Marcellus Drilling News

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide VA | Virginia

Shocker: U.S. Forest Service to Allow Shale Drilling in GW Forest
November 18, 2014November 18, 2014

Virginia’s Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe may end up eating his own words. He once famously said that as long as he’s governor there will be no fracking in the George Washington National Forest, most of which is located in his state (see VA Gov. McAuliffe Vows No Drilling in Washington Natl Forest). Whoops. Careful what you promise, Terry. The U.S. Forest Service, in a shock reversal of their previous position, released a plan today that allows oil and gas drilling on 167,000 acres of the 1.1 million-acre GW National Forest…
Read More “Shocker: U.S. Forest Service to Allow Shale Drilling in GW Forest”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Ohio | Rice Energy | Utica Shale

Single Rice OH Utica Well Produces 2 Bcf in 5 Months!
November 18, 2014November 18, 2014

What adjectives and superlatives can you use to describe a single shale well that produces 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas in five months? That’s how much has been produced by Rice Energy’s Bigfoot 9H well in Belmont County, OH. If you figure Rice is getting an average $4 per thousand cubic feet for the gas, that means the gas sold from that well over the past five months has grossed the company something like $8 million. If the landowners get a 20% royalty from the well, that’s a $1.6 million check. “Darn impressive” is perhaps the understatement of the year…
Read More “Single Rice OH Utica Well Produces 2 Bcf in 5 Months!”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Fracking Chemicals No More Toxic than Common Household Substances
November 18, 2014November 18, 2014

If MDN or someone from the oil & gas industry said, “Fracking chemicals are no more toxic than common household substances,” it would be dismissed by anti-drillers as just another industry lie. MDN has, in fact, been making that very assertion for years. That exact statement was made (once again) last week–but this time it was made by researchers at the liberal University of Colorado Boulder. Researchers recently published a new study in the peer-reviewed journal Analytical Chemistry titled “Analysis of Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback and Produced Waters Using Accurate Mass: Identification of Ethoxylated Surfactants.” The study concludes that yes, the oft-maligned “toxic chemicals” used in fracking that “big oil” supposedly hides from you are essentially the same chemicals found in cleaning products underneath your kitchen sink and in your bathroom medicine cabinet. Chemicals found in stuff like laundry detergent and toothpaste…
Read More “Fracking Chemicals No More Toxic than Common Household Substances”
Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Utica Shale

Carrizo Scales Back in Marcellus, Keeps Drilling in Utica
November 18, 2014November 18, 2014

What a difference three months can make. In second quarter 2014 Carrizo Oil & Gas drilled 9 Marcellus wells and purchased more Utica acreage (see Carrizo 2Q14: Drills 9 Marcellus Wells, Buys More Utica Acreage). In third quarter 2014, Carrizo didn’t drill or complete any Marcellus wells, they began work to complete their second-ever Utica well and now have plans to drill only 5 more Utica wells in 4Q13. The problem seems to be lack of infrastructure (pipelines) to carry any production from their wells to market, as well as stubbornly low prices for natural gas in the northeast–leading to voluntary “curtailment” on the part of Carrizo (they shut the wells off for a period of time). Carrizo is re-focusing their efforts on the more oily Eagle Ford and Niobrara Shale plays…
Read More “Carrizo Scales Back in Marcellus, Keeps Drilling in Utica”
Centre County | Clearfield County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County | Westmoreland County | WPX Energy

Scranton Newspaper Discovers WPX is Leaving PA–9 Months Later
November 18, 2014November 18, 2014

Better nine months late than never, we suppose. Back in February, MDN told you that WPX Energy is leaving the Marcellus (see WPX Energy Abandoning the Marcellus? Sure Looks That Way). We got clarification from WPX spokesperson Susan Oliver that although they would not drill any new wells, they will continue to operate at least some of the 100+ wells already drilled (see WPX Gives MDN an Update on Their 2014 Marcellus Plans). Over a month ago we told you that WPX is actively shopping their remaining undrilled acreage (see WPX Marcellus Assets Being Shopped in “Controlled Auction”). The Scranton Times-Tribune finally woke up (nine months later) and, shazam! They discovered that WPX is (can you believe it?) leaving PA…
Read More “Scranton Newspaper Discovers WPX is Leaving PA–9 Months Later”
Earthquakes | Energy Services | GASFRAC | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

