Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Research

New Report Details Top Legal Issues for Shale Drillers
July 2, 2013July 2, 2013

What are the biggest legal challenges faced by drillers that operate in shale plays? Energy law firm Steptoe & Johnson knows–and they know because they commissioned a survey of 96 legal services buyers at 56 companies. The result is a new report titled, “Below The Surface: The Legal Challenges of Shale Gas Production” (full copy embedded below).

Those who responded to the survey primarily have operations in four U.S. shale plays. Guess which two shale plays are at the top? Yep–the Marcellus (81% of respondents operate there) and the Utica (76% operate there). The next closest is the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas (33% operate there). The top legal issue faced by drillers? Real estate…
Read More “New Report Details Top Legal Issues for Shale Drillers”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Schneider National | Statewide PA | Trucking

Schneider National Hiring 60 New Marcellus Truck Drivers in NE PA
July 2, 2013July 2, 2013

Attention truck drivers who want an excellent job making short runs in the Marcellus Shale industry, and who want to make $60,000 per year (no, this is not an infomercial). Schneider National, an oilfield trucking company based in Wisconsin, is looking to hire 60 new drivers to work out of one of two northeast PA locations: Mansfield or Wilkes-Barre. In addition to a well-paying job, Schneider is offering a $5,000 signing bonus and money for relocation.

Here’s the Schneider National press release with details on how to apply:
Read More “Schneider National Hiring 60 New Marcellus Truck Drivers in NE PA”
Health Impacts | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Washington County

SW PA Well Water Testing Project Needs Volunteers
July 2, 2013July 2, 2013

The Washington County Watershed Alliance (WCWA) and Southwest PA Environmental Health Project (SWPA-EHP), with an assist from Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) CREATE lab, are conducting a large-scale project in Washington County, PA to see if Marcellus Shale drilling is affecting water wells in the county. MCWA wants both landowners who live near drilling, and landowners who do not live near drilling, to participate. The program is free and volunteers get a neat little device created by the CMU CREATE lab called a CATTFish that inserts in the back of your toilet–simple and quick.

Here’s more information about how (and why) to participate in the program, along with a flier from WCWA about the program:
Read More “SW PA Well Water Testing Project Needs Volunteers”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Jul 2, 2013
July 2, 2013July 2, 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, Jul 2, 2013”
Beaver County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Shell Delays Buying Site for PA Cracker for 2nd Six-Month Period
July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

You probably could have seen this one coming: Last Friday, Shell signed a second six-month extension with Horsehead Corp. on a 300-acre site in Beaver County, PA. Shell continues to evaluate the site’s suitability to build a $2 billion ethane cracker plant–a plant that will convert ethane recovered during shale gas drilling in “wet gas” areas into (among other things) ethylene–the raw material used to make plastics. The land deal was supposed to be signed, sealed and delivered by the end of 2012, but that changed when Shell and Horsehead signed their first six-month extension (see Gov Tom Corbett: Shell Cracker Plant in PA Not “Off the Rails”).

In April 2013, PA Gov. Tom Corbett, under “badgering” by the Pittsburgh Business Times (according to Corbett’s office), said he believed the deal would not be signed until 2014 (see Corbett Story Changes: Decision on PA Cracker Plant Delayed Again). It appears his prediction was accurate:
Read More “Shell Delays Buying Site for PA Cracker for 2nd Six-Month Period”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pike County | Regulation | Statewide PA | Wayne County

PA Gov. Lights into DRBC Over Failure to Act on Drilling Rules
July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

It is a breath of fresh air and a wonder to behold when a politician strips away the smarmy doublespeak and says exactly what she (or he) thinks. Last week, PA Gov. Tom Corbett did just that. In very strong and plain language, he excoriated Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) Executive Director Carol Collier and his own fellow commissioners of the DRBC (NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, NJ Gov. Chris Christie and DE Gov. Jack Markell). The DRBC under Collier has not allowed drilling in several northeastern PA counties that lie in the Delaware River Basin for going on three years. Why?

