Marcellus Drilling News

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Total | Utica Shale

Total Scales Back Investment in Utica Shale, Blames Low Oil Price
January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

Total (pronounced “toe-tail”), is a French multinational integrated oil and gas company and one of the six “supermajor” oil companies in the world. Yesterday the relatively new CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyanne, announced that he’s scaling back in the North Sea fields and in U.S. shale plays. In 2012, Total plowed more than $2 billion into the Utica Shale, partnering with Chesapeake Energy (see Chesapeake Sells More of its Utica Leases to Total). In September 2014, Total sold off a smallish investment they had in Cardinal Midstream, a Utica midstream company, to South Korean investors for $400 million (see Total, EVEP Sell Interest in Cardinal Midstream to S Koreans for $612M). Patrick Pouyanne became CEO of Total last October after a freak runway accident killed Total’s colorful and long-time CEO Christophe de Margerie (see French Supermajor Total CEO Killed in Freak Runway Accident). Pouyanne is now making his mark on the company. He blames the plunge in oil prices for his action. Here’s what Pouyanne said at a conference in Davos, Switzerland earlier this morning…
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Baker Hughes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs

Baker Hughes Announces 7,000 Layoffs Due to Low Oil Price
January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

Although Baker Hughes, one of the largest oilfield services companies in the United States, had “record high” revenue in 2014 ($24.6 billion for the year), the company announced yesterday that they will lay off 7,000 employees in the first three months of 2015. This comes on the heals of Sclumberger’s announcement that they will lay off 9,000 (see Schlumberger Firing 9,000 to Reduce Head Count, “Low Oil Prices”). Both companies have a major presence in the Marcellus/Utica and both blame low oil prices for the layoffs. Their customers (exploration and production companies) are scaling back and not drilling as much, and for what drilling they do they are now squeezing oilfield services companies like crazy to lower costs. It certainly makes sense, on paper, for these companies to take drastic actions like this. But that’s not much comfort for the 7,000 families who are losing the jobs. Baker Hughes employs 62,000 people. The 7,000 jobs cut represent 11% of their workforce. Baker Hughes CEO Martin Craighead called the coming layoffs the “crappy part” of his job and the thing he really “hates” about the drilling industry…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dauphin County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Anti-Fracking Protesters Spoil PA Governor Inauguration Ceremony
January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

Yesterday, Democrat anti-drilling protesters spoiled the inauguration of one of their own–Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (Democrat, wants to tax the shale drilling industry into oblivion). There were “more than 100” very loud demonstrators outside of the inauguration according to the AP, which in partisan liberal math translates into “several hundred” protesters for PBS’s StateImpact Pennsylvania. Eight of these ill-behaved children adults were were so loud and obnoxious Pennsylvania State Police arrested and removed them. Two of them stood up during the inauguration speech hollering “ban fracking now” and were removed by State Police. The “ban fracking now” chant could be heard throughout the inauguration–spoiling the ceremony for everyone. According to those who organized this shameful performance, they were emboldened by New York’s recent ban–hoping if they can make enough noise and throw enough temper tantrums, they’ll get PA to ban it too. (Hey, it worked for them when they were children, why wouldn’t it work now?)…
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Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Gov Earl Ray Tomblin Praises Marcellus Shale During Speech
January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

At Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s inauguration yesterday, Wolf didn’t even mention the word “Marcellus” and said nothing of shale drilling in the state beyond a vague statement about the state being “blessed with an abundance of natural resources” which includes “gas.” Compare Wolf’s total lack of acknowledgement of the Marcellus and the key role it plays in Pennsylvania with the West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s State of the State speech last week, a speech in which he positively gushes about the Marcellus, by name. Tomblin even treats two representatives from Southwestern Energy present in the audience as exalted guests, asking them to stand for applause (Southwestern has just invested $5 billion in WV). The kicker: both governors are Democrats. In part, here’s what Tomblin said last week in his annual speech to the state:
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Regulation | Statewide NY

Poll: Majority of NYers Support Cuomo’s Frack Ban – Or Do They?
January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

