Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jun 25, 2014
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Supreme Court Tells EPA: You Can’t Just Rewrite Law
One of the Obama administration’s favorite tactics to do illegal end-runs around Congress (remember–Congress writes the laws, the President enforces them) is to have rogue agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency claim sweeping powers under older/existing laws. Like the Clean Air Act. Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court yanked on the EPA’s leash pretty hard and said, “Heal boy, sit down.” The EPA tried to simply rewrite a law passed by Congress in how the agency treats so-called greenhouse gases. The EPA didn’t like what Congress wrote, so they rewrote it. The justices said, “No, you can’t do that,” to the EPA. However, as Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out from the bench, the EPA still got almost all of what it wanted in this decision…
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2 Range Resources Execs Sell Half Their Stock – Ulterior Motive?
Anti-drilling advocate and Marcellus smearmeister Amanda Gillooly, from southwestern Pennsylvania, is dedicated to trashing Range Resources every chance she gets. (She also appears to be in league with Rep. Jesse “fake ID” White, supporting his anti-drilling tirades against Range on numerous occasions over the past few years.) The latest “trash Range” attempt is her blog post trumpeting that two top Range Resources executives recently sold “more than half their stock,” asking the ominous question, “Why?”…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Otsego County | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide NY | Williams
Save the Bald Eagles in NY! Next Hurdle for Constitution Pipeline
You’ve heard of save the whales, save the snail darters, and maybe even save the tree bats (see Natgas Jumps Thru Hoops for Bats While Solar Farm Torches Turtles). The latest anti-drilling faux excuse for stopping the already-authorized, permitted and public hearing’d to death Constitution Pipeline in upstate New York is, yes, save the American bald eagle! We learn from the anti-drilling Oneonta Star that bald eagles are rather discriminating. They don’t mind traffic noise from a busy interstate highway less than a half mile from their nests–but if Williams happens to do a little blasting of bedrock so they can lay pipe–that will scare the bald eagles right out of their tail feathers…
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Global Warming, Global Cooling & Natgas Prices
MDN is not a fan of the “man causes global warming by burning fossil fuel” theories that are all the rage these days. The problem, you see, is lack of, well, global warming! No evidence. Take, for example, last winter. Please don’t insult our intelligence by telling us that brutally cold temperatures (the coldest in a generation) are also the result of so-called “global warming.” You don’t get to say that warming also causes cooling–that’s not part of the theory, a theory that says too much carbon in the atmosphere causes temperatures to RISE, not FALL. You don’t get to make up the science as you go to fit your cockeyed beliefs. A flawed theory is a flawed theory. So when we spotted the following summer forecast from Weather Services International, along with their map (below), you’ll understand why we continue to be “warming deniers” and “climate skeptics.” And what does this have to do with Marcellus drilling? A lot, as it turns out…
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ATVs Damage National Fuel’s Pipeline Routes in Western PA
As so often happens, a few bad apples can spoil it for everyone. We’re speaking of rogue ATV (all terrain vehicle) drivers who have vandalized pipeline routes in northwestern PA, and in the process damaging the top soil and grass along those routes which leads to erosion…
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It’s Working: Iraq Fails to Spike US Oil/Gas Price Thx to Shale
Used to be if there was unrest or the threat of renewed civil war in the perpetually war-torn country of Iraq, or somewhere else in the Middle East (like Syria), oil and gas prices would soar in the U.S. based on the potential threat of a supply disruption. Increasingly that is no longer true. Take the latest Iraq unrest. Oil prices are going up–a little, but not much. Why? Because of shale. The analysts at Deloitte recently published their “2014 Oil and Gas Reality Check” report (full copy embedded below). What does it say? Over the next 5-6 years surging shale oil and natural gas production in the United States will “cut deeply” into OPEC’s influence on the global price of oil and gas…
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BP Annual World Energy Report Shows Natgas Growth in US
Last week BP released their 63rd annual BP Statistical Review of World Energy report (full copy embedded below). Many of the “majors” like BP and Exxon publish an annual look at world energy supplies. What do the wizards at BP find when peering into their crystal ball? Last year worldwide energy usage rose 2.3%, which is up from 2012. However, it’s still below the historical average increase of 2.5%. Translation: the world economy still sucks with fewer jobs and economic activity happening. Natural gas consumption grew by 1.4% last year, well below the historical average of 2.6%. But there was one place in the world where gas consumption rose–yep, right here at home in the U.S. consumption rose by 2.4%. China and the U.S. together accounted for 81% of the growth in natgas consumption last year. What else did the report find?…
