Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

US Sen Casey (PA) Wants Money for Marcellus Jobs Training
August 13, 2013August 13, 2013

Politicians like U.S. Senator Bob Casey (from Pennsylvania) are sickening. He makes us want to throw up. Casey introduced and is lead sponsor of legislation in the Senate called the FRAC Act—Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals. It is an anti-drilling bill plain and simple. Casey has repeatedly called for federal intervention in his own state on the issue of fracking and shale drilling. Then he turns around and sticks his hand out and wants Shell to locate a $2 billion ethane cracker plant that uses shale gas in his state (see The Two Faces of Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) on Shale Drilling).

Once again, Casey has conveniently flipped sides and has his hand out. The enormous job growth in Pennsylvania due to shale drilling cannot be ignored, so Casey figures he can grab some money from the federal till for a jobs training program in his state (buys him more votes, you see). Earth to Casey: The shale drilling industry is already hiring and training thousands of people in your state–without the need to transfer taxpayers’ hard-earned money to your walking-around, vote-buying account…
Read More “US Sen Casey (PA) Wants Money for Marcellus Jobs Training”
Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Dominion Sells $500M Natrium NGL Plant to… Itself
August 13, 2013August 13, 2013

Dominion, a huge energy company that does everything from shale drilling to pipelines and processing plants to selling gas and electric as a utility, has just sold the newly built and operating $500 million NGL processing plant in Natrium, WV to…itself. The Natrium plant was due to go online late last year. Then it was forecast be online in the spring of this year. The plant, which separates natural gas liquids from methane in the Marcellus/Utica Shale, finally went online in late June (see Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium, WV NGL Plant Now Up & Running).

Blue Racer Midstream officially took title to the Natrium plant as of August 9th. Blue Racer is a joint venture between Dominion and Caiman Energy II. Dominion essentially owns Blue Racer, ergo Dominion sold the plant to itself. These things happen on paper–no doubt for more favorable tax and accounting purposes for investors. Dominion’s announcement from yesterday:
Read More “Dominion Sells $500M Natrium NGL Plant to… Itself”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Aug 13, 2013
August 13, 2013August 13, 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, Aug 13, 2013”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

OH EPA Dings MarkWest Over Slurry Spills in OH Swamps
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

Once upon a time here in the good old U.S. of A. we used to call large areas of stagnant, smelly, mosquito-infested pools of water what they are: swamps. Then came the so-called environmentalist movement that renamed the word “swamp” to the pristine-sounding word “wetland.” Gotta love a good euphemism. We used to drain swamps. Now we make people get permits to walk across them, for fear of killing a mosquito (no doubt carrying West Nile Virus). Such is the enlightened age in which we live.

MarkWest Energy, arguably the largest midstream company (pipelines and processing plants) in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, is having trouble in–or more properly under–some of Ohio’s swamps. In drilling under some Ohio “wetlands” to install pipelines, MarkWest has leaked a non-toxic clay-and-water slurry on a number of occasions. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has told MarkWest recent spills are “unacceptable.” Ohio anti-drillers see it as an opportunity to shut down fracking (no pipelines, no way to get the gas and liquids to market). Fortunately, the Ohio EPA is a bit more level-headed than that, saying they prefer to work with companies like MarkWest to help them do better, not just shut them down…
Read More “OH EPA Dings MarkWest Over Slurry Spills in OH Swamps”
Accidents | Antero Resources | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | West Virginia

Antero Given Green Light to Resume Drilling at WV Blast Site
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

In early July, MDN told you about an explosion at an Antero Resources drillpad in Doddridge County, WV (see Update on Antero Well Explosion in Doddridge County, WV). Half a dozen workers were injured in the resulting fire. Sadly, two of those workers recently died from their injuries.

