Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | M&A | Research

Deloitte Mid-Year Report on M&A: Shale Continues to Dominate
August 14, 2014August 14, 2014

The sharp minds at consulting firm Deloitte have once again turned in a mid-year analysis of oil & gas company mergers and acquisitions for the first half of 2014. Titled “Oil & Gas Mergers and Acquisitions Report – Midyear 2014: The deal market may be poised for a rebound” (full copy below), the report is a high level view, analyzing 299 transactions across the spectrum from upstream (drilling) to midstream (pipelines & processing plants) to downstream (refining and marketing). While Deloitte doesn’t share a list of those 299 deals (disappointingly), they do roll it all up and take the bird’s eye view to let us know what the trends have been and will likely be for the balance of 2014. It’s no surprise that shale continues to dominate the energy picture for M&A activity. Here’s the highlights…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Aug 14, 2014
August 14, 2014August 14, 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, Aug 14, 2014”
Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Ohio Utica Sails by 1K Wells Drilled, 495 Producing
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

The Ohio Utica Shale is having a big week. First, the shale play that Aubrey McClendon once famously said is “the biggest thing to hit Ohio since the plow” was added to the constellation of shale plays tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in their monthly Drilling Productivity Report (see Utica Shale Impressive Debut in EIA Drilling Productivity Report). Now we learn that the Utica has now passed the important milestone of 1,000 wells drilled. Below we take a deep dive into the numbers…
Read More “Ohio Utica Sails by 1K Wells Drilled, 495 Producing”
Bucks County | Carbon County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Northampton County | PennEast Pipeline | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | UGI Energy Services

3rd New NEPA Marcellus Pipeline Proposed, Connects to Trenton, NJ
August 13, 2014September 5, 2014

A third new pipeline has been proposed–seriously proposed and already in the planning stages–to carry Marcellus Shale gas from northeastern Pennsylvania all the way to New Jersey. Yesterday a consortium of four companies, including energy utility giant UGI, along with AGL Resources, NJR Pipeline Company (subsidiary of New Jersey Resources) and South Jersey Industries announced the PennEast Pipeline, a 105-mile long, 30” diameter interstate natural gas pipeline. The new pipeline will cost $1 billion to build (providing 2,000+ jobs for seven months) and when finished, carry 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Here’s the full details for the new project…
Read More “3rd New NEPA Marcellus Pipeline Proposed, Connects to Trenton, NJ”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Columbia Gas: $1.75B for 2 Projects to Send Marcellus Gas to Gulf
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

Columbia Pipeline Group, a division of NiSource, announced yesterday they have decided to move forward with investing $1.75 billion dollars for two new projects. The first is a pipeline project that will begin in Marshall County, West Virginia, cross Ohio and end up in Leach, Kentucky. Hence, the new project is called the Leach Xpress. Yes, the marketers at Columbia could of/should of come up with a better name than “leach” for a pipeline, but we’ll just have to live with it (as we sigh and shake our heads). The 160-mile pipeline will pump abundant, cheap Marcellus and Utica Shale gas to various sales points along the pipeline (interconnecting with other pipelines). But perhaps most importantly, it will pump gas to Leach, and that’s the second major project. There is an existing pipeline from Leach all the way to the Louisiana Gulf Coast. That pipeline is called the Rayne, for Rayne, LA. The Rayne Xpress project will beef up the pipeline with new compressor stations to add an additional 1 billion cubic feet per day of capacity–Marcellus and Utica Shale gas capacity that will flow to the Gulf Coast…
Read More “Columbia Gas: $1.75B for 2 Projects to Send Marcellus Gas to Gulf”
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Range Sets Record Straight on Cecil 23 Impoundment & Chlorides
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

Last week MDN outlined the latest kerfuffle in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA between Range Resources and the town over allegations that the Cecil 23 wastewater impoundment may have, at some point, leaked (see More Problems for Range Resources with SWPA Impoundments). The “evidence” of such a leak is a single monitoring well that showed slightly high levels of chlorides, or salts. Rather than wait for the state Dept. of Environmental Protection to alert neighbors that they would be visiting to do some testing, Cecil officials took matters in their own hands and distributed letters to some 50 nearby residents–scaring them. Range responded by distributing their own letter–something necessary to set the record straight. We have a copy of that letter to share with you…
Read More “Range Sets Record Straight on Cecil 23 Impoundment & Chlorides”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Wastewater

