Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Oct 7, 2013
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Commodity Price | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County
The Cabot O&G Marcellus Rocketship – To the Moon!
Cabot Oil & Gas, one of our favorite Marcellus drillers, continues to amaze and astound just about everyone. Last Friday (a week ago) the company issued a new “guidance” or “this is our best, educated guess” as to how much natural gas production the company will end up producing for 2013, and how much they believe it will grow in 2014. Given Cabot is already the number one natural gas producer in PA and the first member of what MDN calls the “billion cubic feet per day” club (see Who’s a Member of the Marcellus “1 Bcf/d” Club?), it’s amazing that in 2014 they predict production will be up another 30-50% over this year. Wow!Something just as startling and no doubt the envy of all their competitors, Cabot CEO Dan Dinges tips their hand as to what the breakeven price is at which the company starts to make money. It’s a LOT lower than even we thought is was…
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Carlyle Group | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Energy Solutions | Processing Plants | Statewide PA
Philly Refinery Processes 190K Barrels/Day of Shale Oil
My how times change. A year ago the then-Sunoco Philadelphia refinery was set to close its doors with a loss of 850 jobs. But something happened on the way to closing down: shale. Shale oil, in particular. Today, the refinery is called Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), a joint venture between the Carlyle Group and Sunoco (Sunoco merged with and is now known as Energy Transfer Partners). As MDN chronicled in July 2012, three shale plays will ultimately play an important role for the refinery–the Bakken, the Marcellus and the Utica (see Sunoco & Carlyle Group Ink Joint Venture for Philly Refinery). However, PES is also eyeing other shale plays, like oil from the Permian Basin (in Texas). That would be a hoot–Pennsylvania refining Texas oil!
More than half of the refinery’s 350,000 barrel per day capacity now comes from the Bakken Shale in North Dakota. How? Mostly by railroad, with the rest by barge. According to PA Gov. Tom Corbett, on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the refinery earlier this week, the Marcellus and Utica will soon play a role at the refinery too: “There’s a pipeline coming over here soon that’s going to be bringing natural gas over. You’re using natural gas now to fuel some of your efforts here but also to create a propane and ethane facility here”…
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Delaware County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Millennium Pipeline | New York | Pipelines | Regulation
Millennium Pipeline Gets FERC Approval for Hancock, NY Compressor
The Millennium Pipeline is a major northeastern natural gas transmission pipeline that starts in Steuben County, NY, runs along the center/bottom of the state (an area called New York’s Southern Tier) and angles down through the Catskill Mountains toward New York City, ending in Rockland County, NY. If you know anything about the geography of New York, it roughly parallels State Route 17 (in parts now called Interstate 86). The Millennium runs close to where MDN sits, not far from Binghamton. It handles an increasing amount of Marcellus Shale gas and is one of the important ways Marcellus gas gets to market.
Just down the road about 33 miles from MDN is a little town called Hancock, NY–in Delaware County. The Millennium runs by Hancock. The company previously filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build a new compressor plant near Hancock, at a location called Hungry Hill. The Millennium wants to install a single 15,900 horsepower compressor engine to increase pressure and throughput of gas in the pipeline as it flows through Delaware County. A compressor at Hungry Hill would add 107,500 thousand cubic feet per day of additional capacity to the pipeline. FERC has just green lighted the project…
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Crestwood/Inergy $7B Merger Update: Combined Boards Announced
In May, MDN told you that Crestwood Midstream, with pipelines and processing plants in the Marcellus, and Inergy Midstream, America’s fourth largest propane retailer, trying to establish a new underground propane storage facility near Watkins Glen, NY but is being frustrated by the state’s DEC, would merge to form a $7 billion midstream behemoth (see M&A Mania: Crestwood Midstream & Inergy will Merge). In June the two companies tied 2/3 of the knot (see Crestwood Midstream & Inergy Tie 2/3 of the Merger Knot).