GASFRAC Says LPG Waterless Fracking May Prevent Earthquakes
November 18, 2014November 18, 2014

Last week MDN was the first to bring you the news that Canadian company GASFRAC has (after two years) finally begun fracking an Ohio Utica Shale well using liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG (see GASFRAC Begins Waterless Fracking Job in OH Utica). GASFRAC’s senior management held an analyst call last week to discuss the company’s performance (the company’s financials are not good). As part of that call was a Q&A in which the Utica well they’re now working on was discussed. We found the banter interesting. One of the more interesting aspects was GASFRAC’s contention that LPG fracking used in places where earthquakes are a concern (like Ohio) may reduce the likelihood of a fracking-induced earthquake from occurring…
Read More “GASFRAC Says LPG Waterless Fracking May Prevent Earthquakes”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues

NJ Utility to Provide Marcellus Gas to Virginia Power Plant
November 18, 2014November 18, 2014

Here’s one that will stretch your brain in new directions: A New Jersey utility, South Jersey Gas, has won the contract to provide Marcellus Shale gas to a new electric generation plant that will run on that gas, to be built in Loudoun County, Virginia by Panda Power. Panda, you may recall, is a Texas-based investment firm that invests in and operates electric plants, including two in northeast Pennsylvania (see Panda Power Buys Rights for 2nd Marcellus-Fueled Electric Plant). Although not located in the Marcellus region per se, the Loudon County, VA project, called the Stonewall Power Project, will be Panda’s third Marcellus gas-powered electric plant…
Read More “NJ Utility to Provide Marcellus Gas to Virginia Power Plant”
Energy Services | MarkWest Energy

MarkWest Energy Floats Notes to Raise 1/2 Billion in Cash
November 18, 2014November 18, 2014

MarkWest Energy needs some more cash–like a half a billion dollars of cash–so they’re floating pieces of paper (unsecured notes) that they promise to pay back by 2024. No word on the interest rate they’ll give you for your money. We’re assuming some (most?) of that money will be put to good use in the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “MarkWest Energy Floats Notes to Raise 1/2 Billion in Cash”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines | Regulation

4 Mass. Legislators Brag About Opposing Kinder Pipeline
November 18, 2014November 18, 2014

Here’s four Massachusetts state representatives that residents of MA may want to consider voting out of office for their rigid stance against the Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct pipeline, a pipeline aimed at delivering cheap, abundant clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas so desperately needed in MA and the other New England states: Rep. Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington), Sen. Eileen Donaghue (D-Lowell), Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton), and Rep. Sheila Harrington (R-Groton). They boast that they pressured current/out-going governor Deval Patrick to back away from supporting the pipeline. The Democrat candidate for governor in November’s election, Martha Coakley (Patrick decided not to run again), opposed the pipeline too. She lost. Even in the face of defeat and the prospect of rolling blackouts (see the story below), these dimwits continue their push to prevent more natural gas from reaching their region due to their own misguided prejudice against fossil fuels…
Read More “4 Mass. Legislators Brag About Opposing Kinder Pipeline”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Nov 18, 2014
November 18, 2014November 18, 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, Nov 18, 2014”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Utica Shale | West Virginia | Wood County

Cabot’s Wood County, WV Utica Well – Vertical or Horizontal Miss?
November 17, 2014November 17, 2014

Several years ago MDN editor Jim Willis took a tour of several Cabot Oil & Gas well sites in Susquehanna County, PA. One of the sites was a completed well pad with four producing wells, located not far from Carter Road in Dimock (yes the infamous Carter Road memorialized in Gasland). As we stood on the pad, a pad not visible a few hundred feet from the road, Jim’s tour guide (Bill desRosiers) made this statement: “Cabot has over 3,000 vertical gas wells in West Virginia. You see these four horizontal wells? These four wells produce more natural gas in one day than all 3,000 of those vertical wells in West Virginia.” Jim’s jaw hit the ground. He immediately thought (still thinks): That is the power and miracle of horizontal hydraulic fracturing! So it sparked our interest when we spotted a story from Wood County, WV about a well drilled by Cabot this past August in WV–a well that Cabot immediately plugged. It was a “miss” for Cabot. Our questions: Was it a vertical-only well? Or was it intended to be a horizontal Utica well?…
Read More “Cabot’s Wood County, WV Utica Well – Vertical or Horizontal Miss?”
Centre County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Shell | Statewide PA | Taxation

