Marcellus Drilling News

Braskem | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Odebrecht | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wood County

Economist Briefs WVU-P on Odebrecht Ethane Cracker
October 20, 2014October 20, 2014

In February, the former director of West Virginia University’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research and professor emeritus at WVU, Tom Witt, released a study about the coming economic miracle that will be the Odebrecht ethane cracker plant in Parkersburg, WV (see Economist Releases Report on WV Cracker Plant’s Economic Impact). Witt’s previous employer, WVU, also hired him to brief them about this coming economic miracle. They specifically want to be sure their educational programs will help prepare the local workforce. Witt briefed the Parkersburg Board of Governors earlier this month. What did he tell them?…
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BG Group | Energy Companies | Equinor/Statoil

BG Poaches Statoil CEO Helge Lund with Big Bucks
October 20, 2014October 20, 2014

Statoil is a Norwegian oil and gas company that has a number of joint venture deals–along with their own drilling program–in the Marcellus and Utica Shale (see MDN’s list of Statoil stories here). So it was with interest that we noticed a changing of the guard at the top. Statoil CEO Helge Lund was lured away by BG Group. What lured him away? Big money. BG gave Lund a £12m “golden hello” (that’s a roughly $19.4 million signing bonus) and the possibility of annual earnings of £13.5m (or $21.8 million, per year!) if he hits all his targets. BG wanted Lunde bad. We searched and found one reference on MDN to BG–they spent $950 million in 2010 to lock up 654,000 acres of leases here in the U.S., including 186,000 acres in the Marcellus, although they have no active drilling program of their own in the northeast (see Recent Marcellus Shale Joint Venture Deals). What does Lunde’s change from Statoil to BG mean for northeast shale drilling?…
Read More “BG Poaches Statoil CEO Helge Lund with Big Bucks”
About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Oct 20-Nov 2, 2014 [Free]
October 20, 2014October 20, 2014

Below are upcoming events for this week and next. To see the full list of future events, visit this page: //marcellusdrilling.com/calendar/.

NOTE: To have an item included, please email it to: calendar@marcellusdrilling.com.
Read More “Calendar of Events for Oct 20-Nov 2, 2014 [Free]”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Oct 20, 2014
October 20, 2014October 20, 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: Mon, Oct 20, 2014”
Industrywide Issues | Supply Chain

Key Secret to Landing New Business from the NE Shale Industry
October 17, 2014October 17, 2014

If you own, or work for, or manage, a small- to medium-sized business, how do you get potentially lucrative new deals from the flourishing Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling industry? It’s an important question and one we’re often asked. Although there’s no magic–networking and word of mouth and being in the right place at the right time helps–there is one thing that a small or medium-sized business can do to dramatically increase your chances of scoring new business from the shale industry. What is that one thing? Getting an ISNetworld certification. And what the heck is ISNetworld?…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines

Kinder Morgan Plans Chicago Pipeline Expansion for Marcellus/Utica
October 17, 2014October 17, 2014

Kinder Morgan’s Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) announced yesterday the open season for a plan to expand their Gulf Coast mainline pipeline from the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) interconnection in Moultrie County, Illinois, to points north on NGPL’s pipeline system. They aim to increase capacity by 450,000 dekatherms per day (437 million cubic feet per day). The project involves new construction of $100 million and the end result is to move more Marcellus and Utica Shale gas to more than 100 delivery points in the Chicago area…
Read More “Kinder Morgan Plans Chicago Pipeline Expansion for Marcellus/Utica”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Randolph County | West Virginia

Verbal Dueling at Anti-Pipeline Meeting in Randolph County, WV
October 17, 2014October 17, 2014

A couple of West Virginians verbally sparred at an “open house” conducted by the West Virginia Wilderness Lovers yesterday to essentially bad mouth and denigrate Dominion and their planned $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. The incident happened in Mill Creek (Randolph County), WV. One local landowner, who we will charitably say was making some wild claims about Dominion and the pipeline (it’s going to blow up and burn his family to ashes), was challenged by a pipeline union worker, also from Randolph County…
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Antero Resources | Energy Companies

Antero Resources 3Q14: Shorter Stage Lengths Yield 20-30% More Gas
October 17, 2014October 17, 2014

Earlier this week Antero Resources, one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, released their third quarter numbers along with an operational update. The company reports their new strategy of using shorter stage lengths (SSLs) when fracking wells has resulted in better producing wells–like 20-30% more productive than a non-SSL well. We’ve pulled out their operating update for both the Marcellus and Utica (an interesting read)…
Read More “Antero Resources 3Q14: Shorter Stage Lengths Yield 20-30% More Gas”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Obama EPA & BLM will Launch Methane Regs After Nov. Election
October 17, 2014October 17, 2014

In April MDN warned you that the Obama EPA is coming for natural gas–i.e. “methane”–as part of Obama’s so-called Climate Action Plan. We warned you that the oil and gas sector are about to be bloodied (see Rogue Obama EPA Goes on Methane Witch Hunt). We hate it when we’re right about such things, but we were. MDN received an email alert from the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) about this very issue. The EPA (and the Bureau of Land Management), according to the IPAA, will unveil devastating new regulations AFTER the November elections…
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Anadarko | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

More on NY AG Schneiderman’s Bullying of Anadarko & EOG Resources
October 17, 2014October 17, 2014