The companies remain at a 2/3 merger–at this stage. However, they have announced the composition of the boards of directors (plural) for Inergy. There is Inergy GP the parent/umbrella company, and Inergy Midstream GP, which will merge with Crestwood. Both boards of directors (see below) contain Crestwood people on them starting next week. So it appears the consummation of this merger marriage will happen soon…
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Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Williams
Rumor Now Reality: Williams/Boardwalk to Build Gulf LPG Terminal
Williams and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners announced in March they will build a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline that would run from the Marcellus/Utica region all the way to the Gulf Coast. They dubbed the new pipeline the Bluegrass Pipeline (see Williams, Boardwalk Announce Marcellus-to-Gulf Coast NGL Pipeline). But where would the new pipeline connect to along the Gulf Coast to process the NGLs? In July, we heard rumors that Williams and Boardwalk were considering building a new LPG export facility to process and export the Marcellus/Utica NGLs (see Bluegrass NGL Pipeline Recap, Builders Eye LNG Exports Too).
It’s no longer a rumor…
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MA Dems Propose Frack Ban on Non-Existent Shale Drilling – Duh!
Anti-drilling nutters in Massachusetts have introduced legislation to ban fracking in the state, even though there’s no frackable shale to be found. Why do it? To make a political statement, of course. Symbolism over substance reigns supreme in the Bay State controlled by you-know-which political party.
So, you might expect the following editorial that strongly criticizes said politicians for proposing a frack ban bill, and criticizing the state for supporting alternative energy sources only (sources that require huge infusions of taxpayer money to make them work), to be an editorial penned by MDN. Or perhaps from a Tea Party organization. But, you would be wrong. The strongly-worded editorial below is from none other than the editors of the Boston Herald…
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435 Acres of Marcellus Land in NE PA Goes to Auction Oct 30
MDN welcomes a new advertiser to our website this week. United Country Real Estate sought out opportunities to make know an upcoming auction of Marcellus acreage and MDN fit the bill–we thank them! (See their ad on the right side of any page.) The auction, which many MDN readers will be interested in, is for 435 acres of land, including mineral rights, in northeast PA. The seven separate tracts of land up for auction are located in prime Marcellus Shale country–in Bradford and Susquehanna counties. This is a court-ordered land sale. The auction will take place on October 30 at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Wysox, PA.
Here are the full details from United Country Real Estate:
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Oct 4, 2013
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Indiana County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA | Wastewater
What’s Missing in Latest Duke “Radioactive” Study? Real Science
Those crazy, anti-drilling kids at Duke University are at it again. They released a “study” in a “peer-reviewed” journal yesterday (a study funded in part by the anti-drilling Park Foundation) that took samples from a creek downstream from a wastewater treatment plant that used to (but no longer does) treat Marcellus fracking wastewater. Republican Michael Krancer put an end to frack wastewater treatment by such facilities in early 2011, something the Rendell administration couldn’t or wouldn’t do. Krancer and the Marcellus Shale Coalition said municipal plants processing frack wastewater was creating an issue (see PA DEP, Marcellus Shale Coalition Admit Drilling Wastewater Likely Contaminating Drinking Water). So the Park/Duke kids sampled a single creek before the practice had ended and found, not surprisingly, high (but not dangerous) levels of radioactivity in the stream bed. In other words, they’re reporting what we’ve known for the past three years.What do the headlines in hundreds of newspapers and online sources (with lazy reporters) blare out today? Fracking causes radioactivity in streams and rivers (plural) in Pennsylvania. Even though the Duke study only looks at a single location in a single creek and the data predates when the practice ended. Real science would have investigated multiple wastewater treatment plants, not just cherry-picking one. Real science is not funded by an avowed anti-drilling organization like the Park Foundation. And real science would have pointed out frack wastewater treatment at these plants ended several years ago. But then, no one ever accused Park/Duke kids of performing real science…
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Beaver County | Columbiana County | Energy Services | Mahoning County | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pennsylvania
MarkWest Energy Buys an Ohio Short Line Railroad – Why?
As we’re always fascinated with a good railroad story, our eyes perked up when we saw that a MarkWest subsidiary company is about to close a deal to purchase a 36-mile short line railroad from the Columbiana County (OH) Port Authority–for just $3 million. The railroad, known as the Youngstown & Southern Railroad, runs from Boardman (Mahoning County), OH through Columbiana, Rogers and Negley (all in Columbiana County), ending it’s tracks at Darlington (Beaver County), PA.
