Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Gov. Corbett’s Re-election in Doubt if Severance Tax Passes
June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

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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Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania

Scranton Newspapers “Me Too” Articles on Moxie Energy Power Plant
June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

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
June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

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…
Read More “Magnum Hunter JV Deal with EdgeMarc to Drill 1,080 Acres in OH”
Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Guernsey County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Carrizo Begins Drilling 2nd Utica Well – in Guernsey County, OH
June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

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”…
Read More “Carrizo Begins Drilling 2nd Utica Well – in Guernsey County, OH”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Morgan County | Ohio | PDC Energy | Utica Shale

Bubblin’ Oil at Site of PDC Well Blowout in Morgan County, OH?
June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

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…
Read More “Bubblin’ Oil at Site of PDC Well Blowout in Morgan County, OH?”
Crime | Housing | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Noble County | Ohio | Washington County (OH)

OH Newspaper’s Sloppy Reporting on Drilling Workers/Problems
June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

Local newspapers in drilling towns should know better, but sometimes reporters are either snookered, or they have an anti-drilling bent. We’re not sure which it is for The Marietta Times (Washington County, OH), but a recent article uses a so-called research report from the anti-drilling FracTracker that says when drilling comes to town so too does an increase in crime. And on that particular false premise the reporter hangs an entire article full of anecdotes and innuendo. Shame on The Marietta Times…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Accenture Report: Where’s the Next Big Non-US Shale Play?
June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

Will shale drilling ever take off outside of the U.S. and Canada? And if it does, when will it take off, and where? Those are some of the questions answered by researchers at power-house consulting firm Accenture in a new report just released. Titled “International Development of Unconventional Resources: If, where and how fast?” (full copy embedded below), the report says that yes indeed shale drilling will take off in some locations in the next 5-10 years. In fact, the report, which covers shale basins in Argentina, Australia, China, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, says one of those countries in particular may be the next big thing in shale. To find out which one, read on…
Read More “Accenture Report: Where’s the Next Big Non-US Shale Play?”
Industrywide Issues | Nine Energy Services | Supply Chain

4 Companies Merge to Form New Oilfield Services Firm
June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

A new competitor for Halliburton and Baker Hughes? Maybe! Four oilfield services companies, some of which have operations in the Marcellus/Utica, have combined to form a new company. The four companies are: Northern States Completions, Tripoint LLC, CDK Perforating and Integrated Production Services Canada. The new company is called Nine Energy Service and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Why the unusual name Nine? It’s aspirational. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being perfect, they aspire to be a 9, which is about as good as you can get. Hence the name, which is kind of cool. Here’s the press release announcing the merger of the four into one with hopes of becoming a nine…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

When Enviros like Greenpeace Don’t Get Own Way, They Bully
June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

When environmentalist wacko “non-governmental organizations” or NGOs like the odious Greenpeace don’t get their way, they resort to threats and intimidation. Kind like a “green” mafia. Recently the green bullies at Greenpeace International, World Wildlife Fund and the Center for International Environmental Law sent threat letters to the CEOs and board members of Exxon Mobil and other oil and gas companies to let them know that they personally–the people running those organizations–may be liable for non-existent global warming. That is, Greenpeace and others intend to launch lawsuits against individuals running the companies to force them–at the gunpoint of the courts–to do or not do the things the bullies want them to do…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jun 23, 2014
June 23, 2014June 23, 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, Jun 23, 2014”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Millennium Pipeline | New York | Orange County | Pipelines

NY Anti-Driller Claims Compressor Station Causing Son’s Asthma
June 20, 2014June 20, 2014

