Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | Forced Pooling | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Lawrence County | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Hilcorp Forced Pooling Hearing Postponed, More Landowners Added
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

MDN previously told you about Hilcorp’s lawsuit to force some hold-out landowners in Lawrence County, PA to allow drilling under their land–a concept called forced pooling. The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the PA courts treated it like a hot potato. The courts finally told the DEP that they (the DEP) would need to decide the matter. So the DEP had set aside two days this week to conduct public hearings in New Castle (see Forced Pooling Circus (ie Hearing) Coming to Lawrence County, PA).

However, the circus/hearing scheduled for this week has been postponed. No new date has been announced. The DEP and Hilcorp both wanted the delay offering the explanation that they need more time, “to provide more complete notice to potentially affected people.” Apparently some landowners haven’t yet been served notice that they will be affected–forced–to be part of a Hilcorp drilling unit, and both Hilcorp and the DEP want them to know it before the public hearing commences. Seems like the forced pooling in Lawrence issue keeps getting better and better (not)…
Read More “Hilcorp Forced Pooling Hearing Postponed, More Landowners Added”
American Water Management | Earthquakes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Regulation | Trumbull County | Wastewater

OH Earthquakes May Delay Opening of New Niles Injection Well
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

Although Niles (Trumbull County), Ohio is about 18 miles from Poland (Mahoning County), Ohio by car, it’s only about 8-9 miles “as the crow flies.” And that proximity may be a problem for a new Class II frack wastewater injection well set to open in just a few weeks in Niles. Why? Because nearby Poland is where there was a recent series of earthquakes (see # of Youngstown Earthquakes go from 2 to 11 – Fracking to Blame?).

American Water Management Services Inc. say they are about two weeks away from opening their new injection well in Niles–or could open if they get the necessary permits. The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) says it’s too early to say whether or not the new injection well will be allowed to open in the next few weeks because of the ongoing earthquake investigation…
Read More “OH Earthquakes May Delay Opening of New Niles Injection Well”
Blair County | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain

Companies Flock to Blair County, PA to Serve Marcellus Industry
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

Blair County, PA (home of Altoona) doesn’t have active Marcellus or Utica Shale drilling. But that doesn’t mean the industry hasn’t been an economic boom for the county. Because it is located at the doorstep of wet gas drilling in southwestern PA, and not all that far from dry gas drilling in northeastern PA, Blair is quickly becoming supply chain central for the drilling industry. In May 2012 MDN told you about a new pump plant setting up in Blair to service the industry (see Altoona Scores a New Pump Plant for the Marcellus). According to the plant manager, 2013 was a banner year and they “exceeded all of our targets and projections.”

HalenHardy LLC, a company that created and manufactures an innovative mobile air unit to suck silica dust off workers’ clothes, opened in Blair in January 2013. HalenHardy won an award last September for their technology (see HalenHardy Wins Ben Franklin EHS Award for Silica Air Shower). They won a second award for their technology last week–at the Oil & Gas Awards (more on that this week, check back). A second Oil & Gas Awards winner has also set up shop in Blair County–Drill Baby Drill Staffing. Read on to learn about other companies that have located and are now flourishing in Blair County–companies aimed at providing products and services for the Marcellus Shale industry…
Read More “Companies Flock to Blair County, PA to Serve Marcellus Industry”
Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Olympus/Huntley & Huntley | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp

PPG Blesses Deer Lakes Park Drilling in Allegheny County, PA
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

Stop Press! The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board has blessed the proposed deal to drill under (not on) Deer Lakes Park in Allegheny County, PA. Last Thursday MDN told you how County Executive Rich Fitzgerald got even more money out of Range Resources than originally proposed (see Allegheny Co Exec Bests Range on Deer Lakes Park Lease Deal). Anti-drillers are squawking (what’s new?). However, the increasingly anti-drilling Pittsburgh Post-Gazette endorsing the deal? Now that IS news!

Here’s what they wrote in today’s editorial…
Read More “PPG Blesses Deer Lakes Park Drilling in Allegheny County, PA”
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | NGLs | Pipelines | Regulation | Williams

Kentucky House Votes to End Eminent Domain for Bluegrass Pipeline
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

The Bluegrass natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline is a $1.5 billion project that will stretch from the Utica/Marcellus all the way to Gulf Coast. It’s being built by Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners and as of last October the joint venture partners held an open season and said everything is on track for a 2015 launch (see Bluegrass Pipeline Launches Open Season, on Track for 2015 Launch). But a lot has happened in the past six months, including Boardwalk’s stock tanking (see Serious Concerns about Boardwalk Pipeline Partners Continue). Not only that, but there’s been a lot of anti-pipeline sentiment in Kentucky–one of the states the new pipeline must cross on its way to the Gulf Coast. So much anti-pipeline sentiment that Boardwalk and Williams have threatened using eminent domain in order to get the property they need for a crossing (see Bluegrass NGL Pipeline’s Eminent Domain Challenged in KY Court).

