Marcellus Drilling News

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Guest Post | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY’s Albany Anti-Frack Protest – Made Possible by Natural Gas
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

Not only are the crazies marching in Maryland (see today’s story Maryland Anti-Fracking “Madness” Continues – Crazies on the March), they’re also about to descend on Albany, NY. MDN friend and occasional guest blogger Vic Furman, a retired IBMer and one of the leaders of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, provided the article below pointing out the hypocrisy of those who oppose shale drilling. Vic says that in nine days when anti-drilling protesters arrive in Albany (many from out of state), they will do so because natural gas and oil from shale drilling made it possible for them to be there.

Take time to read Vic’s post and consider the salient points he makes:
Read More “NY’s Albany Anti-Frack Protest – Made Possible by Natural Gas”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Maryland Anti-Fracking “Madness” Continues – Crazies on the March
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

The anti-drilling crazies in Maryland are on the march, literally! A coalition of extremist so-called “environmental” groups plan to march on Annapolis on the opening day of the General Assembly session to urge legislators to ban shale drilling. No, they are not demanding a moratorium–they are demanding an outright and permanent ban on fracking. How do you reason with unreasonable people? You don’t. You defeat them. And that’s what pro-drilling and clear-thinking people must do in Maryland. There is no sane debate with a crazy people.

Here’s a Maryland “madness” update:
Read More “Maryland Anti-Fracking “Madness” Continues – Crazies on the March”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PA Town in Poconos Symbolically Votes to Condemn Fracking
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

The day before the PA Supreme Court ruled that towns must allow fracking but can impose their own zoning rules about where it is and isn’t used, the Stroudsburg Borough Council voted, unanimously, to pass a resolution (or depending on your news source, ordinance) that “condemns” fracking. Stroudsburg is located about five miles from the Delaware Water Gap in Monroe County, PA. It’s debatable whether or not there’s anything to frack under Stoudsburg. Because the borough is in the Delaware River Basin the DRBC doesn’t yet allow drilling there anyway–so the vote was purely symbolic.

The ring leader seems to be outgoing councilwoman Kathleen Lockwood who has proven her ignorance on the subject of fracking with her public comments on the matter (see below). Since this was a symbolic vote, we nominate Ms. Lockwood to symbolically remove herself from using all natural gas–she should quit heating her home with it, quit using it to cook her food, and quit using electricity in her home produced by using natural gas–you know, to show the rest of us her resolve in opposing fracking. If fracking is so bad and evil, surely she would want to quit using the results of that fracking–natural gas–right? What’s that? Not so fast? Let’s not be hasty now! Yeah, that’s what we thought…
Read More “PA Town in Poconos Symbolically Votes to Condemn Fracking”
Air Quality | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Carroll County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research

Carroll County Anti-Drillers Eager to Help with Air Quality Study
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

The anti-drilling group Carroll Concerned Citizens (Carroll County, OH) is only too eager to help out with a new air quality study that will be conducted by the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Oregon State University’s (OSU) College of Medicine in Carroll County. Perhaps a little too eager. Using a grant from the National Institutes of Health, the two universities are teaming up to place passive air quality sampling equipment on properties close to active or recently-completed shale drilling operations. Carroll Concerned Citizens (CCC) is one of the local “partners” that’s “assisting” in the study. Err, yeah. Please tell the CCC volunteers this is a scientific study, K? And tell them to keep their cigarettes at home when they’re out and around checking the air sampling equipment, K?

The eager-beaver announcement from CCC about the new study:
Read More “Carroll County Anti-Drillers Eager to Help with Air Quality Study”
Energy Companies | Seneca Resources

National Fuel’s Executive Chairman Retiring on April 1st, Sort of
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

National Fuel is a big company–a $6.2 billion integrated company with its headquarters in Buffalo, NY and different divisions involved with shale drilling, pipelines and storage, utilities and more. National Fuel is also the parent of wholly-owned subsidiary Seneca Resources, one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale (at last count they are the third largest owner of acreage with 775,000 Marcellus Shale net acres). So when there’s personnel changes at the top, it’s news. Today National Fuel announced that David Smith, formerly CEO until March of this year, and now Executive Chairman of the Board, will retire on (no joke) April Fool’s Day–April 1st. However, the announcement is a bit difficult to understand.