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New Marcellus Jobs Site Helps Job Seekers & Employers
MDN is happy to highlight a new Marcellus jobs website. The brand new MarcellusShaleJobs.com website recently launched and is looking for job listings by employers and corporate recruiters, and job seekers. According to their announcement, the new site brings job opportunities in all segments of the oil and gas industry in the Appalachian Basin–that is, the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays. Post your resume, and search available jobs listed on the site. So far there’s only a single job listing–but it’s a doozy. The job is for a completions engineer in the Pittsburgh area–beginning salary $100K per year…
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Jun 24, 2014
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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3 PA Drilling Assoc. Warn Politicans: Don’t Pass Severance Tax
With Pennsylvania Republicans starting to get weak knees on the issue of a potential sky high severance tax on top of already-high corporate state income taxes, PA’s three big shale drilling industry groups have sent a letter to key state politicians warning them (in flowery language) that if they pass a severance tax, drillers WILL shift their rigs and drilling to Ohio and West Virginia. The letter (copy embedded below) tells House Speaker Sam Smith and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and nine other legislators, with a copy of the letter also going to Gov. Corbett, PA better think twice and thrice before passing a severance tax…
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PA Gov. Corbett’s Re-election in Doubt if Severance Tax Passes
Let’s speak very plainly. If Republican Gov. Tom Corbett signs a budget with a new high tax aimed at the drilling industry–he’s political toast. He will not win re-election and his political career will be over. Unfortunately it seems he is listening to the RINOs around him and his resolve is wavering. Don’t do it Tom. Don’t listen to them. The future of your state and this country is at stake…
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Scranton Newspapers “Me Too” Articles on Moxie Energy Power Plant
It’s not often that MDN “breaks news” as in we bring you the story first. But sometimes we do, as we did last Friday when we told you that Moxie Energy is in the hunt for a third Marcellus gas-fired electric generating plant project–this one in Luzerne County (see Moxie Energy in Hunt for Third Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant?). We spotted a very brief mention from a local Wilkes-Barre TV station and sketched out the story for you, providing the background and detail–connecting the dots no one else noticed. So it gives us great pleasure to point out that after we broke the story, both the Scranton Times-Tribune and the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader then picked it up…
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | EdgeMarc Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Utica Shale | Washington County (OH)
Magnum Hunter JV Deal with EdgeMarc to Drill 1,080 Acres in OH
This morning Magnum Hunter Resources announced a new, small joint venture with EdgeMarc (EM Energy Ohio) to drill on and under 1,080 acres of Marcellus/Utica property in Washington County, OH. This is the third such smallish jv between Magnum Hunter and other companies to drill in either the Marcellus or Utica Shale…
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Carrizo Begins Drilling 2nd Utica Well – in Guernsey County, OH
Last week the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environment Protection slapped Carrizo Oil & Gas with a $192K fine (see PA DEP Fines Carrizo $192K for 2 Incidents in Wyoming County). Totally unrelated, but perhaps timed to soften that blow, Carrizo (the day before) released an update to say their spudder rig has arrived on site in Guernsey County, OH where the company will begin drilling its second Utica Shale well “shortly”…
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Morgan County | Ohio | PDC Energy | Utica Shale
Bubblin’ Oil at Site of PDC Well Blowout in Morgan County, OH?
An update to a story we’ve tracked since early May. PDC Energy had begun drilling several Utica wells in Morgan County, OH when one of the wells had an accident and spilled drilling mud on the drill pad, overflowing off the pad (see PDC Accident: Drilling Mud Spills into Creek in Morgan County, OH). A quick investigation determined that the blowout preventer failed (see Blowout Preventer Failed at Morgan County, OH Utica Well Site). We have an update on that well and two other wells located on the same pad…
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One of the Obama administration’s favorite tactics to do illegal end-runs around Congress (remember–Congress writes the laws, the President enforces them) is to have rogue agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency claim sweeping powers under older/existing laws. Like the Clean Air Act. Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court yanked on the EPA’s leash pretty hard and said, “Heal boy, sit down.” The EPA tried to simply rewrite a law passed by Congress in how the agency treats so-called greenhouse gases. The EPA didn’t like what Congress wrote, so they rewrote it. The justices said, “No, you can’t do that,” to the EPA. However, as Justice Antonin Scalia pointed out from the bench, the EPA still got almost all of what it wanted in this decision…