Marcellus Drilling News

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Important New Shale Energy Resource Launches: NaturalGasIntel.com
November 15, 2013November 15, 2013

As some MDN readers may know, in addition to writing and publishing Marcellus Drilling News each weekday and writing/editing the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook, MDN editor Jim Willis also consults for Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI). You may recognize the NGI name–they’re the publishers of the fabulous Shale Daily newsletter–the first and still the only daily publication dedicated to news coverage from all North American shale plays. Jim works with the fine folks at NGI to help with marketing Shale Daily and other NGI publications and products (like a really cool shale/pipeline wall map). One of the projects Jim has had a small hand in is the design and launch of the NaturalGasIntel.com website.

NaturalGasIntel.com is an incredibly important new resource for those interested in the shale energy industry. It incorporates all of the great content from Shale Daily PLUS content from NGI’s other publications PLUS brand new features like shale basin resource pages–individual pages dedicated to each of the major (and many of the minor) commercial shale plays in North America. MDN will tell you more about how you can leverage these new features in the coming weeks. For now, we include the NGI press release announcing the new site (read it below) and we encourage you to head on over and get a free 7-day trial and try it out for yourself…

Read More “Important New Shale Energy Resource Launches: NaturalGasIntel.com”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lackawanna County | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain

NE PA Audience Hears How to Plug in to the Marcellus Supply Chain
November 15, 2013November 15, 2013

The Marcellus means jobs and an economic boom for northeast Pennsylvania. That was the message delivered yesterday in Wilkes-Barre at a Marcellus forum hosted by State Sen. John Yudichak and State Sen. John Blake (both from the Scranton/W-B area). The forum was attended by over 100 people–local contractors, trade unions, small manufacturers and others. MDN friend John Augustine from the Marcellus Shale Coalition was one of the featured speakers, with lots of good tips for those who want to plug in to the Marcellus supply chain.

The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader was on hand and filed this helpful report:
Read More “NE PA Audience Hears How to Plug in to the Marcellus Supply Chain”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Berks County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

Berks County, PA Hosts Pipeline “Education” Forum – LOL
November 15, 2013November 15, 2013

A supposedly non-partisan “pipeline education forum” was held yesterday in Berks County, PA (near Philadelphia)–payed for with taxpayer money and hosted/organized by the Berks County League of [Liberal Democrat] Women Voters. To their credit, the League had two pro-drillers on the panel: someone from utility giant UGI and someone from Spectra Energy. But the rest of the panel was packed with anti-drillers, like a rep from the rabidly anti-drilling Delaware Riverkeeper and the anti-drilling director of the so-called Pipeline Safety Coalition, based in neighboring Chester County. They were there to scare the *&@# out of attendees.

Such is “fair and balanced” from the “non-partisan-doesn’t-take-a-position” League. Excuse us as we pick ourselves up off the ground from laughing so hard…
Read More “Berks County, PA Hosts Pipeline “Education” Forum – LOL”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Research | Supply Chain

The Important Role of Engineering/Construction Firms in Shale
November 15, 2013November 15, 2013

Engineering and construction firms play a big and important role in the shale drilling industry. If you ever attend a trade show, like the top-notch Shale Insight event hosted by the Marcellus Shale Coalition, and walk around the exhibition area, there are a LOT of engineering and construction companies with booths. And rightfully so–because without them drilling and the associated work (clearing sites, constructing buildings, installing pipelines, siting compressor plants, etc.) would not get done.

Uber big consulting firm PricewatershouseCoopers (PwC) recently released a “report” (i.e. white paper) that discusses how engineering and construction companies can successfully help deliver shale oil and gas products at quicker speeds and lower costs through integrated project planning. That is, PwC is trying to drum up some business. If you’re an engineering/construction company, they can show you a way to do it better, by using their high-priced consultants. 🙂 Still, the white paper has a few useful points to make, and so we pass it along to you…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Nov 15, 2013
November 15, 2013November 15, 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: Fri, Nov 15, 2013”
Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wood County

BIG NEWS: West Virginia is Getting an Ethane Cracker Plant
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel is reporting that WV Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin will make an announcement today that has been years in coming: West Virginia is getting its own “multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker chemical plant” and it will be located in Wood County. If this rumor, which seemingly originates with reliable sources, bears out, this is seriously good news for WV. In fact, we’re jumping up and down happy! For years MDN has been pulling/cheerleading/advocating for WV to get their own cracker–we think they deserve it.

