Marcellus Drilling News

Allegheny County | Exporting | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

China Visits the Marcellus to Learn Our Secrets
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

Calling Pittsburgh a “very beautiful city” and the “shale gas center of the United States,” a group from the China Shale Gas Delegation visited southwest PA last week to learn how America unlocks bountiful shale gas in a safe, economical manner. And of course they chose the biggest and best shale play to study: the Marcellus. Essentially the Chinese were here to learn our secrets–and being big-hearted Americans (and relatively stupid), we opened up and shared…
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

3 New (Short) Pipelines from GreenHunter in Tri-state Area
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

GreenHunter Resources, a subsidiary of Magnum Hunter Resources, is making small moves to compete with MarkWest Energy and Williams. Today, GreenHunter announced they are building (in a partnership with Major Pipeline LLC) three new, short pipelines. The three pipelines represent a total of 34 miles of new pipeline, when added together. One pipeline each will be dedicated to brine/wastewater, fresh water, and condensate. Two of the pipelines will originate in southwestern PA and one in WV. All of them will connect with one of GreenHunter’s barge terminals on the Ohio River. Also in the mix is a condensate “splitter”…
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Lease & Royalty Payments | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Sees Rash of “Top Leases” for Shale Drilling
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

Landowners in West Virginia who leased their property but for whom there has not been drilling may have a new source of income. According to an article in the Wheeling Intelligencer / News-Register, some companies are now offering what’s called a “top lease” to landowners without drilling. What, exactly, is a top lease?…
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Washington County

Peters Twp Continues to Plot and Plan to Stop Drilling
June 30, 2014February 3, 2015

Peters Township (in Washington County, PA) is one of the seven selfish townships that sued the state and eventually won to dismantle large and important pieces of the Act 13 Marcellus drilling law (see Lawsuit Filed: PA Towns Sue State over Marcellus Act 13 Law and PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). Peters continues to meet and plot how they can further undermine drilling in their township, even after winning the Act 13 lawsuit…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Another PA Senate Bill Seeks to Help Conventional O&G Drillers
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

MDN recently reported on legislation making headway in Pennsylvania that would split regulations between conventional and unconventional oil and gas operators in the state (see PA Legislation to Split Conventional/Unconventional Regs Advances). A second PA Senate bill, SB1310, is also making its way through the legislative process. MDN views 1310 as a “helper bill” for SB1378. SB1310 would create a new group called the Pennsylvania Grade Crude Development Advisory Council that would be composed of 17 members (yes, it already sounds bloated) to “assist” the PA Secretary of the Dept. of Environment Protection. Assist the secretary with what?…
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Health Impacts | Industrywide Issues | Research | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WVU: 10 Ways to Reduce Enviro/Health Impacts from Shale Drilling
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

Researchers from West Virginia University have just published a new paper aimed at reducing environmental and health risks from Marcellus Shale drilling. The paper, titled “Practical measures for reducing the risk of environmental contamination in shale energy production,” is published in the Journal Environmental Sciences: Processes & Impacts and contains 10 specific recommendations that drillers can adopt to make shale drilling safer and less impactful…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Talisman Energy

Anti-Drilling Coloring Book – Let the Laughter Begin
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

Three years ago Talisman, a driller in the Marcellus Shale (and other shale plays) produced a coloring book for kids. The main character in the book is Talisman Terry. You could hear the gaffaws and laughter from mainstream media, then their righteous indignation that Talisman would “dare” to publish a coloring book that aimed to brainwash little kiddies away from the green religion and bias them toward nasty fossil fuels (see ‘Fracking’ company targets US children with colouring book and Color me fracked: Energy industry produces coloring book to make case for gas drilling to kids). Prior to Talisman Terry was Chesapeake Charlie, same kind of deal. Apparently those coloring books weren’t such a stupid idea after all, because virulent anti-drillers have produced their own coloring book with the aim of brainwashing of kids to keep them in the green religion. Fresh out is the Stream and Shale Coloring Book from so-called scientist J.J. Brown…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jun 30, 2014
June 30, 2014June 30, 2014

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Big News: ETP “Rover” Marcellus/Utica Pipeline to Midwest/Canada
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

Midstream company Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) announced a major new Marcellus/Utica Shale pipeline infrastructure project yesterday that will transport up to 3.25 billion cubic feet per day of northeast shale gas to markets in the Midwest and Canada. Dubbed the Rover Pipeline Project, ETP says they already have three important (and big) customers lined up to use the new pipeline system, including Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners, Antero Resources and Range Resources. A binding open season to sign up more customer begins today and runs for a month. The first leg of the new pipeline will connect PA, WV and southeast OH processing plants by crossing Ohio, following an existing pipeline route. A second leg will connect northwestern OH to Canada by slicing up through Michigan. Here’s the particulars, along with a map…
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CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Ethane | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Range Resources Corp

