Marcellus Drilling News

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

577 OH Utica Shale Wells Drilled – 0 Water Wells Contaminated
October 21, 2013

My water will be polluted! Don’t frack here! It’s the end of water as we know it!! Such are the refrains from anti-drillers–all of them not true. Want proof? Ohio has now drilled 577 Utica Shale wells over the past four years. The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources’ Oil and Gas Resources Management division has investigated 183 water well contamination complaints related to drilling. Of those 183, six water wells were found to be adversely affected by drilling. But get this–none of them was from horizontal shale drilling–all six water well issues were caused by old vertical wells drilled in years gone by.

So let’s run those numbers: Of the 577 horizontal shale wells drilled so far in Ohio, there have been precisely zero nearby water wells adversely affected from that kind of drilling. Hmmm, sure paints a different picture than the doom-and-gloomer anti-drillers paint, doesn’t it?…
Read More “577 OH Utica Shale Wells Drilled – 0 Water Wells Contaminated”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Electronic Permit Filing for Marcellus Drilling Coming Soon in WV
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

In December 2011 a special session of the West Virginia legislature took up and passed a new Marcellus drilling bill in record time–four days flat–although in reality it took most of 2011 to prepare the legislation. The WV Senate passed the “Horizontal Well Act” 33-0 and the House passed it 92-5. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed it immediately. (For a summary of what’s in the “new” law, see WV Has New Marcellus Drilling Law in Record Time).

It’s now been nearly two years since then, time for a status report. WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) spokesman Tom Aluise says the new law is paying off. Aluise talked about a new electronic permit filing system on the way, and he identifies the top five counties in WV with Marcellus wells…
Read More “Electronic Permit Filing for Marcellus Drilling Coming Soon in WV”
Crosstex Energy | Devon Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Devon Energy & Crosstex Energy Form New Midstream Company in JV
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

Devon Energy (driller with midstream assets) and Crosstex Energy (midstream company) announced today they are merging their midstream operations into a new company. The new midstream company, which will have assets in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale (as well as other shale basins) will be majority owned by Devon. In fact, the biggest customer for the new joint venture will be…Devon itself. The announcement says Devon will dedicate drilling from 800,000 of its leased acres to the new (and as yet unnamed) midstream company.

The boards of directors for both Devon and Crosstex have already voted to OK the merger. Here’s the extensive announcement issued today, which contains details of the somewhat complicated corporate structure of the new company:
Read More “Devon Energy & Crosstex Energy Form New Midstream Company in JV”
Albany County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | New York

Handful at Albany Anti-Fracking Rally Spout Lies About NE PA
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

Where two or more are gathered in the name of anti-fracking it’s a “movement” and a “rally” and worthy of media coverage by the reliably anti-fracking Albany Times Union. Such is what happened over the weekend at an Albany park where a handful of people turned up to protest against fracking.

Betty Head, an Albany-area resident and local head volunteer for the fanatically leftist moveon.org, was the main speaker. Ms. Head says she recently visited northeast Pennsylvania (Susquehanna County) and saw “dusty streets” and “vegetation [that]…looked burned and withered” because of fracking. MDN says Ms. Head’s whoppers would make even Mark Twain blush. We’ve visited Susquehanna County too (we live just across the border) and have seen no such thing–in proximity to drilling operations or not. But such is what gets picked up and amplified by lazy liberal media organizations that don’t bother to check the facts…
Read More “Handful at Albany Anti-Fracking Rally Spout Lies About NE PA”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Wastewater

OH Anti-Drillers Ask Gov. Kasich to Shut Down Injection Wells
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

Anti-drilling organization (and misnamed) Food & Water Watch (F&WW) is behind many attempts to slow down or halt shale drilling in Ohio (and Pennsylvania). Their latest strategy is to shut down deep injection wells which some drillers still use to dispose of leftover fracking wastewater. On Friday, a “handful” (which means less than five) protesters from F&WW hand delivered a letter to OH Gov. John Kasich’s office asking that he issue an executive order immediately shutting down all injection wells in the state (full copy embedded below).

The letter is signed by F&WW and 32 other fringe groups–mostly individuals masquerading as groups to make it seem like scads of people support this nonsense…
Read More “OH Anti-Drillers Ask Gov. Kasich to Shut Down Injection Wells”
Centre County | Clinton County | Mifflin County | Pennsylvania

Central PA Counties Cooperate on Infrastructure for More Gas Use
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

A new initiative in central Pennsylvania aims to make it easier for residents, businesses and drivers to take advantage of the abundant, cheap Marcellus Shale gas being produced all around them. The new initiative is being led by the SEDA Council of Governments (or SEDA-COG), a multi-county economic development agency in central PA.