The speculation is that Tomblin sealed a deal for a cracker plant on a recent European trade mission trip (see WV Gov Going to Europe to Find Him a Cracker). While he was in Europe, he said by phone he would have a big announcement a few days after he returned home. We speculated at the time, three weeks ago, that he might be talking about a cracker (see Did Gov Tomblin Find a European Investor for a WV Cracker Plant?). Was our speculation accurate? We will know today…
Read More “BIG NEWS: West Virginia is Getting an Ethane Cracker Plant”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

JLCNY Landowner Lawsuit Against NY & Gov. Cuomo Ready to Go
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

MDN recently received an email update from the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY)–posted below. The JLCNY reports their “takings” lawsuit against New York State, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens and State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah is now ready to go. Cuomo, Martens and Shah together form a cabal working against NY landowners by intentionally denying them their 5th Amendment Constitutional private property rights without just compensation. The JLCNY is ready to expose the cabal by filing this case.

According to JLCNY President, Dan Fitzsimmons, the legal team spent over 300 hours preparing the necessary court documentation, called a “complaint” in legalese (we’ve embedded a copy of the complaint below). The lawsuit will be filed on behalf of six New York landowners. The landowners are not (yet) named in the complaint, but if you read the complaint, you’ll see each one is uniquely identified–these are real people that are ready to go to court…
Read More “JLCNY Landowner Lawsuit Against NY & Gov. Cuomo Ready to Go”
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mountaineer Keystone | Ohio | Portage County | Utica Shale

ODNR Says Methane in OH Water Well NOT Caused by Utica Drilling
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

In January MDN told you about the Kline family, in Portage County (near Cleveland), who claimed nearby Utica Shale drilling had contaminated their water well with methane (methane migration) to the point they could, yes, light their water tap on fire. It made big headlines at the time and the family (with flaming faucet) was featured on the NBC Today show (see Methane Migration into Water Well Near Cleveland, OH). At the time MDN said it certainly appeared like they had a case against driller Mountaineer Keystone for methane migration. Our assumption was completely wrong.

The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) performed an extensive investigation of not only the Kline family’s water well but a dozen other nearby water wells. Using test results from before and after drilling, they concluded the methane in the Kline’s water well is NOT from nearby Utica Shale drilling but is instead naturally occurring. Oops. Think the $25 million/year salaried Matt Lauer will now have the Kline family back on Today to ask them if they’re ready to apologize for making a false claim against the driller? Yeah, don’t hold your breath on that one…
Read More “ODNR Says Methane in OH Water Well NOT Caused by Utica Drilling”
Energy Companies | EnerVest | EV Energy Partners | Utica Shale

EVEP 3Q13: No New Land Deals to Announce
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

EV Energy Partners/EnerVest has, almost by happenstance, accumulated a huge position in the Utica Shale–760,000 acres according to NaturalGasIntel.com. They are the second largest leaseholder in the Utica, behind Chesapeake Energy (who has about 1 million acres). A little over a year ago EVEP put half a million of those acres on the auction block. No takers. They eventually sold 22,535 acres in Guernsey, Harrison and Noble counties in Ohio for $284.3 million (see EVEP/EnerVest Cuts Deal to Sell 22.5K OH Utica Acres for $284M).

On a 3Q13 analyst call earlier this week, EVEP Executive Chairman John Walker said there’s still no new deals to announce and that selling off a big slug of their acreage is “too valuable not to be patient.” Translation: Sit tight, we’re still working on it, but we won’t sell it at fire sale prices. It’s going to take more time. Here’s a transcript of John Walker’s opening comments on the analyst call:
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Belmont County | Carroll County | Economic Impact | Housing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Stark County | Utica Shale

OH Utica Shale Gives Rise to Crop of New Hotels
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

It seems as if new hotels are springing up all over the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio. The latest announcement: A New York City asset management firm says they’ll spend $5.2 million to build an 83-room hotel in…Carrollton, OH. Where? Exactly. Carrollton isn’t even a city–it’s a village, population 3,200, and it’s in Carroll County–in the middle of nowhere. But Carrollton also happens to be in the middle of one of the hot spots of the Utica Shale. And this hotel isn’t the only new hotel going up in Carrollton! A second hotel is already under construction in Carrollton–for $13.3 million (100 rooms).