PA Marcellus Sludge with Low Radiation Heading to Michigan
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

In May MDN told you about a tank at a Range Resources’ Carter wastewater impoundment in Mt. Pleasant Township (Washington County), PA that was found to have low levels of radiation. Although the level of radiation in the tank is barley above “background levels,” it’s high enough that it must be properly disposed of (see Low Levels of Radiation Found in Range PA Wastewater Impoundment). Apparently the tank, used to separate wastewater from sludge, is a really big tank. So big (heavy) it can’t be easily or safely moved along highways. So Range transferred the material in the big tank into two smaller tanks. Those tanks will soon be on their way for permanent disposal in…Michigan?
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Columbia County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Lycoming County | Monroe County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

FERC Says “No Significant Impact” from Leidy Southeast Pipeline
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

Williams is one very important step closer to beginning construction–this fall–on their Transco Leidy Southeast Expansion project. Last fall Williams filed an official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to proceed with the project, a $610 million project designed to increase the Transco pipeline’s capacity by 525,000 decatherms per day–enough natural gas to serve 2 million homes (see Williams Takes Next Step with Transco Leidy Pipeline Expansion). The expansion will pipe cheap, abundant NEPA Marcellus Shale gas to points from New York City to the southeastern U.S. The project includes construction of approximately 30 miles of additional pipe segments, called loops, in PA and NJ, in addition to modifying some existing compressor stations and valve sites. Earlier this week FERC reported the proposed changes would have “no significant impact” on the environment. What does that mean?…
Read More “FERC Says “No Significant Impact” from Leidy Southeast Pipeline”
Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Protege Energy | Utica Shale | Washington County (OH)

Marietta Tries 2nd Time to Lease City Land for Utica Drilling
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

The City of Marietta, OH has several parcels of land they’re interested in leasing for Utica gas drilling: (1) Gunlock Park, behind the Walmart complex off Pike Streeet, (2) city-owned land along Goose Run Road in Marietta Township, (3) city garage property off Alderman Street, and (4) Buckeye Park off Acme and Greene Streets, and (5) the Kroger swap (i.e. “wetlands”) off Acme Street. All five locations total 95 acres. MDN reported that because city council snoozed, they lost out on an earlier opportunity to lease the Gunlock Park and Goose Run properties (35 acres) back in May (see Delay in Leasing City-Owned Land Costs Marietta, OH Big $). The city will run a second advertisement (legal requirement) to lease all parcels, and once again, they may have some interest. If they don’t botch it this time…
Read More “Marietta Tries 2nd Time to Lease City Land for Utica Drilling”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Aug 13, 2014
August 13, 2014August 13, 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, Aug 13, 2014”
CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Spectra Energy

List of LNG Export Projects for Marcellus/Utica Shale Gas
August 12, 2014September 14, 2015

Would it surprise you to learn that there are now six potential liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on the books or under serious consideration for the East Coast that aim to use at least some Marcellus Shale gas for export? Would it astound you (as it did us) that five of the six are Canadian and not U.S. projects? And would it further astound you (although it did not surprise us) that the reason five of the six are in Canada is because of the extreme regulatory delays in getting such projects authorized in the U.S. intentionally thrown up by the Obama administration? Below is a list of all six East Coast LNG export projects that are being talked about, plus Gulf Coast and other LNG plants we’re aware of that will be fed, in part, with Marcellus Shale gas…
Read More “List of LNG Export Projects for Marcellus/Utica Shale Gas”
Industrywide Issues | Research | Utica Shale

Utica Shale Impressive Debut in EIA Drilling Productivity Report
August 12, 2014August 12, 2014

