Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Northampton County | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

PennEast Pipeline Plan Sprouts an Off-Shoot to Lehigh Valley
November 6, 2014November 6, 2014

The 100+ mile PennEast Pipeline, proposed by six joint-venture partners including utility company UGI and pipeline company Spectra Energy (see Spectra Energy Becomes 6th Partner in PennEast Pipeline Project), is slated to run from Luzerne County in northeastern Pennsylvania through southeastern PA and into New Jersey, near Trenton. The planned route is still being worked out. However, the PennEast Pipeline has just sprouted an extra off-shoot or “lateral” off from the main pipeline. This new 2-mile section will connect the main PennEast Pipeline to a UGI Gas interconnection facility in the Hellertown (Northampton County) area–delivering cheap Marcellus Shale gas to the Lower Saucon and Bethlehem areas, otherwise known as the Lehigh Valley…
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Industrywide Issues | Research | Sand/Proppant

Sham Frac Sand Report: The Sky is Falling!
November 6, 2014November 6, 2014

Several anti-drilling groups have issued a “research report” that tries to shut down drilling based on the hazards of frac sand mining. The report, titled “Communities At Risk: Frac Sand Mining in the Upper Midwest,” was published by the Civil Society Institute’s Boston Action Research (BAR) and released in cooperation with Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA). It is just the latest in a string of not-so-veiled attempts to shut down the miracle of hydraulic fracturing. We’ve written a number of times about the very serious issue of safely handling frac sand (see Silica Dust Exposure Topic A at ShaleSafe Conference in Wheeling for one example). We welcome real research that looks for solutions instead of hocus pocus “just stop drilling” solutions offered by the authors of this “report”…
Read More “Sham Frac Sand Report: The Sky is Falling!”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Nov 6, 2014
November 6, 2014November 6, 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, Nov 6, 2014”
Industrywide Issues | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | Taxation | West Virginia

Big Election Night for Republicans & Pro-Gas Candidates
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

Yesterday’s election was, by all accounts, historic. It was a complete and utter repudiation of Barack H. Obama and his aggressive socialist policies–there’s no denying that. Republicans picked up governorships in most states where they ran. The one cloud was, unfortunately, Pennsylvania where California environmentalist wacko Tom Steyer’s $10 million+ purchased the governorship for the hapless Democrat Tom Wolf. One bright spot in PA (we challenge you to find this news in your local newspaper today) is that Republicans picked up MORE seats in both the PA House and Senate. Which means unless Republicans cave, there will be no severance tax to shut down Marcellus drilling in the Keystone State–at least for the next few years. Whew. In New York, Republicans (beyond all belief) held on and improved their majority in the Senate. The NY Senate is the only firewall against legislative action to permanently stop fracking in the Empire State. Whew. And what’s this, New England moves Republican???…
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Pennsylvania | Washington County

End of an Ignominious Era: PA Rep Jesse White Loses
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

The voters in Washington County, PA finally rejected PA Rep. Jesse White, Democrat, in the first election he faced since revelations that he abused his office by using fake online IDs to criticize and impugn some of his own pro-drilling constituents (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry). In the end, White was as unrepentant and unwilling to blame himself as he has been since the beginning. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions and acknowledging it was his own stupidity that led to his fall from grace, he blamed negative ads and the media for his defeat! Talk about gall. The major media powerhouse in the Pittsburgh region, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has been in the Jesse White tank from the beginning and offered several editorials supporting him (see PPG (Incredibly) Supports Discredited Dem Rep. Jesse White and PPG Tries to Prop Up Discredited/Shamed PA Rep Jesse White). The folks in SWPA have had enough of White’s anti-drilling tirades and sneak attacks. Bye bye Jesse…
Read More “End of an Ignominious Era: PA Rep Jesse White Loses”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

Dela. Riverkeeper Hopes New PA Gov Will Stop Marcellus Drilling
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

StateImpact Pennsylvania, an online publication populated with lefty advocates who call themselves “reporters” from Pennsylvania’s PBS stations, interviewed a variety of people from both industry and those opposed to drilling in compiling a story on what Tom Wolf’s win as the new Democrat governor of PA will mean for the drilling industry. Of particular interest to MDN are the (many) words in the article attributed to THE Delaware Riverkeeper, the arrogant Maya van Rossum. Among her (many) words is her desire/hope that Wolf will implement a moratorium on all new Marcellus Shale drilling in the state…
Read More “Dela. Riverkeeper Hopes New PA Gov Will Stop Marcellus Drilling”
Armstrong County | Energy Companies | MDS Energy | Pennsylvania

MDS Energy Takes Next Big Step: Drills 1st Horizontal Wells in PA
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

Here’s a story we love to tell. A small, independent exploration and production (E&P) company located in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania, with headquarters in Kittanning (Armstrong County), PA (near Pittsburgh), decided a few years back they would not sell out to a larger company but would instead stick around and see where the Marcellus rocket ship would take them. MDS Energy (an MDN subscriber and Databook purchaser, we’re proud to say) bought some drilling rigs and started drilling the vertical sections of horizontal wells for some of the bigger companies in the Marcellus. They also drilled their own vertical-only (conventional) wells, leaving the “big boys” to spend money figuring out the best way to drill horizontally in the Marcellus. The time is now right and MDS is taking it’s next big step: they’re starting to drill their own horizontal wells in western PA…
Read More “MDS Energy Takes Next Big Step: Drills 1st Horizontal Wells in PA”
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”