MDN does not usually speculate on rumor, so the following may or may not be true (it’s fourth-hand information). However, we believe it’s important enough for landowners who may be potentially affected, that we’re willing to repeat the rumor–in the interest of giving PA landowners a heads-up…
Read More “Rumor: Talisman Shopping Some of its PA Marcellus Acreage”
According to the Delaware River Basin Commission’s chairperson, Michele Siekerka (from NJ), the DRBC has been a busy little beaver putting “thousands of hours” of work into doing “more work” on proposed new rules to allow fracking in several Pennsylvania counties, including Wayne and Pike. Too bad they don’t have anything to show for it.
As you may recall, PA Gov. Tom Corbett recently sent the DRBC a zinger letter telling the DRBC to defecate or get off the pot (see PA Gov. Lights into DRBC Over Failure to Act on Drilling Rules). On top of that, a landowner group in PA is threatening the DRBC with a lawsuit for “takings” if they don’t move forward–now (see Energy in Depth’s The DRBC Dance Around the Stonewall). Looks like all the pressure is having some effect. At least the DRBC is squirming and issuing banal statements about how hard they’re working…
Read More “DRBC Feeling the Pressure from PA Over Fracking Rules”
Infrastructure–pipelines and processing plants–are currently the issue holding up more production in the Marcellus and Utica Shale. And the northeast is not alone. Pipelines in particular, big interstate pipelines, can sometimes take many years to plan and build. One reason they take so long is that government agencies *cough* Fish and Wildlife Commission, the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management *cough* don’t incur any consequences if they violate the 90-day turnaround time they’re supposed to observe when it comes to investigating and signing off on new interstate pipelines.
Congressman Mike Pompeo, R-Kan, has introduced a bill in Congress that will fix that little problem. You take your time and miss the deadline? Automatic approval for the pipeline in 90 days. Bam!…
Read More “Congressman Proposes Bill to Fastrack Pipeline Approval”
The hits keep rollin’ in… The latest numbers for Utica Shale wells permitted and drilled in Ohio, including which counties received permits for last week:
Read More “Latest OH Utica Numbers: 767 Permits, 386 Wells Drilled”
Marcellus Drilling News is pleased to partner with the Oil & Gas Awards to promote their annual, regional events. Specifically, we’re promoting the 2013 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards (entries due by Nov. 29, 2013). However, there are a number of MDN readers from outside the Marcellus/Utica Shale region, so we’re also putting a shout-out to drillers and others in the industry about the Oil & Gas Awards for the Midcontinent, Southwest and West Coast (entries due Aug. 9, 2013).
The full, official announcement below…
Read More “Oil & Gas Awards – Enter Now”
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, Jul 11, 2013”
Contrary to common belief and misconception, the Amish are not bumpkins and naive when it comes to the ways of the “English” world. Far from it. Take the issue of shale drilling on and under the land. While the Amish have a deep and healthy respect for the land, they’re not green zealots who worship it. They know Whom to worship and it’s not trees and grass. The land is here to be used wisely and circumspectly. Many Amish families in Ohio and Pennsylvania are deciding it’s just fine with God if their land is used for fracking…
Read More “Fracking Comes to Amish Country – Will They Allow It?”
Rex Energy has just released production numbers for its first three Warrior South Prospect wells in the Ohio Utica Shale (Noble County). Rex’s CEO, Tom Stabley, called the results “strong” and “impressive,” and indeed they are good numbers. The wells produced on the on the order of 4.2-4.7 million cubic feet of methane per day, 724-763 barrels of natural gas liquids per day, and 228-247 barrels of condensate per day. While we’ve seen better methane flow rates from other Utica wells, all three production metrics together (methane, NGLs and condensate) make these wells very profitable indeed.
