Marcellus Drilling News

Allegheny County | Chevron | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania

Chevron Laying Off 23% of their Marcellus Workforce in Pittsburgh
January 23, 2015January 23, 2015

Well, don’t say we didn’t warn you. In November MDN brought you the news that Chevron announced the are “restructuring” their northeast business until to “become more efficient” and for “long-term growth.” We pointed out at the time that kind of language doesn’t inspire confidence (see Chevron Scaling Back in the Marcellus/Utica? Maybe). We also said it was a good sign that no WARN Act notices of impending large layoffs had been issued. Oops. That’s now changed. In an emailed statement yesterday, Chevron said it plans to lay off 162 Pennsylvania workers as part of their “restructuring”–nearly a quarter of their Marcellus workforce. Ouch. It wasn’t so long ago Chevron was planning to build a massive, new 350,000 square foot regional headquarters near Pittsburgh (see Chevron Puts Moon Twp, PA Office Building Project on Hold). It seems that project is now dead–no signs of life. Here’s the disappointing info on Chevron’s coming round of layoffs…
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Industrywide Issues | Jobs

Not Every NE Driller is Laying Off Workers – Some Buck the Trend
January 23, 2015January 23, 2015

Lately it seems the news has been bad when it comes to layoffs and cutbacks in the northeast shale drilling industry. We recently had the bombshell that Schlumberger is cutting 9,000 jobs because of low oil prices (see Schlumberger Firing 9,000 to Reduce Head Count, “Low Oil Prices”). Then Baker Hughes announced layoffs of 7,000 (see Baker Hughes Announces 7,000 Layoffs Due to Low Oil Price). Both are national layoffs–we don’t know how many of those jobs are in the northeast, but the northeast is the biggest shale region in the U.S. at the moment, so it stands to reason some (many?) will come from our neck of the woods. Today Chevron announced they’re laying off 162 people in the Pittsburgh area (see our lead story today). Almost every major Marcellus/Utica driller has announced major cuts in their capital expenditure budgets for 2015–from Range Resources and Antero Resources to the much smaller firms like Rex Energy and Stone Energy. Less spending on drilling = cutbacks in jobs, at least jobs at oilfield services and other related companies. So when we saw a story that says “wait a minute, we’re not cutting jobs”–and the people saying it are the heads of big Marcellus/Utica drillers, that caught our attention…
Read More “Not Every NE Driller is Laying Off Workers – Some Buck the Trend”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Research | Sand/Proppant | Wyoming County (PA)

DEP Begins Air Study Near Proposed Frac Sand Facility in NEPA
January 23, 2015January 23, 2015

For some time, MDN has followed the developing story in rural Tunkhannock, PA (Wyoming County) where D&I Silica, now owned by Hi-Crush Partners, wants to build a frac sand transfer station along a rail line. D&I lacked only one thing before they could begin construction–a permit from the county. Residents in the area are concerned that the silica, or frac sand, will become airborne and create health issues–so the county resisted in granting the permit. D&I took the county to court and the case was settled last November, allowing D&I to move forward. However, the county wanted to conduct an air quality study. The state Dept. of Environmental Protection said they would conduct an air quality study, but the county a private, third party company to do the study (see Deuling Air Quality Studies for NEPA Frac Sand Transfer Station). Once the county found out the air quality study would cost them $130,000, they decided the DEP’s study will do just fine, thank you very much. The county decided to pay $7,500 instead to have their independent, third party consultant review the study done by the DEP. Yesterday the DEP showed up and started to set up equipment for the study…
Read More “DEP Begins Air Study Near Proposed Frac Sand Facility in NEPA”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania

NEPA Anti-Drilling Group Holds Press Conf to Celebrate Court Settlement
January 23, 2015January 23, 2015

On Monday, MDN told you about the resolution of a case in involving a northeast Pennsylvania anti-drilling group, Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, or GDAC (see NEPA Anti Group Wins Lawsuit, Dropped from Terrorist Watch List). GDAC was placed on a state terrorist watch list in 2010. GDAC says they are peaceful and have never broken any laws in their efforts to stop Marcellus Shale drilling in the Keystone State. GDAC sued the PA Dept. of Homeland Security over the matter and last week the two sides settled the federal lawsuit. Terms of the settlement are private and not disclosed by request of the state, which says to us GDAC probably got money out of it. If taxpayer money has gone to settle the case, why don’t we have the right to know how much? Yesterday GDAC and their attorney held a press conference to discuss the settlement of the case…
Read More “NEPA Anti-Drilling Group Holds Press Conf to Celebrate Court Settlement”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Northampton County | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

SEPA Towns Manipulated by Big Enviro Groups to Oppose PennEast
January 23, 2015January 23, 2015