Depending on whom you ask, some say the DRBC’s failure to act is the fault of the commissioners (the governors of PA, NY, NJ, DE plus a rep from the Army Corps of Engineers). However, Director Collier has clearly thrown her lot in with anti-drillers and uses her leadership of the DRBC to block drilling–refusing to push draft rules adopted in 2011 out for a vote by the commissioners. Corbett has had enough and says so, very plainly, in his letter. He tells Collier she can expect to be sued if she doesn’t get moving–now…
Read More “PA Gov. Lights into DRBC Over Failure to Act on Drilling Rules”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation | Utica Shale

World War T: OH Severance Tax is Dead, but May Come Back Again
July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

OH Gov. John Kasich–known around these parts as the “foreigner-hunter” (see OH Gov. Kasich Goes Foreigner-Hunting in Strasburg)–thought his brilliant plan to assess Utica drilling in the state with a high severance tax would be “a layup.” Thankfully, he blew the easy shot.

A high oil and gas severance tax in Ohio is, for now, dead. But like the zombies in World War Z, don’t expect it to stay dead–at least according to Gov. Kasich. He hasn’t given up on the idea. Like those pesky and energetic zombies chasing Brad Pitt, you can expect a higher severance tax to spring back to un-life at any time…
Read More “World War T: OH Severance Tax is Dead, but May Come Back Again”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Washington County (OH) | Wastewater

GreenHunter Frack Wastewater Plant Opens in Washington County, OH
July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

Seems like GreenHunter Water is on fire in the Marcellus/Utica. Perhaps that’s a poor choice of metaphor! Here’s what we mean: GreenHunter is building fracking wastewater facilities at a prodigious rate in the northeast. Just a few weeks ago GreenHunter cut the ribbon on a new frack wastewater injection well in Meigs County, Ohio (see GreenHunter Opens Brine Injection Well in Meigs County, OH). Next week the Wheeling City Council will vote on whether or not to allow GreenHunter to build and operate a wastewater recycling facility on the Ohio River in the city (see GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Plant Up for Vote July 8).

In the meantime, another GreenHunter frack wastewater recycling plant started operations last week–in Washington County, OH:
Read More “GreenHunter Frack Wastewater Plant Opens in Washington County, OH”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | New York | Tompkins County

NY Eco Group Protest to Stop Plant Converting from Coal to NatGas
July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

It would be hysterically funny if it weren’t so pathetically sad. So-called environmentalists don’t want an electrical generating power plant in Tompkins County, near Ithaca, NY, to switch from burning coal to natural gas because they’re afraid it will mean more fracking. Talk about cuckoo birds. Members of a group called the Finger Lakes Action Network protested at the plant on Saturday…
Read More “NY Eco Group Protest to Stop Plant Converting from Coal to NatGas”
Industrywide Issues | Supply Chain

Businesses in Marcellus/Utica: New Way to Access Supply Chain
July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

Businesses in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region looking to plug in to the drilling supply chain now have a new way to do so. A company called ShaleMarkets.com has just launched a Buyer Sourcing Application which they describe as somewhat similar to a reverse auction–with some important differences. Drillers or other companies in the supply chain post the products/services they want to buy, along with a list of preferred vendors, to the system. ShaleMarkets.com will then contact those vendors and other vendors in the network, not revealing the buyer’s identity, to elicit bids and pass them back to the buyer for a final selection.

Here’s the ShaleMarkets.com announcement detailing the new service and how it works:
Read More “Businesses in Marcellus/Utica: New Way to Access Supply Chain”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jul 1, 2013
July 1, 2013July 1, 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, Jul 1, 2013”
Eclipse Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Oxford Oil Company | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Eclipse Resources buys Oxford Oil, Adds Another 49K Utica Acres
June 28, 2013

State College-based Eclipse Resources, previously with 41,000 Utica Shale acres in eastern Ohio, has just picked up another 184,000 acres in Ohio by buying out The Oxford Oil Company. Some 49,000 of those new acres are in Belmont, Guernsey, Monroe and Noble counties–Utica-rich areas in the eastern part of the state.

