Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY’s “Progress” to Control Bakken Crude Trains Passing Through
December 5, 2014December 5, 2014

The issue of shipping Bakken crude oil on rail cars, many of which pass through New York State on the way to the Port of Albany, continues to be news in the Empire State. MDN told you in July that all New Yorkers are now less safe because of actions by the state government to disclose to the public (not just first responders) routes those shipments take through NY state (see New York Caves to Anti-Drillers Again: Discloses Oil Train Movements). Just coming to light for MDN, in January of this year Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order (EO) 125 directing state agencies to conduct a “coordinated review” of NY’s crude oil incident prevention and response capacity. Earlier this week the agencies provided a status update to Cuomo (full copy embedded below). The upshot seems to be the state is pointing fingers at the railroad industry and the federal government, telling them to get their act together to protect NY residents…
Read More “NY’s “Progress” to Control Bakken Crude Trains Passing Through”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Nutjob Alert: Philly Rally Today to Protest Fossil Fuels
December 5, 2014December 5, 2014

A bunch of kooks and environmental radicals are gathering this morning in Philadelphia because, well, because they have nothing better to do. The rally is, unbelievably, against fossil fuels. And how will these nutters get there? By driving cars, taking trains and buses, etc. All of which use fossil fuels. That’s after getting up this morning in a home heated by fossil fuels and getting dressed with clothes that have fossil fuel fibers in them and shoes and sneakers manufactured from fossil fuels. And so the “we hate fossil fuelers” from 350 Philadelphia, Berks Gas Truth, Clean Air Council, Clean Water Action, THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Food & Water Watch, Keystone Catholics, Maypop Collective, North of Washington Avenue Coalition, Penn Environment, Pennsylvania Federation BMWED – Teamsters, Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, Philadelphia Area Student Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaigns, Philadelphia Be the Change, Philadelphia Interfaith Power and Light, Protecting our Waters, Rising Tide Philly, Sierra Club, Beyond Natural Gas will gather this morning to protest against fossil fuels. How rich…
Read More “Nutjob Alert: Philly Rally Today to Protest Fossil Fuels”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Litigation | Supply Chain

Thorny Issues in Using Independent Contractors in Shale Drilling
December 5, 2014December 5, 2014

Most exploration & production (E&P) companies–the ones who risk the money to have oil and gas wells drilled–don’t actually DO the drilling themselves. They hire it done by using oilfield services companies like Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes. In addition, they hire just about everyone done–from security at well pads to earth moving to water trucking to you name it. The shale drilling industry, particularly in the Marcellus and Utica, is a bonanza for local businesses or “independent contractors” that plug in to the industry supply chain. However, there are some negatives for E&Ps when it comes to using independent contractors rather than having employees on the payroll do the work. The sharp lawyers at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease say lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act are now more common than employment discrimination cases for oil and gas companies. They’ve just issued an alert/advisory on the pros and cons of using independent contractors in the oil and gas industry…
Read More “Thorny Issues in Using Independent Contractors in Shale Drilling”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Dec 5, 2014
December 5, 2014December 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: Fri, Dec 5, 2014”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Time for Gov-Elect Wolf to Pay the Piper – Severance Tax High on List
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

It’s payback time for newly elected Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf. He took radical California environmentalist Tom Steyer’s money, millions of it, to get elected (see CA Anti-Driller Tom Steyer Purchasing Tom Wolf PA Governorship). Now that Wolf has been elected, the bill has come due. Time to pay the pied piper. The price? Get a Marcellus-killing severance tax passed. Right on cue that’s just what Wolf is doing–his master’s bidding…
Read More “Time for Gov-Elect Wolf to Pay the Piper – Severance Tax High on List”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Sand/Proppant | Wyoming County (PA)

Revisiting Frac Sand Facility Controversy in Tunkhannock, PA
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

