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    FERC: Constitution Pipeline Should Make Changes to Lessen Impacts

    From the beginning when it was first proposed, MDN has chronicled the journey of the proposed 125-mile Constitution Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline that will stretch from the gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA to central New York where it will connect with two major interstate transmission Pipelines–the Tennessee Gas Pipeline and the Iroquois Gas Transmission pipeline. We have an important milestone to report on the Constitution. Wednesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the federal agency in charge of approving these kinds of pipeline projects, issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project (the Executive Summary is embedded below).

    In brief, the draft EIS, which is now open for public comment until April, says that the project as proposed does pose some threats to the environment, but that those threats can be reduced to “less than significant levels” if Williams, the builder of the pipeline, makes certain changes and takes certain precautions. FERC also said there’s no better alternative to meeting the energy needs for hundreds of thousands of people–that the Constitution is the best option out there for delivering more natural gas to the northeast in a timely manner. To do nothing is not an option, according to FERC, and there are no other pipelines that can do what the Constitution will do. This EIS was FERC essentially blessing this project–with certain conditions attached…
    Read More “FERC: Constitution Pipeline Should Make Changes to Lessen Impacts”

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    Benesch Shale Report: Chesapeake Sale Rumors Swirling

    The Ohio law firm of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff are one of the northeast’s top energy law firms. Each quarter they publish a Shale Industry Report, largely focused on what’s been happening in the Ohio Utica Shale (most recent report covering fourth quarter 2013 is embedded below). It’s a great update–one that we like to read and enjoy being able to bring it to you. The top issue listed in the opening of the report is the rumor that, unsurprisingly, corporate raider Carl Icahn (Chesapeake Energy’s second largest shareholder) is shopping Chesapeake for sale to other companies. We’ve warned you about this from the beginning, when Icahn first started flexing his raider muscles and bullying the company into submission.

    Everyone yells at MDN, “Chesapeake needed fiscal discipline…Aubrey McClendon was reckless and almost bankrupted the company…a strict hand was needed at the helm and Icahn came along at the right time…etc.” We say bunk. This has always been about adding more zeros to Icahn’s bank account–from firing more than 1,200 people to selling off assets right and left in the equivalent of fire sales. There’s nothing disciplined or wholesome or good about it. It’s about fat cats getting fatter (i.e. richer). Yes it’s a free country (maybe, we need to check how many more illegal executive orders have been issued in the past 24 hours by Obama)–and in a free country this kind of thing can happen. But we don’t need to like it, and we sure as heck don’t. Icahn and his toady Doug Lawler need to go. End rant. So who’s rumored to be interested in buying Chessy?…
    Read More “Benesch Shale Report: Chesapeake Sale Rumors Swirling”

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    Trout Unlimited, Other Groups Outted as Radical Green Groups

    For a long time MDN has harped on the fact that groups like Trout Unlimited is filled with extremist anti-drillers (see our article Anti-Drilling Close-up: Trout Unlimited from October 2012). Finally, a national organization credited with uncovering the illicit activities of groups like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) which was caught funding eco-terrorits and arsonists, has shown the spotlight on Trout Unlimited and several other so-called “conservation” groups. The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) says TU and several other groups, while starting out with good intentions, have been “co-opted by wealthy grant-making bodies notorious for their support of anti-gun, radical environmentalist agendas” all the while pretending to support hunters and fishermen. Finally, some truth wins out!

    Here’s the damning announcement from CCF that says TU, The Izaak Walton League of America and several other groups are definitely not what they present themselves as…
    Read More “Trout Unlimited, Other Groups Outted as Radical Green Groups”

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    Natgas Jumps Thru Hoops for Bats While Solar Farm Torches Turtles

    The shale drilling industry jumps through all sorts of hoops to ensure Mother Nature doesn’t take an undue hit. For example, we’re personally aware of a Williams gathering pipeline in the South Gibson (Susquehanna County), PA area that had to radically change its pipeline digging schedule–speeding up the process by more than six months–because of bats that nest in trees. The PA DEP has a concern that knocking down a few trees for a certain species of nesting bat might affect local the bat population. Williams didn’t want to wait an entire year to dig and lay the pipeline (they have agreements in place with drillers), so they had to arbitrarily move up the digging schedule to lay the pipeline, inconveniencing several landowners (one of them a youth camp). That’s just one example of how the industry goes above and beyond each day to accommodate what are sometimes questionable (we’d call them stupid) rules and regulations–but OK, that’s the price we pay, right?