What will MarkWest do with a railroad? Right now, they’re being tight-lipped…
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Could Philly Burbs See Shale Drilling?! PA DCNR Launches Study
Last summer MDN told you about a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) “discovery” that there are more untapped shale plays in the northeast. One of those plays is the Newark Basin that underlies parts of New Jersey, Maryland, and yes, Pennsylvania (see the USGS report and map here: Maryland has Multiple Shale Basins?!). In particular, the South Newark Basin lies under parts of southeastern PA–Philadelphia and its suburbs. While no one believes there will ever be a drilling rig in Philadelphia, there is the possibility of drilling out in the burbs.
The PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has just “quietly” awarded a contract to Penn State University to study “what lies beneath” in Bucks and Montgomery counties. The contract began July 1 and won’t be completed until June 30, 2015–two full years. When done, we should have a good idea of whether or not there’s recoverable shale gas in the area. So, is this study a prelude to drilling one day?…
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Trans Energy Sells Off Holdings in Tyler County, WV – Who Bought?
Yesterday Trans Energy, a pure play driller focused on the Marcellus Shale (in West Virginia) announced they’re selling off their holdings in Tyler County, WV so they can concentrate on their holdings and drilling operations in Marshall, Wetzel and Marion counties instead. The deal is for 1,163 acres, two well pad sites and one uncompleted Marcellus Shale well. Trans Energy is getting $11.2 million for the transaction.
The announcement from Trans Energy does not identify who is doing the buying, but MDN has what we consider a pretty solid guess…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Transco | Williams
Williams Goes Back to (PR) School Over Controlled Release Panic
Williams scared the bejeebers out of teachers and students at the Dallas School District (near Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA) last Thursday when they did a controlled release of natural gas from their nearby Transco interstate natural gas pipeline. Williams was emptying part of the pipeline to work on it and the controlled release caused a panic and calls to 911 with concerns over a gas leak. Williams admits they could of/should of done a better job in communicating with residents in the community, and that they should of waited until after (or before) school hours to do the controlled release. Of course local anti-drillers seized on the “incident” to make some PR hay.
So, did Williams learn their lesson?…
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Energy Services | Halliburton | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lewis County | Muskingum County | Ohio | West Virginia
Halliburton Shuts Down WV Cement Plant, Moves to OH
In a move that’s sure to anger West Virginians, but make Ohioans happy, Halliburton announced Tuesday they’re shutting down their cement plant operations in Weston (Lewis County), WV and moving it 150 miles away to a new service center they’ve opened in Zanesville (Muskingum County), OH. No word on how many jobs in Weston are affected…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH
Muskingum Watershed Taken to Court by Anti-Frackers (Yawn)
MDN has long chronicled the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District’s (MWCD) challenges with selling a relative thimble-full of its vast water supplies to Utica Shale drillers. Not only are they now selling water, they’ve leased a good number of acres for drilling–some of it under lakes and reservoirs. That really ticks off the eco-nuts.
Anti-frackers have thrown tantrums and have done their darnedest to stop the MWCD from allowing drilling and from selling water to frackers–for a time they even bullied them into a retreat (see Muskingum Watershed Reverses Decision to Sell Water to Drillers)–but ultimately the anti-frackers have failed. So now it’s off to court to see if they can convince a liberal judge somewhere to put the breaks on progress in Ohio…
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Cabot Oil & Gas, one of our favorite Marcellus drillers, continues to amaze and astound just about everyone. Last Friday (a week ago) the company issued a new “guidance” or “this is our best, educated guess” as to how much natural gas production the company will end up producing for 2013, and how much they believe it will grow in 2014. Given Cabot is already the number one natural gas producer in PA and the first member of what MDN calls the “billion cubic feet per day” club (see 
Those crazy, anti-drilling kids at Duke University are at it again. They released a “study” in a “peer-reviewed” journal yesterday (a study funded in part by the anti-drilling Park Foundation) that took samples from a creek downstream from a wastewater treatment plant that