If a mafia boss walks into a business owner’s store and “informs” that owner that the owner will start doing things the good fellas way (pay money, say 10% of all revenue) in return for “protection” from the “bad guys” that otherwise may make a visit to that place of business, it’s called a shake down. If we substitute “New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman” for mafia boss and “oil/gas company” for business owner, you’d have what’s just happened in New York State–and it’s called “good government.” Schneiderman isn’t personally getting rich from the deal he’s just forced down the throats of two major o&g companies (we don’t think, anyway). But make no mistake–the businesses Schneiderman targets would lose massive amounts of money in lower stock valuations if they don’t agree to Schneiderman’s “offer.” Schneiderman held the gun of his office to the collective heads of Anadarko Petroleum and EOG Resouces over the issue of fracking (something not even happening in NY), and they agreed to dance and sing his tune. They’ve just been shaken down. Here are the details…
Read More “More on NY AG Schneiderman’s Bullying of Anadarko & EOG Resources”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues

Anti-Drilling Former Mayor of DISH, TX Gives FrackNation the Slip!
October 17, 2014October 17, 2014

One of the earliest anti-drilling rallies MDN editor Jim Willis covered by personally attending was held at a Binghamton public school in February 2012. We had a visiting “dignitary”–former Mayor of DISH, TX, Calvin Tillman (see DISH, Texas Mayor Calvin Tillman Visits Binghamton – Marcellus Drilling News was There). It was at that meeting that Jim’s eyes were opened to the fact that many in the anti-drilling movement are ’60s hippies–or hippie wannabes. We weren’t all that impressed with Mayor Tillman’s ramblings. Recently one of our favorite people, Phelim McAleer (producer and star of the FrackNation documentary) caught up with Mayor Tillman, to ask him some tough questions about the “science” Tillman uses in his talks about DISH. Tillman, obviously outclassed by McAleer, slipped out the back door…
Read More “Anti-Drilling Former Mayor of DISH, TX Gives FrackNation the Slip!”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Oct 17, 2014
October 17, 2014October 17, 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, Oct 17, 2014”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Energy | Statewide WV | Washington County | West Virginia

Chesapeake Sells Close to 25% of Marcellus/Utica Operation
October 16, 2014October 16, 2014

The Chesapeake Energy fire sale continues–and this time it’s cut right into the bone and sinew of the company. The beneficiary of Chesapeake’s ongoing divestiture, this time, is Southwestern Energy. Southwestern has signed a deal to pick up 413,000 (!) Marcellus/Utica acres, most of it in West Virginia with some of it in Washington County, PA. Much of the land is in prime wet gas areas (see the map below). The deal includes 256 (!) operating and producing Marcellus and Utica Shale wells and another 179 (!) non-operated, non-producing wells–a total of 435 drilled wells. Southwestern is paying Chesapeake $5.375 BILLION for the deal–which will make Chesapeake’s real boss, corporate raider Carl Icahn, very happy…
Read More “Chesapeake Sells Close to 25% of Marcellus/Utica Operation”
Energy Companies | Keystone Mountaineer | Mountaineer Keystone | PDC Mountaineer | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Major New Player in the Marcellus Emerges: Mountaineer Keystone
October 16, 2014November 19, 2015

Earlier this week Mountaineer Keystone, a shale driller headquartered in Pittsburgh, announced it had bought out PDC Mountaineer for half a billion dollars ($500 million). Who are these two players? Mountaineer Keystone is backed by the money of investment firm First Reserve. PDC Mountaineer is a joint venture between PDC Energy and investment firm Lime Rock Partners. The deal means Mountaineer Keystone picks up a huge 131,000 net acres in the Marcellus/Utica region, boosting the company’s position to a new 181,000 net acres. Also part of the deal is a small gathering pipeline operation. Here’s the details…
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Earthquakes | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Utica Shale

Study Says Series of Unfelt Earthquakes in OH from Utica Fracking
October 16, 2014October 16, 2014

Another day, another “study” that says fracking causes earthquakes–this time in Ohio’s Utica Shale. In typical and now predictable fashion, mainstream media does a “drive-by” with the information–like a drive-by shooting–and then continues on its merry way. Here at MDN we’ll break it down and explain it so you have ALL the facts and not anti-drilling “impressions” of what the data says. First off, an admission that we don’t (yet) have a full copy of the newly published study, which has reportedly been published in the journal Seismological Research Letters (but which we can’t find on their website). We’ve requested a full copy of the paper and are awaiting it and hope to share it with you when we get it. The study is titled, “Characterization of an earthquake sequence triggered by hydraulic fracturing in Harrison County Ohio” and looks at a series of “400 earthquakes” that were so tiny as to be unfelt by anyone–but detectable by finely tuned equipment. The earthquakes happened in Harrison County, OH and are thought (but not proven) to be the result of fracking several Utica wells over top of a previously unknown geologic fault. The author of the study himself says the earthquakes couldn’t even be felt by anyone…
Read More “Study Says Series of Unfelt Earthquakes in OH from Utica Fracking”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

New PA Legislation SB 1499 Would Stop Many Pipeline Projects
October 16, 2014October 16, 2014

In a cleverly disguised move to stop Marcellus drilling, two Philadelphia-area state senators–Andy Dinniman (Democrat, Chester) and John Rafferty (RINO, Montgomery)–have teamed up to introduce legislation, Senate Bill (SB) 1499 (full copy below) that would assess an “impact fee” on new pipelines and possibly existing pipelines re-purposed for a different use. The pipelines getting this new fee are pipelines that specifically carry natural gas, NGLs or oil (other pipelines don’t count). The fee would only be assessed on pipelines in what they define as “high-consequence areas” like, you know, the Philly area. Places with lots of residences and businesses. You live in the sticks? They don’t care. You don’t get nuthin. You live someplace “important” like Philly? Soak ’em. Similar to the current drilling impact fee part of Act 13 (this is what’s clever), the money raised stays local–50% of it to the county, 40% to the town/city where the pipeline runs, and 10% to the state Public Utility Commission. How much of this new “impact fee” does the landowner get–the people who are most inconvenienced by having the pipeline? 0%…
Read More “New PA Legislation SB 1499 Would Stop Many Pipeline Projects”