Apparently Smith is currently Executive Chairman of the Board, but after April 1st he’ll remain on the board as just Chairman (no Executive) of the Board. Say what? Yeah, we don’t know what the difference is either–except it seems to signal a further stepping away from day to day operations for Smith. That’s the takeaway we get from the National Fuel announcement…
Read More “National Fuel’s Executive Chairman Retiring on April 1st, Sort of”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs

Handy New Webpage for Locating Marcellus Industry Jobs
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

The Marcellus Shale Coalition is perhaps the premier organization of its kind–made up of drillers and associated supply chain companies from huge multi-national corporations down to local businesses with a handful of employees. Recently the MSC introduced a new webpage that at first glance may seem rather unremarkable–but to MDN it’s a big deal. Some smart person at the MSC said, “Hey, why don’t we list our member companies on a webpage, and link the company name to the jobs/career info on their respective websites?” Simple! And brilliant.

The MSC did just that, and result will save people who are looking for a job in the Marcellus Shale hours of time in their job search. Here’s the location of the MSC’s new “Find a Job” page, along with our analysis of what it is, and what it isn’t…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Dec 30, 2013
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

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, Dec 30, 2013”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Shell to Begin Demolition at PA Ethane Cracker Site Early 2014
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

In June 2011 Shell announced to the world that they would build a “world-scale” ethane cracker plant in the northeast (see Shell Commits to Building a Billion Dollar Chemical Plant in the Marcellus Region of U.S.). After looking around and being heavily courted by West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, Shell finally chose a location northwest of Pittsburgh–in Beaver County, PA–in March 2012 (see Shell Announces Location of Ethane Cracker Plant). At the time a spokesperson said the final decision about whether or not to proceed was years away (see Shell’s Cracker Plant Actually “Years Away”?). She wasn’t kidding.

Fast forward two years later and it’s been a real roller coaster ride as to whether or not Shell would proceed–especially in light of recent comments by Shell’s retiring CEO Pete Voser that the company would not be able to build all three of its previously announced big projects, which includes the PA ethane cracker (see Rumor Mill: PA Ethane Cracker Plant on Shell Chopping Block?). But several recent things have happened to indicate the PA cracker plant project is alive and well, including the announcement yesterday that Shell has extended their option to purchase the proposed plant site in PA and intends to start demolishing existing buildings on the site in early 2014…
Read More “Shell to Begin Demolition at PA Ethane Cracker Site Early 2014”
Axiall | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants

Axiall Announces New Cracker Plant for LA, Fed by NE Ethane
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

Georgia Gulf, now a huge chemical manufacturer, was founded in 1985 in Atlanta, GA. The company purchased the commodity chemicals business of PPG in early 2013 and renamed the combined company Axiall Corporation. In buying the PPG properties, Axiall inherited a large chemical plant operation in Natrium (Marshall County), WV–in the heart of the Marcellus/Utica.

Axiall announced last week they plan to build a $3 billion ethane cracker plant. However, they aren’t building it in the northeast near their chemical plant operations. Instead, Axiall plans to build their new cracker plant in Louisiana where they already have three other “major manufacturing facilities.” The new cracker, if built (all companies are careful to couch their language on that point) will no doubt be fed by Marcellus and Utica Shale ethane and (possibly) ethane from other plays. The new plant will not be online until 2018 at the earliest…
Read More “Axiall Announces New Cracker Plant for LA, Fed by NE Ethane”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Fitch Ratings Says PA Court Decision Translates to Less Production
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

Elections–and court cases–have consequences. You tax something more, you get less of it. You regulate something more, you get less of it. When there’s less of something, prices for it go up. Fitch Ratings–one of the largest and most prestigious rating agencies in the world–has just weighed in on the ruling by the PA Supreme Court that throws out portions of the Act 13 drilling law (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). According to Fitch, more local regulation of PA’s oil and gas drilling will result in less production. You don’t normally think of Fitch as being in the oil and gas production prediction game–that’s more the purview of the Energy Information Administration (EIA). However, Fitch says the recent PA ruling will almost certainly mean less production coming out of PA–a sobering observation.

Fitch’s opinion counts because investors make decisions based on it. Less gas, higher prices. It also means less tax money will flow to municipalities. Pretty simple economics and Fitch is just stating the obvious. Here’s what Fitch said earlier this week about the PA court decision…
Read More “Fitch Ratings Says PA Court Decision Translates to Less Production”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County (NY) | New York | Public Opinion | Regulation

Rochester Poll: Cuomo Wrong to Delay, Begin Fracking Now
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

Unscientific opinion survey? To be sure. But the results from a recent Rochester (NY) Business Journal poll that asks the question of whether or not Gov. Andrew Cuomo should continue to delay a decision on fracking is enlightening. Some 540 RBJ readers participated in the web-based snap poll that asked two questions about fracking. It will be no surprise to you that the vast majority of RBJ readers believe Cuomo should make a decision now–and that the decision should be to allow fracking to commence.

