Marcellus Drilling News

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:
Read More “EVEP 3Q13: No New Land Deals to Announce”
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:
Read More “MarkWest CEO Frank Semple Talks about 3Q13 Results on Call”
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”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pipelines | Processing Plants

The Marcellus/Utica Games: MarkWest Catching Fire
November 13, 2013November 13, 2013

With more infrastructure projects than you can shake a stick at (22 under construction right now, most of them in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region), and with revenue up, pumping capacity up–with everything up that should be up–you’ll pardon our pun on the forthcoming Hunger Games movie by saying that MarkWest Energy is truly catching fire in the Marcellus and Utica Shale!

Yesterday MarkWest released their third quarter 2013 operations and financial update, and there’s a LOT in there about the Marcellus/Utica:
Read More “The Marcellus/Utica Games: MarkWest Catching Fire”
Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles | Research

MDN Digs FC’s NatGas Vehicle Whitepaper – You Will Too
November 13, 2013November 13, 2013

Need to get a really good handle on what’s happening right now in the natural gas vehicles (NGV) market? Oh, and please throw in your best thinking on what will happen over the next 12 months? We have the answer. FC Business Intelligence, a UK-based conference and events company–knows a thing or two about the natural gas market. They’ve been hosting must-attend natgas industry events for quite a while, including a yearly event on NGV. In advance of next year’s event, the 3rd Natural Gas Vehicles USA (June 11-13 in Houston, TX), FC Business Intelligence has authored a 44-page white paper on NGVs in the US–a sort of “state of play” for the NGV market.

MDN downloaded the white paper (see it below). It’s chock-full of great information. This is not a generic-lightly-gloss-over-warmed-up-rehash-of-other-information treatment. There’s meat in this paper–serious research–and it’s well worth your time to read it if you have an interest in NGVs and what will be one of the most important sources of demand for natural gas in the coming years. MDN has chronicled how fleets, like that of UPS, are dumping diesel and changing to LNG (liquefied natural gas) and CNG (compressed natural gas). Problem is, where do NGVs fill up on either CNG or LNG? Where are there plants (supply) in the US that create LNG? It’s all in this white paper, and more…
Read More “MDN Digs FC’s NatGas Vehicle Whitepaper – You Will Too”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | New York | Property Value | Tompkins County

Ithaca, NY Bank Won’t Grant Mortgage on Land with Drilling Lease
November 13, 2013November 13, 2013

New York landowners who are pro-drilling may want to consider whether or not to continue doing business with Tompkins Financial Corporation, a bank/wealth management/insurance firm based in Ithaca, NY. Why? They refuse to give a mortgage on any property under lease with a drilling company. They’re attempting to blame federal guidelines from Fannie Mae as their excuse. Sorry Charlie, that doesn’t fly. It’s anti-drilling prejudice plain and simple.

Two other banks you may want to reconsider doing business with: Spain’s Santander Bank and State Employees’ Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C. Same reason…
Read More “Ithaca, NY Bank Won’t Grant Mortgage on Land with Drilling Lease”
Blair County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marcellus GTL | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants

Altoona’s Marcellus Gas-to-Liquids Plant Slightly Delayed
November 13, 2013November 13, 2013

An update on a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant to be built near Altoona, PA that will convert abundant and cheap Marcellus Shale gas produced in the area into diesel fuel. MDN told you in March that Marcellus GTL announced they will build a new GTL plant in the area (see Altoona Area Getting $200M Marcellus Gas-to-Liquids Plant). Plans called for construction to begin on the new facility by the end of this year.

The bad news is that construction on the new GTL plant will not begin by the end of this year. “Typical project optimism” is the explanation offered by Marcellus GTL’s executive VP Paul Hamilton. The good news? The project is still on and construction is now estimated to begin somewhere between April and June 2014…
Read More “Altoona’s Marcellus Gas-to-Liquids Plant Slightly Delayed”
About MDN | MDN Sponsor | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Northeast Oil & Gas Awards – Time to Nominate is NOW
November 13, 2013November 13, 2013

A few weeks ago MDN told you about a fast-approaching deadline to be considered for the Northeast Oil & Gas Awards (see Deadline Approaching for 2013 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards). The deadline has been extended by a few weeks. The new deadline to be nominated in one of 25 categories is now December 12–so you have a month from today. MDN is proud to be working with the great people who host the Northeast Oil & Gas Awards. In fact, MDN editor Jim Willis will be involved in a conference program and attending the award ceremony in Pittsburgh in March 2014 (more on that in coming months).

However, right now it’s time to nominate and be nominated for an award! The Oil & Gas Awards celebrate the success and excellence of companies working in the upstream and midstream oil & gas industry in the Northeast region. Below are links to the criteria used for evaluating entrants in each of the 25 different categories. Click on a link to find out what it takes to be considered for a prestigious award in that category…
Read More “Northeast Oil & Gas Awards – Time to Nominate is NOW”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Nov 13, 2013
November 13, 2013November 13, 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: Wed, Nov 13, 2013”
Clay County | Cunningham Energy | Energy Companies | West Virginia

The Injuns are Coming! Injun Formation Drilling, that is
November 12, 2013November 12, 2013

Sorry, but we can’t avoid using a politically incorrect term in this report: “Injun.” As in the Big Injun Formation, a layer of tightly-packed sandstone that lies above the Marcellus Shale layer in several West Virginia counties. Apparently there’s natural gas in the Big Injun in Clay County, WV, and Cunningham Energy (of Charleston) is going to drill three horizontal/fracked wells to try and get that gas. Fracking the Big Injun has been talked about for a long time (here’s a Society of Petroleum Engineers conference paper that specifically addresses that very topic from 1988!). However, combining horizontal drilling with fracking is relatively new and didn’t happen in the northeast until Range Resources drilled the first Marcellus Shale well in 2004 in western PA.

Until now, we’ve heard of the horizontal drilling/fracking combination being used in the Marcellus, the Utica and the Upper Devonian. Looks like we can now add a fourth formation to that illustrious list: the Big Injun. Good luck to Cunningham Energy as they go Big Injun hunting for natural gas…
Read More “The Injuns are Coming! Injun Formation Drilling, that is”