Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

PA 2014 Top 5 Lists for: Wells Drilled / Inspections / Violations
March 24, 2015March 24, 2015

We’ve written about it before, but once again we want to highlight the excellent service provided by Marcellusgas.org. They maintain a data site filled with facts and figures on every shale well in Pennyslvania. Everything from production to how much brine/wastewater is produced to the number (and type) of violations for each well (and for each driller). It’s a true treasure trove. You can access a lot with a free membership, but it only costs $20 a year to access a whole lot more. (No, we don’t even know the guy who runs it and we don’t get paid to sing their praises!) Marcellusgas.org recently sent an email to members with some “top 5” lists for 2014: the top 5 counties with highest number of wells drilled, top 5 drillers by number of wells drilled, top 5 for number of inspections (by county and driller) and top 5 for number of violations (by county and driller). We found the lists interesting and thought you would too…
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Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Rice Energy

The Mad Dash to Raise Cash Continues: Carrizo & Rice Energy
March 24, 2015March 24, 2015

The “get cash through the door” game continues for both drillers (E&P) and midstream companies. We have two more drillers looking to get cash through the door in two different ways. Last week, Carizzo Oil & Gas, an independent oil and gas company with drilling operations in several shale plays including the Marcellus and Utica, floated a plan to use equity financing (selling more of the company via shares of stock) to raise $205 million by floating 4.5 million shares of stock for $45.50 per share. Carrizo, which has no plans to drill new wells in the northeast in 2015 (see Carrizo Cuts Budget 35%, No Drilling Planned in Utica/Marcellus in 2015), will use the money to pay down debt. Meanwhile, Rice Energy, which is a “pure play” energy company targeting the Marcellus/Utica, announced yesterday they’re going the IOU route–issuing new notes, or promises to repay loans (incurring more debt), hoping to raise $400 million to be used for “for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures”…
Read More “The Mad Dash to Raise Cash Continues: Carrizo & Rice Energy”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Marcellus Industry Consolation Prize: DEP Conventional Board
March 24, 2015March 24, 2015

Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection Acting Sec. John Quigley packed the DEP’s Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board with members who will rubber stamp his onerous new drilling rules (see PA DEP Sec Quigley Pulls a Fast One, Changes Drilling Rules). Quigley used the excuse that the board was splitting in two, one board (the TAB) to cover unconventional/shale drilling, the other–Conventional Oil and Gas Advisory Committee (COGAC)–to cover traditional, vertical-only drilling. TAB is arguably the more important board because conventional drilling, which once was the only kind of drilling in the state, has all but shriveled up. There’s hardly any conventional drilling in PA these days. So with the TAB safely full of Quigley acolytes, it’s time to hand out the consolation prizes to the industry by giving them seats on the COGAC. Which is exactly what happened yesterday…
Read More “PA Marcellus Industry Consolation Prize: DEP Conventional Board”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Public Opinion

Gallup Poll on Fracking Shows it to be a Partisan/Political Issue
March 24, 2015March 24, 2015

Gallup is out with a nationwide poll that asks this question: Do you favor or oppose hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” as a means of increasing the production of natural gas and oil in the U.S.? The headline that news organizations are reporting is that across all age groups and party affiliations, it’s a 40/40 split–40% favor fracking and 40% oppose it. If you dig a little deeper, you find this should be the real headline: Republicans favor fracking, Democrats oppose it. If you dig deeper still, you’ll find those who have grown a brain (50+ years old) are in favor of fracking, while inexperienced (and frankly dumber) young people oppose it. That about sums up the poll numbers (see them below). At least, those are the poll numbers shared by Gallup. They don’t bother to share the cross-tabs–the underlying details of the poll. We’d love to see it broken out by region–or by state. Did Gallup weight the poll with people from New England or California and under-represent places like Texas and North Dakota? We don’t know. Therefore we don’t know how truly reflective this poll is of “average” American opinion…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Slashes 2015 Budget Again, Another $500M
March 24, 2015March 24, 2015

Just a month ago Chesapeake Energy released their disastrous 2014 numbers and their stock price took a huge hit. Along with the numbers for 2014, Chessy released a projected budget for 2015 of $4-$4.5 billion, down 34% over 2014 (see Chesapeake Energy Earnings Down 60%; Cutting Budget 34% in 2015). It’s a month later and Chesapeake has just slashed the 2015 budget again–another $500 million. They blame it on the low commodity price of natural gas…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Carl Ichan Ups Ownership of Chesapeake, Continues to Lose $
March 24, 2015March 24, 2015