Most people who read the RBJ are small business people–entrepreneurs and managers and people who make things happen. In other words, they are producers–the opposite of the government-dependent leeches we tend to turn out in NY in large numbers. Producers are clear-headed–they know how to evaluate information and come to a logical conclusion. And the conclusion reached in “liberal” Rochester is this: fracking is safe, it’s time to start. Get off the pot Cuomo! Here’s the details from the RBJ snap poll:
Read More “Rochester Poll: Cuomo Wrong to Delay, Begin Fracking Now”
Energy Companies | Hilcorp Energy | Lawrence County | Pennsylvania

A Look Back (& Forward) at Marcellus Drilling in Lawrence County
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

As part of a year-end story review, the Elwood City Ledger (Lawrence County, PA) looks at how one of the smallest counties in the Marcellus Shale region has become a late-bloomer with a dozen new wells drilled in 2013. We hadn’t heard much about drilling in Lawrence County until recently. The news has all been about Hilcorp, and if our most recent story about Hilcorp is any indication, drilling in Lawrence will at least double, maybe triple in 2014 (see Hilcorp Goes Hogwild in Lawrence County – 11 Pads on the Way).

Here’s the “year in review” article from the Ledger that covers Marcellus drilling in Lawrence County, a year which (sadly) included a resolution passed by the Elwood City Council calling for a severance tax on shale drilling:
Read More “A Look Back (& Forward) at Marcellus Drilling in Lawrence County”
Indiana County | Pennsylvania

Fire Destroys Building at Marcellus Driller in Indiana County, PA
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

A sad story to report. A fire at the headquarters of Marcellus drilling company Northeast Energy in Indiana County, PA destroyed their vehicle maintenance garage on Christmas Eve–a $2 million loss. Fortunately no one was injured in the blaze. The company has other buildings at the site that were not affected and so business will continue.

The details we know about the fire and its possible cause:
Read More “Fire Destroys Building at Marcellus Driller in Indiana County, PA”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio County | Wastewater | West Virginia

Check-in on GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Plant
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

Spandex outfits on. Check. Capes flapping in the breeze. Check. Homemade protest signs created. Check. The so-called Wheeling Water Warriors are ready for more protests against the eeeve-ill, nasty frack wastewater company–GreenHunter. Yes saracasm. Yes we believe the “Water Warriors” are nothing more than fossil-fuel haters stoked by irrational fears that carbon (the very substance they’re made from) is actually a pollutant and that burning it will mean the end of our existence. Boggles the mind. But there you go.

It’s time to check in for an update on GreenHunter’s project to build a frack wastewater recycling facility in Wheeling, WV, and on GreenHunter’s future plans to ship frack wastewater via barge down the Ohio River when the Coast Guard gets around to issuing the “go ahead” signal. It’s also time to check in on the half dozen or so people who continue to grab headlines using the misleading name Wheeling Water Warriors…
Read More “Check-in on GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Plant”
Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Anti-Drillers Continue to Harp on Drill Cuttings in Landfills
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

Anti-drillers in West Virginia continue to beat the drums about drill cuttings (leftover rock, dirt and mud from shale drilling) being disposed of in landfills. The claim they make is that the state “quietly” carved out a “loophole” earlier this year that allows untold mountains of radioactive dirt to be dumped willy-nilly in the nearest landfill and as a result we’ll all be glowing in the dark any day now. Of course it’s bupkis, but it makes for great headlines.

Here’s the latest “keep the radioactive dirt issue alive” story from the AP, from a few weeks ago:
Read More “WV Anti-Drillers Continue to Harp on Drill Cuttings in Landfills”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues

US Spending $150B+ to Drill New Oil & Gas Wells Each Year
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

The American Petroleum Institute has a pretty good handle on just how much money is spent each year on drilling new oil and gas wells. According to a recently released report for last year (takes a long time to compile these numbers, apparently), there were 46,736 oil and natural gas wells drilled in 2012. We don’t know the breakdown of conventional (vertical only) vs. unconventional (shale) wells drilled, but we suspect the vast majority drilled were conventional, even though shale is all the rage these days. It’s far cheaper to drill a conventional well than an unconventional well.

Speaking of cost, it took an estimated $153.7 billion (that’s with a “b”) to drill those 46.7K wells. Yikes! Shale drilling, according to the API, represented about one-third of those costs (again, that doesn’t mean it was 1/3 of the total wells drilled because drilling economics for conventional/unconventional are vastly different). We have the API press release below, which we found interesting. But here’s what you won’t read in that press release, something we heard at the recent Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum a few weeks ago…
Read More “US Spending $150B+ to Drill New Oil & Gas Wells Each Year”