The full Rex announcement from yesterday:
Read More “Rex Energy Production Numbers for 3 Utica Wells in Noble County”
It seems the Hardees fries and ketchup (and patience) finally ran out and officials from the Momentive resin plant in Morganton, NC, a fracking chemical manufacturer, had protesters who were blocking the plant’s entrance arrested. Yesterday, MDN told you about the dunderhead protesters who laid down in the middle of the road and put themselves in harm’s way (see Protesters Try to Shut Down NC Frack Chemical Plant). The protesters knew what they were doing crossed the free speech line into criminal activity by shutting down a business, but when the police started arresting them, they said (our interpretation): “Duh. What’s goin’ on dude? Why you arrestin’ me man? I was jest leavin.”
Twelve protesters in all were arrested and carted off to the clink…
Read More “12 Protesters Arrested for Shutting Down NC Chemical Plant”
If you think pro-drillers living in New York State are depressed and have given up the fight to see drilling come to the state–you would be dead wrong. Nowhere is fight more alive than with the 77,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY). Two recent emails from the JLCNY illustrate it’s full speed ahead in the fight for property rights and freedom in the Empire State…
Read More “JLCNY: New Fundraiser “Scrap the Moratorium” & Lawsuit Update”
Man they really know how to pick ’em in Maryland. A Maryland State Delegate, A. Shane Robinson (Democrat from the Washington, D.C. suburb of Montgomery County), performs his legislative homework and gets his up-to-date, cutting-edge research on the fracking issue by watching HBO. That’s what our generation has descended to. Del. Robinson tweeted during Gasland 2 on Monday night that he’s so worked up over fracking, he’s going to introduce another statewide ban bill when the legislature next meets. Thank God the Maryland legislature only meets for a few months at the beginning of each year.
Here’s more of Del. Robinson’s brilliance:
Read More “Gasland 2 Inspires MD Delegate to Offer Up New Frack Ban Bill”
Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation, both a driller and a midstream (pipeline) company with operations in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, released their company wide operational update yesterday for the second quarter of 2013. Among the highlights: Magnum Hunter has just completed drilling its first Utica Shale well (Washington County, OH) and the well will be fracked in late July; the company continues to actively drill Marcellus wells in Wetzel County, WV in a 50/50 joint venture with Stone Energy; and Eureka Hunter is active across both the Marcellus and Utica with new pipeline and compressor station construction projects.
Relevant portions of the update below…
Read More “Magnum Hunter 2Q13: 1st Utica Well Drilled, WV Marcellus Continues”
Carroll County Energy in Carroll County, OH–a subsidiary of Advanced Power Services–announced Monday they plan to spend $800 million to build a new 700-megawatt natural gas electric generating plant in the county. The new plant will create 500 temporary construction jobs and 25-30 permanent jobs when completed. It will supply electricity to 700,000 homes by using low-cost Utica (and Marcellus) Shale gas to generate electricity–made necessary because some 5,800 megawatts of coal-fired plants are due to retire in Ohio by end of 2015. Look for more announcements like this one to come along in the near future…
Read More “New NatGas Powered Electric Plant Coming to Carroll County, OH”
A small group of individuals pretending to be large groups of many people yesterday sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking them to reject the Cove Point, Maryland LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility Dominion is planning to build because they, said groups, believe in scary climate change fairy tales (oceans rising, tornadoes swirling, hurricanes churning), and so, because they believe these fairy tales, FERC should refuse a permit to Dominion. Uh, right.
Bonus observation from the press release below from said so-called “environmental groups”: any time you see the word “Riverkeeper” in a group name, run the other way. Any time you see “Sierra Club” in the name, run the other way. They are radicals and frankly, off their collective rocker. Here’s the letter they sent yesterday:
Read More “Enviro Groups Once Again Ask FERC to Refuse Cove Point LNG Plant”
This one is kind of funny. The Oil Drum website–founded and devoted to the concept that the world had reached “peak oil,” that there are no more major oil plays to be found and economically mined and that each year oil production would decline–reached its own peak and is closing. Apparently they can’t find enough true believers in peak oil to keep it going. It’s funny because the naysayers are now saying the same thing about natural gas…
Read More ““Peak Oil” Website Hits its Own Peak – Closing Down”
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, Jul 10, 2013”