Marcellus Drilling News

Accidents | Antero Resources | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | West Virginia

Antero Hits Producing Well Drilling New Well, Methane in Local Water
October 1, 2014October 27, 2014

Antero Resources has been cited with a Notice of Violation (NOV) from the WV Dept. of Environmental Protection for breaching one of their own existing and producing shale wells when drilling another well on the same pad. The incident occurred at Antero’s five-well Primm Pad in Doddridge County, WV near West Union. While drilling a new well they poked a hole in an existing well and potentially in an abandoned well–meaning methane is now flowing to places it shouldn’t be flowing. The WVDEP has given Antero until today to get the situation under control. Unfortunately it looks like it may have affected (gulp) up to a dozen of the neighbors’ water wells with migrating methane…
Read More “Antero Hits Producing Well Drilling New Well, Methane in Local Water”
Industrywide Issues | Research | Supply Chain

IHS Shale Supply Chain Study: 56 Sectors, 524K Jobs, Major Impact
October 1, 2014October 1, 2014

Last week an important new shale supply chain study was released by top flight research firm IHS, or Information Handling Service, the publisher of choice for the American Petroleum Institute (API). The IHS study is titled “Supplying the Unconventional Revolution: Sizing the Unconventional Oil and Gas Supply Chain” (main report below). The supply chain is composed of all of those companies supplying goods and services to the shale industry that are not oil and gas producers. The report finds employment related to unconventional oil and gas production in shale supply chain companies totaled 524,000 jobs in 2012 and is expected to grow 45 percent to 757,000 jobs in 2025, equal to 41% of total direct and indirect employment in the shale industry. Conversely, the total number of jobs across the country directly attributable to the shale industry is 1.3 million. It’s not an overstatement that the shale revolution is the only thing that has kept the American economy out of the crapper over the past six years. Let’s dig in to this terrific report from IHS…
Read More “IHS Shale Supply Chain Study: 56 Sectors, 524K Jobs, Major Impact”
Beck Energy | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Monroe County | Ohio | XTO

Major OH Court Victory for Beck Energy & XTO in Lease Case
October 1, 2014October 3, 2014

A court case with big implications for all Ohio landowners–and drillers–was decided in March 2013. In Hupp v. Beck Energy Corp, three landowners filed suit claiming that their leases with Beck Energy Corp. were void and should be terminated because Beck never drilled wells on their property and that a provision allowing Beck to pay a nominal delay fee was against public policy. The court agreed and granted summary judgment (see OH Lawsuit Victory: 600-700 Landowners Can Terminate Beck, XTO Leases). Beck had sold the leases–in Monroe and Belmont counties–to XTO Energy, so XTO got involved in the lawsuit too. The court then granted class certification to the lawsuit brought by the three landowners–meaning between 600-700 landowners would also be able to invalidate their leases. A few weeks later both Beck and XTO filed an appeal (see XTO, Beck Energy Appeal OH Case Allowing Lease Termination). On appeal, this week the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Ohio overturned the lower court ruling and ruled in favor of Beck and XTO–a major victory for Ohio’s drillers and a major defeat for the landowners who say their land never got drilled and they wanted to re-sign with different company…
Read More “Major OH Court Victory for Beck Energy & XTO in Lease Case”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Democrats Introduce 5% Severance Tax to Kill Shale Drilling
October 1, 2014October 1, 2014

Voters in Pennsylvania stand on a precipice. If they elect a Democrat governor and restore Democrat control to the PA House and Senate, there is no doubt a severance tax will be enacted on shale drilling, *in addition to* the existing impact fee that has now collected over $630 million in three years. Such a tax would be an unmitigated disaster. It would almost completely stop shale drilling in Pennsylvania–and no, it’s not an empty threat or hyperbole to say so. It is reality. Need evidence? Last week PA’s Democrats introduced yet another bill that would implement a severance tax–HB 2508 (see it below). Fortunately the existing Act 13 has a provision that if a severance tax is ever enacted, the impact fee disappears. However, you can count on the Dems to repeal that part of the Act 13 law and double-dip on the drilling industry, thereby killing shale drilling in PA…
Read More “PA Democrats Introduce 5% Severance Tax to Kill Shale Drilling”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA AG Casts Doubt on DEP’s Response to Water Complaints in New ‘Guide’
October 1, 2014October 1, 2014

