Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | EXCO Resources

Future of the Marcellus for EXCO Resources: Sell or Hold?
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

Energy analyst Richard Zeits, writing on the Seeking Alpha website, does a deep dive into exploration & production company EXCO Resources. Zeits is a master and, as usual, digs up some great insights. EXCO operates in East Texas/North Louisiana (the Haynesville Shale), South Texas (the Eagle Ford Shale), and in the Marcellus/Utica in the northeast. In fact, EXCO holds some 161,000 acres of leases in the Marcellus–a sizable chunk. What are they doing to monetize their Marcellus acreage? Zeits tells us the possibilities…
Read More “Future of the Marcellus for EXCO Resources: Sell or Hold?”
Energy Companies | Talisman Energy

Talisman Energy CEO Looking to Sell Marcellus Midstream Assets
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

MDN has been following, with interest, the story of Canadian company Talisman Energy–a major exploration & production company in the Marcellus Shale. As we’ve previously reported, corporate raider Carl Icahn has been pressuring the company (like he did with Chesapeake) to make changes. One prospect on the horizon was Spanish energy giant Repsol, interested in purchasing some or all of Talisman. That deal seems to have gone cold (see Talks for Repsol to Buy Some/All of Talisman Energy are “Frozen”). However, recent comments from Talisman CEO Hal Kvisle made yesterday indicate some deal-making is still going on behind the curtain–deal making that concerns the Marcellus Shale…
Read More “Talisman Energy CEO Looking to Sell Marcellus Midstream Assets”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources

GreenHunter 3Q14: More Red Ink; Wastewater Volumes Go Up
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

GreenHunter Resources, the midstream (pipelines & disposal wells) division of Magnum Hunter Resources, issued their third quarter update yesterday. The company continues to bleed money: They’ve lost $6.1 million year-to-date during the first 9 months of this year (vs losing $1.8 million during the same period last year). However, amidst the bad news there was some good news: four new Class II saltwater injection wells in Meigs County, OH are almost ready to go online, and total wastewater disposal volumes are up 41% over this time last year. Now if they can only stop the bleeding on the profit side of the ledger…
Read More “GreenHunter 3Q14: More Red Ink; Wastewater Volumes Go Up”
Energy Companies | Stone Energy

Stone Energy 3Q14: 35 Marcellus Wells in 2014; 1st Utica Test Well
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

Stone Energy released their third quarter update on Monday. Stone is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Lafayette, LA with additional offices in New Orleans, Houston and Morgantown, WV. Stone is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of properties in the Deep Water Gulf of Mexico, Appalachia (Marcellus & Utica), and the onshore and offshore Gulf Coast. So the northeast is far from the only focus for Stone. We’ve culled through yesterday’s update and have pulled out those references to the Marcellus/Utica. We found that Stone expects to drill “over” 35 wells this year in the Marcellus–and they’ve just drilled their first Utica Shale test well (which will be completed during the fourth quarter of this year)…
Read More “Stone Energy 3Q14: 35 Marcellus Wells in 2014; 1st Utica Test Well”
Ohio | Statewide OH

More Marcellus Drilling in…Ohio? Yes, Says OOGA
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

More Marcellus drilling on the way…in Ohio?! Yes, according to Shawn Bennett, formerly from Energy in Depth and now senior vice president of the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA)…
Read More “More Marcellus Drilling in…Ohio? Yes, Says OOGA”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

The Urgent Case for Gas Pipelines in New England
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

Right now natural gas in Japan is costing around $18 per thousand cubic feet. All gas in Japan is imported. In New England? Gas futures trading for January 2015–the price utilities and others will pay based on contracts for January–is $19 per thousand cubic feet. New England is located just a few hundred miles from the most abundant source of natural gas on earth–the Marcellus Shale–where sometimes the price of gas goes below $2 per thousand cubic feet. What in the world is going on? Lack of pipelines to bring the gas from the Marcellus to New England. With many people on fixed incomes facing a jump of $40 per month or more in higher electricity prices (electricity in New England is largely created by natural gas-powered plants), it seems a bit silly to oppose projects like Kinder Morgan’s Northeast Energy Direct expansion of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline, no?…
Read More “The Urgent Case for Gas Pipelines in New England”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Nov 5, 2014
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

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, Nov 5, 2014”
Bradford County | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | IMG Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County | Wyoming County (PA)

Details on IMG’s “Tiny” Marcellus-Powered Electric Plants in NEPA
November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

In August MDN told you about a string of seven small electrical generation plants to be built in northeastern Pennsylvania by IMG Midstream (see 7 Small Marcellus-Powered Electric Plants Coming to NEPA). Last Friday IMG presented details of their plans to the Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission in Wellsboro, PA. Plans call for the small, 20-megawatt plants to built in Susquehanna County (2 plants), Bradford County (3 plants), and Wyoming County (2 plants). Two additional plants are now planned for southwestern PA, bringing the grand total to nine plants for IMG…
Read More “Details on IMG’s “Tiny” Marcellus-Powered Electric Plants in NEPA”
Carroll County | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Utica Shale

Carroll County, OH to Get 2 New Utica-Powered Electric Plants
November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

Two different companies are planning to build electric generation plants that use Utica Shale as their source fuel in Carroll County, OH. Advanced Power Services will build a 700-megawatt plant and Terra-Gen Power plans a 600-megawatt plant. Together, both plants will inject $1.7 billion into the local economy when they are constructed…
Read More “Carroll County, OH to Get 2 New Utica-Powered Electric Plants”
Carroll County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | Utica East Ohio Midstream | Utica Shale

