Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | EQT Corp

EQT’s 2015 Plans: 181 Marcellus Wells, 58 UD Wells, 5 Utica Wells
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

Yesterday EQT issued its 2015 “operational forecast” to telegraph their intentions for the year ahead. What does 2015 hold for the Pittsburgh-based exploration & production company? They plan to drill another 181 Marcellus Shale wells, 58 Upper Devonian shale wells, and 5 Utica Shale wells. They also plan to stop drilling Huron wells (the Huron layer is in Kentucky). Stated reason for stopping Huron development? The low price of natural gas. Can’t make money in the Huron at these prices. EQT will also invest $225-$250 million on midstream projects in 2015. Overall, they plan to spend a whopping $2.5 billion in 2015. Here’s the full forecast…
Read More “EQT’s 2015 Plans: 181 Marcellus Wells, 58 UD Wells, 5 Utica Wells”
Energy Companies | Stone Energy | Utica Shale | West Virginia | Wetzel County

Stone Energy WV Utica Well Turns in IP of 30 Mmcf/d
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

Stone Energy is crowing about a Utica Shale well–in West Virginia. Yesterday in an operational update, Stone said their Pribble 6HU well in Wetzel County, WV is producing an initial 30 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. That doesn’t make it the top producing well (that crown still belongs to Magnum Hunter, see Magnum Hunter Takes the Prize: Top Producing Utica Well). But 30 Mmcf/d? That’s one of the better producing wells we’ve heard of. And once again, it’s another Utica well outside of Ohio–in WV! Here’s the details from Stone…
Read More “Stone Energy WV Utica Well Turns in IP of 30 Mmcf/d”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Rice Energy

Rice Energy Launches Midstream IPO – MDN Nails the Price
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

A month ago MDN told you that Rice Energy would spin out a midstream (pipelines & processing plants) subsidiary (see Rice Energy Readies Midstream Subsidiary IPO – How Much?). At the time, we didn’t have a clue as to how much the company would want to raise, but based on a formula we devised (pretty simple, using the same ratio of Antero’s E&P IPO vs their midstream IPO) we came up with the number of $588.5 million for the Rice Midstream IPO. We said at the time we would be back to let you know how close we came with our “back of the envelope” prediction. Looks like it was pretty darned close. Like, scary close…
Read More “Rice Energy Launches Midstream IPO – MDN Nails the Price”
Broome County | Chenango County | Delaware County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Schoharie County | Tennessee Gas Pipeline

Kinder Files with FERC, NED Pipeline Changes Path in NY & MA
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

MDN has chronicled the sad state of Massachusetts and its obtuse opposition to the Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct (NED) project, a pipeline that would make both their natural gas and electricity costs a lot cheaper. We told you Kinder planned to change the path of the pipeline to avoid about half of Massachusetts on its way from New York to the Boston area (see Kinder Morgan Changes Route for Pipeline from MA to NH). What you may not know is that MA doesn’t have sole ownership of obtuseness. New York wants in on some of that action too. NIMBYs in Columbia County, NY have been kicking up a fuss over the pipeline, so when Kinder filed their new preferred route yesterday (see updated map below), they altered the course and shifted it north from Columbia County to Rensselaer County, following an existing right-of-way owned by National Grid…
Read More “Kinder Files with FERC, NED Pipeline Changes Path in NY & MA”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Iroquois Gas Transmission | New York | Pipelines | Schoharie County | Spectra Energy

Spectra Energy Alliance with Iroquois to Sell Marcellus Gas to NE
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

In July Spectra Energy announced a pipeline project that would compete with Kinder Morgan’s plan to run a pipeline across Massachusetts to help alleviate natural gas bottlenecks in New England (see Spectra Energy to the Rescue! New England Pipeline Expansion). Spectra’s pipeline eventually got a name and a partner: The $3 billion project is called Access Northeast and the partner is Northeast Utilities (see Spectra Energy New England Pipeline Gets a Name & a Partner). Yesterday, Spectra announced not a new partner, but a new alliance with a competitor. Iroquois Gas Transmission has agreed to provide Marcellus Shale gas to Spectra’s Access Northeast pipleine. The two will connect at the Wright, NY Interconnect in Schoharie County…
Read More “Spectra Energy Alliance with Iroquois to Sell Marcellus Gas to NE”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Sand/Proppant | Wyoming County (PA)