We’re happy to bring you another perspective on the controversy in Tunkhannock, PA over a proposed frac sand transfer station. In October we told you about residents around Tunkhannock who are pushing back against a facility being proposed by Hi-Crush/D&I Silica (see NEPA Town Residents Resist Frack Sand Transfer Station). What caught our eye was the antics of one of the locals who dressed up in a canary outfit to conjure the image of a canary in the mine shaft. Seemed to us that perhaps anti-drillers were opposing the project. We then referenced the D&I project when we wrote about another frac sand facility where the town and company worked out their problems like adults (see WV Sand Company & Community Work Together to Solve Problem). We were recently contacted by an MDN subscriber who lives in Tunkhannock to say, “Hold there Jim, there is another side to this story…”
Read More “Revisiting Frac Sand Facility Controversy in Tunkhannock, PA”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Taxation

Property Tax Revenue/Economic Impact from ET Rover Pipeline in OH
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

Seems like “all of a sudden” large pipeline projects planned for the northeast have begun talking about how much property taxes (and economic impacts) their projects will pay out. Yesterday it was the 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline project from Dominion (see Atlantic Coast Pipeline: $25M/Yr in Prop. Tax, $70M/Yr Econ Impact). Today? Energy Transfer Partners’ Rover pipeline, a 620-mile pipeline that will carry Marcellus and Utica Shale gas west, through Ohio into Michigan and on to Ontario, Canada (see Big News: ETP “Rover” Marcellus/Utica Pipeline to Midwest/Canada). How much of an economic impact and how much in property tax will it pay out? We have some numbers…
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Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Research

New Research: Fugitive Methane Declines, Without Onerous EPA Regs
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

Play along for a minute. Pretend you believe that carbon (the thing you breathe out with every breath) and so-called “fugitive” methane (rascally devil escapes from oil and gas drilling operations) are causing the earth’s temp to spike. We know, we know. The earth’s average temp hasn’t gone up in 18 years–but we said, just play along here for a minute, k? If you’re a man-causes-global warming believer, it stands to reason you’d like to see less carbon and less methane. Both are already happening–without the jackbooted regulations of the federal EPA. The latest evidence is tabulated by Energy in Depth, the public relations arm of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). EID’s report tabulates the latest science which shows fugitive methane emissions in major shale plays–including the Marcellus and Utica–have gone DOWN, significantly–from 2011 to 2013…
Read More “New Research: Fugitive Methane Declines, Without Onerous EPA Regs”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Radicals Ask Cuomo to Ban Fracking Because of Global Warming
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

Not that it’s been hiding anywhere, but the truth comes out (yet again). A group of 75+ individuals masquerading as “groups of people” have signed and sent a letter to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (full copy below) requesting that he ban fracking statewide. Why? Because of their belief that mankind is causing global warming by burning fossil fuels. That is, because they hate fossil fuels. They hate the fossil fuels used to manufacture the computers on which they typed the letter to Cuomo. They hate the fossil fuels they use to travel to work. They hate the fossil fuels that are part of the clothes they wear (petrochemical fibers) and the sneakers on their feet. They hate the fossil fuels they use to heat their homes. Yep, the so-called environmentalists who use fossil fuels every day of their lives–hate them. We call it insanity. Fracking Derangement Syndrome (FDS). Left-wing newspapers like the Albany Times Union dutifully report it like its actually news…
Read More “NY Radicals Ask Cuomo to Ban Fracking Because of Global Warming”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

Enviro Groups Sue DOT to Stop Bakken Oil Rail Shipments
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

The radicals at Earthjustice, the Sierra Club and ForestEthics (bet you didn’t know that forests have ethics, didja?) have sued the federal Dept. of Transportation to challenge the DOT’s refusal to ban railroads from shipping crude oil via rail from the Bakken (and other shale plays). This is the same tactic repeatedly used by anti-drillers (and leftists everywhere) to create new laws without getting Congress involved. Sue a regulatory agency, win the lawsuit, then the agency is “forced” to enact a regulation it (supposedly) didn’t want to enact–at the gun point of a lefty judge. (Watch this video of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt for an explanation of how they do it.) What Earthjustice and their ilk continue to do to our justice system is sick…
Read More “Enviro Groups Sue DOT to Stop Bakken Oil Rail Shipments”
Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues | New York | Research | Statewide NY

Northeastern Winter Gas Outlook: More Marcellus Gas Needed in NYC
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

