Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Chief of Homeland Security Not Concerned About Drill Cuttings
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

For all the hoopla from anti-drillers in West Virginia over radioactivity in drill cuttings (leftover rock and dirt from drilling the borehole), and the disposal of those cuttings in landfills, you would think the state is in imminent danger of becoming a nuclear waste dump–glowing in the dark and visible from satellites passing through the night sky (see WV Anti-Drillers Continue to Harp on Drill Cuttings in Landfills).

The chief of Homeland Security and Emergency Response for the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection says the DEP recently tested drill cuttings from EQT heading to the landfill and found radiation levels to be so low, they were barely detectable. In his words, “I am not concerned about it”…
Read More “WV Chief of Homeland Security Not Concerned About Drill Cuttings”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Seismic Testing | Washington County

Peters Twp School Board Votes Down Seismic Testing
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

Peters Township in southwestern Pennsylvania is one of the seven selfish towns that challenged the Act 13 oil and gas law passed a few years ago–and won (see Ongoing Fallout from PA Supreme Court’s Wrong Act 13 Decision). What did they win? The state is in disarray and doubt about the future of the $200 million plus per year collected from Marcellus Shale drilling, thanks to Peters and the other litigious towns. The “selfish seven” believe their own local zoning boards with no geologists or oil and gas experts are better equipped to handle complex matters of oil and gas drilling than the geologists and experts who work for the state Dept. of Environmental Protection. The very definition of hubris.

So it should come as no surprise that the Peters school board has just voted to deny a request by a seismic company to run some wires across school property to conduct seismic testing and mapping of what lies below not only the school’s property, but the land neighboring the school’s property…
Read More “Peters Twp School Board Votes Down Seismic Testing”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Supply Chain

MarkWest Orders 70 Cat Gas Compressor Engines for Marcellus/Utica
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

Caterpillar has scored one of the largest orders it has ever seen for its Cat® G3600 engines from MarkWest Energy–for use in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region. Yesterday Caterpillar Oil & Gas announced MarkWest has ordered 70 G3600 engines, which will be built in Cat’s Lafayette, IN plant. The engines are powered by natural gas and will be used in MarkWest compressor stations and processing plants.

This order, representing millions of dollars and numerous jobs, is just one more example of how shale drilling benefits everyone across the country–not just landowners and the drilling industry. Below is the press release from Caterpillar with more details, including other vendors that will be involved in assembling these “compression packages” for MarkWest, along with a news report from Lafayette, excited to have this huge new order…
Read More “MarkWest Orders 70 Cat Gas Compressor Engines for Marcellus/Utica”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Belmont County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Ohio

Controversy Over Belmont County, OH Drill Cutting Processing Ctr
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

Anti-drillers flying under the name Freshwater Accountability Project Ohio of Grand Rapids, Ohio (FWAPOH) are spinning wild tales of radioactivity and a rush job by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) in permitting a new facility that will process drill cuttings in Belmont County, OH. Last month Belmont County Port Authority Director Larry Merry answered questions from local residents about the proposed site for EnerGreen 360’s new facility to be built at the Eastern Ohio Regional Industrial Park on State Route 800 North near Barnesville.

Even though the only thing to be processed by the company is leftover rock and dirt from drilling holes in the ground, anti-drilling zealots are opposed because they hate fossil fuels. So they spin yarns about radioactivity and mass poisoning. Fortunately it seems that science and cooler heads will prevail and that EnerGreen’s proposed facility will be built…
Read More “Controversy Over Belmont County, OH Drill Cutting Processing Ctr”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Farm Bureau Joins Chorus Against Chessy on Royalty Issue
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is adding its considerable weight behind the effort to pass new legislation that will guarantee landowners in the state don’t get shafted by companies like Chesapeake Energy when it comes to royalty payments. As MDN has previously reported, the royalty situation in PA has turned messy with claims that Chesapeake Energy has engaged in an elaborate scheme to pass post-production costs on to landowners–costs they technically don’t have a right to deduct (see Chesapeake Shafting Landowners out of Royalties Mess Gets Messier). What it means is that some landowners are getting peanuts–far below the state mandated 12.5% minimum royalty.

The Farm Bureau is up in arms because its members are up in arms–and so the organization is pushing for new legislation to plug the loophole that Chesapeake (and maybe others) are apparently exploiting…
Read More “PA Farm Bureau Joins Chorus Against Chessy on Royalty Issue”
Chester County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

Pipeline Information Website for Chester County, PA Goes Live
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

Lynda Farrell and her husband Steve, landowners in Chester County, PA (near Philadelphia) first learned of pipelines in 1992 when a pipeline close to their home was excavated to check for a leak. In 2008 Williams informed the Farrells and their neighbors they wanted to expand a pipeline in their area (you can see where this is going). In 2011, Lynda, tired of not having good information about what pipelines were where, and who’s planning what, started a non-profit called the Pipeline Safety Coalition.

