Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Transco | Williams

FERC Hearing Near Wilkes-Barre for Transco Pipeline Expansion
June 5, 2013June 5, 2013

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency tasked with approving new interstate pipeline construction, will conduct a public hearing near Wilkes-Barre, PA on Wednesday, June 12 to consider an application by Williams to expand the Transco natural gas pipeline in the area. The proposed expansion in Luzerne County, PA (and in several other locations) will allow Williams to use more Marcellus Shale gas to service an addition 2 million homes along the pipeline’s route…
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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jun 5, 2013
June 5, 2013June 5, 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, Jun 5, 2013”
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Norse Energy | Regulation | Statewide NY

Norse Energy 1Q13: Still Holding on in NY…by a Thread
June 4, 2013June 4, 2013

Did NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo kill off driller Norse Energy by refusing to allow fracking and drilling in the state? We would argue the answer to that question is “Yes!”. Of course there’s no one reason why a company sinks or swims, but clearly the root cause of Norse Energy’s impending sinking is because New York has refused to let them drill on the 130,000 acres they currently hold under lease. According to MDN’s reading of Norse’s first quarter 2013 report (full copy embedded below), Norse is very close to turning out the lights. A single politician–Cuomo–is the person most responsible.
Read More “Norse Energy 1Q13: Still Holding on in NY…by a Thread”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Landowner, Norse File Appeal with NY’s Highest Court on Town Bans
June 4, 2013June 4, 2013

In a very high stakes game, a New York landowner and Norse Energy have rolled the dice and last week asked New York’s highest court, the New York York Court of Appeals, to accept their appeal of two lower court losses on the issue of so-called home rule. A copy of both appeals are embedded below.

In early May, a mid-level NY court upheld a mid-level court ruling that says local towns can willy nilly ban all drilling at the pleasure of a simple majority vote at the town board level (see Breaking: NY Court Upholds Local Town Frack Bans). Anti-drillers call it “democracy” and a victory for self-determination. MDN calls it unchecked mob rule because it allows a simple majority to violate the Constitutional rights of the minority–in this case landowners.
Read More “Landowner, Norse File Appeal with NY’s Highest Court on Town Bans”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Local Newspaper Kind-of Turns Against PA Rep White over Fake IDs
June 4, 2013June 4, 2013

In the curious case of Jesse White, the PA House member who used fake online IDs to smear his own pro-drilling constituents who disagreed with his positions (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry), the local newspaper of record in White’s district, the Washington Observer-Reporter, has penned an editorial that has the feeling of (our words) “we really liked Jesse, but his latest tirade has gone too far, so we now have to throw him under the bus, dang it!” They so wanted his tough talk on drilling to be accurate, good and righteous, but now with White’s unapologetic apology, which is to say his admission that (after lying about it) that he did use fake online IDs to attack his pro-drilling constituents, all of his anti-drilling rants are utterly discredited. Dang it.

The Observer-Reporter (O-R) amusingly compares Jesse White to the utterly discredited New York City politician Anthony Weiner, who famously tweeted pictures of his, well, wiener to some online dollies…
Read More “Local Newspaper Kind-of Turns Against PA Rep White over Fake IDs”
Ashtabula County | Economic Impact | Geauga County | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Pipelines | Portage County | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

Ohio Group Promotes NE Counties for New Midstream Projects
June 4, 2013June 4, 2013

A group of business and political leaders from northeastern Ohio have crafted and are now marketing a plan to bring midstream infrastructure to the Mahoning Valley. A new report written and distributed by this committed group, titled “Mahoning Valley Midstream” (full copy embedded below) points out that currently there are no wet natural gas gathering lines in Trumbull, Mahoning, Geauga, Portage, or Ashtabula counties. This enterprising group has an ingenious plan to remedy that situation: repurpose abandoned or partially used rail lines, as well as use a web of strategic, divided (limited access) highways that converge on the closed “rust belt” steel mills.

They even have a site picked out for an ethane cracker plant…
Read More “Ohio Group Promotes NE Counties for New Midstream Projects”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Cecil Township Re-Votes to Not Meet with Range Resources
June 4, 2013June 4, 2013

In the on-again, off-again antics of Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, things are “off again” when it comes to having a civil, private meeting with Range Resources to try and resolve the lawsuits Range filed against the town. Supervisors last night re-voted on a proposed meeting they previously approved (see When We Get Behind Closed Doors…Range Resources & Cecil Twp). One of the supervisors, Andy Schrader, was stomping mad about the vote to meet, behaving like a petulant child (see Cecil Twp Dysfunctional Family Feud over Range Meeting). Little Andy finally got his way last night…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Halcon Resources | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

3 Important Questions Asked/Answered about Utica Shale Potential
June 4, 2013June 4, 2013

Investors website The Motley Fool does a good job of asking, and answering, three important questions about the Utica Shale play, especially in light of the recent 2012 production report issued by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources.

The Fool article takes a look at: (1) Which other play(s) is the Utica like? (2) Were the 2012 numbers really a disappointment? And, (3) Why are producers holding back production?…
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Energy Services | Stallion Oilfield

Stallion Oilfield Looks for $350M Loan, Moody’s Not Impressed
June 4, 2013June 4, 2013

Stallion Oilfield Holdings, an oilfield services company that provides wellsite support, completion, production and logistics services to onshore oil and gas drillers, announced yesterday they’re shopping for a $350 million loan (due payable in 2018) to pay off other loans, issue stockholder dividends, and keep the lights turned on. Stallion operates in the Marcellus and Utica Shale, among other plays. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. They also had their hands out last November, looking for a half billion dollars (see Stallion Oilfield Holdings Seeks Half Billion Dollar Loan).