    However, if you’ve been able to get environmentalists to call your project “green,” it doesn’t matter what kind of local wildlife you squash and kill. Example: the world’s largest solar thermal power plant, built by NRG Energy, was dedicated this week. The “plant” is five square miles of mirrors, each the size of a garage door. It’s located in an old, dry lake bed in the Mohave Desert (along the Nevada/California border). Five square miles of desert and its wildlife were confiscated, displacing tortoises and coyotes, killing Mojave milkweed and other indigenous plants. But that’s OK–it’s green! The Western Watershed Project is suing the federal agencies involved in “green lighting” the “green” project, saying they didn’t consider alternative sites. The point of all this, is, of course, that NO source of energy is without trade-offs and problems and sacrifices. The twin point is that just because something is called “green” doesn’t mean it’s better than other clean sources of energy–like natural gas…
    Read More “Natgas Jumps Thru Hoops for Bats While Solar Farm Torches Turtles”

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    Penn State Figures Out How to Convert Garbage into Proppants

    Shale drilling uses a special kind of sand called silica. It uses a LOT of silica, which is mostly mined in the Midwest, in places like Wisconsin. Sand is called a “proppant” in the industry because it “props open” tiny little holes in fracked shale rock to allow the natural gas (or oil or NGLs) to slip out and up the borehole. There are alternatives to silica as a proppant material–but not many are economic to use. What if you could turn industrial and domestic waste materials into a viable alternative source of raw materials for proppants? That is, what if you could turn garbage into the equivalent of sand? That would be so cool, getting rid of industrial waste on the one hand, creating a cheap source of proppants on the other.

    Turning garbage into proppants is exactly what the brains at Penn State have now figured out how to do. Below is the announcement from Penn State that a pair of their materials scientists have published a new paper in a scientific journal (copy of the paper embedded below). The announcement and paper trumpet the discovery that there is a better way to create cheap proppants for shale drilling, and it was discovered right here in Marcellus Shale country…
    Read More “Penn State Figures Out How to Convert Garbage into Proppants”

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    WPX Energy Abandoning the Marcellus? Sure Looks That Way

    bye byeWPX Energy, the drilling division of Williams that was spun off into its own company just two years ago, continues to “bump along the bottom” according to an unflattering article on The Motley Fool investor’s website (see WPX Energy Still Lacks Growth, Leading to Low Valuation). MDN told you about the shakeup in WPX’s leadership in December (see CEO Shake-up Explained: Taconic Capital Jerking WPX’s Chain). New CEO Jim Bender released WPX’s 2014 plan of action and capital spending budget on Monday. Although the company had 33 unique drill permit locations for the last four months of 2013 in PA according to the recently published Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook, it appears to us that for 2014 WPX plans to drill precisely zero new Marcellus wells, which of course is a disappointment–especially for landowners signed with WPX who haven’t yet seen drilling on their land.

    Looking at WPX’s 2014 budget (see below), there is a paltry $20-$30 million budgeted for the Marcellus (i.e. “Appalachia”), likely being used to finish wells started at the end of 2013. There’s a big fat goose egg for the number of rigs they plan to operate in the Marcellus this year. Our conclusion: WPX is saying bye-bye to the Marcellus. Is this yet more chain-jerking by Taconic and corporate raiders? Is it really the wisest course for WPX to abandon the northeast? Below is their announcement about 2014 plans, and the forecast of where they will spend $1.47 billion this year…
    Read More “WPX Energy Abandoning the Marcellus? Sure Looks That Way”

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    Rice Energy Picks Up Pipelines in SWPA in Deal with M3 for $110M

    Rice Energy, one of our favorite newer drilling companies, announced yesterday they’ve put some of that IPO money to good use (see Rice Energy IPO Soars, Brings in $84M More Than Expected). Rice has purchased a 28-mile pipeline gathering system already up and running in Washington County, PA from M3 Midstream for $110 million cash on the barrel head. The deal also includes rights of way to build more gathering pipelines in both Washington and Greene counties. Rice Energy owns leases and is conducting active drilling in both counties.

