Bracewell & Giuliani LLP announced last week it has launched a new ShalePlay app for iPhones and other iOS devices (like your iPad), and a version is coming soon for Android devices. MDN was intrigued so we downloaded the free app. What did we find?…
Read More “New ShalePlay App for iPhones Released by Energy Law Firm”
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: Tue, Jan 21, 2014”
Get this: Environmentalists (like those at PennEnvironment) hate fossil fuels from shale drilling so much, they would rather have millions of gallons of acid mine drainage pour into creeks and rivers in PA every day rather than let shale drillers use that drainage as a fracking fluid–thereby freeing up fresh water sources and solving one of the state’s most pernicious long-term pollution problems. Anti-drillers can’t stand the idea that drillers might, in any way, be perceived as helping the environment. Talk about selfish pigs.
The residents in PA should be outraged at the 35 groups listed below, including PennEnvironment, that sent a letter last Thursday to political leaders asking them to abandon support for one of the best ideas to roll around in generations–cleaning up acid mine drainage by using it as a fracking fluid…
Read More ““Enviro” Groups: Keep Acid Mine Drainage So Drillers Can’t Use It”
In November, WV Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced he finally had him a cracker (see WV Announces Brazilian Company to Build Ethane Cracker Complex). By Dec. 31, Odebrecht, the company that will build the ethane cracker, had purchased the future site for their proposed plant in Wood County, WV through a holding company–for $10.9 million. A chemical plant currently located on the site employing 130 people will close in 2015. But have no fear–when the cracker plant is built, it will (for a time) employ 10,000 people to build it. It’s a massive undertaking that will ultimately lead to an estimated $7 billion economic injection just for the state of West Virginia. Talk about an economic revolution!
Compare WV’s proposed cracker to the Pennsylvania proposed cracker plant. Shell announced their intention to build a PA cracker plant in June 2011. How long did it take Shell to purchase the property on which they plan to build their cracker plant? They still haven’t purchased it. Let’s see: under 2 months to purchase the property for the WV cracker, still no purchase after 2 1/2 years for the PA cracker. Which one do you think is serious about building, and which one will get built first?…
Read More “WV Cracker Plant has Already Purchased Land for Future Site”
It now becomes crystal-clear (as if there were ever any doubt) about why the Heinz Endowments, under the direction of Teresa Heinz Kerry, fired its president Bobby Vagt and a couple of other senior members of the Endowments team: Heinz herself is through and through anti-drilling. Attempting to spread a thin veneer of euphemistic language, the Heinz Endowments admits that last year they provided $3.3 million of their considerable warchest to support anti-drilling organizations and causes. Oh, they don’t call it that, but that’s exactly what it is: Every single “cause” they funded took aim at shale drilling–to stop it, not make it better. With people like the Heinz’s there is no attempting a reasoned, considered “how can we improve this” approach. Instead, it’s a “how do we eliminate these evil, nasty drillers–eradicate them from the face of the earth” approach.
Some of the recipients of Teresa’s largess last year include anti-drilling “studies” at Ivy League schools like Yale, Harvard and Cornell, and anti-drilling “activities” at non-profits like FracTracker Alliance. Contrast that with the tiny bit of money Vagt tried to spend to help create the very strict (too strict in our opinion) Center for Sustainable Shale Development–an alliance between drillers and environmental groups–getting both sides to the table and to agree. That one made mamma Teresa really mad, so Bobby had to go bye bye. We can’t have any talk of a “third way” and cooperation in shale exploration. It’s “no way” for the Heinz clan when it comes to shale…
Read More “Heinz Spent $3.3M in 2013 on Anti-Drilling Research/Activities”
Although both WV and PA are in a race to build the northeast’s first ethane cracker plant, such a plant will not be operational for at least another 4-5 years–if all goes well. The problem is, what do you do with all of the ethane being produced now in the Marcellus and Utica Shale? Ethane is a valuable commodity that can be sold for a lot more than regular methane (or “dry gas”)–unless there’s no way to get it to a cracker. Then ethane becomes a waste product and actually costs money. The three ways to deal with ethane in the northeast right now are: (1) blend it with methane and other hydrocarbons, (2) flare it, i.e. burn it off, or (3) ship it out of the northeast via pipeline to a cracker plant. Option #3 is, of course, the preferred option for drillers–and an option that is now, as of a few months ago, a reality.
Although ethane has been flowing through the Mariner West pipeline (owned and operated by Sunoco Logistics) to the Corunna cracker plant in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada for the past few months, it has only been fully operational for a short time. Last Thursday, officials at the Corunna plant held a ceremony to commemorate full operation of receiving and processing Marcellus and Utica Shale ethane at the plant…
Read More “Why Wait for a Cracker to be Built? Canadian Plant Cracking Now”
An interesting new report is out from IHS. Researchers with IHS predict that the price of natural gas, because of the flood of new shale gas coming into the market, will stay somewhere between $4-$5 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) at the benchmark Henry Hub for the long-term–like until 2035, at least.
The report, titled “Fueling the Future with Natural Gas: Bringing It Home” (25-page executive summary embedded below) says shale gas can be profitably produced at $4/Mcf or less. One of many conclusions from their research: “…the North American natural gas resource base can accommodate significant increases in demand without requiring a significantly higher price to elicit new supply.” Translation: A LOT more shale drilling just ahead, even with relatively “low” prices. Here’s another fascinating conclusion from the study…
Read More “IHS Research Predicts Gas Price will Stay at $4-$5/Mcf Until 2035”
A local school district in Belmont County, OH–Union Local Schools–is reaping huge rewards from leasing land for Utica Shale drilling. Union Local Schools has already received a lease signing bonus check for $519,750, and a second check is on the way for $112,000–and that’s before a penny of royalties are paid (19% for one lease agreement, 20% for a second lease agreement).
