Marcellus Drilling News

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Pathetic Response to Threatened Lawsuit over NY Frack Regs
December 6, 2013December 6, 2013

On Monday, Tom West, an attorney for Norse Energy, sent a “demand” letter addressed to NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens with the not-so-subtle threat that unless Martens releases the fracking regulations (called the SGEIS), Norse will sue Martens, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah under Article 78 for not doing their jobs. That is, Norse (via West) will sue to force the release of the SGEIS (see Tom West Demands DEC Com. Martens Release the SGEIS – Soon). All three of the anti-fracking cabal (Cuomo, Martens, Shah) got the letter.

So far Cuomo himself hasn’t had the guts to say anything about the letter or potential lawsuit. Neither has Joe Martens. Instead, they continue to let State Health Commissioner Shah catch the spears for it. At a public health forum in Manhattan on Tuesday, Shah addressed the issue by saying, in essence, Shazam! We done just got us some new informations in just the past few weeks (can ya’ll believe that?)! Ya’ll can’t rush this, ya know. To which we say, “pathetic”…
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Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | NGLs | Pipelines | Regulation | Williams

Bluegrass NGL Pipeline’s Eminent Domain Challenged in KY Court
December 6, 2013December 6, 2013

A small but dedicated group of anti-drillers in Kentucky continue to oppose plans by Williams and Boardwalk Partners to build the Bluegrass natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline through their state. The Bluegrass will stretch from the Marcellus/Utica all the way to the Gulf Coast. MDN estimates it will cost at least $1.5 billion to build it (see 2013 Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook – Volume 2). We told you about previous efforts to stop the pipeline in, ironically, the Bluegrass state–Kentucky (see Bluegrass NGL Pipeline Encounters Resistance from Some in KY and Bluegrass NGL Pipeline Hits Brick Wall in the Bluegrass State). We even told you about God getting involved (see Thank God the Bluegrass Pipeline will Bypass Marion County Nuns).

Looks like the anti-drillers have not given up. A new group with the cutsie name KURE (Kentuckians United to Restrain Eminent Domain) has formed to oppose the pipeline. Their strategy is to deny the Bluegrass the right to use eminent domain to lay pipeline under property where landowners don’t want it. KURE filed a lawsuit yesterday in Franklin Circuit Court (Frankfort, KY) questioning the legality of eminent domain for the Bluegrass…
Read More “Bluegrass NGL Pipeline’s Eminent Domain Challenged in KY Court”
Commodity Price | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Spectra Energy

NYC’s Energy Infrastructure “Transformed,” Boston’s is Not – Why?
December 6, 2013December 6, 2013

We find it amusing that mainstream media is so narcissistic and navel-gazing that if a story doesn’t originate from NYC/DC media axis, it’s as if the story never existed. Case in point: The Atlantic magazine trumpets “no one noticed” that last month a whole lot more natural gas started flowing to New York City because of a new $1.2 billion pipeline from Spectra Energy connecting NJ to NY. Uh, excuse us Atlantic, but MDN noticed. We’ve been covering this story for the past two years! We told readers back on Oct. 21 that Spectra was opening the valves on an additional 800 million cubic feet of mostly cheap Marcellus Shale gas per day (see Spectra NJ-NY Marcellus Gas Pipeline Goes Online Nov. 1).

It may take a few months, but we’re glad to see some mainstream media outlets finally, grudgingly, report the good news. However, there are other stories the media continues to ignore, like why Boston will continue to pay high prices for their natural gas even though there’s plenty of cheap gas to be had. There’s a pretty simple explanation…
Read More “NYC’s Energy Infrastructure “Transformed,” Boston’s is Not – Why?”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Dec 6, 2013
December 6, 2013December 6, 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, Dec 6, 2013”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Marathon Petroleum’s Newly Announced “Cornerstone” Utica Pipeline
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

Another new pipeline is on the way in the Utica Shale. This one will be built by Marathon Petroleum Corporation, the largest refiner in the Utica Shale region. The Cornerstone pipeline, as they’re calling it, will stretch nearly 50 miles from the MarkWest cryogenic processing plant in Cadiz, OH northwest connecting to M3’s fractionator plant in Scio and M3’s cryogenic processing plant in Leesville along the way as it terminates and connects to Marathon’s refinery in Canton, OH (see map below). The pipeline will carry, at various times, crude oil, condensate and natural gasoline.