UEO Midstream Processing Plant in Carroll County Online Soon
November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

The Utica East Ohio Midstream natural gas processing plant in Leesville (Carroll County), OH, will be, according to county officials, operational within the next couple of weeks. When it comes online, the plant will process 200 million cubic feet per day of Utica Shale natural gas…
Read More “UEO Midstream Processing Plant in Carroll County Online Soon”
Energy Services | FTS International | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | M&A

FTS International Buys J-W Wireline for Undisclosed Amount
November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

FTS International, one of the largest well completion service companies in North America and a big player in the Marcellus/Utica, is buying J-W Wireline Company, one of the largest independent cased-hole wireline companies in North America. J-W also is a player in the Marcellus/Utica. J-W specializes in deep high-pressure perforating, multiple-zone completions, comprehensive cased-hole logging and pipe recovery. That is, they make fracking possible. Here’s the announcement from FTS that one great company is buying another (for an undisclosed amount)…
Read More “FTS International Buys J-W Wireline for Undisclosed Amount”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | XTO

Minor Setback for XTO in PA AG’s Criminal Case for 2010 Spill
November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

Arriving with the promise to hassle the Marcellus drilling industry when she took office in January 2013, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane kept her promise. After assuming office, she promptly looked for old cases she could reopen in order to make a name for herself. She found one in a two year-old case of an accidental spill of frack wastewater by XTO Energy (part of ExxonMobil). She proceeded to abuse the power of her office by bringing criminal charges against XTO for that two year-old (now four year-old) case (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). There is a new development in the case. XTO requested the case be dismissed because it was previously investigated “jointly” by both state and federal investigators. The judge presiding over the case has found that there was no “jointly” in the investigation and eventual settlement…
Read More “Minor Setback for XTO in PA AG’s Criminal Case for 2010 Spill”
Energy Services | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | UIL Holdings

Phila. Energy Solutions Tells Mayor & City Council: Start Talking
November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) is the joint venture between The Carlyle Group and Sunoco (now part of Energy Transfer Partners) that owns and operates the Point Breeze and Girard Point oil refineries in Philadelphia–the largest such refining complex on the Eastern Seaboard. PES CEO, Philip Rinaldi, has weighed in on the corrupt Philadelphia City Council’s scuttling of the purchase of Philadelphia Gas Works (see Philly City Council Kills the Phila. Gas Works $1.86B Deal). We suppose it’s understandable, but Rinaldi says precisely nothing in his comments beyond Mayor Michael Nutter is a great guy, but so too is City Council President Darrell Clarke, head of the cabal that scuttled the deal. As head of the Greater Philadelphia Energy Action Team which is attempting to position Philly has an “energy hub,” Rinaldi’s comments are of the tone “Why Can’t We Be Friends” (cue music). He hopes that Nutter and Clarke can start talking to one another again to get this deal done…
Read More “Phila. Energy Solutions Tells Mayor & City Council: Start Talking”
Energy Services | Seventy Seven Energy

Seventy Seven 3Q14: Numbers Head in Right Direction
November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

Seventy Seven Energy, with major operations in the northeast, is the old Chesapeake Oilfield Operating division of Chesapeake–spun off into its own company on July 1, 2014 (see Long Labor & Delivery: Seventy Seven Energy Born Yesterday). Right out of the chute Seventy Seven’s beginning was a little rocky (see Seventy Seven Energy’s 1st Quarterly Update: Revenue Down 6%). However, we now have their second quarterly update–for third quarter 2014–and it seems Seventy Seven has found its sea legs. The numbers are now heading in the right direction for Seventy Seven…
Read More “Seventy Seven 3Q14: Numbers Head in Right Direction”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

IPAA Fracking Update: Legislation, Regulation, Litigation
November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

What’s the latest legislative, regulatory and litigation developments with respect to hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus and Utica region? Thanks to the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and their partnership with PIRA Energy Group, a consulting firm that specializes in U.S. and international energy markets research and intelligence, we have an update. Recently the IPAA sent around the quarterly Fracking Policy Monitor. In this latest issue of the Monitor (full copy embedded below) we have news from PA, OH and WV, where drilling happens now, and even news from NY, where drilling doesn’t happen now (thanks to being blocked by Gov. Andrew Cuomo)…
Read More “IPAA Fracking Update: Legislation, Regulation, Litigation”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Odebrecht | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

MDN’s “Juvenile” Needling of Shell over Slow Cracker Pace
November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

An MDN reader wrote editor Jim Willis yesterday to take issue with our observation that “it’s about time” Shell did something to advance their ethane cracker project in Beaver County, PA (see Shell to Hold Info Session on Monaca Ethane Cracker Next Week). In a not-so-subtle way, the reader essentially told us to get our heads out of our…frac sand…and take note that Shell has been very active over the past year or so with advancing their project, contrary to our “juvenile” remarks suggesting otherwise. In particular, the old Horsehead Holding Corp. zinc smelter at the site was shut down this past May. The buildings were knocked down and are now almost completely removed from the site. Our not-so-subtle source also pointed us to Jeff Burd’s excellent blog site called Building Pittsburgh. Jeff refers to Shell and their cracker project as being like a duck…
Read More “MDN’s “Juvenile” Needling of Shell over Slow Cracker Pace”