Marcellus Drilling News

Columbiana County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Sand/Proppant | Utica Shale

Columbiana, OH Frack Sand Operation Continues to Expand
October 25, 2013October 25, 2013

In March MDN told you about an Ohio property management firm in Columbiana County, OH that ended up in the frack sand business (see OH Property Management Firm Plugs into the Shale Supply Chain). A quick check-in finds that business for Buckeye Transfer Realty is booming, because of the Utica Shale.

If the received wisdom for buying real estate is “location, location, location,” we would add a fourth important ingredient, a key ingredient to Buckeye Transfer’s success: timing…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Oct 25, 2013
October 25, 2013October 28, 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, Oct 25, 2013”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

WSJ Says PA Cracker Plant May Not Happen After All
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

It seems like MDN has been writing about Shell’s proposed $2 billion ethane cracker plant for like, ever. You can scour our archive of stories mentioning the Shell cracker plant. We’ve chronicled the ups and downs. Where is this important project at right now?

According to the Wall Street Journal, the prospects that Shell will build an ethane cracker plant in Pennsylvania have now “faded”…
Read More “WSJ Says PA Cracker Plant May Not Happen After All”
CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies

Water Cooler Talk: CONSOL Energy Splitting?
October 24, 2013

Is CONSOL Energy/CNX Gas getting ready to split? As in, spin-off the company into two pieces, one for its traditional coal business (CONSOL’s coal business has been around since the Civil War), and one for natural gas drilling? Apparently that’s the speculation “going around”–at least among energy industry analysts who seem to have ADHD when it comes to predicting mergers, acquisitions, takeovers and now–it seems–spin-offs.

An interesting (and balanced) article appears on yesterday’s Seeking Alpha investor’s website talking about the prospects of a CONSOL spin-off…
Read More “Water Cooler Talk: CONSOL Energy Splitting?”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Looking for a Job in the Marcellus? Think WV
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

If you’re looking for a job in the natural gas industry, you may want to consider…West Virginia. According to a new report from the Workforce West Virginia Investment Council, employment in the oil and gas industry in WV jumped a dramatic 20% last year. Not only that, but the average wage of the average o&g worker in WV jumped $5,500 in just one year–to $75,580.

Perhaps a jump in o&g workers in WV is not all that surprising, but what may surprise you is that employment in the o&g pipeline sector doubled last year from around 2,000 to around 4,000–up more than 100%! Yes, WV is a happenin’ place when it comes to shale drilling…
Read More “Looking for a Job in the Marcellus? Think WV”
Buckeye Brine | Coshocton County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Utica Shale | Wastewater

Buckeye Brine Adds Second Injection Well, Business Expands Rapidly
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

Buckeye Brine is a relatively new Ohio company that has so far built one brine injection well in Coshocton County, OH and is drilling a second injection now and considering adding a frack wastewater recycling facility. Quick tutorial: After an oil or gas well is drilled and fracked, wastewater from fracking flows back out for a week or two. After that, over time (years in some cases) naturally occurring water from deep underground–not fresh water from near the surface, but water from thousands of feet down–continues to flow from some wells. That naturally occurring water contains a lot of dissolved minerals in it, making it much “saltier” than even ocean water–hence the term brine.

Buckeye injects brine back into the ground. A bit more about Buckeye’s operation to date, and what they have planned…
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Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County

PA Drillers Need to be Better Communicators
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

Not everyone wants their land to be drilled for natural gas–even in Susquehanna County, PA where methane has been seeping out of the ground for 150 years. We respect that. In fact, we believe property rights are sacrosanct–if you don’t want drilling, you shouldn’t be forced to allow it. And conversely, those who want to lease their land and see drilling should be allowed to do so. Their neighbors should not be able to force them to abandon their rights either. Works both ways.

A story from Susquehanna County illustrates the tension landowners sometimes face in a decision about whether or not to lease. It also illustrates the sometimes confusing process that surrounds drilling a new gas well. One couple, not yet leased, learned (by accident) of a permit to drill a well on their neighbor’s property by Talisman Energy. There was nothing underhanded or wrong about Talisman’s application for a permit. However, this case points out the sometimes disjointed process landowners face in PA when it comes to leasing and drilling, and how drillers need to go the extra mile in communicating with them…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Regulation | Statewide PA

Philly Conference: Dramatic Ramp-up & Challenges in PA Midstream
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

A conference in Philadelphia yesterday, hosted by the law firm Blank Rome and by engineering firm Hull and Associates, focused on the importance of the midstream–pipelines and processing plants. And for good reason–there’s an incredible amount of money being spent in the midstream sector. Here’s what grabbed our attention about the conference: One of the speakers quoted numbers from Oil and Gas Journal that say spending on pipelines across the U.S. was $8.6 billion last year, in 2012–but this year, that number is zooming to $38 billion!

We will add our own number to that mentioned at yesterday’s conference. MDN has just published Volume 2 of the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook. In our new volume we compiled a comprehensive list of 111 midstream and infrastructure projects that either already are being built or have been announced. MDN found that from 2013 and spanning the next 10-15 years, announced midstream projects in the Marcellus/Utica region will top $40 billion of investment! That’s investment in just the Marcellus/Utica…
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Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream

EQT Midstream 3Q13: Income Up 67%, Pipeline Upgrades
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

EQT Midstream, the pipeline and processing plant subsidiary of Marcellus/Utica driller EQT Corporation, released their third quarter financial and operations update today. The midstream company reports income was up a very healthy 67% over the same quarter last year.