Corporate Raider Carl Ichan continues his stranglehold on Chesapeake Energy. Ichan, you may recall, holds the second highest number of Chesapeake shares of stock and was largely the person responsible for booting Aubrey McClendon from the company he co-founded in April 2013 (see McClendon Exits Chesapeake, Well-Bonused “Friends” Replace Him). In the lead-up to ejecting McClendon, Ichan increased his ownership in the company, starting in November 2012 (see Carl Ichan Ups Stake in Chesapeake Energy). He upped his ownership again after McClendon left, in August 2013 (see Corporate Raider Carl Ichan Ups Stake in Chesapeake – Again). How has that worked out for Carl? He’s losing money hand over fist (see Carl Icahn Has Lost $633 Million on Chesapeake Gamble…So Far). But channeling his inner Britney Spears (“Oops I Did It Again”), Carl just can’t get enough of the money-losing Chessy. He’s just increased his stake again–to 11% of the company. He remains Chessy’s #2 stockholder, behind fellow corporate raider Mason Hawkins…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Jesse White is Back, Trying to Run as Republican for Judge
March 24, 2015March 24, 2015

This is really rich. Remember Jesse White–a member of the PA House of Representatives (Washington County, PA) who cyber bullied some of his own pro-drilling constituents using fake online IDs? (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry) White didn’t, as any normal person would, resign in shame for his disgusting offense. He served the rest of his term and the Democrats in his district were obtuse enough to put him on the ballot again. He lost last November, big time (see End of an Ignominious Era: PA Rep Jesse White Loses). White has now set his sites quite a bit lower–running for PA magisterial district court judge. Around our neck of the woods they call it being a town justice–as low as you can go in the court system (no offense intended to magisterial judges who do an important job!). But get this: White tried to lock up both the Democrat AND Republican lines on the ballot for the upcoming primary in May–by getting 100 or so RINOs to sign his petition for the Republican line on the ballot. Just one problem–not all of the signatures were legit and a judge tossed enough of them that old Jesse can’t run as a Republican. That has him crying the blues yet again…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Mar 24, 2015
March 24, 2015March 24, 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, Mar 24, 2015”
Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Statewide OH

Strategy Change? Some Buy Mineral Rights in OH Instead of Leasing
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

A change in strategy? The Wheeling News Register is reporting an uptick in the purchase of mineral rights in the Upper Ohio Valley area. If a landowner owns both the surface and mineral rights, the typical situation is that the landowner will lease the mineral rights to an energy company for a certain period of time, receiving an up-front signing bonus. If drilled, the landowner will receive ongoing royalties from any gas (or oil) produced. But in some cases, instead of leasing, energy companies are buying the mineral rights. That is, the mineral rights become separated from ownership of the land on the surface. The energy company then owns the mineral rights, along with the right to use a bit of the surface to locate a drill pad and wells. The landowner selling the mineral rights gets a higher initial signing bonus by selling the mineral rights as opposed to leasing. But they also get zero royalties when selling the mineral rights. It becomes a decision between a little more money now, or a lot more money later. What kind of money are we talking about?…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Bid to Stop Transco Expansion in PA
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

Question for THE Delaware Riverkeeper: What address should Williams send you the $1,125,000 bill because you blocked their tree cutting for a FERC-approved pipeline extension in Luzerne County? That’s how much it ended up costing Williams after THE Delaware Riverkeeper found a judge in Washington, DC who stopped Williams from clearing trees along the path of the pipeline expansion starting March 11 (see Dela. Riverkeeper Halts Transco Pipeline Upgrade with Lawsuit). Riverkeeper was hoping they could run the clock out because Williams can’t cut those trees from April through October, just in case an endangered Indiana bat decides to roost in a tree. Riverkeeper knows that and wanted to screw with the tree cutting schedule, hoping to buy an additional seven months to mount more legal challenges. The Riverkeeper legal shenanigan cost Williams real money (see Dela. Riverkeeper Leidy Lawsuit Costing Williams $125K per Day). It ended up being 9 days total, until a judge ruled last Thursday that Williams could resume their tree cutting (as we knew they would). Nine days at $125K per day is $1,125,000. Since Riverkeeper lost their case, we think they should pay the bill…
Read More “Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Bid to Stop Transco Expansion in PA”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Sec Quigley Pulls a Fast One, Changes Drilling Rules
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

Perhaps we now know why PA’s Acting Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, John Quigley, fired the entire DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board once he took office, something no other incoming governor/administration has done in more than a generation (see Why did PA DEP Acting Sec Quigley Mass Fired Gas Advisory Board?). Why? To pack the board with new members who will agree to onerous changes to the 1984 PA Oil and Gas Act. Changes to the Act were required under the 2012 Act 13 law (see Rewrite of 1984 PA Oil and Gas Act Underway). A very long and detailed process took place over the past three years and that process was very nearly complete–frankly was complete, until Tom Wolf was elected governor. Wolf’s election put the final adoption of new rules on hold. In came the PennFuture administration (Quigley along with Cindy Dunn as head of the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources and John Hanger as Wolf’s head of policy are all alumni of the anti-drilling PennFuture). The PennFuture brigade has screwed around with the rules, adding their own anti-drilling changes, and they now want the Technical Advisory Board to rubber stamp it. Needless to say, the Marcellus industry isn’t taking it well…
Read More “PA DEP Sec Quigley Pulls a Fast One, Changes Drilling Rules”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Noble County | Ohio | Pipelines | Taxation

