Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Services | Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan 3Q14 Update: NED and UTOPIA, Etc.
October 16, 2014October 16, 2014

Yesterday the largest pipeline company in America, Kinder Morgan, issued its third quarter 2014 update. The big news during 3Q14 was, of course, that Kinder has decided to shed its MLP (master limited partner) structure whereby the company is carved into different pieces for the sake of investors–and rejoin all of the pieces into one. Also bubbling along at Kinder is the massive Tennessee Gas Pipeline through Massachusetts, called the Northeast Energy Direct (NED) project, that will bring abundant supplies of Marcellus Shale gas to New England; and the Utica to Ontario Pipeline Access (UTOPIA) project that will pipe ethane to Canada. The Kinder press release with the update was massively long with teeny tiny type. We’ve waded through it to pull out just those bits that will be of most interest for those of us in the northeast…
Read More “Kinder Morgan 3Q14 Update: NED and UTOPIA, Etc.”
CNG/LNG | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD

Dominion Midstream IPO Blows by Best Expectations
October 16, 2014October 16, 2014

On Tuesday MDN told you that Dominion was looking to raise $350 million with an initial public offering (IPO) for its new Dominion Midstream subsidiary (see Dominion Midstream IPO Seeks $350M for Cove Point Work). Today we’re happy to report the numbers are in–and Dominion surpassed their goal…
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Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Research

IL Study Finds Marcellus Shale Created 45K Construction Jobs
October 16, 2014October 16, 2014

The director of the labor education program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Robert Bruno, recently published recently published a new study titled, “Study of Construction Employment in Marcellus Shale Related Oil and Gas Industry” (full copy embedded below). The study looks at natural gas/Marcellus Shale employment data from 2008-2014 for parts of OH, PA, and WV. The study found that the number of jobs for electricians, plumbers, welders, equipment operators and laborers–skilled people who work with their hands–went through the roof because of the Marcellus Shale. Over 45,000 new construction jobs linked to the Marcellus were created. In one year, from 2012-2013, spending in the Marcellus area on construction and maintenance grew over 60%!…
Read More “IL Study Finds Marcellus Shale Created 45K Construction Jobs”
Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues

EIA Says Marcellus Prices Often Swing $1 Mcf Below Henry Hub
October 16, 2014October 16, 2014

An article published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on their online Today in Energy publication from yesterday highlights the ongoing struggle for prices in the Marcellus Shale region to keep pace with the benchmark Henry Hub in southern Louisiana. As MDN pointed out just a few weeks ago, it’s not inconceivable that a delivery point in the Marcellus will one day replace the venerated Henry Hub as the new benchmark price (see Will ‘Dominion South’ Replace ‘Henry Hub’ for Natgas Pricing?). The EIA story points out an obvious truth that bears repeating: When you have more production than you have in pipeline capacity to get that production to markets that want it–you get a surplus of supply and much lower prices. Sometimes those prices can, on a dime, swing to a dollar or more lower than the Henry Hub price…
Read More “EIA Says Marcellus Prices Often Swing $1 Mcf Below Henry Hub”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Oct 16, 2014
October 16, 2014October 16, 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: Thu, Oct 16, 2014”
Crime | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Wastewater

Illegal Wastewater Dumping in Greene County, PA?
October 15, 2014October 15, 2014

A disturbing bit of news. Officials in Waynesburg, PA (county seat of Greene County, in the very southwestern tip of PA) say about 4,000 gallons of a “gray, milky substance” flowed through the local sewage treatment plant and that the plant’s flow meters spiked up when it happened. In other words, someone, somewhere dumped something down a manhole and that something got processed by the plant and ultimately discharged into Ten Mile Creek. The disturbing bit is that the plant’s operators, along with the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), think the substance dumped may have been frack wastewater…
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Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | WPX Energy

WPX Marcellus Assets Being Shopped in “Controlled Auction”
October 15, 2014October 15, 2014

As MDN has pointed out for some time now, Elvis, er um, WPX has left the building. Meaning WPX, although finishing up wells already permitted and started in the Marcellus–will not drill any new wells in the Marcellus. Does that mean landowners should be concerned that WPX will sell their already-drilled (and producing) wells in the Marcellus? In February, WPX spokeswoman Susan Oliver told MDN the company is definitely not selling their already drilled wells–100 of them or so (see WPX Gives MDN an Update on Their 2014 Marcellus Plans). However, an analysis by a trusted energy analyst has us wondering…
Read More “WPX Marcellus Assets Being Shopped in “Controlled Auction””
Industrywide Issues | Research

EIA Report: Marcellus Exceeds 16 Bcf/d, Produces 37% of Shale Gas
October 15, 2014October 15, 2014

Yesterday the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the latest monthly Drilling Productivity Report (DPR)–our favorite government agency and our favorite report. The October report, which makes predictions of volumes for November, shows the Marcellus Shale’s output of natural gas pushing by 16 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), which is more than twice the output of any other shale play (the next highest is the Eagle Ford producing just over 7 Bcf/d). Another amazing number: the output from the Marcellus represents 37% of all shale gas output in the U.S. Below is the full October DPR…
Read More “EIA Report: Marcellus Exceeds 16 Bcf/d, Produces 37% of Shale Gas”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Erie County (NY) | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Potter County | Statewide PA | Tioga County (PA)

MDN Prediction Comes True: Anti Criticizes Bills Sale to Fracker
October 15, 2014October 15, 2014