The $160,000 project will identify areas where new infrastructure (pipelines, rail, filling stations, etc.) can be built to deliver natural gas for those hungry to begin using it…
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Housing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Washington County (OH) | West Virginia | Wood County

Drilling Impact: Rental Housing Soars Around Marietta/Parkersburg
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

One sector typically affected early in the drilling process is real estate. In some areas where drilling comes to town, sales of single family homes increase. So far there’s only been a slight uptick in home sales for the Marietta (Washington County), OH/Parkersburg (Wood County), WV area.

Apartment and house rentals, however, are a whole other matter. They’ve taken off like a rocket in the region. New hotel and motel construction is now under way as well…
Read More “Drilling Impact: Rental Housing Soars Around Marietta/Parkersburg”
Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Research

GE Report: Natural Gas Taking the Limelight in World Energy
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

Last week GE released a new report titled “The Age of Gas and the Power of Networks” (full copy embedded below). In the report, the brains at GE say that natural gas will soon rival coal use throughout the world, and is even starting to take some of oil’s market share away. By 2025 the report says 20% of the world’s natural gas supply will come from unconventional (i.e. shale) gas. Most that will come from the U.S. and Canada, and the majority of that will come from two shale plays: the Marcellus and the Eagle Ford. It shows the incredible importance of the Marcellus to the world’s energy supplies in the coming decades.

Other interesting factoids found in the report: 89% of natural gas is transported via pipelines, the rest by rail or truck or ship. LNG exports will play an increasingly important role as America continues to generate more natural gas that we can use here at home. And not surprisingly, the power sector (electric generation) will be the key future driver of demand for more natural gas, especially with tighter EPA regulations on coal generating plants…
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EMG | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Tuscarawas County | Utica Shale

Kinder Morgan/MarkWest OH Midstream Projects Advance
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

In August, Kinder Morgan, MarkWest and The Energy and Minerals Group (EMG) announced a new joint venture on two projects aimed at the Marcellus/Utica Shale region. The first is a a 400 Mmcf/d cryogenic processing plant in Tuscarawas County, OH, and the second a new NGL pipeline from Ohio all the way to the Gulf Coast (see 2 New OH Projects: Cryo Processing Plant & NGL Pipeline to Gulf).

Speaking on an earnings conference call last week, Kinder Morgan CEO Richard Kinder gave a brief update on the two projects. Bottom line, the projects continue to advance, but still no mention of capital expenditure they expect to lay out. (Note: For details on these two KM/MarkWest midstream projects, along with a comprehensive list of 111 midstream infrastructure projects planned for the Marcellus/Utica, see the newly released Volume 2 of the 2013 Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook)…
Read More “Kinder Morgan/MarkWest OH Midstream Projects Advance”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

End of an Era? Sautner’s Dimock Home Leveled, Property Sold
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

It becomes harder and harder for mainstream media to keep the Dimock story alive. Dimock is a rural community in Susquehanna County, PA made famous by Josh Fox and his Gasland fictional movies. Without rehashing the entire story yet again, suffice it to say that nearby Marcellus drilling by Cabot Oil & Gas was said (by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection) to have caused methane to migrate into some of the area’s water wells–especially around the Carter Road area.

The DEP ordered Cabot to install fixes on said wells and pay homeowners twice their property’s value, which they tried to do. Some of the families wouldn’t allow the fix and wouldn’t accept payment. Instead they sued, hoping for piles of money. One of those families was the Sautners…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Energy Up for Sale? Maybe
October 18, 2013October 18, 2013

Is Chesapeake Energy for sale? MDN says you have to be a Dodo bird to ignore the signs. Activist investor (nee corporate raider) Carl Icahn has been the puppet master pulling the strings since he got a seat on the board of directors in June 2012, culminating in a jobs massacre two weeks ago (see The Great Chesapeake Massacre: Lawler Fires 800 People in One Day). Why do corporate raiders invest in companies? To slash employees, sell bits and pieces of the company off that are “unprofitable” and in general get it ready for sale–so the corporate raider can line his pockets when the stock price goes up. Selling companies is what they (disgustingly) do.