You might think, in casually reading the local newspaper in southeast Pennsylvania, that all of your neighbors have spontaneously risen up to oppose an evil, nasty, money-grubbing pipeline called the PennEast. Your neighbors are concerned about safety–and YOU should be too! There’s just one teeny tiny problem–national anti-drilling groups are behind this “spontaneous” uprising. Groups like the Sierra Clubbers, and the odious and misnamed Food & Water Watch (FWW), which is not an impartial group that’s “advocating for clean water and safe food.” FWW are virulent anti-drillers who oppose fossil fuels of any kind and are well-organized and flush with Big Enviro money. FWW descends on small towns–places like Lower Saucon Township in Northampton County, PA (population 9,884)–and they hoodwink local political leaders into believing that the pipeline is evil. So a resolution gets passed by the town board opposing it. Voila, “everyone” is against it. Orgasmic joy sweeps over Food & Water Watch HQ. On to the next town…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Anti Group Asks PA Court for a Do-Over on State Land Drilling Decision
January 23, 2015January 23, 2015

Earlier this month we reported the crushing defeat of the litigious anti-drilling group Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF) in their lawsuit that attempts to stop all drilling and leasing of state-owned lands for oil and gas drilling (see PA Court Rules to Allow More Leasing/Drilling of State-Owned Land). Even though it was a victory for pro-drillers, it was a “dirty” win because it relied on and reinforced the flawed PA Supreme Court “Robinson” case on Act 13 zoning (see Troubling Win in PA Court Victory that Allows State Land Drilling). The litigious PEDF is back to take yet another bite at the apple. They’ve filed an “Application for Reargument” in the case. They want the judge to call a “do-over” so they can try, once again, to ban drilling on state-owned land…
Read More “Anti Group Asks PA Court for a Do-Over on State Land Drilling Decision”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Sen. Inhofe Outsmarts Democrats, Votes to Say Climate Change is Real!
January 23, 2015January 23, 2015

Sen. Jim Inhofe from Okalhoma, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, has changed the debate on man-made global warming once again, much to the consternation of the wacko left. We saw a press release from Inhofe’s office yesterday (below) saying that Sen. Inhofe and virtually every other Republican in the Senate had just joined the Democrats in voting 98-1 in favor of an amendment on the Keystone XL Pipeline bill that says “climate change is real and it is not a hoax.” We did a double-take. Really? Inhofe says he now believes in climate change?! Then we read further. In the next breath, Inhofe said: “How arrogant is it for people to say that man can do something about changing the climate?” Inhofe, by co-sponsoring and voting for the amendment, is pointing out the corrosion of our language…
Read More “Sen. Inhofe Outsmarts Democrats, Votes to Say Climate Change is Real!”
Erie County | Housing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Quirky Friday: What’s the Main Selling Point of Erie, PA Trailer Park?
January 23, 2015January 23, 2015

It’s Friday and sometimes the impending weekend puts us in a quirky mood. And then we notice something that strikes us as quirky or interesting–and we pass it along. Such is the case with this story. UMH Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates manufactured home communities in seven states throughout the northeast–trailer parks and modular home communities. UMH issued a press release yesterday to crow about buying yet another trailer park in Erie, PA for $3.8 million. Stick with us, there is a point. The main advantage/reason that UMH purchased this particular trailer park to add to their growing portfolio? It’s located in the Marcellus/Utica region, and because it’s located in prime shale country, they figure occupancy rates will remain high…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jan 23, 2015
January 23, 2015January 23, 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, Jan 23, 2015”
Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Antero Resources Slashes 2015 CapEx Budget 41%, Reduces Rig Count
January 22, 2015January 22, 2015

Earlier this month, Antero Resources, one of the largest leaseholders and drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, announced they are laying off 250 landmen in WV, OH and PA because of low oil and gas prices (see Antero Resources Lays Off 250 Landmen, Blames Low Oil Prices). Seems it was an omen. On Tuesday, the company released details of their 2015 capital budget–and it’s not pretty. Antero is slashing their capital expenditure budget in the Marcellus/Utica by 41% over what they spent in 2014–$1.8 billion in 2015 compared to $3.05 billion in 2014. Ouch. They’ll operate an average of 14 drilling rigs in 2015 compared to the average of 21 they were operating by the end of last year. Ouch. They predict they will complete 130 Marcellus & Utica wells this year, down from 179 completed last year. Ouch. About the only bright spot is that production is predicted to increase, from an average of 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2014 to 1.4 Bcf/d in 2015. Why the big cuts? Yes because of the low commodity price for natural gas, but when you dig, you find the price for natgas in the northeast is lower than other areas of the country because of the lack of pipelines…
Read More “Antero Resources Slashes 2015 CapEx Budget 41%, Reduces Rig Count”
Energy Companies | Stone Energy

Stone Energy Will Suspend Marcellus/Utica Drilling after 1Q15
January 22, 2015January 22, 2015

Similar to the recent announcement by Antero Resources, Stone Energy has announced a big scale back in the Marcellus/Utica for 2015. However, whereas Antero is one of the biggest drillers in the northeast, Stone is one of the smallest drillers in the Marcellus/Utica. In 2014 Stone drilled 38 wells in the Marcellus, and a single Utica test well. The company plans to spend $450 million for drilling in 2015, down from $875 million spent in 2014–roughly half of what they spent last year. But the majority of that $450 million (75%) will go to drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and deep water. Only 8% of the budget, or $36 million, will go to the Marcellus/Utica region. Stone says after they complete a few wells in the first quarter of this year, they’re suspending all Marcellus drilling for the rest of this year–releasing the single rig that’s been operating in the Marcellus. Landowners signed with Stone–if Stone hasn’t already begun your well, you can forget about it for at least for the rest of this year…
Read More “Stone Energy Will Suspend Marcellus/Utica Drilling after 1Q15”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Triad Hunter | Utica Shale | Washington County (OH)