Range Announces Multiple Agreements to Sell Natgas & Ethane
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

A big, important announcement from Range Resources yesterday to go along with the big, important news that ETP will build a new Marcellus/Utica pipeline (see today’s lead story). Range confirmed ETP’s announcement yesterday that they (Range) will be a customer for the new Rover Pipeline that crosses Ohio and will eventually connect to Canada. In fact, Range says they are the “foundation” shipper on that new pipeline, which is due to be in service October 2017. Range will ship 400,000 million Btus (or 388 million cubic feet) per day on the Rover Pipeline–for 20 years. In addition, Range also announced agreements to sell their Marcellus gas for export via the Cheniere LNG export facility in Sabine Pass and via a second unnamed LNG facility. And the really big news (for MDN)–Range has signed up to become the second source of ethane for the Odebrecht WV cracker plant. They also plan to sell ethane to the Sasol cracker plant planned in Lake Charles, LA…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Corbett Still Says Marcellus Severance Tax a Possibility, if…
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

We continue to be concerned about PA Gov. Tom Corbett’s resolve when it comes to slapping a Marcellus-killing severance tax on drillers in the state in order to fund a state budget that’s simply spends too much. Our latest concern is with comments he made to an AP reporter yesterday…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lebanon County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Williams

Lebanon PA Anti-Drillers Plot Ordinance Against Williams Pipeline
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

The hippie anti-drilling pipeline protesters from Lebanon Pipeline Awareness (Lebanon, PA) once again failed to get more than 50 people to turn out for another stop-the-Atlantic-Sunrise-Pipeline meeting, held last night held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Lebanon. As MDN previously predicted, last night’s meeting was to plot a strategy to launch frivolous lawsuits (see Lawsuits Next Act for Anti-Pipeline Group in Lebanon County, PA?). An ambulance-chasing lawyer from out of town showed up and told the anti-drillers in attendance that their best chance of stopping the pipeline is not, however, frivolous lawsuits–it is instead an illegal zoning ordinance…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Athens County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation | Wastewater

Athens, OH Anti-Drillers Lose Appeal to Stop Injection Well
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

In January of this year, the anti-drilling Athens County Fracking Action Network (ACFAN) filed a legal challenge to the permit issued by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) that approved a new injection well in Athens County (see Athens County, OH Anti-Drillers Sue to Stop New Injection Well). Earlier this month the Ohio Oil & Gas Commission, the organization that hears such appeals, dismissed the appeal by ACFAN…
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Industrywide Issues | Research

ICF’s Elusive Report Says # of Marcellus/Utica Wells Way Up
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

In what appears to us to be a waste of a good press release, ICF International, a consulting company, issued a release yesterday to announce the release of a new ICF report that is a “complete outlook for U.S. and Canada natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL) and oil production through 2035.” The release is a waste because if you visit their website, we defy you to locate where you can request or look at a copy of said report, which is titled “2014 Detailed Production Report.” There are, however, a few good tidbits in the press release itself that touch on production and lateral spacing for the Marcellus and Utica Shale…
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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

Will NJ Gov Christie Veto Frack Wastewater Ban a 2nd Time?
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

In September 2012 the New Jersey legislature passed a bill that would ban New Jersey from accepting and processing wastewater from the Marcellus Shale. Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the measure (see NJ Gov. Christie Vetoes Frack Wastewater Ban Bill). The NJ legislature yesterday just “opps, I did it again” passed another bill–essentially the same as the one from two years ago–and has sent it on to Gov. Christie. Will he sign it this time?…
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Crestwood Midstream | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Inergy | New York | NGLs | Regulation | Statewide NY

JLCNY to Cuomo: Authorize Seneca Propane Storage Facility
June 27, 2014June 27, 2014

For years MDN has told you about the proposed Inergy (now Crestwood Midstream) plan to open a badly needed underground propane storage facility along the shore of Seneca Lake in New York–in an already depleted salt mining cavern. In March 2013, 12 virulent anti-drilling protesters were arrested for blocking access to the facility–a facility that hasn’t yet been fitted for propane (see NY Protesters Arrested for Blocking NatGas Storage Facility). We’ve also pointed out New Yorkers pay nosebleed rates for propane because our governor refuses to permit the facility (see Northeast Propane Shortage – Andrew Cuomo Partially to Blame). There is a new effort under way to get some action on the Seneca propane storage facility from the 70,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York…
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