Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Patriot Water Treatment | Regulation | Trumbull County | Wastewater

OH Court Tells ODNR: Turn Over Emails in Patriot Water Lawsuit
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

Patriot Water Treatment of Warren, OH has had a long-running feud with the Ohio EPA and Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR)–a feud that goes all the way back to 2011 (see MDN’s string of Patriot Water stories here). Patriot processes frack wastewater at it’s Warren plant and then disposes of the wastewater by using the local Warren municipal sewage treatment plant. That is, Patriot strips out all of the really nasty stuff, and then the sewage plant finishes off the process and the water is then released into the Mahoning River, near Youngstown.

The OH EPA and ODNR pulled Patriot’s permits to operate for a four-month period in 2012, but Patriot sued and won the right to continue operating (and sending their wastewater to the sewage plant). In relation to the shut-down, Patriot is suing for damages and the ODNR has not been altogether forthcoming with emails and paperwork requested by Patriot as part of the lawsuit. So the OH District Court of Appeals told the ODNR yesterday to comply, or else…
Read More “OH Court Tells ODNR: Turn Over Emails in Patriot Water Lawsuit”
Chief Oil & Gas | Clarion County | Electrical Generation | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Greene County (PA) | IMG Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide WV | Susquehanna County | West Virginia | Wyoming County (PA)

4 Electric Plants Coming to NE PA, Powered by Marcellus Gas
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

In August MDN told you the news that Chief Oil & Gas has struck up a deal with IMG Midstream (sort of misnamed, IMG is not a pipeline company) to provide IMG with Marcellus Shale gas to power several small regional, super efficient and low-polluting electric generation plants they plan to build in northeastern Pennsylvania (see Chief Strikes Deal to Provide Marcellus Gas for Electric Plants). We have good news: projects to build those plants are moving forward with all due speed.

We now know that there are four plants planned for Pennsylvania and one for West Virginia. We also know where those plants will be built…
Read More “4 Electric Plants Coming to NE PA, Powered by Marcellus Gas”
Belmont County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Monroe County | Noble County | Ohio | Utica Shale

OH’s Largest School District Gets $1M+ from Lease Bonuses
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

Ohio’s largest school district (geographically speaking), the Switzerland of Ohio Local Schools in eastern Ohio, has raked in over $1 million so far from Marcellus/Utica Shale drilling deals. It’s located in some of the best drilling spots in the Ohio Utica (Monroe/Belmont/Noble counties). Even so, the school is headed for “devastating cuts” according to the school treasurer, due to a collapse in enrollment over the last 20 years.

The money received so far from shale deals is from lease payments, not royalties. Will the school district go on over the fiscal cliff? Or will shale royalties come along in time to save the day? School officials are not sure…
Read More “OH’s Largest School District Gets $1M+ from Lease Bonuses”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Obama’s Warming Cultists Raise “Social Cost of Carbon” Number
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

Just boggles the mind. Make up some cockamamie, pretend number, call it the “social cost of carbon” and proceed to use it as if it’s real science with real data behind it so you can justify unilaterally implementing Communistic regulations to control every aspect of ~~slaves’~~ citizens’ lives. That sums up the actions of the Obama administration and their so-called justification in raising the rate of the “social cost of carbon” from $21 per metric ton to $35 per ton. Oh, and issue a white paper with a bunch of fake numbers to give it the veneer of legitimacy (check! that’s now done too).

Feels like Alice going through the Looking Glass. Are there no real scientists with the intestinal fortitude to stand up and tell Obama and his warmist cult followers, “You have no clothes on this issue, Mr. Emperor”? The Hill reports on this latest Obama scam/power grab:
Read More “Obama’s Warming Cultists Raise “Social Cost of Carbon” Number”
Commodity Price | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

Big News: Bloomberg Writes Positive Marcellus Shale Article!
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

Whenever we start reading a Bloomberg article about the Marcellus Shale, shale gas drilling in general, or fracking, we just know how skewed to the anti-drilling side of the ledger the story will be. So imagine our surprise when we read an article that actually reports (gasp!) the truth about the Marcellus Shale. Even though Bloomberg usually tells us the low price of natural gas can’t last, the whole shale gas thing is a house of cards waiting to collapse, drillers are trying to hoodwink investors, blah blah blah–this time even Bloomberg can’t ignore the fact that natural gas being piped into New York City is selling below the price of the benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana–and likely will for years to come. Thanks to the Marcellus.