Yesterday the Utica Shale came roaring in as the newest member play of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) monthly Drilling Productivity Report (DPR). As we’ve often remarked in the past, the DPR is our favorite report from our favorite government agency–the EIA. Yesterday marked the first appearance of the Utica/Point Pleasant in the monthly DPR and wow, what an entrance! The Utica is already producing nearly as much natural gas as the Bakken Shale, although it produces just a tiny fraction of the oil produced in the Bakken. However, the Utica, producing an average 37,000 barrels of oil per day has nearly caught the oil production of the Marcellus, at 50,000 barrels per day. And when you consider new production (first 30 days a well goes online), the Utica far outstrips the Marcellus, Haynesville and even the Permian for oil production! It shows the enormous importance of the Utica in the constellation of U.S. onshore plays. Below is the full DPR…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | M&A | MarkWest Energy

MarkWest a “Prime Buyout Candidate” for Kinder Morgan?!
August 12, 2014August 12, 2014

Richard Kinder, CEO and chairman of the board at Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, is a man on the prowl. Kinder Morgan (KM), for those not familiar, is this country’s largest midstream (pipeline and processing plant) company–and by market capitalization, the fourth largest energy company in the U.S. KM has increasingly aimed its sights at the Marcellus/Utica region, including an expansion of its Tenneessee Gas Pipeline across the state of Massachusetts (see Kinder Signs up New Customers for MA Pipeline, 63% of Capacity). Richard Kinder, the man in charge, has been consolidating the different divisions and units and subsidiaries of the company and now has billions to go shopping. What’s he looking for? To purchase “rival pipeline operators,” including the biggest and best in the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “MarkWest a “Prime Buyout Candidate” for Kinder Morgan?!”
Bradford County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Southwestern Energy

Southwestern Fined $128K in PA for Drilling with Expired Permits
August 12, 2014August 12, 2014

One of the biggest drillers in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale is Southwestern Energy (based in Houston, TX). In fact, according to MDN’s own 2014 Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook, Vol. 1, there are only two other companies with more permits to drill wells in PA over the past year: Chesapeake Energy and Range Resources. So you may consider Southwestern one of the “big 3” in the Marcellus. Southwestern has just been fined $128,031 for drilling wells after permits to drill those wells was expired. Southwestern drilled five wells in Bradford County, PA after the permits issued for those wells had expired. Such permits expire after one year of being issued. Southwestern went ahead and drilled anywhere from 4 to 18 months after expiration…
Read More “Southwestern Fined $128K in PA for Drilling with Expired Permits”
Energy Companies | Rice Energy

Rice Energy 2Q14: Marcellus Prod Up 84%, Utica Bigfoot Blockbuster
August 12, 2014August 12, 2014

Rice Energy, a small but rapidly growing and important driller in the Utica and Marcellus, issued their second quarter financial and operational update yesterday. Rice reports gas production for 2Q14 averaged 241 million cubic feet per day (virtually all of it from their Marcellus wells)–up 84% from the same period last year. Rice has drilled perhaps the most productive well in the Utica Shale–the Bigfoot 9H, a 6,950 foot lateral with 40 frac stages located in Belmont County, OH. Rice says the Bigfoot well has so far produced a total of 676 million cubic feet of natgas and continues to flow at a restricted rate of 14 MMcf/d. Truly impressive numbers. Here’s more impressive numbers from Rice…
Read More “Rice Energy 2Q14: Marcellus Prod Up 84%, Utica Bigfoot Blockbuster”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

NJ Gov. Christie Vetoes Frack Waste Ban 2nd Time
August 12, 2014August 12, 2014

Two years ago, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (Republican) vetoed a bill given to him by the NJ Democrat legislature that would ban the treatment and disposal of frack wastewater in NJ–presumably coming from Pennsylvania (see NJ Gov. Christie Vetoes Frack Wastewater Ban Bill). That didn’t stop ardent anti-drillers and wackos from organizations like the Sierra Club and the odious Food & Water Watch from trying again. They did, using their reliable (and dimwitted) allies in the NJ legislature. A second bill was passed by both the Senate (S1041) and Assembly (A2108). The bill went to Christie’s desk and we pondered whether or not Christie would stick to his principles (see Will NJ Gov Christie Veto Frack Wastewater Ban a 2nd Time?). The good news is that Christie has stuck to his principles and last Friday he vetoed this latest anti-drilling snow job…
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