As MDN reported in July, Pennsylvania’s sleazy Auditor General, Eugene DePasquale (Democrat) went on a two-year witch hunt to find any little dust bunny he could to denigrate another state agency, the Dept. of Environmental Protection (see Anti-Drilling PA Auditor General Criticizes DEP in “Report”). As we stated at the time, many of the things he criticized the DEP about occurred under the watch of Democrat Gov. Ed Rendel and then-Sec. of the DEP John Hanger. But that doesn’t stop anti-drilling “reporters” like the PBS smearmeisters at StateImpact Pennsylvania from using the report to knock the DEP one more time. DePasquale is back with another a so-called “Citizen’s Guide” to shale gas development (copy below). In the latest anti-drilling propaganda issued by DePasquale using taxpayer’s money and on Auditor General letterhead, DePasquale outrageously implies that the DEP is untrustworthy and that the DEP website may contain information that’s not accurate…
Read More “PA AG Casts Doubt on DEP’s Response to Water Complaints in New ‘Guide’”
Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision on Dormant Minerals Act
October 1, 2014October 2, 2014

A few weeks ago MDN told you about the important court case before the Ohio Supreme Court concerning the 1989 and 2006 Ohio Dormant Minerals Act (see Video: OH Lawyers Explain Dormant Minerals Act & Impact on Utica). While the OH Supremes have not yet ruled, there was a ruling on the periphery of the DMA from the Seventh District Court of Appeals concerning the 1989 version of the DMA a few days after our post…
Read More “OH 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision on Dormant Minerals Act”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Processing Plants | Statewide MD

FWW Bleats About “Sacrificing” Residents Near Cove Point LNG Plant
October 1, 2014October 1, 2014

The odious and misnamed Food & Water Watch, a virulently anti-drilling group, is none-to-pleased with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of the Cove Point, MD LNG export facility (see Dominion Gets Final Fed Approval to Build Cove Point LNG Plant). The wacko environmentalists at FWW (childlike, really) threw a press release temper tantrum yesterday, declaring FERC has chosen to “sacrifice” the rural residents who live a mile away from the proposed plant in favor of fat corporate profits for Dominion. So predictable…
Read More “FWW Bleats About “Sacrificing” Residents Near Cove Point LNG Plant”
CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Dominion Gets Final Fed Approval to Build Cove Point LNG Plant
September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

Blow the horns…cheer and clap and celebrate. Let’s all do a happy dance! Yesterday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final approval to Dominion for their liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Cove Point, Maryland. And that’s following anti-drillers behaving badly at a recent FERC meeting (see 20 People Crash FERC Meeting, Complain about Cove Point LNG). Looks like the antics of people taking over a FERC meeting didn’t impress the commissioners. Following the FERC announcement Dominion issued their own announcement (both announcements are below) to say as soon as they review FERC’s final “order” on the plant they will seek a “Notice to Proceed” from FERC and then (very soon) construction will begin…
Read More “Dominion Gets Final Fed Approval to Build Cove Point LNG Plant”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Spectra Energy

Spectra Energy Asks Maine PUC to Support Its Pipeline Project
September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

Two weeks ago MDN told you about Kinder Morgan’s “historic” proposal filed with the Maine Public Utilities Commission offering the State of Maine a long-term contract for natural gas pipeline capacity with the goal of lowering overall energy costs for Maine consumers (see Kinder Morgan Sweet Talks Maine to Support Mass. Pipeline). The catch is that Maine will assess a fee on all of their electric customers to raise the money they would pay to Kinder for Kinder to help build their proposed extension of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline across Massachusetts to deliver cheap, abundant Marcellus Shale gas to New England. Not to be outdone, Spectra Energy yesterday sent their proposal to Maine, to try and get Maine to support their project instead of Kinder’s…
Read More “Spectra Energy Asks Maine PUC to Support Its Pipeline Project”
American Energy Partners | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

High Level Defection from Chesapeake Energy to McClendon’s AEP
September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

Somehow John Reinhart, lately Senior Vice President for Operations and Technical Services at Chesapeake Energy in charge of 1,400 people, survived the mass firings by corporate raider Carl Icahn and his toady Doug Lawler, the nominal CEO of Chesapeake (see Chesapeake’s CEO Celebrates Axing 1,200 People Making Carl More $). So it must have really hurt when Reinhart defected, as was announced yesterday, to go to work as Chief Operating Officer of Utica/Marcellus for his old boss Aubrey McClendon over at Chesapeake II–known as American Energy Partners (AEP). Like a phoenix rising rising from the ashes…
Read More “High Level Defection from Chesapeake Energy to McClendon’s AEP”
Energy Services | Ethane | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | NGLs | NOVA Chemicals | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Canadian NOVA Chemicals to Ship Utica Ethane via UTOPIA
September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