The Cornerstone pipeline is slated to be built and in operation in 2016, according to Marathon officials. Here’s what Garry Peiffer, President of Marathon’s Master Limited Partnership MPLX GP said about the Cornerstone project on an analyst call yesterday:
Read More “Marathon Petroleum’s Newly Announced “Cornerstone” Utica Pipeline”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pipelines | Sunoco Logistics

Into the Light: Open Season Announced Mariner East 2 NGL Pipeline
December 5, 2013

A few weeks ago MDN observed that Sunoco Logistics’ is planning a second Mariner East NGL pipeline to run alongside the pipeline they’re working to complete now that runs from western PA all the way to the Marcus Hook refinery near Philadelphia (see Sunoco Logistics Planning Second Mariner East Pipeline for NGLs). We wouldn’t say Sunoco’s plans for a second pipeline have been shrouded in secrecy or conspiratorial, but we would say they haven’t exactly been forthcoming about their plans either–until now.

Yesterday Sunoco announced a binding open season to allow producers to sign up for capacity on the Mariner East 2 pipeline (official name). The open season began yesterday but we find no mention of when it will end, so perhaps it’s open-ended for now. (Usually open seasons last for a month or so.) The plan is to have this new pipeline operational in early 2016. Here’s the press release from Sunoco Logistics announcing the open season for Mariner East 2 (with map):
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New York | Statewide NY

NY Farm Bureau “Shoots Down” Anti-Fracking Plank at State Meeting
December 5, 2013

The New York Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization made up of volunteers–farmers–to lobby for agricultural issues. It is a superlative organization. The folks who belong are salt of the earth types of people–people who don’t want their land ruined because they make their living from the land. If anyone is concerned about the potential harm from hydraulic fracturing, it is the farmers on whose land the procedure will be done. They have a vested interest in ensuring their land remains workable.

So it’s no small thing that some farmers introduced a resolution that calls for a ban on fracking in New York. And it’s also no small thing that the resolution was voted down–overwhelmingly–by the majority of members. That is, New York farmers have looked across the border to their farming cousins in Pennsylvania, and over in Ohio, and in West Virginia, and they see that fracking has not harmed the land there and have rightly concluded it would work just fine here in New York too…
Read More “NY Farm Bureau “Shoots Down” Anti-Fracking Plank at State Meeting”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Must-See Video Sticks It to Hollywood Anti-Frackers
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

Throwing their own words right back in their smug faces, a new video released on Tuesday by the Western Energy Alliance uses real people to tell the truth about fracking, and tells off the know-nothing Hollwood stars that appear in a recent anti-fracking video.

A Washington Times story about the new video appears directly below, followed by the video itself. Please take time to give it a watch–it’s under one minute long and will put a smile on your face like it did ours…
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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation

OOGA Caves, Endorses New Higher Tax on OH Utica Shale
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

It looks like taxes on the Utica Shale in Ohio will go up. Yesterday OH Rep. Matt Huffman and Speaker William Batchelder (both Republicans) introduced House Bill 375 which would raise taxes on Utica Shale drilling. Efforts have been under way for the past two years by OH Gov. John “foreigner-hunter” Kasich. He’s into socialism these days–raise taxes on one set of people and give it to another. He’s had some assistance from his fellow Republicans in this regard–but the efforts have (thankfully) gone nowhere.

But now it’s different. This time the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA), long opposed to raising the Utica Shale tax, has endorsed the latest proposal, which means it’s probably not as much as Kasich wanted, but it’s certainly more that what it is now. Sadly, OOGA has also (for political expediency) endorsed the concept of giving “the extra money” raised by new taxes to voters (i.e. vote buying) in the form of a state income tax cut…
Read More “OOGA Caves, Endorses New Higher Tax on OH Utica Shale”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Sec. Abruzzo Grilled by PA Senate on Global Warming
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

We already had a high opinion of Acting Secretary of PA’s Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), Chris Abruzzo. But our already high opinion just went higher. Abruzzo has been “acting” secretary since the spring. He finally had his hearing yesterday before the PA Senate where senators got to grill him on various issues before they vote to confirm him as the real-deal secretary. At the hearing Abruzzo was asked about the global warming mythology and whether or not he believes in ~~Santa Claus~~ global warming.