Here’s the low-down…
Read More “Belmont County School Gets Huge Checks from Utica Leases”
Last week Carrizo Oil & Gas released a brief update on the initial production for their newest Utica Shale well, the Rector 1H in Guernsey County, OH. In addition, Carrizo said they plan to move a drilling rig into the OH Utica in early 2Q14 and keep it there through the balance of the year.
According to NaturalGasIntel.com, Carrizo’s acreage position is the smallest of the “major” drillers in the Utica with just 14,500 acres leased. Here’s Carrizo’s initial production (IP) numbers for the Rector 1H and their comments about their Utica drilling program:
Read More “Carrizo Releases IP Numbers for Guernsey County, OH Utica Well”
Sunoco Logistics personnel were treated last week to a variety of silly concerns about an NGL pipeline they’re proposing through Portage County, OH–concerns like people keeling over dead because of undetected leaks in the buried pipeline and mass contamination of water aquifers. The anti-drillers are so good at distributing lies and distortions it’s no wonder average folks are concerned. You’d think a pipeline was the equivalent of an environmental holocaust.
Even though pipelines are the safest form of transportation in existence, people turned out last week and packed the local county commissioner’s office to express their unfounded concerns. Here’s how it went:
Read More “Sunoco Logistics Answers NGL Pipeline Concerns in Portage, OH”
A highly misleading headline (and article) running in an AOL-based “local” Patch publication trumpets, “Energy Company Eyeing Gas Basin that Runs Under Southern Maryland.” The “deck” or smaller headline under it goes on to reinforce this misconception by saying, “A gas basin underneath five counties in Southern Maryland is drawing a Texas-based energy company’s attention.” Both statements are, in a way true. However, the impression they leave–that a Texas driller is actively looking to lease land in southern MD for shale drilling, is 100% false. Hence another propaganda campaign is born by another anti-drilling “reporter.”
This particular falsehood is aimed at whipping up Marylanders against common sense regulations that would allow shale drilling in the Marcellus–which is only found under parts of two MD counties in extreme western Maryland’s panhandle area–Garrett and Allegany counties. Landowners in that area have been stymied almost as along as landowners in New York State–locked in an ongoing moratorium while politicians dither and preen. MDN has already told you about the shale basin mentioned in this new Patch story which drillers want to tap–in Virginia (see Fracking Finally on the Way in Virginia? Maybe Yes, Maybe No). The same basin underlying parts of VA, called the Taylorsville, underlies a few counties in southern MD too. But not one driller has mentioned leasing any land in anti-drilling MD. Quite the opposite–they’re staying away from Maryland like it’s radioactive…
Read More “Article Falsely Implies Driller Interested in S Maryland Drilling”
An internet company–Worldwide Internet, Inc.–spent $5 million to acquire a 40% in Marcellus Shale property near Erie, PA. The company swapped some stock to make the purchase. It may seem kind of strange that an internet tech company would invest in a property specifically because it has Marcellus Shale drilling potential. But perhaps it’s not so strange when you consider Worldwide Internet develops technology for huge data centers (big server farms with lots of computers), and those data centers are increasingly powered by natural gas used to generate electricity.
This investment is “crazy like a fox” on Worldwide’s part, if you ask us. Here’s their brief press announcement:
Read More “Internet Company Invests in…Marcellus Shale?”
Below are upcoming events for this week and next.
Read More “Calendar of Events for Jan 20-Feb 2, 2014 [Free]”
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, Jan 20, 2014”
Today (Friday) is a travel day for MDN editor Jim Willis, so there will be no regularly scheduled news updates today. Don’t worry! I will catch you up on the all of the latest news that matters for the Marcellus and Utica on Monday.
In lieu of today’s news, I would like to give you a brief update on the state of MDN and where things will go in 2014. It is a rare “personal note” where I pull back the curtain and discuss with you what happens backstage…
Read More “On a personal note…”
A liberal New York judge has just just granted New York State an additional month and a half to get their act together to respond to the Article 78 lawsuit filed by attorney Tom West on behalf Norse Energy. You may recall West filed the lawsuit in the middle of December in an attempt to force Gov. Andrew Cuomo, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens, and Health Commissioner Nirav Shah to actually do their jobs (see Norse Energy Sues Gov. Cuomo to Force Release of Fracking Regs). It’s been 5 1/2 long years and the state continues to intentionally delay the release of fracking regulations–the delay, which is now obvious to everyone, is for political reasons. The delays eventually sent Norse Energy into bankruptcy. The company can’t even sell their leases via auction to compensate shafted investors because of the continuing delay by Cuomo. West was hired to force the governor and his minions to suck it up and do their jobs.
How does the state respond? Cuomo’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (a strong anti-driller himself) has found a sympathetic lib judge to, incredibly, further delay! Until March 7 (instead of the scheduled January 24)–to give the state “more time” to…I don’t know, to do what? Make more coffee runs to Dunkin Donuts? Apparently 5 1/2 years isn’t enough time! West said it’s this very kind of delay tactic that prompted Norse to file the lawsuit in the first place! So now, justice is delayed yet again. You know the old saying, justice delayed is justice denied. Landowners in NY have certainly been denied justice under this corrupt governor and his AG…
Read More “Fracking Justice Denied NY Landowners Yet Again Thanks to NY AG”