The eminent domain issue is coming to a head in Kentucky with respect to the Bluegrass Pipeline. Last Friday the KY House voted to approve House Bill (HB) 31 which will strip NGL pipelines of their right to use eminent domain in the state. The measure now heads to the Senate. What are its chances? No one is saying, although Boardwalk and Williams have hired no less than nine lobbyists to make their case with KY lawmakers…
Read More “Kentucky House Votes to End Eminent Domain for Bluegrass Pipeline”
Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Processing Plants | Research | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wood County

Report: Coming Economic Miracle in WV from Ethane Cracker Plant
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

In February MDN told you about a newly released research report from Tom Witt, economist and former director of West Virginia University’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research and professor emeritus at WVU. Witt, now a private consultant, took a close look at realistic numbers for how many jobs and how much money the proposed Odebrecht ethane cracker and associated petrochemical plants will generate for WV and the region (see Economist Releases Report on WV Cracker Plant’s Economic Impact). The numbers are truly astonishing.

In February we could not get our hands a copy of the study, which is titled “Building Value from Shale Gas: The Promise of Expanding Petrochemicals in West Virginia.” We now have a full copy and have embedded it below. We also have an editorial written by Witt and published a few days ago describing the study and his take on the coming economic miracle in WV from Odebrecht’s ethane cracker plant…
Read More “Report: Coming Economic Miracle in WV from Ethane Cracker Plant”
Crosstex Energy | Devon Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EnLink Midstream | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Crosstex Investors Cash in on Merger, Selling 18M Units for $550M
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

Crosstex Energy recently got hitched with the midstream operation of Devon Energy and the new couple gave birth, or rather transformed itself, into EnLink Midstream (see Time to Congratulate Devon & Crosstex on the Birth of EnLink).The new EnLink has a growing presence in both the Utica and Marcellus Shale. They are a “player” in our space, so we keep a close eye on them.

Last Friday the newly combined and renamed EnLink announced owners of 18 million shares of stock in EnLink (called units) have put their shares up for sale with an eye to raising $550 million. However, that money will not flow to the coffers of EnLink. It will go to the owners of the units–presumably top management and/or investors in the old Crosstex. The action does make us wonder: Is this a prelude to some of top management leaving EnLink, or just big money investors cashing in to realize a big ROI? We don’t know. Here’s the announcement from Friday:
Read More “Crosstex Investors Cash in on Merger, Selling 18M Units for $550M”
Statewide WV | West Virginia

The Complicated Mineral Rights Issue (Mess?) in WV
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

Mineral rights in West Virginia are complex, to say the least. One might even call it “a mess.” It’s good for lawyers, not so good for the rest of us. MDN has pointed out many times before that depending on where you are in WV, there’s a pretty good chance the surface rights and the below-ground mineral rights were separated long ago. Statewide there are 352,247 owners of mineral rights that have been separated from surface rights. In the southern part of the state coal companies have owned the mineral rights going back years. Further up the state, like the northern panhandle area where there’s a lot of Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling, it’s a mixed bag. Surface rights owners justifiably feel put out because they often, by law, have to give up some of their surface land for a drill pad or roadway–with very little (if any) compensation.

It gets more complicated. Mineral rights can be split among family members or multiple companies going on for generations. A person (or company) may end up owning 1/100th of a share in the rights. Every mineral rights owner is liable to the tax man in WV, and if you don’t pay taxes on it–you can lose the rights at a tax sale. Some may lose rights they never knew they had! Add to that a relatively new wrinkle: nowadays mineral rights can apply to a particular layer of minerals (like the Marcellus). Oy vey! It’s enough to induce a migraine…
Read More “The Complicated Mineral Rights Issue (Mess?) in WV”
Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Roads | Statewide WV | Taxation | West Virginia

WV Roads in Need of Repair – Fracking to Blame?
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

There are a number of roadways in Marshall County and other WV counties with active Marcellus and Utica drilling in need of repair. There is no doubt frequent truck traffic related to the drilling industry is partially at fault. However, truck traffic coupled with a brutally cold winter, seems to have made it worse. Not that roads in many WV communities were pristine to begin with! Just ask any driller operating in WV–the roads in WV suck. There’s just no nice way of saying it. They were not good before drilling, so drilling is not totally to blame.

Still, drilling truck traffic has made it worse. So the industry should pay for repairs, right? Well…they already do. It’s called a 5% severance tax paid by drillers on everything they produce. The drillers are certainly paying it. If the state is not sharing that money with local counties for much-needed road repairs–that’s not the drillers’ fault…
Read More “WV Roads in Need of Repair – Fracking to Blame?”
About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Mar 24 – Apr 6, 2014 [Free]
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

Below are upcoming events for this week and next.
Read More “Calendar of Events for Mar 24 – Apr 6, 2014 [Free]”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Mar 24, 2014
March 24, 2014March 24, 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, Mar 24, 2014”
Anadarko | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania

Protesters Shut Down Anadarko Drill Site in Lycoming County, PA
March 21, 2014March 21, 2014

The very twisted philosophy of so-called “Earth First” group members seems to be that humans are an infestation on Mother Earth, hence the name (full of self-loathing people, apparently). A group of Earth Firsters, most of them not from Pennsylvania, protested and shut down an Anadarko Petroleum drilling site in PA yesterday. Anadarko owns leases land in the Tiadaghton State Forest in Lycoming County, PA where they have an active drilling site (near Williamsport). Three of the protesters locked themselves to a solid concrete pipe embedded with shrapnel that reached across the road blocking the way to the drill site. The protesters had to be cut free at great personal danger to themselves and the first responders who cut them free. Five protesters in all were arrested.