A small group of virulent anti-drillers from New York City, who flee the city on the weekends and live in places like Orange County, NY, are once again slandering Marcellus drilling in New York State by targeting industry-related initiatives like pipeline compressor stations. To wit: A family who opposed the compressor station built by the Millennium Pipeline in Minisink, NY (southwest Orange County) now claim their 16-year old son has had a “sudden onset” of asthma which occurs only when they flee the city for the weekends to their summer home in Minisink. They conveniently blame the compressor station. What to do? Hire a so-called consultant to address a small group in the area, get a local reporter to show up and regurgitate a whopping pack of lies to scare everyone who reads the local rag…
Read More “NY Anti-Driller Claims Compressor Station Causing Son’s Asthma”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Royalty Bill 1684 Off the Agenda, Likely for Rest of 2014
June 20, 2014June 20, 2014

Pennsylvania landowners can and should be angry with the Republican-controlled PA House of Representatives. Word has just come that an important royalty bill–HB 1684–is now on the “back burner” until fall. Fall is the height of the election season and you know darned well nothing will get done on the bill at that point–so for all intents the bill is dead for this year. Which is a shame. What is HB 1684? Our shorthand name for the bill is the “stop Chesapeake Energy from screwing landowners out of their royalties” bill…
Read More “PA Royalty Bill 1684 Off the Agenda, Likely for Rest of 2014”
Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania

Moxie Energy in Hunt for Third Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant?
June 20, 2014June 20, 2014

A very interesting news tidbit to pass along. Is Moxie Energy considering a third, new natural gas powered electric generating plant for Pennsylvania–this one near Wilkes-Barre? Quite possibly…
Read More “Moxie Energy in Hunt for Third Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant?”
East Resources | Energy Companies | Erie County (NY) | New York

Will Marcellus Blood Money Buy the Buffalo Bills?
June 20, 2014June 20, 2014

If you’re an anti-driller in Western New York and a Buffalo Bills fan, you’re in a serious quandary. The Bills NFL franchise is for sale, for the first time ever, and it may be your single best hope for keeping the Bills in Buffalo is if Terry Pegula buys the team. As MDN previously reported, Pegula is the owner of the Buffalo Sabres NHL team. He’s also the founder and CEO of East Resources, an evil oil and gas company. Could it be that the Marcellus Shale–and money derived from it–will save the Buffalo Bills? Can anti-drillers ever live with themselves if that happens? Will anti-drilling Bills fans switch allegiance to their arch rivals the New York Giants or the hated Pittsburgh Steelers if Pegula buys the Bills with his Marcellus “blood money”? All burning questions for inquiring minds…
Read More “Will Marcellus Blood Money Buy the Buffalo Bills?”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | UIL Holdings

Phila. Gas Works Deal in Jeopardy Due to Vacationing City Council
June 20, 2014June 20, 2014

In March, the Democrat mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, announced a deal to sell the city-owned Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) for $1.86 billion (see Phila. Gas Works Deal for $1.86B – Marcellus/Utica One of Keys). UIL Holdings Corporation, a Connecticut-based investor-owned gas and electric utility, is the potential buyer. However, it didn’t take long for the union and a former Enron executive to make a play to screw the deal (see Former Enron Exec Makes “Unethical” Play to Derail PGW Deal). City Council has had three months to review the deal put together by Nutter, but now they’re heading out of town on summer vacation and not coming back until September. Will UIL stick around that long?…
Read More “Phila. Gas Works Deal in Jeopardy Due to Vacationing City Council”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Chesapeake CEO Lawler Calls Himself “Anti-Core”
June 20, 2014June 20, 2014

Speaking at a conference this week, Chesapeake Energy CEO Doug Lawler says he doesn’t believe in nonsense like “core of the core” in given shale plays–like the Utica. Lawler says he’s “anti-core” and instead of trying to zero in on the best-producing locations in a play he would rather not limit himself or technology. Which is all kind of funny since Chessy missed the core in the Utica Shale. Lawler’s comments are a tacit admission that they blew it in the Utica, so now they’ll make some lemonade with the lemons in their hand and simply ignore reality…
Read More “Chesapeake CEO Lawler Calls Himself “Anti-Core””