New PA Senate Leader Says Severance Tax Could Kill Cracker Plant
November 17, 2014November 17, 2014

It’s looking better and better that Pennsylvania Republicans will not cave to pressure to enact a Marcellus-killing severance tax proposed by Democrat Governor-elect Tom Wolf. Last week Republicans booted RINO Dominic Pileggi (Philly area) from his leadership post and replaced him with Sen. Jake Corman from Centre County as the new majority leader. Corman says if a severance tax is enacted, it may well kill the prospects for Shell’s ethane cracker plant and Corman wants to ensure that plant gets built…
Read More “New PA Senate Leader Says Severance Tax Could Kill Cracker Plant”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA State Law Prevents PennEast Pipeline from Paying Property Tax
November 17, 2014November 17, 2014

If you live in New Jersey and you live in a county or township where the PennEast Pipeline will be built, you’re in for a treat: You get a shot of extra revenue every year for the town/county budget in the form of real estate taxes (often referred to as property taxes). PennEast figures Hunterdon County, NJ will see something like $1 million per year in tax revenue from the pipeline. But just over the border in Pennsylvania it’s a different story. In PA natural gas pipelines are not considered “real estate” but instead equipment, and therefore pipelines are not taxed…
Read More “PA State Law Prevents PennEast Pipeline from Paying Property Tax”
Chemung County | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Madison County | Montgomery County | New York | Pipelines

Dominion’s NY Compressor Plants to Move More Marcellus Gas
November 17, 2014November 17, 2014

In June MDN told you about the Dominion New Market Project–a project that will build two new compressor plants and upgrade one other compressor station in upstate New York to help flow more abundant, cheap and clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas from Pennsylvania (and beyond) into the northeast (see Dominion Asks FERC for New Compressors in Upstate NY, WV). It is projected to cost $159 million and provide 112,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of extra natural gas capacity along ~200 miles of existing Dominion pipeline across upstate New York. The pipeline runs through the Horseheads, Ithaca, Syracuse and Albany areas. We have some details about that project, including details about the proposed compressor station in Chemung County, NY…
Read More “Dominion’s NY Compressor Plants to Move More Marcellus Gas”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Rice Energy | Trucking | Washington County

Marcellus Industry Lends a Hand with Nabbing Trucking Violations
November 17, 2014November 17, 2014

There’s no getting around the fact that when drilling comes to an area, so too does a LOT of truck traffic. Anyone who lives in an area with active drilling can attest to the headaches of following a water truck up a hill going half the speed limit. Because the industry is high profile, those who operate truck fleets (and the energy companies who hire them) typically enforce strict rules for drivers. They also maintain their fleets in tip-top shape to ensure there are no safety violations. Case in point: Washington County, PA…
Read More “Marcellus Industry Lends a Hand with Nabbing Trucking Violations”
Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH

Another OH DMA Case Decided in Favor of Landowners
November 17, 2014November 17, 2014

For some time now MDN has been following court challenges to Ohio’s Dormant Mineral Act (DMA). The DMA is really two pieces of legislation: One which went into effect in 1989, the other which sought to clarify the 1989 law that went into effect in 2006 (see Video: OH Lawyers Explain Dormant Minerals Act & Impact on Utica). The Ohio Supreme Court has heard a case on the DMA but has still not ruled. However, other cases on the periphery of the DMA have been decided (see OH 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision on Dormant Minerals Act). Another such case, Wendt v. Dickerson, was decided a few weeks ago–a case which found in favor of landowners who want to reclaim mineral rights in certain circumstances…
Read More “Another OH DMA Case Decided in Favor of Landowners”