Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | Trans Energy | West Virginia

Trans Energy Fined $3M for Polluting WV Creeks & Swaps with Dirt
September 4, 2014September 4, 2014

Trans Energy, a smaller, “pure play” driller in the West Virginia Marcellus Shale, has just been slapped bigtime by the federal Environmental Protection Agency along with the WV Dept. of Environmental Protection. The EPA announced a deal with Trans Energy whereby the company will pay an astounding $3 million fine for “unauthorized discharge of dredge or fill material” into creeks and swamps in 15 different locations. Apparently Trans Energy didn’t get a “Mother May I?” permit when building roads and pushing dirt around at some of their Marcellus drilling sites and so will now pay a heavy fine. Oh, and speaking of the $3M fine–it will be split 50/50 between the EPA and the WVDEP. Party time at EPA HQ!…
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Eclipse Resources | Energy Companies | Harrison County | Monroe County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Eclipse Resources: Production Results for 7 OH Utica Wells
September 4, 2014September 4, 2014

Eclipse Resources, a small but rapidly growing independent driller focused on the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, released the initial production results for their two most recent well pads in the Utica Shale–one pad in Monroe County, the other in Harrison County. Eclipse drilled seven wells across the two pads, and if you combine them, the seven wells are producing (initial production or IP) 52.6 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, and 1,800 barrels of condensate per day. Very respectable numbers. Here’s the full details, along with a copy of an investor presentation (lots of great maps and charts) just released…
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Energy Services | Summit Midstream

Summit Midstream Floats 4M Units, Hopes to Raise $224M+
September 4, 2014September 4, 2014

Summit Midstream (pipeline company) is looking to raise another $224 million to use in their considerable midstream operation–including their increasing focus on the Marcellus/Utica. Yesterday the company issued a press release announcing they want to sell another 4 million “common units” (think shares of stock) in their master limited partnership (MLP) company. As of this morning, Summit unit shares were trading for $56.12 per share (or “unit”). At that price, if they sell all 4 million new shares, they’ll raise well over $200 million. As we’ve previously pointed out, Summit is making major moves in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions (see Summit Midstream 2Q14: Marcellus Rockets to #2 Operation). We expect some (much?) of the money they’ll raise in this newest offering will be used to either pay down previous deals, or perhaps be used for more expansion (acquisitions) in the northeast…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Inflection Energy | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Bad PA Supreme Court Act 13 Decision Comes Home to Roost
September 4, 2014September 25, 2019

The anti-drilling spin machine is in full cycle from the virulent anti-drilling group PennFuture. They’re hoping you won’t notice what we’re about to point out: the rank hypocrisy of a court decision last Friday. PennFuture is out with a press release that’s all peaches and cream, butterflies and unicorns that a (low) county court in Lycoming County has tossed out a drilling permit reviewed and allowed by Fairfield Township against Inflection Energy and landowners Donald and Eleanor Shaheen. PennFuture is billing it as the first test of the PA Supreme Court’s decision to allow local towns to create their own oil and gas zoning ordinances (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). “But, wait a minute!” (you may say), “The Supreme Court said towns can do as they please, right?” Right. “The town decided the well pad was OK, so what’s the deal?” Good question…
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Endeavour International | Energy Companies

Driller Endeavour Intl Decides to Skip Loan Interest Payments
September 4, 2014September 4, 2014

NOTE: MDN has revised this article (a few hours after releasing it). We orginally said that SM Energy had ended up in bankruptcy court following the aborted deal with Endeavour. That is not correct and we regret the error. SM has not (as far as we can tell) ever been close to bankruptcy. Thank you to an alert MDN reader who pointed out our mistake.

In July 2011 drilling company Endeavour International signed a deal with SM Energy to purchase 50,000 Marcellus Shale acres, three producing gas wells and a pipeline located in McKean and Potter counties in Pennsylvania for $110 million. Five months later Endeavour decided to abort the signed deal. The two sides finally settled 2 1/2 years of lawsuits earlier this year (see Endeavour & SM Energy Settle Lawsuit over PA Marcellus Properties). Why bring it up again? Because we noticed that on Tuesday Endeavour announced they would not make scheduled interest payments on their loans. According to the terms of the loans Endeavour has up to 30 days to pay. They’ve been discussing payback of the loans since June and have not yet come to new terms, so they (arbitrarily?) just decided they would withhold scheduled payments. Is there a pattern here?…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

Who Knew? “Massive” Marcellus is Drilled in “Two Dozen States”
September 4, 2014September 4, 2014