    The Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook, Vol. 3 (just out) shows Rice with 28 unique well location permits in Washington County, PA for the last four months of 2013, and 9 unique well location permits in Greene County (via Alpha Shale Resources, which Rice recently picked up in a deal with Alpha Natural Resources). Makes perfect sense Rice would want to buy the pipelines that connect to their wells and get a piece of the midstream action in the white hot Marcellus region of SWPA. Here’s yesterday’s announcement:
    Read More “Rice Energy Picks Up Pipelines in SWPA in Deal with M3 for $110M”

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    Update: Chevron Well Fire in Greene County Still Burning

    Yesterday MDN told you of the explosion and well fire at Chevron’s Lanco 7H well pad, in a remote area of Greene County, PA, northwest of Bobtown. The explosion/fire began around 6:45 am Tuesday (see Explosion & Fire at Chevron Well in SWPA – 1 Person Missing). The update is that the fire still burns–out of control–although it hasn’t spread to several other wells on the same well pad, yet. The specialists brought in to put the fire out, a company called Wild Well Control, are evaluating and planning and apparently getting ready to go into action. The one missing contract worker, which we have learned is from Cameron International, a Fortune 500 company that specializes in completing wells (flow control), is still missing.

    Below are a few more select bits of information along with the four updates provided thus far from Chevron itself about the accident:
    Read More “Update: Chevron Well Fire in Greene County Still Burning”

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    JLCNY Prepares to File Lawsuit Against Gov. Cuomo Tomorrow

    The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, a 70,000-member strong confederation of landowners who want to move forward with shale drilling, is slated to file an Article 78 lawsuit tomorrow against Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Dept. of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens, and State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah. As MDN previously explained, an Article 78 essentially forces recalcitrant (and perhaps inept) elected officials to perform their sworn duties (see JLCNY Lawsuit Imminent – But Not the One You Thought).

    The JLCNY is being given an assist with their lawsuit by the Mountain States Legal Foundation. Just two weeks ago the JLCNY put out the call to raise another $18,000 for legal expenses, and by golly, they got it…
    Read More “JLCNY Prepares to File Lawsuit Against Gov. Cuomo Tomorrow”

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    Q-Poll Shows NYers Think Cuomo is Foot-Dragging on Fracking Issue

    foot draggingThe latest statewide Quinnipiac University poll of New York residents finds a majority of NYers believe Cuomo is indecisive–that is, he’s intentionally dragging his feet on making a decision about whether or not to allow shale drilling in the state. A smaller percent still buy his line about “carefully evaluating” the situation. Translation: There are 32% of us living in NY (who don’t smoke pot) who know that nearly 6 years is long enough for a decision to be made. We can see through the transparently pathetic attempt at stalling for political purposes. Some 23% think Andy’s jest bein’ xtra careful (that’s the hippie greenies). Then there’s the 42% who don’t have an opinion either way–yet. Our best hope is to swing those people to the truth side of the debate.

    Here’s the latest Q-poll results on the topic of shale drilling in NY:
    Read More “Q-Poll Shows NYers Think Cuomo is Foot-Dragging on Fracking Issue”

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    Marcellus Gas to the Rescue: WNY Customers Avoid Step Price Jump

    National Fuel Gas Company is a large, integrated energy company with its HQ in Buffalo, NY. They have operations spanning from upstream (Seneca Resources, a major Marcellus Shale driller) to midstream pipelines to a downstream utility company serving customers in western New York State and northwestern Pennsylvania. A story from the NFG utility company caught our eye today. NFG is putting the word out to its hundreds of thousands of customers that they might want to consider hopping on the budget plan–to spread out their winter heating bill payments. Why are NFG’s customers paying a lot more this winter to heat with natural gas? Simply because this is one of the longest and coldest winters we’ve had in decades.

    The interesting part of the NFG “you ought to get on the budget plan” story is that, according to the company, it could have been a lot worse than it is. The price of NFG’s natural gas is steady and has not gone up. What’s helping to save western NY (and NWPA) gas customers from huge price spikes being experienced elsewhere? PA Marcellus Shale gas…
    Read More “Marcellus Gas to the Rescue: WNY Customers Avoid Step Price Jump”

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    New England Pipeline May Reverse Flow & Pump Marcellus Gas

    If there’s a silver lining to the misery of this long, cold, hard winter, it’s that the energy shortage this winter has precipitated an attitude change in New England–a place with a dearth of natural gas even though there’s plenty to be had. Gone are the snotty, haughty attitudes of anti-fracking New Englanders that they don’t want any of that filthy, nasty, fracked natural gas. Not only do they now want it, they can’t get it fast enough because of price spikes up to 10 times the norm. That’ll grab your attention. Maybe fracking ain’t so bad after all, eh?