Here’s the operational update portion of today’s update, which includes details about pipeline maintenance and expansion:
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Energy Companies | EQT Corp

EQT Corp 3Q13: Marcellus Production Up 74%
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

Marcellus and Utica Shale driller EQT Corporation issued their third quarter financial and operations update today, and wow, what an update! The company reports 3Q13 revenue was up 177% over 3Q12. Also of note: Marcellus production has hit 787 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d), which is up 74% from last year. Production from all of EQT’s drilling is now producing an average 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Production is up. Revenue is up. Midstream is up. Everything appears to be looking up for EQT…
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Energy Services | PVR Partners

PVR Partners 3Q13: Earnings & Flow Rates Way Up
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

Seems there is no end of good news for midstream companies operating in the Marcellus/Utica region. Midstreamer PVR Partners released their 3Q13 financial and operations update today–’tis the season for quarterly reports. Among PVR’s highlights: Earnings are up a very healthy 31% for 3Q13 vs. 3Q12; they’re pumping an average 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas now vs. 1 Bcf/d a year ago; and PVR’s northeastern midstream segment is humming along.

No wonder Regency Energy announced two weeks ago they’re buying PVR Partners (see Marcellus/Utica Midstreamer PVR Bought by Regency Energy for $5.6B). Here is the penultimate quarterly report issued by PVR:
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Oct 24, 2013
October 24, 2013October 24, 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, Oct 24, 2013”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

New EIA Drilling Productivity Report: Marcellus Passes 12 Bcf/d!
October 23, 2013October 23, 2013

Terry Engelder is a Penn State University geologist and professor. He was previously named to Foreign Policy magazine’s list of Top 100 Global Thinkers for his work with the Marcellus Shale. MDN calls him the “rock” star of the Marcellus, if you’ll pardon the pun (see Prof Terry Engelder: Marcellus Rock Star). In years gone by Dr. Engelder predicted that sometime in 2015 the Marcellus would be producing 12 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. For his breathtaking, bold (and frankly wild) prediction he was praised by some, but scorned and ridiculed by many.

As MDN announced yesterday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is launching a new monthly Drilling Productivity Report (DRP). The very first report was issued yesterday (full copy embedded below). What does it show? It shows that Engelder was wrong. The Marcellus has just passed the 12 Bcf/d mark–now–this month. That is, the Marcellus is even more productive than Engelder’s so-called wild fantasy. According to an EIA spokesman, natural gas production from the Marcellus has surprised even the brainiacs at EIA who study this stuff for a living…
Read More “New EIA Drilling Productivity Report: Marcellus Passes 12 Bcf/d!”
Industrywide Issues | Research | Statewide WV | Wastewater | West Virginia

“Consultant” Says 62% of Marcellus Waste Goes Missing in WV
October 23, 2013October 23, 2013

A “consultant” testifying before West Virginia legislators on Tuesday said that WV has no idea where nearly 2/3 of shale drilling wastewater goes for disposal. He also accused the WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) of not doing their job with respect to reporting and tracking shale waste as directed by the 2011 Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act.

The consultant doing the accusing–Evan Hansen, president of the consulting firm Downstream Strategies–was there shilling for the anti-drilling group Earthworks. Therefore, the results of the so-called study (to be released next week) performed by his so-called consulting firm are at a minimum suspect…
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Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio County | Wastewater | West Virginia

Wheeling Councilwoman Will Shun GreenHunter Ribbon Cutting
October 23, 2013October 23, 2013

Wheeling, WV City Councilwoman Gloria Delbrugge is a sore loser. Sounding like a petulant child, she says she won’t attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for GreenHunter Water as they begin to demolish old buildings and build new buildings for a frack wastewater recycling facility in Wheeling. MDN told you in March that Delbrugge vowed to stop the plant from coming to Wheeling (see Wheeling Councilwoman Vows to Prevent Frack Water Treatment Plant). When she calmed down a bit, it seemed as though she had softened her opposition (see Wheeling Councilwoman Softens Stand Against Frack Wastewater Plant).

But, true to form for most anti-drillers, the facts make no difference. Delbrugge says she doesn’t like ’em (GreenHunter), she doesn’t want ’em, and she doesn’t trust ’em. And so when the ribbon is cut in the next few weeks, Gloria will not regale them with her eminent presence…
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Crime | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Wastewater

D&L Wants to Sell Remaining Assets at Auction, ODNR Says No
October 23, 2013October 23, 2013

D&L Energy, sibling or parent company (depending on who you ask) to Hardrock Excavating, wants a judge to allow the company to be auctioned off in November. Hardrock/D&L’s owner, Ben Lupo, you may recall, was found guilty of instructing one of his employees to dump thousands of gallons of fracking wastewater down a drain that led to a creek that led to the Mahoning River near Youngstown, OH (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater). After investigating, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) took away D&L and Hardrock’s permits to do business in Ohio (see OH Wastewater Dumper D&L Energy Gets Business Death Sentence).

D&L, not able to operate, is in bankruptcy and wants to sell off its remaining assets to satisfy what it says is over $5 million owed to creditors. However, the ODNR is saying “not so fast” to an auction. The ODNR is concerned D&L could shirk its responsibilities to clean up the mess they’ve made…
Read More “D&L Wants to Sell Remaining Assets at Auction, ODNR Says No”