Moody’s Investors Service has taken a dim view of this latest appeal, giving the proposed loan a low rating–B3, which means: “Judged as being speculative and a high credit risk.” B3 is just one step above Caa1, which is “poor quality and very high credit risk.”
Read More “Stallion Oilfield Looks for $350M Loan, Moody’s Not Impressed”
Energy Companies | Energy Corporation of America | Kanawha County | West Virginia

ECA Breaks Ground on WV Regional HQ, Donates $600K to Clay Center
June 4, 2013June 4, 2013

Last week Energy Corporation of America (ECA), an oil and gas driller with more than a million acres of leases in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region and operating 4,600 (mostly conventional) wells, broke ground on a new 60,000 square foot company eastern regional headquarters in Charleston, WV. They also made a $600,000 donation to the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences.

From the company press release:
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Heinz Endowments Backs both Anti- and Pro-Drilling Sides
June 3, 2013

Yesterday the Associated Press published a story about the somewhat schizophrenic nature of the Heinz Endowments in funding both anti- and pro-drilling organizations. One person quoted in the story said Heinz is “hedging their bets”–like companies do in giving money to opponents in a political race–to curry favor with whichever one wins. Apparently Heinz, traditionally betting on the anti-drilling horse, has decided the pro-drilling horse may end up winning after all, which is something that distresses the ec0 groups. Heinz is spending money on pro-drillers, like the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD), that could be going to them. Boo hoo.

MDN was reading and enjoying this latest fair and balanced story from AP (an unusual occurrence), a story written by someone other than Mary Esch (an AP reporter we admire), when we happened across a quote in the story we quite liked–one that made the point that eco groups are selective in whom they criticize. Dang if it wasn’t a quote from MDN! 😉 The AP reporter quoted from our story Eco Groups Shun EDF over Membership in Sustainable Shale Center. Below is the AP story from yesterday, which we modestly recommend is well worth the read, even without the MDN quote…
Read More “Heinz Endowments Backs both Anti- and Pro-Drilling Sides”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Washington, PA Victims Reject PA Rep White’s Faux Apology
June 3, 2013June 3, 2013

In a follow-up to last week’s revelation that anti-drilling PA State Rep. Jesse White used fake online IDs to smear some of his own pro-drilling constituents with vicious online comments, Pittsburgh TV station KDKA (a CBS affiliate) asked two of the people White smeared if they accept his non-apology apology (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry). Their response in a word? “No!” One them has a suggestion for White: Resign. (You can weigh in on the question of whether or not White should resign in the latest MDN poll, located on the right side of any page.)

Here’s the latest in this very sad saga:
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Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Wastewater | West Virginia

GreenHunter Gives Tour to ‘Wheeling Water Warriors’
June 3, 2013June 3, 2013

Super hero capes waving in the breeze, the Wheeling Water Warriors entered the belly of the frackwater beast on Friday… Well OK, maybe it wasn’t quite that dramatic. A local anti-fossil fuel “group” (more like half a dozen people) opposed to a new frack wastewater treatment facility in Wheeling, WV, the “Wheeling Water Warriors” (yes that’s really what they’ve named themselves), went on a tour with GreenHunter Water, the company that wants to build said plant, on Friday. The Water Warriors along with members from city council toured the now abandoned 10.8 acre barge terminal that sits along the Ohio River in Wheeling that GreenHunter plans to convert into a water treatment facility and potentially barge some of the frackwater downriver to injection wells for disposal.

Kudos to GreenHunter for reaching out to the opposition. However, don’t for a minute think you’ll actually change their minds…
Read More “GreenHunter Gives Tour to ‘Wheeling Water Warriors’”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp

EQT Analyst Presentation: EUR for Marcellus Wells Goes Up
June 3, 2013June 3, 2013

On Friday, EQT Corporation released updated numbers for their estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) rates in the Marcellus Shale, along with a new analyst presentation (full copy embedded below). EQT says the average well in southwest PA and WV will produce close to 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas per well over their lifetimes, while wells in central PA will produce around 6 1/2 billion cubic feet on average. The EUR numbers are up from previous estimates.

EQT owns 560,000 acres of leases in the Marcellus Shale on which they plan to drill >2,800 wells. Here’s the press release and analyst presentation:
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Energy Companies | Erie County | Pennsylvania | Utica Resources | Utica Shale

New Driller Targets Utica Shale in Erie County, PA
June 3, 2013June 3, 2013

When you’ve been following both the Marcellus and Utica Shale going on five years, you figure you’ve seen about every driller’s name out there that’s targeting one or both of the plays. And then a new name comes along you haven’t seen before. Such is the case with Utica Resources Inc., a newly formed company (formed in 2011) targeting natural gas and oil in the Utica Shale play. The company, and their first batch of drilling permits, are located in–Pennsylvania! Not Ohio. Although Utica Resources’ headquarters in Oil City (Erie County), PA shares a border with Ohio.

Utica Resources has just drilled their first test well in Erie County. The well will be fracked later this month…
Read More “New Driller Targets Utica Shale in Erie County, PA”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Education | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Lehigh County | Pennsylvania

Allentown, PA Children Brainwashed Against Fracking
June 3, 2013June 3, 2013

It’s sick and it’s twisted: Brainwash school children against fracking so the next generation coming along will someday ban it. Oh, and while you’re at it, call it “art” and pretend you care more about the environment than anyone else. Foolish, sick, dumb. That’s what it really is.

Ignorance was on full display over the weekend in Allentown, PA as less than 50 people gathered (with media coverage of course) to act out skits about how fracking harms the environment and people. A group of local young (and old) “artists” from Allentown, with funding from Yoko Ono (who’s taste in art is decidedly pornographic), pimped and made fools of themselves for Ono’s anti-fossil fuel group:
Read More “Allentown, PA Children Brainwashed Against Fracking”