According to the Eclipse announcement, Oxford Oil will be renamed Eclipse but will become a subsidiary, continuing to function as before. According to Eclipse CEO Ben Hulburt, this purchase makes Eclipse one of the largest acreage holders in the “core” of the Utica Shale play…
Read More “Eclipse Resources buys Oxford Oil, Adds Another 49K Utica Acres”
Allegheny County | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Pennsylvania

George Soros Plays Both Sides of Fracking Issue, for Profit
June 28, 2013June 28, 2013

You’ve got to hand it to George Soros–the guy has chutzpah. In case you don’t know who George Soros is, he’s an 82 year-old super-investor (think Warren Buffet) whose investments at last check were worth $9.5 billion. Soros was convicted of insider trading in 2005. He’s also accused of causing “Black Wednesday” in 1992 when his currency manipulation schemes precipitated a worldwide economic crisis. Soros essentially owns the Democrat party in the United States–he’s one of the (perhaps the) biggest contributors to their coffers. He’s a socialist (which used to be a bad word before Obama). His politics are slightly left of Attila the Hun.

Soros is also linked to the nefarious anti-drilling Public Accountability Initiative (see Soros-backed PAI Makes University of Texas Look Foolish). But what’s this? Two of the top five companies that Soros currently invests in are…wait for it…shale drillers! That’s right. Soros funds anti-drillers (PAI, the Democrat party, who knows what else) and at the same time invests in what he knows is the biggest energy bonanza that will happen during the rest of his lifetime. It’s kind of like those sleazy weapons manufacturers that sell to both sides of a war in a third world country.

So, which two drillers are in the Soros top five? One of them is a major Marcellus driller…
Read More “George Soros Plays Both Sides of Fracking Issue, for Profit”
Air Quality | Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Noise | Ohio | Regulation | Trumbull County | Utica Shale | Wildlife

Trumbull County, OH Residents Upset with Nearby Utica Well Noise
June 28, 2013June 28, 2013

A Utica Shale well being drilled by Halcon Resources in Trumbull County–the Kibler 1H well–is causing problems for nearby residents of the Westwood Lake mobile home park. The chief complaint is the loud noise from the well due to flaring (burning off initial waste coming from the newly drilled borehole). Residents are also concerned about possible air pollution, and they’ve asked the Trumbull County Commissioners board to investigate and enact new zoning ordinances…
Read More “Trumbull County, OH Residents Upset with Nearby Utica Well Noise”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

MDN Disagrees with MSC Statement on Obama Climate Speech
June 28, 2013June 28, 2013

MDN is a huge fan of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), which is headquartered in Pittsburgh. Every year they host one of the best (we consider it the best) Marcellus conference and trade shows, called Shale Insight (we heartily encourage you to attend).

But–and you knew there was a “but” coming–we vigorously disagree with the MSC’s statement about Pres. Obama’s energy and climate policy speech (for background and a transcript of Obama’s speech, see BHO Sacrifices Liberty and Freedom in the Name of Climate Change)…
Read More “MDN Disagrees with MSC Statement on Obama Climate Speech”
Belmont County | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lackawanna County | Luzerne County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain

Drilling Supply Chain Businesses “Popping Up” in OH & PA
June 28, 2013June 28, 2013

More tales of how Utica/Marcellus drilling leads to new businesses moving in to an area (or starting up), which leads to new jobs, new sources of tax revenue and an overall economic boost.

These two latest reports come from (1) St. Clairsville, in Belmont County, OH (close to Wheeling, WV), and (2) northeast PA (near Scranton). Businesses related to the drilling supply chain–from clothing supply stores to construction companies to railroad transloading facilities–are “popping up” all over the Utica and Marcellus. Perhaps their stories will inspire you and your business to get involved with the drilling supply chain…
Read More “Drilling Supply Chain Businesses “Popping Up” in OH & PA”