OH Village Gets $307K Signing Bonus, 18.25% Royaly to Lease 72 Acres
January 22, 2015January 22, 2015

Last night, the village of New Matamoras, in Washington County, OH, was handed a check for $307,687.25. The general fund budget for all of 2014 was $121,368! The check came from MNW Energy, which is acting as the land broker for Triad Hunter (a division of Magnum Hunter Resources). The money is the up-front lease signing bonus for 72 acres of village owned-land that Triad plans to drill under. The payment amounts to a signing bonus of $4,275 per acre. When and if Triad drills, the village will get an 18.25% royalty on all gas/liquids produced. The biggest “problem” Matamoras had was how to cash the check! The next “problem” they have is how they’ll spend it. Here’s the low-down…
Read More “OH Village Gets $307K Signing Bonus, 18.25% Royaly to Lease 72 Acres”
Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Senate Reintroduces Two Marcellus Royalty Bills, SB 147 & 148
January 22, 2015January 22, 2015

The “funny business” of shorting royalty checks in Pennsylvania–particularly by Chesapeake Energy–may soon come to an end. A pair of bills that didn’t make it past the House last session have been re-introduced in the Senate and both have already passed the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee unanimously. State Sen. Gene Yaw, Republican from northeast Pennsylvania, re-introduced Senate Bills (SB) 147 & 148. SB 147 allows landowners the right to review drilling company records to verify proper royalty payment. It also requires drillers to pay royalties within 90 days of production. SB 148 prohibits drillers from “retaliating” against a landowner who questions royalty payments by canceling the lease or stopping drilling activity. Both bills are embraced by the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO)…
Read More “PA Senate Reintroduces Two Marcellus Royalty Bills, SB 147 & 148”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Reserves (Proved and Unproved)

Magnum Hunter Drilled 24 NE Wells in 2014, Proved Reserves Up 25%
January 22, 2015January 22, 2015

Yesterday Magnum Hunter Resources, a growing driller in the Marcellus/Utica region, announced their “proved” reserves have jumped a healthy 25% by the end December 2014 over a year earlier. Proved reserves are defined as the estimated quantities of oil and gas which geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty (90% or more certainty) to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under current economic and operating conditions. Magnum Hunter’s estimated total proved reserves increased in 2014 to 83.8 million barrels of equivalent (or MMboe), compared to 67.3 MMboe at the end of 2013. They reckon it breaks down as 70% natural gas and the rest natural gas liquids, condensate and oil. Magnum Hunter’s acreage in the Marcellus and Utica is impressive: they now own 80,000 net acres in the Marcellus and 125,000 net acres in the Utica. Last year they drilled 24 wells in the Marcellus/Utica. They have their eye on a potential future 1,000 more drilling locations in WV and OH…
Read More “Magnum Hunter Drilled 24 NE Wells in 2014, Proved Reserves Up 25%”
Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Kinder Morgan NE Projects Update – Filing with FERC for Broad Run
January 22, 2015January 22, 2015

Kinder Morgan, the largest midstream company in the U.S., issued a press release yesterday nominally to say they’ve raised the quarterly dividend by 10% or $0.45 per share because they had a great year last year, despite the low price of oil and the gyrations in the market. But as part of that update, if you put on your hip boots on and wade through all of the tiny print, you find some interesting nuggets and updates. For example, we get an important update on their Northeast Energy Direct project–an extension of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline through Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We also learn that Kinder is ready to file with FERC–this month–to move forward with the Broad Run Flexibility and Broad Run Expansion projects that will flow Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from West Virginia to delivery points in Mississippi and Louisiana. All (100%) of the capacity for the the Broad Run pipelines is already spoken for, by Antero Resources…
Read More “Kinder Morgan NE Projects Update – Filing with FERC for Broad Run”
Energy Companies | Southwestern Energy

The Beast Grows Hungrier: Southwestern Ups # Shares of New Stock
January 22, 2015January 22, 2015

We’re not sure what to make of this as we’re not high finance people. But we find it intriguing all the same. MDN reported 10 days ago that Southwestern Energy would float 20 million shares of new common stock and 26 million “depositary” shares of stock in an effort to raise a boatload of new cash (see Southwestern Energy Floats 20M New Shares of Stock). A few days later, they upped it to 26 million shares of common stock and 30 million shares of depositary stock (see Feed the Beast: Southwestern Seeks $2.34B from New Stock Offering). It seems the beast grows even hungrier. Yesterday they upped it again–this time to 30 million shares of common stock and 34.5 million shares of depositary stock. Hmmm, what does it all mean?…
Read More “The Beast Grows Hungrier: Southwestern Ups # Shares of New Stock”