Lynda’s efforts have borne fruit. Chester County, where she lives, has just launched a Pipeline Information Center complete with interactive maps of where existing pipelines are located, who owns them, and more. Lynda is now on a mission to get the other 66 PA counties to do the same thing. While we suspect Lynda considers herself to be against shale drilling and that her motivation in starting the Pipeline Safety Coalition is to whip up public dissent to new pipelines (and thereby shale drilling), we believe she’s done PA residents a good service. The site and the information are very good, and we’re big believers that more information when it comes to drilling and pipelines is a good thing. So, hats off to Lynda…
Read More “Pipeline Information Website for Chester County, PA Goes Live”
Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation | York County

York County Park Getting $150K Upgrade Courtesy Marcellus $
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

Even though there is no Marcellus Shale drilling in York County, PA, residents of the county will get $150,000 of improvements to a county park courtesy of Marcellus Shale drilling. MDN sees at least two or three of these kinds of stories–every week. We ignore most of them, but every now and again we bring you one of them to remind you of what the state is about to lose thanks to the “selfish seven” townships that sued the state to gut the Act 13 Marcellus drilling law–a law that provides for an impact fee that raises over $200 million per year that is distributed throughout the state–some of it in places like York County.

Here’s the story of the $150,000 upgrade coming to a York County park courtesy the drillers and landowners out of whose pockets the money comes…
Read More “York County Park Getting $150K Upgrade Courtesy Marcellus $”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues

Fill ‘Er Up with CNG! ShaleNavigator Shows 1,400 CNG Locations
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

ShaleNavigator, the premier web-based mapping solution for shale oil and gas information (and the source for maps in MDN’s Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook) has just added a new layer to their excellent mapping service–CNG fueling stations. The new layer pinpoints 1,400 locations where CNG (compressed natural gas) is available or will soon be available across the country. The CNG locations include existing public fueling stations, planned fueling stations, and private fueling stations. ShaleNavigator has provided MDN with a breakdown for the Marcellus/Utica region (see it below).

In addition to the new CNG “layer” on ShaleNavigator, be sure to check out the new frack wastewater facilities map layer, along with overlays to show where existing pipelines are located, and well and well permits. ShaleNavigator is a really cool service…
Read More “Fill ‘Er Up with CNG! ShaleNavigator Shows 1,400 CNG Locations”
Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues | Research

Moody’s Says Marcellus is Different–and Better–than Other Plays
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

Moody’s Investors Service has just published a new 11-page (5,231 word) report titled, “US Exploration and Production: Marcellus’ Natural Gas Bounty Rewards Early Adopters.” Pricetag? $550 smackeroos. A bit too pricey for us for an 11-page report! However, Moody’s has kindly shared some of the high-level conclusions they reach in the report, including this one: “Exploration and production (E&P) companies that extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale play will benefit more than natural gas producers elsewhere in North America, and their advantage isn’t likely to change anytime soon.” We agree.

The report says early movers like E&P companies including Chesapeake, Southwestern and Anadarko, and midstream companies like MarkWest and Sunoco Logistics, have a distinct and ongoing advantage. Here’s a bit more from their summary of the report in which they point out the Marcellus is not like any other shale play:
Read More “Moody’s Says Marcellus is Different–and Better–than Other Plays”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Apr 3, 2014
April 3, 2014April 3, 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: Thu, Apr 3, 2014”
Lease & Royalty Payments | Noble County | Ohio

The Curious Case of First Penn Oil & Gas in Noble County, OH
April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

MDN spotted a very brief mention that Noble County, OH signed a lease in February with First Penn Oil & Gas for 6.71 acres of county-owned land for $36,657, or $5,463 per acre. Which on the surface seems like a pretty good deal. We dug some more, having not heard of Penn Oil & Gas, and found that the Caldwell (Noble County), OH School Board also signed a lease with Penn, just a few weeks ago. The school is raking in the dough: terms were $5,400 for 38.6846 acres, or roughly $209,000.