Results of a new statewide poll for New York were released yesterday by Siena College. Siena provides one of the leading polls of political issues and politicians in the state. We’ve covered their polls many times. The media coverage of this latest poll is a meme that Siena themselves are pushing: there is “overwhelming support” for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s ban on fracking in the state–both Upstate and Downstate. That’s the meme, that’s the template/narrative they want you to believe. However, when we look at the poll numbers, we find a lot that Andrew Cuomo should be VERY concerned about. For example, how does he launch a legitimate campaign for president when nearly half of all New Yorkers (40%) either have an “unfavorable” opinion or indicate they have “no opinion” of him? Nearly half! There’s no way you win a national election when the voters in your own state don’t like you. Let’s dig in to the numbers and see what the real story of this poll tells us…
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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Regulation

Obama’s Faint Praise of Natgas in State of Union, Inhofe’s Rebuttal
January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

Last night was the second-to-last State of the Union speech to be given by our Dear Leader, Barack Hussein Obama (hallelujah!). While Obama gave credit to the oil and gas industry for generating most of the jobs created during his pathetic presidency, he also said he wants to regulate it more. Typical. He persists in calling carbon, the stuff you breathe out with every breath, “pollution” and he’s hellbent on regulating it–even though at the same time he admits we’re producing less of it! Go figure. Below we have the section of Obama’s speech where he talks about energy, including shale gas, along with the response from Sen. Jim Inhofe, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. We love Inhofe–he doesn’t suffer fools well and he minces no words about Obama’s out-of-control regulatory mandates. We like Inhofe’s take: Americans are resilient. Together we can survive the Obama Administration…
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation

Top Marcellus Shale Attorney Michael Joy Heads West
January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

BakerHostetler, one of the country’s top energy law firms, has lured MDN friend Michael Joy away from the Marcellus/Utica region to the sunnier mile-high climes of Denver, Colorado. Michael is an attorney with a long and distinguished resume. He also has a Ph.D. in geology. Michael once taught oil and gas law in the only program that teaches it in New York State (University at Buffalo). He later joined the Reed Smith law firm in Pittsburgh, practicing oil and gas law with the firm. Now he’s heading west, to help BakerHostetler with clients interested in expanding into the Marcellus/Utica. Our first memory of Michael was hearing him present at a Binghamton landowners meeting back in March 2011 (see Sizable Crowd Gathers in Binghamton to Hear Hear Expert Panel Discuss Marcellus Drilling’s Potential Impact on New York). We’ll never forget, at that meeting he answered the question, “If NY opens the door to drilling now, would anyone bother to show up and drill?” (see Audience Q&A About Marcellus Shale Drilling at Recent Landowner Meeting in Binghamton, NY). We wish Michael the very best in his new move. Here’s more about that move and Michael’s distinguished background…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jan 21, 2015
January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

In His Own Words: Quigley’s Positions on Fracking, NY Ban, Etc.
January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

MDN has done some more digging on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s choice to run the all-important (for Marcellus Shale drilling) Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), John Quigley. As it turns out, we didn’t have to dig very far. Quigley himself writes a blog site called “John Quigley’s A Green Thing blog.” The name about says it all. We went looking through his previous statements and found more that concerns us about his impending stewardship of the greatest economic miracle to hit PA in more than 100 years. One of the things Quigley repeatedly lobbies for is a rapid transition from water-based fracking to waterless fracking, something that isn’t remotely possible in the next 10 years…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Coal Company Leases 6K Acres for Natgas Drilling in Belmont, OH
January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

Murray Energy Corp. is a coal mining company headquartered in St. Clairsville (Belmont County) in eastern Ohio. In 2013, Murray’s CEO and founder, Robert Murray, sued Aubrey McClendon when McClendon named his new company American Energy Partners. Murray, you see, operates a subsidiary coal mining company called American Energy Corp. (see McClendon Gets Sued in OH Over New Company’s Name). We haven’t heard anything since that time, so presumably it’s all blown over by now. What’s interesting is that Murray, whom we assumed has a grudge against natural gas, has just leased 2,076 acres of his coal mining property owned by American Energy Corp., along with 3,849 acres from another Murray subsidiary mining operation, The Ohio Valley Coal Co., to Gulfport Energy so Gulfport can drill for natural gas under the coal mines…
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Kentucky

Fracking on the Way in the Bluegrass State? Quite Possibly
January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

What’s this…fracking in Kentucky?? Maybe! No, it’s not the Marcellus or Utica Shale. Actually, the Marcellus underlies a small sliver of Kentucky where the state shares a border with West Virginia and Virginia–but no one is interested in fracking the Marcellus there. The shale play that’s driven “hundreds” of new leases to be signed in 2014 is called the Rogersville Shale in eastern Kentucky (see map below). Kentucky has been largely resistant to pipelines crossing the state. Will fracking also encounter resistance? It already is…
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio | Triad Hunter