In December, midstream company Kinder Morgan announced they would build a 210-mile, 10-inch natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline that will carry Utica ethane and propane from Harrison County, OH, to Riga, MI. From Riga, the NGLs will hitch a ride via the KM Cochin Pipeline east to Windsor, Ontario, Canada (see UTOPIA is Coming! The UTOPIA Pipeline, that is…). Earlier this month MDN told you that UTOPIA launched an open season to sign up customers for the pipeline (see UTOPIA Open Season Begins Today – OH to MI NGL Pipeline). Not surprisingly, Kinder has just announced that NOVA Chemicals, owner of the Corunna ethane cracker plant in Ontario, has signed up as one of Kinder’s main customers for UTOPIA. We did, however, notice a few interesting things about this latest announcement…
Read More “Canadian NOVA Chemicals to Ship Utica Ethane via UTOPIA”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Deep Well Services | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Tyler County | Utica Shale | West Virginia

PA Snubbing Company Helped Drill Utica’s #1 Well
September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

Last week MDN told you about the new reigning champion for most-productive Utica well ever, a well drilled in West Virginia by Magnum Hunter Resources (see Magnum Hunter Takes the Prize: Top Producing Utica Well). Two and a half weeks ago MDN told you about Deep Well Services (DWS), a “snubbing” company based in Pennsylvania (see PA “Snubbing” Company DWS Experiences Rapid Expansion). It seems there’s a connection between the two stories. DWS issued a press release yesterday to point out they were involved with working on the Magnum Hunter champion Utica well…
Read More “PA Snubbing Company Helped Drill Utica’s #1 Well”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

NY Anti-Drillers Offer Cuomo a Tour of PA Fracking
September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

This one is really funny. The bizarre people who run New Yorkers Against Fracking, namely Sandra Steingraber, who gets paid by Ithaca College to travel around trash talking fracking, and a few others from virulent anti-fossil fuel groups, have dogged New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo everywhere he goes for the past two years. They pester him so much that when one of their nutty number isn’t at one of his public events, Cuomo’s daughter wonders if the stars are out of alignment (see NY Gov Cuomo Comments on Fracking, Hounding by Protesters). Those same ever-present protesters recently sent a letter to Cuomo offering to take him on a tour of Pennsylvania’s gas drilling areas. Are they just temporarily nuts? Or permanently insane? Do they really think he would ever, in this life, accept such an offer?…
Read More “NY Anti-Drillers Offer Cuomo a Tour of PA Fracking”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

MWCD Cuts Watershed Fee 50% Thanks to Utica Shale Revenue
September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

Here’s a good news story for millions of Ohio residents who are fortunate enough to live in the Muskingum Watershed. After some initial timidity, the board members of the Mukingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD), charged with managing 8,000 square miles of rivers, reservoirs and creeks that drain into the Muskingum River (covering 20% of the state), decided in 2012 to lease MWCD-owned land for Utica Shale drilling. Since that time they’ve received more than $175 million in signing bonuses. With royalties that eventually will come in, it’s not inconceivable that the MWCD will rake in over $1 billion in revenue from Utica lease activity. They’ve already committed to reinvesting $300 million over the next 10 years (see MWCD Reinvesting $300M of Utica Shale Revenue over Next 10 Yrs). The further good news for residents in the Watershed is that the fees they pay to the MWCD will go down–by 50%–starting next year. Thanks to the Utica Shale…
Read More “MWCD Cuts Watershed Fee 50% Thanks to Utica Shale Revenue”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Wastewater

GAO Issues Report on Class II Injection Well Fluid Info Collection
September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

Several anti-drilling U.S. senators and congressman requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct research and issue a report to describe what information the federal EPA and the individual states collect from class II injection well operators on the characteristics of injected fluids. That is, the Dems wanted the GAO to write a book report on just how nasty and vile the chemicals are from oil and gas drilling that get injected deep into the earth, never to return, and how those nasty chemicals may one day pollute all of our drinking water supplies. The Democrat staffers at the GAO were only too happy to comply. Both Pennsylvania and Ohio’s programs are part of the “study”…
Read More “GAO Issues Report on Class II Injection Well Fluid Info Collection”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Research

Natgas Used for Heating Homes Up in Northeast, Down Elsewhere
September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

An article published last week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in their always-excellent Today in Energy online publication compares how different parts of the U.S. heat their homes. Three of the four regions in the U.S., including the northeast, primarily use natural gas as their primary heating fuel. However, only the northeast is seeing an increase in natgas use for home heating. All of the other areas of the country are seeing a decline in natgas use. Instead, they’re using more electricity. And how, you may ask, is electricity being produced? Yep–natgas and coal, primarily…
Read More “Natgas Used for Heating Homes Up in Northeast, Down Elsewhere”