Who is Penn Oil & Gas? They’re not a driller as far as we can tell. Likely a land company, or more pejoratively, a “lease flipper” that will lease the land then turn around and sell the lease to a driller. Who might the driller be that will ultimately inherit those leases? We have a guess or two…
Read More “The Curious Case of First Penn Oil & Gas in Noble County, OH”
Allegheny County | CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania

CONSOL Gets FAA Clearance for Take Off with Pitt Airport Drilling
April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

Really good news for CONSOL Energy and their CNX Gas subsidiary: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given their blessing for CONSOL’s plan to drill at Pittsburgh International Airport. Not only has the FAA granted it’s approval, so too has the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

For more than a year CONSOL has been working on a plan that will please everyone so they can drill on Pittsburgh Airport property–a plan that the Airport hopes will ultimately net them $1 billion or more (see CONSOL Energy Reveals Drilling Plan for Pittsburgh Airport). Just about every letter in the alphabet soup of Washington, DC agencies has now reviewed and approved CONSOL’s plan to drill at the Pittsburgh Airport. So, can we get drilling already?!…
Read More “CONSOL Gets FAA Clearance for Take Off with Pitt Airport Drilling”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY AG Schneiderman Files to Dismiss JLCNY Lawsuit Against Cuomo
April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

In early March MDN told you the sad news that New York’s own Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, is actively working against the residents of the state of New York by filing to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Norse Energy that would force Gov. Andrew Cuomo, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens and State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah to do their jobs and release new drilling regulations (see NY Attorney General Files to Dismiss Norse Lawsuit, More Delays). The 70,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York also filed an “Article 78” lawsuit, similar to the Norse lawsuit.

NGI’s Shale Daily is reporting that AG Schneiderman’s office has now filed a motion to dismiss this second lawsuit–fantastically claiming the JLCNY, which represents more than 70,000 New York landowners who want to see drilling commence, has “no standing.” Talk about chutzpah. Here’s the latest on the dysfunctional mess that is called New York State:
Read More “NY AG Schneiderman Files to Dismiss JLCNY Lawsuit Against Cuomo”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Williams

Duke Energy & Piedmont NatGas Want New Marcellus Gas Pipeline
April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is the largest electric power holding company in the U.S. with a number of electrical generating plants in the southeast. Piedmont Natural Gas is a utility company delivering natural gas to more than one million residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout NC, SC and TN. The two companies have something in common: a desire to use cheap, abundant natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. Duke wants it to power its electric generating plants. Piedmont wants it to deliver to customers like Duke and others. The two announced yesterday they want it so bad they’re willing to together invest in a new natural gas pipeline to bring it into NC.

Williams is currently in the midst of a multi-year project to expand and extend the Transco pipeline into NC to, in part, Piedmont Natural Gas. The Transco Virginia Southside Expansion project is approximately 100 miles of new 24-inch diameter pipeline extending from the Transco mainline in Pittsylvania County, VA into Halifax, Charlotte, Mecklenburg, and terminate in Brunswick County, VA. The interesting thing (to MDN) is that Duke and Piedmont specifically say they want a new/different/second pipeline to be built. Apparently they’re not happy with a single source (from Williams) and want a little more competition in the region–so the two companies jointly announced yesterday they’re shopping for midstreamers willing to build a second pipeline to flow Marcellus gas…
Read More “Duke Energy & Piedmont NatGas Want New Marcellus Gas Pipeline”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

8 Servile Congressman Obey Anti-Fracking Masters, Sign Ltr to EPA
April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

Here we go again. Out of ideas and running out of money, a bunch of loony toon organizations like 350.org and the odious Food & Water Watch need a new fundraiser. What to do…what to do? We know! Get a few anti-drilling lackeys Congressman (every one of the a Democrat) on your political contribution payroll to sign a letter to the EPA asking them to re-open three cases both the EPA and state agencies have already investigated to death for years: Dimock (PA), Pavillion (WY) and Parker County (TX). Make some more wild claims that fracking pollutes water supplies–even though it doesn’t. And, voilà! A new fundraising campaign is born.

And so the brain trust at Americans Against Fracking (AAF) has done just that. So worn out and bankrupt for new ideas, AAF has to pathetically, once again, attempt to make an issue of a dead issue. Here’s the latest fundraiser from enviro-snobs at AAF, along with the political patronage letter to the EPA obediently signed by eight servile Democrat Congressmen:
Read More “8 Servile Congressman Obey Anti-Fracking Masters, Sign Ltr to EPA”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Athens County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Wastewater

Athens County Anti-Frackers Continue to Fight Injection Well
April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

In January, MDN told you that a group of anti-drilling nutters in Athens County, OH had sued to try and stop a new, second injection well from being drilled by K&H Partners at the same site where there is currently an operational injection well (see Athens County, OH Anti-Drillers Sue to Stop New Injection Well). The Athens County Fracking Action Network (ACFAN) objected to the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) decision to issue a permit for the new, second injection well.

ACFAN is continuing their legal challenge. The group has filed a new complaint against the ODNR saying the ODNR has not been forthcoming with certain public records sought by ACFAN as part of their original lawsuit. In other words, ACFAN is trying to abuse the law to slow down, delay and kill a legitimate and legal business from doing business in Athens County, OH. But then, that’s how petulant children who grow up to be petulant adults behave…
Read More “Athens County Anti-Frackers Continue to Fight Injection Well”