MDN received exclusive photos from someone at the scene (below). We’ve also located a video showing the shrapnel embedded in a solid concrete pipe–and the gentle care the local first responders took in protecting the protesters as they cut them free. First responders put their own lives at risk to free these idiots. We would have been far less gentle (picking the whole thing up with a forklift and dropping it on the side of the road–with these kooks attached–comes to mind). Read the news, look at the photos, and be sure to watch the video below to see what we’re up against with extreme Earth First nutters…
Read More “Protesters Shut Down Anadarko Drill Site in Lycoming County, PA”
Earthquakes | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Fracking has (so far) Triggered Earthquakes 3x – Out of 60K Wells
March 21, 2014March 21, 2014

MDN has been following the story of 11 small earthquakes in the Youngstown, Ohio area early last week (see # of Youngstown Earthquakes go from 2 to 11 – Fracking to Blame?). We pointed out in that story that we are aware of exactly one proven instance where fracking a well has caused an earthquake–in England. Yesterday we ran a story about the PA DEP granting permits to Hilcorp to drill 7 new wells just 6 miles away from where Hilcorp voluntarily stopped drilling in Ohio while Ohio officials check out a possible connection between their drilling and the earthquakes (see Hilcorp Awarded Permits to Drill 7 New Wells Near Earthquake Zone).

In yesterday’s story we made the statement that “fracking simply does not cause earthquakes.” That statement was our short-hand way of saying “almost never, statistically never” but as one MDN reader pointed out, “not” means “100% not” and so our statement was factually incorrect. For that we apologize and want to correct the record and tell you about the three known times fracking has caused earthquakes…
Read More “Fracking has (so far) Triggered Earthquakes 3x – Out of 60K Wells”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Shale Industry Demonized for “Lack” of Severance Tax
March 21, 2014March 21, 2014

The Democrats in Pennsylvania are bound and determined to impose a nosebleed severance tax on shale drilling in the state. Their latest effort comes from the partisan so-called Independent Fiscal Office, a branch of the state legislature, that just released an apples to oranges comparison of PA with other states claiming PA doesn’t pay as much in taxes as those other states. Of course what the very flawed analysis by the IFO doesn’t show are all of the other taxes and fees in PA not levied in those other states that more than make up for the “lack” of a severance tax.

PA Dems seem to have the philosophy that 100% of the money earned by other people (drillers in this case) belongs to the state (i.e. them) for redistribution purposes, and how dare the industry oppose them from extracting 5%, or preferably 10%, right off the top (see PA State Treasurer Rob McCord Unveils Gas Death Plan). Here’s the latest salvo in the PA Dem war to regain the governor’s chair this November by demonizing the shale industry as not paying their “fair share”…
Read More “PA Shale Industry Demonized for “Lack” of Severance Tax”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Chautauqua County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation

Chautauqua County Fed Pack of Lies about Fracking, Considers Ban
March 21, 2014March 21, 2014

And so it begins. MDN told you yesterday about the City of Dunkirk, NY that has bitten off the natural gas hand that feed them–by passing a fracking ban (see Dunkirk, NY City Council Bites Off the NatGas Hand that Feeds It). The dolts on Dunkirk City Council said they want the entire county–Chautauqua County–to follow suit and ban fracking countywide. County legislators attended a special session Wednesday night where they heard some truth, and a whole lotta lies, about hydraulic fracturing.

Here’s how it went…
Read More “Chautauqua County Fed Pack of Lies about Fracking, Considers Ban”
Energy Companies | Epsilon Energy

Epsilon Energy’s 2013 Marcellus Strategy Change – Is it Working?
March 21, 2014March 21, 2014

Canadian driller and midstream company Epsilon Energy had a shareholder rebellion last year and threw out the sitting board of directors. Epsilon CEO Michael Raleigh announced at the time that the company had embarked on a turnaround strategy of focusing on the Marcellus Shale–less than a year after saying they would scale back in the Marcellus (see Epsilon Energy Makes “About-Face” on Marcellus Drilling). How’s the turnaround going? Yesterday Epsilon released their fourth quarter and full year 2013 results. Looks like mixed results. Proved reserves are up, production is up, volumes are up on their gas gathering system, and revenues are up–8% over 2012. However, the company lost $13.5 million for the year (compared to a loss of $4 million in 2012).

Here’s the full update issued yesterday by Epsilon:
Read More “Epsilon Energy’s 2013 Marcellus Strategy Change – Is it Working?”