We now know what caused the blast: open hatches on a number of wastewater tanks that allowed gas to build up, which led to a flash fire. The WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) shut down drilling at the site after the fire to investigate. The DEP is now satisfied that Antero knows what happened and has put in place measures to prevent it from happening again, so the DEP has just lifted the “cease operations” order. Antero is now free to resume drilling at the site…
Read More “Antero Given Green Light to Resume Drilling at WV Blast Site”
Carroll County | Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Harrison County | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Chesapeake’s Current Thinking on their Utica Shale Program
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

At a meeting in Mahoning County, OH, a Chesapeake Energy representative tackled the question of how long Ohio residents will see drilling in their midst. The rep then spoke about the next phase after drilling–production and piping product to market. The answers given were not anything we haven’t heard before. Still, some of the Chesapeake rep’s comments did give us insight into the company’s current thinking about the Utica Shale and the counties where they intend to concentrate their efforts…
Read More “Chesapeake’s Current Thinking on their Utica Shale Program”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

MDN Calls for the Criminalization of the NY Green Party
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

Does that headline sound a bit unhinged? Over the top? Sorta stupid? It’s no more stupid than the New York Green Party calling (as it has done yet again) for the “complete criminalization” of fracking in the Empire State. We thought we would illustrate absurdity with absurdity and call for criminalizing the stupidity that’s rampant in the Green Party. The unhinged and wacko Greens want to turn a safe, legitimate and needed industrial activity–fracking–into a criminal act. They point out that, Hey man, even the pot smokers in Woodstock, NY have voted to criminalize fracking (our words).

We propose that the Greens’ stupidity is itself a criminal act. Here’s the latest lunacy from the anti-drilling left in the People’s Republic of New York, otherwise known as the Green Party:
Read More “MDN Calls for the Criminalization of the NY Green Party”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Muskingum Watershed District: $77M in Utica Lease Revenue, So Far
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

There’s no doubt a change has happened at the board of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD). Last year they self-imposed a moratorium on selling water to Ohio Utica Shale drillers (Muskingum Watershed Reverses Decision to Sell Water to Drillers). This year, they can’t wait to lease MWCD land to Utica Shale drillers and sell them the water to frack it (MWCD to Sell 138M Gallons of Seneca Lake Water for Utica Drilling). Why the change?

An MWCD official talked about the change in thinking for the MWCD board at a meeting last week of the Guernsey (County) Energy Coalition…
Read More “Muskingum Watershed District: $77M in Utica Lease Revenue, So Far”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Broome County | Chemung County | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY | Steuben County | Tioga County (NY)

Cuomo & DiNapoli: Asleep at Sales Tax Switch in NY Southern Tier
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

MDN has long chronicled the sad situation for landowners in New York State with a moratorium that is, as of today, 5 years and 20 days old. It has had catastrophic economic consequences for New York, especially for those who live in the Southern Tier of the state–that area along the mid-state “southern” border with Pennsylvania (Broome, Tioga, Chemung, Steuben counties). Gov. Andrew Cuomo is spineless on the fracking issue–that much is clear. He won’t stand up to the shrill and unreasonable voices in his own party. No one will take him seriously on the national stage. Cuomo’s rising star has become a shooting star–straight down.

Thomas DiNapoli, NY State Comptroller, is clearly an avowed anti-driller. We’ve brought you a number of stories that illustrate his disdain for drilling (see MDN stories about DiNapoli here). We find it particularly offensive and hypocritical (although not surprising) that DiNapoli has just issued a report that shows sales tax revenue is up in most of the state’s counties, but down in Southern Tier counties–down a lot. DiNapoli bemoans the fact that the Southern Tier continues to take it in the neck–yet he makes no mention of how shale drilling could instantly reverse the economic misery of Southern Tier residents. Typical politician–identify the problem but offer no solutions…
Read More “Cuomo & DiNapoli: Asleep at Sales Tax Switch in NY Southern Tier”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

SRBC to Get New Executive Director in Sept: Andrew Dehoff
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), one of two governmental agencies created to oversee rivers and tributaries in the northeast, has just named a new executive director effective Sept. 19. Andrew Dehoff will become the third person to hold that position in the SRBC’s 42-year history.