Just last week, with respect to the sale of the Buffalo “Marcellus” Bills to East Resources CEO Terry Pegula, we said the following tongue-in-cheek: “What’s interesting to us is that there’s zero talk about how Marcellus “blood money” has purchased the Bills. No talk that Pegula is an evil, nasty fracker….The talk, universally, is of a really great guy with a big heart that’s whip smart and committed to the Buffalo region (he previously bought the NHL Buffalo Sabres team). Where are the crazies and their loony toons criticisms? Where are the protesters? Nowhere to be found” (see Buffalo “Marcellus” Bills – Team Sold to Fracker for $1.4B). Well, such a loon has now been found, and a Wilkes-Barre newspaper published his rantings…
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Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Shale Jobs Make Slight Increase, Wages Up Avg $2,400/Year
October 15, 2014October 15, 2014

According to the 2011 West Virginia Horizontal Well Control law, the Dept. of Commerce’s Workforce West Virginia agency is required to file an annual report detailing the number of jobs created (or lost) in the shale drilling industry in the state. The report is due by Nov. 1 each year. Last year, the 2013 report showed a big jump of 20%, with wages going up $5,500 in just one year–to $75,580 (see Looking for a Job in the Marcellus? Think WV). A lot of WV’s employment is tied to building pipelines. The report for 2014 is fresh out. What does it show? It shows 1,100 more people found jobs in the industry this year–however, many pipeline projects ended and with them, jobs working on those pipelines. In the end, according to the report, only 69 net new jobs were created throughout the industry over the past year when you add the new workers and take out the temp jobs now ended. However, the average wage for all workers in the oil & gas sector in WV went up again–another $2,400 per year…
Read More “WV Shale Jobs Make Slight Increase, Wages Up Avg $2,400/Year”
Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

Cornell’s Dr. Cathles to Discuss Methane Migration on Radio Program
October 15, 2014October 15, 2014

Mark your calendar now. MDN is happy to announce “Another Good News Table Talk” radio program, coming to you on Nov. 2 from 7-8:00 pm on Binghamton’s WNBF (AM) Radio 1290 (also available online at WNBF.com). Two Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) Field Directors, Victor Furman and Frank Cherenga (both MDN subscribers, by the way), will interview Cornell Professor Dr. Larry Cathles about methane migration and other issues related to shale drilling. Please tune in to this one-hour interview to hear the facts presented! You may recall MDN has reported on Dr. Cathles a number of times…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Statewide VA | Statewide WV | Virginia | West Virginia

Trout Unlimited Volunteers to Watch GWNF for Fracking Effects
October 15, 2014October 15, 2014

Two anti-drilling groups with benign-sounding names, Trout Unlimted and Wild Virginia, are training volunteers to monitor streams for effects from (so far) non-existent shale drilling in the George Washington National Forest. Trout Unlimited has been doing this sort of training/testing for years in places like the Delaware River Basin (see TU: Just Eyeball Those Streams, You Know What Shouldn’t Be There). Testing, testing, testing. And what have they found from all of their testing? An environmental holocaust from fracking shale wells? Some mild environmental impacts? Nope. They’ve found nothing. Zero. Nada. But they keep on testing…
Read More “Trout Unlimited Volunteers to Watch GWNF for Fracking Effects”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Chemung County | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | New York

NY Anti Drillers Apoplectic Over Soil in Chemung Co. Landfill
October 15, 2014October 15, 2014

A bunch of ~~former hippies who are now~~ anti-drilling activists in the Twin Tiers area of New York (Elmira/Corning area) protested at the Chemung County legislature meeting last night. Protesting what? That the Chemung County landfill, which has been accepting drill cuttings from PA shale drilling for something like two years now, is considering expanding the landfill to make more money from PA’s drillers. Accepting drill cuttings is the only way New Yorkers currently make money from the shale drilling revolution (thank you Gov. Ditherer). Once again protesters are claiming area residents will start glowing in the dark–any time now…
Read More “NY Anti Drillers Apoplectic Over Soil in Chemung Co. Landfill”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Oct 15, 2014
October 15, 2014October 15, 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, Oct 15, 2014”
About MDN | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | MDN Resources | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide MD | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide VA | Statewide WV | Virginia | West Virginia

MDN Research: $58B in NE Infrastructure Projects, List of Top 5
October 14, 2014October 14, 2014

Marcellus Drilling News collaborates with the excellent ShaleNavigator service to publish a series of research reports called the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook. MDN editor Jim Willis is very excited to announce that Volume 2 for the 2014 Databook series has just been released–and it is, without question, our best-ever. Among the pearls in this newest edition: Jim completely updated a comprehensive list of Marcellus/Utica Shale midstream and infrastructure projects (pipelines and processing plants) that first appeared in Vol. 2 of last year’s series. At that time, in 2013, projects either under construction or planned added up to a staggering $40 billion of investment coming to the northeast. This year? It’s even more mind-blowing. Infrastructure projects planned for the northeast now tally $58 billion–a 45% increase! Read on for the list of the top 5 big-money projects planned for the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “MDN Research: $58B in NE Infrastructure Projects, List of Top 5”
Crestwood Midstream | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

Crestwood Midstream Marcellus Volume Up 10%, New NEPA Pipeline
October 14, 2014October 14, 2014

Crestwood Midstream filed their latest quarterly operations update yesterday, for third quarter 2014. Crestwood has pipeline gathering/processing systems in three major U.S. shale gas plays: the Marcellus, the Niobrara and the Barnett. They also have an oil pipeline gathering system in the Bakken Shale. The Marcellus is the largest of their natgas gathering systems, and according to the update, flows for the Marcellus system were up another 10% in 3Q14. At one point, the system hit a new daily average high of 700 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d). With a couple of new compressor stations coming online, the system will have a capacity of 875 Mmcf/d…
Read More “Crestwood Midstream Marcellus Volume Up 10%, New NEPA Pipeline”