Embedded in an article about the delay in natural gas and gas liquids flowing from the Utica Shale region due to lack of infrastructure, we found this handy list of 20 planned or existing Utica Shale wells for Trumbull County, OH, including where the well is located and the driller’s name:
Read More “List of 20 Existing/Planned Utica Wells in Trumbull County, OH”
NiSource, a major gas & electric utility company operating in the northeast and southwest (and parent of Columbia Gas and Columbia Pipeline), is increasingly a major midstream–pipeline and processing plant–player in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region.
Here’s a handy roundup of the projects NiSource and its subsidiaries have underway in the Marcellus/Utica, representing roughly 3/4 of a billion dollars of investments:
Read More “NiSource: 5 Marcellus/Utica Projects, $744M Investment”
Anti-drillers are nervous that one of the big-money spigots for funding their so-called research into the dangers of fracking is about to be shut off. In a developing soap opera, the “longtime head” of environmental grant making for the Heinz Endowments, Caren Glotfelty, has been shown the door. A number of anti-drilling studies have been funded by Glotfelty during her tenure at Heinz. Bobby Vagt, president of Heinz Enowments, will fill in for Glotfelty until a replacement is found. Vagt, you may recall, is involved with the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (see Important: Drillers & Enviros Form New Group, Launch Cert Program). It was also recently disclosed that Vagt sits on the board of natgas pipeline company Kinder Morgan (see Heinz Endowments President Owns $1.2M in Kinder Morgan Stock).
Anti-drillers have broken out the tea leaves, chicken feet and anything else they can to divine whether or not the move to oust Glotfelty is an indication of a change in (funding) priorities for Heinz…
Read More “Heinz Endowments Fires Head of Enviro Grants – Change Coming?”
A ray of hope that the federal government might actually do the right thing and let the individual states (as provided for in the U.S. Constitution) regulate fracking in their own states? Stranger things have happened!
A new bill just introduced by two U.S. senators from shale states–John Hoeven from North Dakota (Republican) and Mary Landrieu from Louisiana (Democrat)–would prevent the federal government from interfering with states’ rights to regulate fracking and drilling within their own borders. Three cheers! However, don’t hold your breath that this bill will go anywhere with BHO sitting in The White House…
Read More “U.S. Senate Bill Would Prevent Feds from Regulating Fracking”
Below are upcoming events for this week and next.
Read More “Calendar of Events for Aug 5-18, 2013 [Free]”
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: Mon, Aug 5, 2013”
Halcón Resources Corporation, increasingly an important driller in the Utica Shale, released their second quarter update yesterday. Halcón CEO Floyd Wilson also held a conference call for analysts. On that call, Wilson boasted about Halcón’s Utica Shale program–in particular the Kibler 1H well in Trumbull County which has been producing 2,233 barrels of oil equivalent per day–75% of it liquids. Halcón, which concentrates its drilling in “oily” plays like the Bakken and Utica, is currently operating 2 drilling rigs in Ohio/Pennsylvania. They’ve drilled nine Utica wells and are now evaluating the results. Halcón has 142,000 acres leased in the Utica Shale (primarily in Ohio).
Remarks about Halcón’s Utica program from the conference call, and the Utica portion of yesterday’s 2Q13 report:
Read More “Halcón Resources: Will Drill Up to 500 Wells in the Utica”
In July 2012 MDN told you about a one-year study of air quality in and around Chartiers Township in Washington County, PA being conducted by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (see PA DEP Announces 1 Year Study on Air Quality in Marcellus). The aim of the study is to determine whether or not Marcellus drilling, pipelines and the MarkWest natural gas processing plant in the Chartiers area causes an unhealthy increase in various air pollutants for residents.
What has the research found? The DEP says testing so far shows “no levels of any pollutant that would violate federal ambient air quality standards.” However, they’ve decided to extend the study until the end of this year. The one-year study has turned into a one-and-a-half year study. The DEP now expects to file a final report in “Spring 2014″…
Read More “DEP Marcellus Air Study in SW PA Extended Extra Half Year”
More than 1 1/2 years ago MDN told you about a planned new 70-mile pipeline and compressor station to connect Utica and Marcellus wells in eastern Ohio to Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern pipeline system (see Chesapeake Investing in New 70-Mile Ohio Pipeline). Called the Ohio Pipeline Energy Network (OPEN), the project is a $500 million joint venture between Chesapeake Energy, American Electric Power and Spectra Energy. Not since December 2011 have we heard any news about the project–until now.