Abruzzo had the unmitigated gall to speak the truth (always a dangerous thing to speak truth to politicians). He said he thinks global warming is happening a teeny bit, but it’s not adversely affecting humans or animals or plants. It’s minor. Not a big deal. And it’s certainly not something PA can or should address with heavy-handed government policies. Well! You would think he had grown two heads right there before their very eyes! Some of the warmers were ready to roll out the old elevated platform they used to hang people from who were thought to be witches! Three cheers for Abruzzo, who has brass…er, Christmas ornaments…for not sugarcoating his views. Here’s how his grilling was reported by the reliably anti-drilling StateImpact Pennsylvania:
Read More “PA DEP Sec. Abruzzo Grilled by PA Senate on Global Warming”
Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Supply Chain | West Virginia

Supply Chain: WV Company Specializes in Hard-to-Lay Pipelines
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

Looking to get a piece of the Marcellus/Utica Shale business for your company (i.e. plug in to the supply chain)? Think niches. An interesting story about a West Virginia construction company that specializes in digging and laying pipelines for the oil and gas industry. But they don’t specialize in the easy stuff–they specialize in the hard stuff…laying pipeline over hills and mountains.

The company, Ronald Lane Inc., has to hang their backhoes from two to four steel cables, dangling on the side of mountains! And they have all the work they can handle because of the Marcellus…
Read More “Supply Chain: WV Company Specializes in Hard-to-Lay Pipelines”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Will Winter Storm Cleon Affect Marcellus/Utica Pipelines?
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

Can foul weather mess with the shale gas market? Sure it can. If a bunch of snow (or freezing rain) drops, it can slow drilling operations–trucks and personnel coming and going to drill sites may be stopped for a time. However, one thing you may not think could be affected but sometimes is affected, are pipelines. Not because of snow and freezing rain, but because of super low temperatures.

Natural Gas Intelligence/Shale Daily published an article yesterday about winter storm Cleon (yes, they’re now naming winter storms, can you believe it?!) and its impact on natural gas pipelines. Some pipelines have announced they are increasing flows ahead of Cleon just in case (so there’s plenty of supplies). Cleon, with brutally low temperatures, is moving from West to East and will soon affect the northeast–the Utica and Marcellus in particular. Pipelines are “hardened” against cold weather (and baby it’s going to get cold outside). However, prolonged foul weather (especially cold weather) sometimes interrupts pipeline flows…
Read More “Will Winter Storm Cleon Affect Marcellus/Utica Pipelines?”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

More Global Warming Flummery – Latest Scare Report Issued
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

A new report is out on the hazards of global warming…blah blah blah…fill in the blanks. If the warmers detect the general public doesn’t believe as fervently as they used to about global warming–if people are going a little bit squishy and starting to ask uncomfortable questions–it’s time to ratchet up the rhetoric and start talking about impending doom and a coming environmental holocaust. Trouble is, they keep doing it–decade after decade–and the environmental holocaust never seems to arrive. So they have to start blaming hurricanes and big winter storms–things we’ve had for, oh, millions of years–on global warming. Do they really think we’re that stupid?

And so enters yet another shrill global warming flummery study from the left-leaning National Research Council–because the general population needs another good scare. The compliant New York Times does as good a job as any at trumpeting this latest false alarm. We learn that even though global warming hasn’t really caused any problems yet, when it does, baby it’s gonna happen “all at once” and be “really bad”…honest…
Read More “More Global Warming Flummery – Latest Scare Report Issued”
Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Williams

New Electric Power Plant in Lancaster Powered by Marcellus Gas
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

Even though there’s no Marcellus Shale under Lancaster County, PA, the county is about to benefit from the Marcellus Shale. A new electrical generating power plant is planned for Lancaster County that will be powered by cheap Marcellus Shale gas from Pennsylvania–meaning lower electricity prices for the 390,000 homes it will power. It also means a new 9-mile natural gas pipeline will be built, and a 7-mile water pipeline.

Lots of jobs in building the plant and the pipelines, some landowners will benefit from having the pipeline cross their property, and everyone in the region gets lower cost electricity. It’s a win/win/win situation–thanks to the Marcellus…
Read More “New Electric Power Plant in Lancaster Powered by Marcellus Gas”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Dec 5, 2013
December 5, 2013December 5, 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, Dec 5, 2013”
Energy Companies | Talisman Energy

Carl Icahn’s Claws Go Deeper into Talisman – 2 New Board Members
December 4, 2013August 18, 2020

MDN recently told you the sad news that corporate raider Carl Ichan now has his claws in Marcellus driller Talisman Energy, just like he does at Chesapeake Energy (see Icahn Now Throwing His Weight Around at Talisman, Like Chesapeake).

We’re sorry to have to report the Icahn’s claws are now sunk in a lot further. Talisman announced on Monday they’ve caved in to Icahn’s pressure and have appointed two new board members that are Icahn lackeys, there to do their master’s bidding, which will no doubt include massive layoffs and selling pieces of the company so Icahn can turn a tidy profit on his stock when he flips it…
Read More “Carl Icahn’s Claws Go Deeper into Talisman – 2 New Board Members”