Wow, the Marcellus must have grown quite a bit overnight when no one was looking. According to a reporter at Newsday (Long Island newspaper, sixth largest regional newspaper in the country), “More than two dozen states permit drilling in the massive Marcellus Shale deposit.” Last time we checked there are three states drilling in the Marcellus: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Most of it happens in two states: PA and WV. When reporters are that sloppy, it makes you wonder if anything else in the article is actually true. In this case, it’s an article about the differences of opinion by gubernatorial candidates in NY on whether or not to allow fracking in the Empire State…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina

The Behavioral Differences Between Anti- and Pro-Drillers
September 4, 2014September 4, 2014

Over the years of covering the debate on fracking and shale drilling, MDN editor Jim Willis has, on many occasions, sat in public meetings and personally witnessed those who oppose drilling (anti-drillers) behaving badly. We understand people having a different viewpoint–wrong viewpoints, but different. We respect that. However, those with an opposite viewpoint don’t reciprocate that respect. It’s not uncommon for anti-drillers to boo, clap, hiss and engage in all manner of theatrics and histrionics–especially if there are cameras and microphones in the room. No camera or microphone? They bring them along to record their own rude behavior! Seems it’s a source of pride for them. As we’ve pointed out many times before, many of these people are hippie retreads–either actual hippies from the 60s who seem to have found a new purpose for otherwise dull lives, or college-aged kids who somehow romanticize and view themselves as being cut from the same radical cloth. MDN is not the only place to notice anti-drillers behaving badly. Forbes magazine has too…
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Energy Companies | EnerVest | EV Energy Partners | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Stark County

EnerVest’s Grand Experiment: Fracking Clinton Sandstone in Ohio
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

Long before the words “Marcellus” and “Utica” entered the public discourse and consciousness of Ohioans, there was the Clinton Sandstone. For years conventional drillers have been sinking wells in the Clinton, which is found 4,500 feet below the surface (the Marcellus and Utica Shale layers are deeper). The Clinton lies under 25 counties in eastern Ohio. Over the years, some 35,000 conventional (vertical) wells have tapped the Clinton Sandstone in Ohio. EnerVest, one of the largest acreage holders in the Utica Shale (and in the Clinton Sandstone), has embarked on a great experiment. What if you turned a Clinton Sandstone well horizontal, like a Utica or Marcellus well? Would it work? Could you get more gas out of the sandstone by fracking it like shale? EnerVest has drilled seven horizontal wells so far, with a permit to drill another and a request to drill a ninth. Here’s the details, along with the differences between a Clinton horizontal well and a Utica horizontal well…
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Appalachian Resins | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio | Processing Plants

Ohio to Get “Baby” Ethane Cracker Originally Slated for WV
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

In February 2013 MDN told you about plans from Appalachian Resins (AR) to build a polyethelene (PE) manufacturing plant complete with a baby ethane cracker (see “Small” Ethane Cracker Plant Coming to Wheeling, WV). The company, at that point, said they would begin construction somewhere south of the Wheeling, WV area by the end of 2013. That didn’t happen. Now we know why. Last week, AR’s CEO Jim Cutler announced he had signed a letter of intent with the Monroe County (OH) Port Authority to build the plant in Monroe County instead. The location for the plant moved just across the Ohio River, from the WV side to the OH side of the river. The cost to build the new facility is a cool $1 billion. No doubt both sides of the border will benefit, but this is definitely a loss for WV and a big gain for OH…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Dominion Commits to Major New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Project
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

What a difference five months can make in the midstream business. In April Dominion launched a nonbinding (“feeling out the marketplace”) open season to gauge potential interest in a pipeline that would carry Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from West Virginia into Virginia and eventually to North Carolina (see Dominion Announces 2 New Pipeline Projects from Marcellus/Utica). The project was called the Dominion Southeast Reliability Project. At the end of May, Dominion was still saying the proposed pipeline, which would cost around $2 billion to build, was still “very preliminary” and that the company had “not decided to do this” (see More Details/Proposed Route of Dominion Marcellus to NC Pipeline). We couldn’t even locate a map of the proposed route! Looks like the nonbinding open season was a big success. Yesterday Dominion announced not only is the pipeline going forward, they’ve formed a joint venture with three other companies to build it. We have a map of the route, a name change for the project (now called the Atlantic Coast Pipeline), and the price to build it has more than doubled–from $2 billion to $5 billion! Here’s the details…
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Energy Companies | Forced Pooling | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Lawrence County | Pennsylvania