Here’s the low-down on the new Carrollton hotel, and several other recently announced hotel projects in eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale region:
Read More “OH Utica Shale Gives Rise to Crop of New Hotels”
Energy Services | MarkWest Energy

MarkWest CEO Frank Semple Talks about 3Q13 Results on Call
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

Yesterday MarkWest Energy Partners’ Chairman, President and CEO, Frank Semple, held a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s third quarter results (see The Marcellus/Utica Games: MarkWest Catching Fire for MarkWest’s 3Q13 update). Semple talked about the company’s financials and about their incredible portfolio of projects underway in the northeast Marcellus and Utica Shale region. Semple talks about what, where and who with respect to their plans for the northeast.

Here’s a transcript of Semple’s remarks from yesterday’s analyst call:
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Cameron County | Endeavour International | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pennsylvania | Samson Investment Co

Endeavour Intl & Samson Exploration Form 50/50 Marcellus JV
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

One of the Marcellus Shale’s smaller drilling/midstream companies is Endeavour International, with 15,800 acres of leased Marcellus acreage according to NaturalGasIntel.com. Endeavour announced yesterday they’ve sold a 50% stake in their Marcellus assets to Samson Exploration, forming a joint venture with Samson. The amount of cash involved in the transaction was undisclosed.

According to the announcement, Endeavour will use the money from Samson to complete three previously drilled Marcellus wells in Cameron County, PA and hook them up to an EQT Corp. gathering pipeline. The wells should be online by the middle of 2014…
Read More “Endeavour Intl & Samson Exploration Form 50/50 Marcellus JV”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Valerus | Washington County

EQT Hires Valerus for 2 New Compressor Stations in SW PA
November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

Valerus, a Houston, TX-based company with a growing facility in Smithfield, PA manufactures/creates compression solutions–assembling the pipelines, valves, engines, etc.–that move natural gas through a pipeline. Think of them as the people that come in and install the guts of a compressor station.

EQT Corp., a major Marcellus Shale driller, has just hired Valerus to do just that–install new compression solutions at two compressor stations in southwest PA. It means more jobs and more investment on the way in PA…
Read More “EQT Hires Valerus for 2 New Compressor Stations in SW PA”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Nov 14, 2013
November 14, 2013November 14, 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: Thu, Nov 14, 2013”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

PA Ethane Cracker – On Again, Off Again…Now On Again?
November 13, 2013November 13, 2013

MDN recently brought you rumors (evidence?) that the prospects of Shell building a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker plant in western Pennsylvania were seriously dimming (see Rumor Mill: PA Ethane Cracker Plant on Shell Chopping Block?). The most ominous two pieces of evidence against Shell moving forward was doubt cast by industry expert Rusty Braziel and the statements from Shell’s outgoing CEO Peter Voser who said that Shell would not be able to build all three major projects they now have on the books (one of the three being the PA cracker plant). Delays in committing to the project, negative speak from the CEO and numerous NGL and ethane pipelines coming online seem to cast doubt on Shell building the cracker.

But wait, what’s this? We have a new, happier rumor to share with you. According to a reliable source, Shell has hired Linde and Bechtel to perform front end engineering and design (FEED) work on the PA cracker plant! It seems to us if the cracker were truly dead Shell would not spend big bucks to design it (although we may be wrong on that score). Here’s the latest rumor courtesy Gas Business Briefing:
Read More “PA Ethane Cracker – On Again, Off Again…Now On Again?”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

EIA Drilling Report Nov 2013: Marcellus Ready to Blow by 13 Bcf/d
November 13, 2013November 13, 2013

Last month the U.S. Energy Information Administration launched a fabulous new Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) that covers six of the key shale formations producing oil and gas in the U.S. Last month we learned that the Marcellus had just blown by an astonishing 12 billion cubic feet of natural gas production per day, and if the Marcellus were its own country, it would be the eighth largest producing natgas country in the world (see New EIA Drilling Productivity Report: Marcellus Passes 12 Bcf/d!).

The November DPR from EIA came out yesterday. What do we learn from it? The Marcellus is on the cusp of passing 13 Bcf/d in natural gas production! The numbers just continue to astonish and amaze everyone, and confound anti-drilling critics who keep saying “it won’t last–not long from now it’ll all just peter out and decline.” Yeah right, you keep telling yourself that one. Here’s the latest full DPR from the EIA:
Read More “EIA Drilling Report Nov 2013: Marcellus Ready to Blow by 13 Bcf/d”