Deuling Air Quality Studies for NEPA Frac Sand Transfer Station
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

MDN has tracked the case of a proposed D&I Silica (owned by Hi-Crush Partners) frac sand transfer facility in Tunkhannock (Wyoming County), PA and some of the ins and outs along the way. D&I is ready to build the facility but lacks one important permit–from the county. So D&I has sued to get it (see NEPA Town Residents Resist Frack Sand Transfer Station). That lawsuit was settled in November and construction will now go forward. We recently brought you a report from a resident and long-time reader of MDN on the situation (see Revisiting Frac Sand Facility Controversy in Tunkhannock, PA). We have a new update: Both the county and the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) are proposing air quality studies to ensure nearby residents are not exposed to silica dust which acts a lot like asbestos particles and can, in the most extreme cases, can cause lung cancer. The question is, whose study will get done, or will taxpayers pay for both studies?…
Read More “Deuling Air Quality Studies for NEPA Frac Sand Transfer Station”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Talisman Energy

Rumor Mill: Repsol Once Again Interested in Buying Talisman
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

In July MDN told you that Spanish oil company Repsol was seriously looking at buying some of, or even all of, Canadian company Talisman Energy (see Repsol Eyes Talisman Energy for “Assets” – Takeover Target?). Talisman is a major driller in the Marcellus Shale. Then, in the heat of August, came the word that those talks were off (see Talks for Repsol to Buy Some/All of Talisman Energy are “Frozen”). However, the rumor mill is buzzing again. Bloomberg is reporting the talks are back on and once again Repsol is looking at possibly a buyout of Talisman…
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Industrywide Issues | Research

Monthly DPR Shows Shale Oil & Gas Production Continue to Climb
December 9, 2014December 9, 2014

Our favorite government report from our favorite government agency was released yesterday–the Drilling Productivity Report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). What does it show? EIA projects oil output from the top seven U.S. shale plays (the Marcellus and Utica being two of them) will increase from 5.2 to 5.3 million barrels per day by January 2015, and natural gas production will increase from 44.1 to 44.7 billion cubic feet per day by January 2015. Now, tell us again about that peak oil and peak gas. Below is the full report with MDN’s additions…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Dec 9, 2014
December 9, 2014December 9, 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: Tue, Dec 9, 2014”
Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Ohio’s Top 10 Producing Utica Gas & Oil Wells for 3Q14
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

On Friday the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) released their quarterly production numbers for third quarter 2014 for OH’s Utica oil and gas wells. The report shows that oil production increased 22% over the previous quarter, and natural gas increased a whopping 48% over the previous quarter. Below we have the ODNR’s high level overview of the numbers, along with our own analysis showing: the top 10 producing gas wells, the top 10 producing oil wells, and then the top 10 gas and oil wells as ranked by average production per day. There is a difference! The longer an oil or gas well is online, the less it produces. Newer wells produce more. So we show you which wells are not just producing the most quantity overall, but which wells are producing at the fastest (most productive) rates–even if they haven’t yet been online a full three months (92 days). We also include the complete list of 673 wells that had at least some Utica oil or gas production in 3Q14 in a more usable format than that provided by the ODNR…
Read More “Ohio’s Top 10 Producing Utica Gas & Oil Wells for 3Q14”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