ODNR Still Investigating Triad Hunter Well Blowout in Ohio
January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

On December 13, 2014, Triad Hunter’s Stalder 3UH well in Monroe County, OH experienced a blowout (see Triad Hunter Well Blowout in Monroe County, OH – No One Injured). Some 50 residents in 28 homes were displaced–too dangerous to be close to a well venting methane that might explode if an ignition source is close by. Those residents were out of their homes for 10 days but finally returned on Dec. 23 (see Triad Hunter Well Blowout in Ohio Fixed, Residents Go Home). It’s now been five weeks since the blowout. What do we know about the cause? According to the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, the “accident” that caused the plugged well to start flowing uncontrollably is still not known…
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Ashtabula County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | Velocys

New Life for Ashtabula Gas-to-Liquids Plant, Files for Permit
January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

In Sept. 2013 MDN told you about a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant planned for Ashtabula, OH (see Utica Shale Gas-to-Liquids Plant Planned for Ashtabula, OH). The plant would convert Marcellus and Utica Shale gas into diesel fuel, lubricants, solvents and waxes. The technology used for the plant is provided by a UK company called Velocys. In June 2014 Velocys bought out the Astabula operation and took up the reigns of the project (see UK-based Velocys Buys Ashtabula, OH GTL Plant). Since then we’ve not heard anything. Until now. Ashtabula Energy, a division of Velocys, has filed for a permit with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency that would allow the plant to discharge wastewater into Lake Erie. Seems the project is once again up and running…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

PennEast Pipeline Listens to Landowner Concerns, Modifies Route
January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

PennEast Pipeline, a pipeline that will run from Luzerne County in northeast Pennsylvania to the Trenton, NJ area, recently announced they’ve changed the route for the pipeline in a few spots, especially near the end where it will connect. The changes mean there will be an extra two miles of pipeline added and the last 20 or so miles of the pipeline’s route will be affected. Why has the route changed? Because of feedback and input from landowners, agencies and public officials. PennEast has been holding a series of open houses to elicit feedback. The purpose of PennEast’s open houses and the scoping hearings run by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is to hear people’s concerns, and to work with them. That’s what PennEast is doing. Rather than the unreasonable and childish “No, not in my backyard” response from groups like Delaware Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club, the people at PennEast behave like adults. They listen. They educate. They may argue. But in the end they listen and sometimes, they change course to accommodate concerns…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Williams

Indians on the Anti-Pipeline War Path – Part 2
January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

Last week MDN told you about Indian Chief Carlos Whitewolf from the Northern Arawak Tribal Nation of Pennsylvania (see Indians on the War Path Against Pipeline in Lancaster County, PA). Chief Whitewolf’s tribe doesn’t have any land in Lancaster County, PA. And there are no surviving members of the Conestoga tribe that once did have land in Lancaster County. But that hasn’t stopped Chief Whitewolf from carrying out his stated threat. The good chief warned that he would “make noise, protest and rally, block bulldozers” to prevent the Williams Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline from taversing the “sacred land” of the now-dead Conestogas. What we didn’t realize is that he’d already done so, getting himself arrested on Jan. 5…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lorain County | Medina County | Ohio | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Summit County

CORNy Opposition to NEXUS Pipeline in Eastern Ohio
January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

A group opposed to the NEXUS gas pipeline met over the weekend in Oberlin (Lorain County), Ohio in a “private strategy meeting” to plan how they will stop the pipeline from coming through their area in eastern Ohio–Lorain, Medina, Fulton, Lucas and Summit counties. The NEXUS, you may recall, is a 42-inch, $1.5 billion natural gas pipeline that will carry Utica and Marcellus Shale gas spanning 11 counties in Ohio, 3 counties in Michigan, and eventually connect to the Dawn Energy Hub in Canada (see NEXUS Gas Pipeline Pre-Files with FERC, New Details Come to Light). The small group meeting in Oberlin is trying to get the pipeline re-routed. They call their group CORN–or Coalition to Reroute NEXUS from Lorain, Medina, Fulton, Lucas and Summit counties…
Read More “CORNy Opposition to NEXUS Pipeline in Eastern Ohio”