Even though there’s been no media coverage, Spectra has been hard at work planning and holding public meetings for feedback on eight different proposed pipeline routes. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has given Spectra until Sept. 20 to tell them which alternative is their preferred route. FERC will then make a decision and (presumably) issue a permit that will allow Spectra to begin construction. An update on the OPEN project…
Read More “Spectra’s OH Pipeline Project Advances, Sept 20 Deadline w/FERC”
We noted our sadness in March when then-PA Sec. of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, Michael Krancer, announced he was resigning (see Developing… PA DEP Sec. Krancer Resigns). Krancer was tough but fair–someone with a sharp wit (and sometimes a sharp tongue). He knew how to dish it back to anti-drillers–and they hated it. At the time of Krancer’s resignation, Gov. Tom Corbett named his deputy chief of staff, E. Christopher Abruzzo, as Acting Secretary for the DEP. Abruzzo’s appointment was panned by Democrat John Hanger, who wants to run against Corbett in the next election, calling the appointment “bizarre and irresponsible” (see Former PA DEP Sec. Hanger Blasts Interim Replacement for Krancer).
We haven’t read much in the media about Abruzzo since his appointment six months ago, however, yesterday Abruzzo addressed the Washington County, PA Chamber of Commerce’s annual energy symposium. Contrary to what political opponents would have you believe, he sounded and acted quite responsible and un-bizzare…
Read More “PA Acting Sec of DEP Making his Agency a “Problem-Solver””
The Washington County, PA fourth annual energy symposium, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, was held yesterday in Southpointe, PA. The event was emceed by state Sen. Tim Solobay (a Democrat, surprisingly). The recurring theme from drillers and others who spoke: When it comes to the Marcellus Shale, we’re just getting started. It’s still early innings…
Read More “SW PA Energy Symposium: Still Early Innings for Marcellus Shale”
Chesapeake Energy’s new CEO, Doug Lawler, like Chessy’s founder and first CEO Aubrey McClendon, positively gushes when it comes to the Utica Shale. On a conference call with analysts yesterday, Lawler said, “The Utica is outstanding,” and he sees the Utica as “…a very strong asset going forward.”
More details on Chessy’s Utica Shale drilling program in Ohio from Lawler:
Read More “Chesapeake’s Lawler Excited about OH Utica, Calls it “Outstanding””
Canadian-based Talisman Energy is a major Marcellus Shale driller in Pennsylvania. They’re also a company in financial trouble–in the midst of attempting to turn the company around in the direction of profitability. A story out of Canada about Talisman’s latest turnaround efforts talks about the company putting certain assets on the auction block, including their considerable assets in Norway. Tucked in the article is this very brief mention that some of Talisman’s Marcellus assets may also go on the auction block:
Read More “Talisman Makes Noise About Selling Marcellus Midstream Assets”
Southwestern Energy has a sizable drilling operation in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale. In their second quarter 2013 update, posted yesterday, Southwestern reports they have 129 Marcellus wells now in production and another 99 being drilled. As of June 30, Southwestern’s Marcellus wells were producing an average 503 million cubic feet of natural gas per day–just over the half billion per day mark.
Here’s the Marcellus update taken from yesterday’s 2Q13 report:
Read More “Southwestern Energy 2Q13: 1/2 Bcf/d of Marcellus Gas Flowing”
Who knew that there’s a shale layer under much of New Jersey–called the Newark Basin–that may one day yield natural gas worth fracking? Delicious irony, because anti-drilling sentiment in the state runs strong and deep. But don’t hold your breath that fracking will arrive any time soon in NJ–there hasn’t been active oil and gas drilling in the state for decades–at least since 1985 when a law was passed directing the state Dept. of Environmental Protection to draw up regulations for drilling. They never did draft drilling regs because no one was interested in drilling in the state.
That may, however, change…
Read More “Will Fracking Come to…New Jersey?!”
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, Aug 2, 2013”