    The latest about face comes from the State of Maine. They need more natural gas and they need it bad. There’s a pipeline that comes down from Nova Scotia into Maine that’s supposed to carry natural gas produced offshore. Problem is, the offshore wells aren’t producing all that much and the pipeline isn’t delivering all that much. So there’s now talk that Spectra Energy, owner of the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline, is willing to reverse the flow (which takes equipment and time) so that the pipeline will be bi-directional and can begin to carry cheap Marcellus Shale gas from PA up into Maine. We’re trying not to dance up and down and yell “Love it! Told’ya so!” Well, maybe just a little jig…
    Read More “New England Pipeline May Reverse Flow & Pump Marcellus Gas”

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    Anti-Drilling Site Daily Kos Runs Keystone Pipeline Ad [Screen Shot]

    Our daily trawl of the news takes us far and wide. Every day MDN editor Jim Willis wades through the mental equivalent of manure up to his neck–so you don’t have to. Sometimes it takes him to the far-out, left of Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un website, The Daily Kos. If an article appears on Daily Kos, you know it’s a) false, b) wacko, and c) anti-drilling. We usually skip on by such articles in an effort to control our blood pressure.

    But what’s this? It seems Daily Kos has no problems running ads for evil “big oil & gas” companies. We thought it funny when we started to read yet another rant on Kos and spotted an ad from TransCanada for the Keystone Pipeline, right there on the Kos website (see it below). We guess Kos has no problem making money from those nasty, horrible “big oil” companies they love to rail against so much…
    Read More “Anti-Drilling Site Daily Kos Runs Keystone Pipeline Ad [Screen Shot]”

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    Explosion & Fire at Chevron Well in SWPA – 1 Person Missing

    Chevron Well FireThere was an explosion and fire at a Chevron Marcellus shale well in Greene County, PA early yesterday morning. The explosion happened about 6:45 am at Chevron’s Lanco 7H well pad, in a remote area northwest of Bobtown. One person was treated for “minor injuries” and released. However, the sad news is another person is missing. Since the fire is still burning and hot, no one can get close enough to search for the missing worker, so we sadly assume the worst. Our prayers and thoughts go to the families involved.

    Chevron has flown in a disaster team from Wild Well Control (Houston, TX) to get the fire extinguished, but it will take at least “several days” before the fire is out. Below we have the information we’re able to find concerning the explosion and fire–why it happened–along with some perspective on the level of danger workers face working in the shale drilling industry, plus we make some connections and provide background you won’t find anywhere else but here, on MDN…
    Read More “Explosion & Fire at Chevron Well in SWPA – 1 Person Missing”

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    Boardwalk’s Stock Drops Like a Rock – Trouble in Midstreamland?

    Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, a Houston-based midstream company, suffered a massive stock drop on Monday (down over 40% in one day) after announcing a big drop in revenue and earnings and lowering cash distribution some 81%. Boardwalk’s stock recovered slightly yesterday–something traders refer to pejoratively as a “dead cat bounce”–meaning when something drops so far from such a height, when it hits bottom it’s likely to bounce at least a little. Ouch. To date, Boardwalk has no presence with its pipelines and other operations in the northeastern Marcellus/Utica region–so why is it news here?

    Number one, much of the reason for Boardwalk’s woes is precisely because they don’t have infrastructure in the northeast, an area white hot with activity. Number two, because Boardwalk, partnering with Williams, is trying to establish a presence in the northeast by building the Bluegrass mixed NGL pipeline from the Marcellus/Utica to the Gulf Coast. And Boardwalk/Williams is in a horse race with Kinder Morgan/MarkWest to see who builds their pipeline first (see “Midstream Knife Fight” – Who Will Have 1st Operational NGL Pipeline to Gulf?). Will Boardwalk’s stock drop affect Bluegrass plans? And, as one analyst asks, will Boardwalk’s stock drop bleed over and affect similar midstream companies?…
    Read More “Boardwalk’s Stock Drops Like a Rock – Trouble in Midstreamland?”