The Bloomberg article does a good job of giving the big picture with respect to gas prices and how drilling has become more efficient, how infrastructure (pipelines) are helping to get all that gas to market (abundance of supply equals lower prices), and predicting what’s coming next. At the end of the article is an obligatory few sentences from anti-drillers about how shale drilling will poison all of our water and make farms uninhabitable. Well, it is Bloomberg after all. But on balance, this is a good article and worth your time to read. The article begins this way…
Read More “Big News: Bloomberg Writes Positive Marcellus Shale Article!”
Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles

First-Ever Ford F-150 CNG/LPG Model Roles Off Assembly Line
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

This not technically a Marcellus/Utica story, but it certainly will impact the northeast and natural gas supplies in years to come. Ford announced last week the very first 2014 Ford F-150 truck, the best selling truck ever, has just rolled off the assembly line in Kansas City–and it has a CNG/LPG option! In fact, Ford will offer eight models for the 2014 model year and says they are on track to sell 15,000 CNG vehicles. MDN previously alerted you that Chevrolet is launching a CNG version for one of their most popular sedans–the Chevy Impala–next summer (2015 model year). Is this the dawning of the natural gas vehicle renaissance for consumers? We sure hope so.

The exciting Ford announcement from last week:
Read More “First-Ever Ford F-150 CNG/LPG Model Roles Off Assembly Line”
About MDN

Short Week – See You Monday!
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

Dear MDN Reader:

MDN will take Thursday and Friday off–there will be no regular updates on those days. Hopefully you won’t mind if we kick back, enjoy family and do a bit of “re-charging.” We’ll be back next Monday ready and rarin’ to go.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Jim Willis, Editor, MDN
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Nov 27, 2013
November 27, 2013November 27, 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 27, 2013”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

The Sky HAS Fallen! Time Magazine Loves (Waterless) Fracking
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

Well lookie here! Just yesterday MDN was waxing eloquent on alternatives to using water in fracking (see CO2 Instead of Water for Fracking – Seriously?!). Little did we know that two weeks ago Time magazine released its list of the “25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013”. Under the category of five “World-Changing” technologies is a listing for…waterless fracking! Wonders never cease.

This is what Time says about waterless fracking and why it made the list:
Read More “The Sky HAS Fallen! Time Magazine Loves (Waterless) Fracking”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Research

Yet Another “The (Methane) Sky is Falling” Study Released
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

Yes, MDN has spotted the news circulating around the mainstream media echo chamber that trumpets, OMG!…”fugitive methane” is leaking at, like 50% more than even WE thought in our worst nightmarish dreamworld–and it may be, might, could, possibly be, coming from shale drilling. This latest “scare them while they still believe you” scam comes straight from, yes, another “peer reviewed” so-called “study” published in the prestigious (and it is prestigious) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (or PNAS). The AP/Bloomberg/Reuters et al can’t wait to share this bit of bad news with the general public. Too bad it’s wasted during a holiday week when no one will notice.

This latest study, which attempts to create a boogeyman where none exists, is titled, “Anthropogenic emissions of methane in the United States.” The new study certainly tickles discredited Cornell professors Robert Howarth and Tony Ingraffea who have spun wild yarns about how coal is better than natural gas because of the “fugitive methane” issue. Unfortunately MDN could not get a copy of this study–not without paying good money (money we’d rather spend on something important, like going to see The Hunger Games). However, our friends at the always-excellent Energy in Depth have scored a copy and have written this insightful review:
Read More “Yet Another “The (Methane) Sky is Falling” Study Released”
Carroll County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Wastewater

New Frack Wastewater Recycling Plant Opens in Carroll County, OH
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

A new frack wastewater recycling facility is about to open in Sherrodsville (Carroll County), Ohio. The new plant was built by Rettew Flowback (of North Canton, OH) and is owned and will be operated by Iron Eagle, a Youngstown-based company that rents equipment to oil and gas drillers. The new plant will employ 50 people and is set to open it’s doors “by Dec. 1” according to an Iron Eagle spokesperson. It will have the capacity to process up to 588,000 gallons of water per day.