Morningstar, an independent investment research and management company, is fresh out with a report titled, “Northeastern Winter Gas Outlook.” In the report, analysts take a look at the demand for natural gas by the northeast, in particular demand by New York City. What do they find? Although infrastructure (pipelines) have improved a somewhat in the last year, bringing more gas to the northeast (largely from the Marcellus), more needs to be done. Natural gas is very sensitive to supply and demand. The report states that in the past year alone over 1,000 buildings in New York City–apartment buildings and office buildings–have switched from fuel oil to natural gas for heating. That means there’s a lot more demand this winter than last–at least another 100 million cubic feet per day. If we get another extended cold snap, natural gas prices will go a lot higher in NYC…
Read More “Northeastern Winter Gas Outlook: More Marcellus Gas Needed in NYC”
About MDN | Allegheny County | Meetings | Pennsylvania

Oil & Gas Awards Summits, Looking Back & Looking Forward [Video]
December 4, 2014December 4, 2014

In October, MDN editor Jim Willis had the pleasure of once again participating in two regional Oil & Gas Award Summits–this time in Dallas, TX and in Oklahoma City, OK. Yes, a little bit out of the Marcellus/Utica orbit, but the event organizers asked nicely. 🙂 It was a blast meeting and talking with oil and gas people in other regions of the country. What a breath of fresh air to visit states like Texas and Oklahoma–where the average resident actually likes the O&G industry! Jim was there to moderate two panel sessions at each event (links to videos to view all four sessions below). Once again the O&G Awards are coming to Pittsburgh, in March 2015. Jim previously sent an email to MDN subscribers, but we also want to post a notice here. There’s a fast-approaching deadline of Dec. 11, 2014 to submit your company for consideration for an award. We have the details…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Dec 4, 2014
December 4, 2014December 4, 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, Dec 4, 2014”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Energy | Susquehanna County | WPX Energy

First Shoe Drops: WPX Sells 1/2 Marcellus Assets to Southwestern
December 3, 2014December 3, 2014

As we’ve been saying for some time, WPX Energy, the spun off but totally independent exploration & production company that was once part of midstream giant Williams, has been looking to exit the Marcellus stage left (see Flip Flop: All of WPX’s Marcellus Wells on the Auction Block). The first shoe has now dropped: WPX announced yesterday they’ve sold all of their Susquehanna County, PA leases and wells to Southwestern Energy for $300 million. We have all of the facts of the deal–how many acres, how many wells–along with answers to questions that landowners still signed with WPX in other PA geographies want to know–primarily, “Are we next?” We also have Southwestern’s take on the deal and (interestingly) what they seem to most value about the deal. It may surprise you…
Read More “First Shoe Drops: WPX Sells 1/2 Marcellus Assets to Southwestern”
Energy Companies | Gastar Exploration | Lease & Royalty Payments | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Looks to Lease More Ohio River, Other State Land for Drilling
December 3, 2014December 3, 2014

West Virginia is interested in leasing more under-the-water land (and under other state-owned land) for shale drilling. You may recall that Gastar recently had the winning bid to drill under 232 acres of the Ohio River as it flows through Marshall and Wetzel counties (see Gastar Wins Lease to Drill Under Ohio River in WV). WV is getting $3,500 per acre and a 20% royalty on gas produced from Gastar–a nifty $812,000 check just for signing the lease, money that goes into the coffers of the state. They like that money and they want more of it–and Gastar is interested in drilling under more WV-owned land…
Read More “WV Looks to Lease More Ohio River, Other State Land for Drilling”
Accidents | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Susquehanna County

PA DEP Fines Cabot $120K for January Water Tank Explosion in NEPA
December 3, 2014December 3, 2014

Here’s one that slipped by us when it happened. On Jan. 11, 2014 there was an explosion at a Cabot Oil & Gas well site in Susquehanna Count, PA. The explosion happened in a brine water storage tank at the site in Jessup Township, caused by a water truck driver (who was injured in the blast). The incident is coming to light now because yesterday the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) levied a $120,000 fine on Cabot. Thanks to the investigative work done by the Scranton Times-Tribune, we know exactly what happened…
Read More “PA DEP Fines Cabot $120K for January Water Tank Explosion in NEPA”