The SRBC is important to the shale drilling industry in Pennsylvania because it regulates how much–and when/if–water can be taken from rivers and streams for use in fracking. The SRBC announcement:
Read More “SRBC to Get New Executive Director in Sept: Andrew Dehoff”
About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Aug 12-25, 2013 [Free]
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

Below are upcoming events for this week and next.
Read More “Calendar of Events for Aug 12-25, 2013 [Free]”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Aug 12, 2013
August 12, 2013August 12, 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: Mon, Aug 12, 2013”
Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Tough New Air Standards for PA Marcellus Drillers Start Next Week
August 9, 2013August 9, 2013

Starting next week, Marcellus Shale drillers in PA will face strict new rules on air emissions at drill sites. The new rules (i.e. “technical guidance”) won’t officially be released until Saturday, August 10 when published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The rules will limit noxious emissions, including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants. The rules also include an almost-total ban on flaring of wells–only short-term or emergency flaring allowed.

Drillers will be given one of two choices for compliance under the new rules: either get an air quality plan pre-approved by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) for each well drilled–adding a lot of time to the drilling process, or comply with new DEP standards that are even more strict than federal standards issued in April 2012–in essence have your drilling operation certified as complying with super-strict DEP standards. Which option will drillers chose? The Marcellus Shale Coalition says drillers are mulling it over now…
Read More “Tough New Air Standards for PA Marcellus Drillers Start Next Week”
Energy Companies | EnerVest | EV Energy Partners | Guernsey County | Harrison County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Noble County | Ohio | Utica Shale

EVEP/EnerVest Cuts Deal to Sell 22.5K OH Utica Acres for $284M
August 9, 2013August 9, 2013

In September last year, EV Energy Partners/EnerVest put more than a half million acres of Ohio Utica Shale acreage on the market. Near the end of last year, a deal for 104,000 of those acres seemed to be almost done, but in April of this year, the deal fell apart (see EV Energy Partners Deal to Sell 104K Utica Acres Dead, What Now?). EVEP then changed gears and said instead of putting big blocks up for sale, they’ll look at selling off smaller chunks (see EV Energy: Changing from Big Deals to Small for Utica Land Sale). Looks like the change in strategy worked.

Today, EVEP announced they’ve made a new deal to sell 22,535 acres in Guernsey, Harrison and Noble counties in Ohio for $284.3 million to an unnamed buyer. According to EVEP, the deal works out to be a very high $12,900 per acre. We ran the math and came up with $12,616 per acre. Either way, EVEP is getting a LOT of money for unloading Utica Shale acreage they don’t want. This deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter–the next few months. Let’s see if this one actually happens.

The announcement from EVEP/EnerVest (with a map of the acreage sold):
Read More “EVEP/EnerVest Cuts Deal to Sell 22.5K OH Utica Acres for $284M”
Elk County | Energy Companies | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Seneca Resources | Tioga County (PA)

Seneca Resources: Shale Gas Production Up 54% Thx to Marcellus
August 9, 2013August 9, 2013

National Fuel Gas Company, the parent of Marcellus driller Seneca Resources, released its third quarter (everyone else’s second quarter) financial and operational update yesterday. CEO Ronald Tanski called Seneca’s PA Marcellus production in the previous quarter “robust” and was the biggest reason why they saw a 54% increase in production from the same period last year. He also said Seneca’s early results from four new wells in Elk County, PA are promising.

Select portions of the National Fuel Gas report issued yesterday:
Read More “Seneca Resources: Shale Gas Production Up 54% Thx to Marcellus”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Ohio’s Abandoned Railroad Lines Become Hot Commodity
August 9, 2013August 9, 2013

Yes, we’re suckers for a good railroad story–always have been, always will be. Especially railroad stories tied to shale drilling.

Here’s a railroad/drilling story with a twist: In Ohio, abandoned right-of-ways from railroads long gone are suddenly a hot commodity. Why? Midstream (pipeline and processing plant) companies are snapping them up to run pipelines along them…
Read More “Ohio’s Abandoned Railroad Lines Become Hot Commodity”