DRBC Uses MA Company for Water Testing, Anticipates Fracking
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has prevented, through inaction, any Marcellus Shale drilling in its jurisdictional area (the Delaware River Basin in NY, PA and NJ). In particular, shale drilling would no doubt immediately take off in Wayne and Pike counties in PA should the DRBC allow it. There’s hope that with DRBC’s new director, Steve Tambini, perhaps a change will occur to allow drilling. Even though the DRBC has not allowed drilling, that doesn’t mean they’ve been totally inactive. Over the past three years, the DRBC has used a private Massachusetts company to measure baseline water quality in rivers in anticipation that fracking will one day happen in the Basin. The DRBC wants baseline numbers to compare with post-fracking numbers–to ensure nothing has changed (or if it has changed, as evidence). We think baseline testing is a great idea, and we also think it’s great that the DRBC anticipates allowing fracking–at some point…
Read More “DRBC Uses MA Company for Water Testing, Anticipates Fracking”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Gov-Elect Tom Wolf’s Severance Tax Lie Exposed
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

Gee, a politician who lied to get elected? Say it ain’t so! Ah, but it is. And the politician who lied is none other than Gov.-elect Tom Wolf. He said slapping a severance tax on Marcellus drillers would raise $1 billion or more that could then be given to schools (in any other context this would be called theft–holding up one citizen to turn the money over to another citizen). Wolf knowingly used erroneous numbers pumped out by the anti-drilling Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center (far-left, partisan Democrat group). They said a 5% tax would haul in 1 billion big ones. The truth? At best, such a tax may haul in half that–still leaving a $500 million hole in the budget. And that’s if drillers don’t stop drilling and leave the state because they’re being bled to death with a corporate income tax on top of a severance tax (which states like TX, OK and LA don’t have). Now it’s time for mainstream media to try and cover Wolf’s lie by pretending it was a mathematics error…
Read More “PA Gov-Elect Tom Wolf’s Severance Tax Lie Exposed”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Dem Strategist Lays Out Game Plan for Selling Severance Tax
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

Payback time for the teachers’ unions. We now know how the Democrats plan to mount a campaign to dump the impact fee and raise taxes on drillers and landowners with a severance tax, and give half of the money to “education” (i.e. teachers unions). We have their game plan courtesy top PA Democrat strategist Tony May, who wrote about it in the Harrisburg Patriot-News…
Read More “PA Dem Strategist Lays Out Game Plan for Selling Severance Tax”
Broome County | Chenango County | Delaware County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Regulation | Schoharie County | Williams

NY Landowners Get Eminent Domain Threat from Constitution Pipeline
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

As we reported last week, it’s great news that the Constitution Pipeline has now received its final green light and construction is about to begin (see FERC Issues Final Approval for Constitution Pipeline in PA/NY). Some of the hardest work now lies ahead. Unfortunately, some landowners refuse to negotiate a right-of-way and so, just a few days after FERC gave the go-ahead, those landowners have received a “sign now or else” letter threatening the use of eminent domain, from Williams…
Read More “NY Landowners Get Eminent Domain Threat from Constitution Pipeline”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

OH Landowners Outside Utica Get Piece of the Action via Pipelines
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

You’d have to be living on the planet Mars (or perhaps Mars, PA) to not know that pipeline infrastructure has virtually taken over the spotlight from shale drilling in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Contrary to the continuing tripe that “shale supplies of gas and oil will give out any day now” that we continue to hear from certain discredited sources, supplies (in the northeast) continue to increase. And along with those supplies comes a need for pipelines. The Ohio Farm Bureau is telling OH landowners that even if they aren’t in the Utica-rich eastern portion of the state, there’s still a chance they can cash in on the shale boom because of the pipelines coming their way…
Read More “OH Landowners Outside Utica Get Piece of the Action via Pipelines”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Why Does it Take So Long to Build a Pipeline in the Northeast?
December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

Blaine Lucas, a lawyer with the Pittsburgh law firm of Babst Calland (one of the northeast’s top energy law firms) gives an overview of some of the difficulties and problems faced by midstream companies (pipelines and processing plants), along with insight into why it just takes so darned long to build pipelines–pipelines which are desperately needed to get the huge and growing supply of Marcellus Shale gas to market…
Read More “Why Does it Take So Long to Build a Pipeline in the Northeast?”