Hilcorp Drops Forced Pooling Request in W PA
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

On a day filled with big news, here’s even more big news: Last Friday Hilcorp announced they would withdraw their request for forced pooling for several properties in Lawrence County, PA. As MDN has reported a number of times, this issue has now gone on for years. As we’ve also told you, PA law allows Utica wells to be pooled under a 1961 law (below a certain depth), but Marcellus wells cannot be pooled. Just last week the state Dept. of Environmental Protection rescheduled new hearing dates–for the 4th time! (see PA DEP Rescedules Hilcorp Forced Pooling Hearing 4th Time). Now it’s a moot point. Here’s the kicker: the three families with a combined 35 acres that didn’t want to lease won’t see a penny from Hilcorp, while their neighbors will rake in the big bucks. All of the same truck traffic, etc. will still happen for the obtuse people who didn’t want to sign–except now they get all of the headaches and none of the benefits. Sounds like a real “win” to us!…
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Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

EQT & NextEra Tie the Knot on WV-VA Pipeline Joint Venture
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

There’s a big difference between nonbinding and binding–as in open seasons. When a pipeline company wants to see if they can get any interest for building a pipeline (which involves millions of dollars of investment, sometimes billions) they start with a “nonbinding” open season. Think of it as an elaborate marketing exercise in lead generation. If the company gets good vibes from the nonbinding open season, they then move to a binding open season. It’s one thing to say “Yeah, we’ll use X capacity on that pipeline if you build it.” It’s a whole other thing to sign on the dotted line, committing to a binding contract for the next 10-20 years. It is a huge financial commitment. EQT and their joint venture partner NextEra Energy announced a new pipeline project in June. The 330-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline project would run from Wetzel County, WV to Pittsylvania County, VA (see EQT Announces New Marcellus/Utica Pipeline to Southeastern US). EQT announced yesterday the previous nonbinding open season changed to binding, an important change…
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Economic Impact | Education | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide NY | Statewide PA

Penn State to Study Effects of “Mailbox Money” in PA Marcellus
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

Have you ever heard the phrase “mailbox money” used to describe royalty checks (and singing bonuses) landowners receive for Marcellus Shale wells? We hadn’t either–but apparently that’s the phrase that’s used, somewhat pejoratively, to describe this economic miracle. We wonder how money flowing to snotty rich people who inherited their wealth is described–maybe “lazy money” or “daddy’s money” or “trust fund money”? But we digress. Researchers at Penn State University have received a $150,000 grant (“grant money”) to research whether or not Marcellus money going to previously poor, dumb farmers in PA (our interpretation) makes a difference to the health and well being for the kids in those households, vs. the poor, dumb farmer kids across the border in NY who are kept in poverty by the actions of NY’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, who refuses to allow Marcellus drilling. The study will evaluate whether or not Marcellus money affects a child’s well-being–ranging from behavior, psychological and health factors to school success…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Sep 3, 2014
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Braskem | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Odebrecht | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Wood County

Odebrecht Moves Forward with WV Cracker Plant Plans
September 2, 2014September 2, 2014

The previously announced ethane cracker plant that is slated to be built near Parkersburg, WV is coming along very nicely, according to Odebrecht spokesman David Peebles. A talk at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting and Business Summit at The Greenbrier last week, along with conversations with the Parkersburg News and Sentinel, provided some key details about just where the project sits. Once again MDN notices how quickly (and convincingly) the Odebrecht cracker project is progressing after being announced just last fall, as opposed to the ponderous path being taken by Shell with their planned cracker plant, announced 2 1/2 years ago. Neither plant is a done deal, yet. But in light of Odebrecht’s full-speed-ahead attitude and news from last week, it sure seems like the WV cracker is a lot closer to being a done deal than the Shell cracker…
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Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Ethane | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants

Antero Waits for NE Cracker Plants, Pipeline to Sell Ethane
September 2, 2014September 2, 2014

Antero Resources is a big and getting bigger driller focused on the Marcellus and Utica Shale region. The company now has 493,000 acres leased and projects they could potentially drill wells on up to 5,000 locations across that acreage (see Antero Boasts 5K Potential Drilling Locations in Marcellus/Utica). From the wells already drilled, Antero is now pumping (or close to pumping) 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (see MDN Welcomes Antero Resources to the 1 Bcf/d Club). Since a lot of Antero’s operations are in the “wet gas” area, they also produce a lot of ethane. Right now that ethane is largely considered a “waste product” because they can’t readily sell it. However, that change. The question is, when?…
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