Noble County, OH in Love with the Leach Xpress Pipeline
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

It’s not often you read about a pipeline project that’s “well received” by both the elected leaders of a county and the landowners in that county. But such is the case with the Leach Xpress Pipeline in Noble County, OH. Leach Xpress, you may recall, is being built by Columbia Pipeline Group and will begin in Marshall County, West Virginia, cross Ohio and end up in Leach, Kentucky (see Columbia Gas: $1.75B for 2 Projects to Send Marcellus Gas to Gulf). Why are the folks of Noble County in love with the Leach Xpress? For one thing, it will generate $6.2 million per year in tax revenue, with 63% of that going to school districts in the county…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

BLM Introduces “Final” Fracking Rules for Fed Lands – 3 Yrs Late
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

Last Friday the Dept. of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its final version of new fracking rules for drillers who frack on public and trial lands in the U.S. The BLM has been working on the new rules since 2012 (see BLM Issues Proposed New Rule for Fracking Federal Lands). After negative feedback, BLM reworked the rules several times since the original draft in May 2012. Why does this issue matter for MDN readers? For one, there is some federal land in the northeast–not a lot–but some, that may be impacted. The larger reason is that clearly the overreaching activist federal government under Barack H. Obama has its sights set on federal control of fracking–not just on federal land but all private land as well (see Feds ‘Hope’ States will Use BLM Rules for ALL Fracking). Yes it’s a stretch and ambitious, but then, who in their right mind would have thought Democrat Congress members would have sold out their constituents and passed Obamacare? In other words, stranger things have happened. We need to pay attention to what the feds are doing with fracking. So far, both the oil and gas industry and the so-called environmental movement are not happy with the final rules. In fact, the industry immediately filed a lawsuit to stop the new rules from taking effect–and “environmentalists” like the vapid Mark Ruffalo are kicking up a fuss…
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Economic Impact | Education | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Taxation | West Virginia

Marshall County May Lower Property Taxes Thanks to Marcellus
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

Marshall County is one of the most drilled, and most pipelined, counties in West Virginia. The Marcellus/Utica industry has been good to Marshall County. Really good–in both jobs and tax revenue. In fact, you are not going to believe this (we had to read it a few times)…but the County Assessor in Marshall, the guy who calculates what your property is worth for taxpaying purposes, is trying to convince Marshall County Board of Education members to LOWER property tax rates. Why? Because frankly, they have more money coming in than they can use. The county will realize $712 million in new tax revenue this year–and of that, 72% (or $513 million) will go to Marshall County schools. Incredible! When was the last time you heard of property taxes going down? The question is, what will the board follow the assessor’s recommendation?…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Greenpeace Co-Founder Says Mankind Doesn’t Cause Global Warming
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

This is really big news. It’s really important news. But don’t look for it on ABC/NBC/CBS/MSNBC/CNN/New York Times/Washington Post/Los Angeles Times/Etcetera ad naseum. They won’t run it because of media bias. Dr. Patrick Moore, a Canadian and ecologist, has been a leader in international environmentalism for more than 40 years. He co-founded Greenpeace and currently serves as chairman of Allow Golden Rice. Greenpeace is one of the biggest anti-drilling organizations on the planet (full of wackos). Yet, Dr. Patrick Moore is a climate skeptic. You read that right. Moore does not believe in man-made global warming. In fact, he calls the whole notion of catastrophic global warming from human activity “preposterous.” Below is a portion of a column written by Dr. Moore explaining his sound, scientific reasons for refuting the idiotic notion that mankind is causing the earth to toast…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Susquehanna County | Williams

Good News & Bad News with Constitution Pipeline in PA/NY
March 23, 2015March 23, 2015

The good news is that the Constitution Pipeline–a pipeline that will flow Marcellus Shale gas from the enormously productive gas fields in Susquehanna County, PA up into New York, all the way to Schoharie County–is getting built. Construction starts in the next three months. The bad news is that construction will cause pain for some of the 651 landowners along its route. Of those 651 landowners, 125 had refused to sign right-of-way agreements with Williams to install the pipeline (19% of the total). The pressure of eminent domain court action forced many of them to sign–really, they had no choice. For those who didn’t sign, the courts have determined compensation (and forced them to accept it) in all but four remaining cases–all of them in New York State. Those cases are now under review and will soon be resolved. It is a done deal and there’s no stopping it. Some of the cases of landowners who opposed the pipeline, highlighted in an AP article, are due to their anti-drilling philosophy. But there is one case that we find distressing–a farmer who didn’t reject the pipeline–he just wanted it moved to a different part of his farm to prevent disrupting future plans…
Read More “Good News & Bad News with Constitution Pipeline in PA/NY”