So you won’t be surprised that (a) Icahn has upped his investment in Chesapeake–he now owns 10% of the stock, and (b) the “Chessy is for sale” rumor mill has officially begun. The UK Daily Mail reports both BP and Shell could be looking at Chessy as a potential purchase…
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Allegheny County | Pennsylvania

South Fayette, PA Gets First Marcellus Permit Application
October 18, 2013October 18, 2013

South Fayette township in Allegheny County, PA (near Pittsburgh) is one of seven PA towns that sued the state after the Act 13 law was enacted last year, in 2012 (see Lawsuit Filed: PA Towns Sue State over Marcellus Act 13 Law). Their beef? Act 13 took away the right of local municipalities like South Fayette to apply their own zoning rules to oil and gas drilling. Act 13 substituted a statewide uniform standard, replacing a patchwork crazy quilt situation where each town did something different. The state says their rules are uniform, strict and fair–developed by people who know what they’re doing in the complex business of oil and gas drilling. The towns say they know their own towns best and where a well should and should not be drilled. A final outcome to the case is still pending before the PA Supreme Court (see Should the Full 7-Member PA Supreme Court Re-Hear Act 13 Case?).

During the appeals process, South Fayette developed a bit of a persecution complex (see South Fayette, PA Accuses PUC of Persecuting Them over Act 13). The town has been very effective in shutting out drilling (dare we say they’re anti-drilling?). According to MDN’s own Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook series, South Fayette has had zero drilling permit applications filed from at least 2011 to the present. That is, until now…
Read More “South Fayette, PA Gets First Marcellus Permit Application”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot Sells TX & OK Properties – Plows Proceeds into Marcellus
October 18, 2013October 18, 2013

Cabot Oil & Gas is an amazing company. They (currently) drill in a single northeastern Pennsylvania county–Susquehanna County. And in that single county they have 8 of the top 10 producing Marcellus shale wells in the entire state (see PA’s Top 10 Marcellus Shale Wells – Full Details). Cabot produces an amazing 1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas per day from their wells in Susquehanna County (see Who’s a Member of the Marcellus “1 Bcf/d” Club?). And get this, they can make money on selling their gas for as low as $1.20 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf). That has to rank them among the best-run, most efficient drillers in the world. No wonder the company, with just 1/10th of the revenues of Chesapeake Energy, is worth more than Chessy (see Corporate Hubris Humbles Chesapeake – Cabot Soars Sure & Steady).

So it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that Cabot has just sold off more (the rest of?) it’s oil and gas properties in West Texas and Oklahoma for $188 million and plans to invest that money in the Marcellus…
Read More “Cabot Sells TX & OK Properties – Plows Proceeds into Marcellus”
Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Gulfport 3Q13: Production Up, Adds 9K Acres in Utica “Core”
October 18, 2013October 18, 2013

Earlier this week Gulfport Energy issued a (very) short operations update which includes a few details about their Utica Shale drilling program. Production is higher than their previous estimates, and Gulfport reports they leased another 9,000 Utica Shale acres in “the core of the play” during 3Q13…
Read More “Gulfport 3Q13: Production Up, Adds 9K Acres in Utica “Core””
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pipelines | Williams

Bluegrass Pipeline Makes Progress in Bluegrass State
October 18, 2013October 18, 2013

In early September, MDN reported that Williams and Boardwalk Partners, joint venture partners building a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline that will stretch from the Utica/Marcellus all the way to the Gulf Coast, had hit some problems in crossing Kentucky (see Bluegrass NGL Pipeline Hits Brick Wall in the Bluegrass State).

The companies now report they have landowner agreements in place for nine of 13 counties they need to cross in KY, so progress is definitely being made…
Read More “Bluegrass Pipeline Makes Progress in Bluegrass State”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Information Lockdown at Heinz Endowments over Vagt Departure
October 18, 2013October 18, 2013

Earlier this week MDN told you about the departure of Robert (“Bobby”) Vagt as president of the Heinz Endowments (see Bobby Vagt Out as Pres of Heinz Endowments – Fracking Connection?). It appears that at least one of the “green” board members of the Heinz Endowments (cough *Andre Heinz* cough) wasn’t happy that the family foundation decided to reach across the isle, under Vagt’s leadership, to work with the Marcellus Shale drilling industry on strict certification standards for drillers.

The problem is, no one knows for sure. It’s all still rumor and speculation. Heinz is being super tight-lipped and according to one reporter MDN spoke to, the organization is on “information lockdown” over this issue. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes the following editorial about the situation–an editorial we agree with 100%:
Read More “Information Lockdown at Heinz Endowments over Vagt Departure”