “environmental crimes” seems to be coming from the federal government–in the Youngstown case, from the EPA. We spotted another such effort–this one from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in southwest PA (Pittsburgh). U.S. Attorney David Hickton began meeting (colluding?) in December with the FBI, EPA, and the PA DEP and PA anti-drilling Attorney General “to discuss opportunities for improved environmental enforcement.” Another such meeting is scheduled for this week…
Read More “US Attorney Looks for “Environmental Crimes” in Marcellus/Utica”
Energy Services | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Williams

Williams Says Some Marcellus Drillers Shutting in Production
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

Last week top management from midstream heavyweight Williams participated in an analyst call to discuss first quarter 2015 results and to talk about what to expect going forward in 2015. The one that that stands out about the call is that Williams is facing lower volumes of gas flowing through their pipelines in some areas of the Marcellus Shale because drillers are “curtailing” or shutting-in some of their wells to wait for natgas prices to go up. Sometimes drillers do that. They have a lot of expenses sunk into a well. If they believe the price will rise in the near or medium term, they sometimes throttle back and wait. How much are drillers shutting in? Williams figures it will be between 300-500 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d) of production…
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Energy Services | MarkWest Energy

MarkWest Energy Management Reshuffle Elevates Marcellus/Utica
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

MarkWest Energy, one of the largest (if not the largest) midstream company in the Marcellus/Utica, has just announced a reshuffling of senior management that will affect the northeast region. Randy S. Nickerson, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for MarkWest, will retire in early 2016. His retirement has set off a flurry of dominoes and people changing chairs. With respect to the Marcellus/Utica, effective June 1, Greg Floerke, currently the Senior Vice President of Operations for the Northeast Region will be promoted to Randy Nickerson’s position. That leaves an opening that will be filled by David Fitch, currently the Vice President of Engineering for the Northeast Region. Fitch will replace Floerke as the head of operations for the Northeast Region. Why does it matter?…
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CNG/LNG | Dauphin County | Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles | Pennsylvania

UPS Adds 64 New LNG Tractor Trailers to Fleet in Harrisburg, PA
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

Two years ago we tipped our hat to UPS, the worldwide package delivery service, for their commitment to growing their natural gas fleet with a plan to add 700 new LNG (liquefied natural gas) tractor trailers to the fleet (see UPS to Grow NG Fleet with Additional 700 LNG Tractor Trailers). Good news: UPS has done it again. The company announced last week they are adding another 64 new LNG tractor trailers to the fleet–this batch based in Harrisburg, PA. No doubt cheap, abundant Marcellus Shale gas had something to do with that decision…
Read More “UPS Adds 64 New LNG Tractor Trailers to Fleet in Harrisburg, PA”
Air Quality | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Research

UMD Junk Science Research “Links” Shale Drilling to Air Pollution
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

A new anti-drilling “study” (i.e. junk science) has just been released by anti-drillers at the University of Maryland–pretending to be real science when it’s not. The study claims to show that locations hundreds of miles “downwind” from active shale drilling operations end up with higher levels of ethane in the air than other locations. Of course the “researchers” didn’t bother to conduct similar tests and analysis for locations not downwind from drilling. They found a spike in ethane concentrations in the air in Baltimore and immediately jumped to the conclusion it’s from Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale drilling, and then worked hard to connect a bunch of dots that would “prove” just how nasty and vile this whole Marcellus shale drilling thing really is (and consequently why it should be banned in PA, WV and OH). Predictable, and sad that yet another institution like the University of Maryland has prostituted itself on the alter of Big Green…
Read More “UMD Junk Science Research “Links” Shale Drilling to Air Pollution”