We have to confess, this one flew under the MDN radar. Here’s the few details we know, courtesy Crain’s Cleveland Business:
Read More “New Frack Wastewater Recycling Plant Opens in Carroll County, OH”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Trumbull County | Wastewater

2 Anti-Drillers Arrested at Youngstown Injection Well
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

Two anti-drilling protesters were arrested Sunday for blocking trucks trying to enter an injection well facility in Niles (Trumbull County), Ohio–near Youngstown. Film at eleven.

Oh! You want more details? There isn’t much in the way of information, but here’s what we know about who was arrested, and why:
Read More “2 Anti-Drillers Arrested at Youngstown Injection Well”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Eco Group Schisms & The Heart of the Fracking Debate
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

An article in the National Journal does a good job of capturing the growing rift among so-called environmentalists on the issue of fracking–or hydraulic fracturing. Every now and again it’s helpful to review the basics here on MDN because we constantly have new readers/subscribers to our service. For years MDN has said the true movement people who oppose fracking (i.e. shale drilling)–people like Josh Fox with his Gasland fictions and the odious Food & Water Watch, and lately even the Sierra Club–oppose fracking not because the practice actually pollutes, but because it frees up large volumes of natural gas, which is a fossil fuel, and they HATE all fossil fuels. Yes, it’s an irrational hatred–but that is what is truly at the heart of this debate: fossil fuel phobia. Movement environmentalists believe humans should stop using fossil fuels now. Bring back the horse and buggy.

Of course anti-frackers are rankly hypocritical as they jet around the world and drive around the country using fossil fuels to spread their anti-fossil fuel message. They go home at night and turn up the furnace–a furnace that burns fossil fuels–to heat their homes. They turn on their stoves that burn natural gas to cook their food. They use electricity which (coming as a shocking surprise to their parochial worldview) is created by big power plants that burn coal or natural gas. But “do as I say not as I do” has always been the credo for anti-frackers. The article in National Journal is about the “fight” over fracking in Colorado among environmentalists, but the story could easily take place in NY, PA, WV, or OH. The arguments, the lies and deceptions by extremist “environmental” groups, are the same wherever you go…
Read More “Eco Group Schisms & The Heart of the Fracking Debate”
Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Warren County | Wastewater

PA DEP Consent Decree Against Waste Treatment’s Warren Plant
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

A month ago MDN told you a lawsuit had been filed by anti-drilling Clean Water Action (CWA) against the municipal sewage treatment plant in Warren, PA operated by Waste Treatment Corporation. The lawsuit claimed the Warren plant, based on testing of the Allegheny River, continues to process and dump treated frack wastewater into the river (see CWA Sues/Accuses Waste Treatment Corp of Continued Shale Pollution). A day after that story broke, both Waste Treatment and the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection responded and said that no, the plant does not and has not treated shale frack wastewater since 2011 (see Waste Treatment, PA DEP Respond to CWA Lawsuit).

However, as we said at the time, the fact that the DEP had also (quietly) filed their own lawsuit against Waste Treatment raises more questions than it answers. We now begin to get some of those answers. Yesterday, the DEP announced a “Proposed Consent Decree” with Waste Treatment that will reduce the amount of total dissolved solids it releases into the Allegheny River. The (important) question remains: If the effluent from the Warren plant is not coming from processing shale fracking wastewater, where is it coming from? What is the source of this super-salty wastewater that’s being processed by this plant?…
Read More “PA DEP Consent Decree Against Waste Treatment’s Warren Plant”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs

Shale Drilling Jobs Among CNN’s Top 100 “Best Jobs in America”
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

CNNMoney recently posted their “Best Jobs in America 2013” list which is a ranking of the top 100 jobs with “big growth, great pay and satisfying work.” MDN had a quick scan through the list and found many of the jobs are either directly or indirectly related to the shale drilling industry. Here were the six jobs from the list directly related to energy/shale drilling:
Read More “Shale Drilling Jobs Among CNN’s Top 100 “Best Jobs in America””
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Nov 26, 2013
November 26, 2013November 26, 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: Tue, Nov 26, 2013”