Marcellus Drilling News

Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Eureka Midstream

Magnum Hunter 1Q13 Update: More Drilling in Marcellus/Utica
April 16, 2013April 16, 2013

This morning Magnum Hunter Resources, a drilling and midstream (pipeline) company issued an update for their first quarter 2013 operations. According to CEO Gary Evans, Magnum Hunter is due to close on the sale of their Eagle Ford Shale assets to Penn Virginia for $401 later this month. They plan to reinvest the proceeds in drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, along with more drilling in North Dakota’s Williston Basin (Bakken Shale play).

Here are the sections from today’s announcement dealing with the Marcellus/Utica:

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Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | NGLs | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Good Progress on MarkWest’s Cadiz, OH Processing Plant
April 16, 2013April 16, 2013

MarkWest’s Cadiz, Ohio natural gas processing plant has been online since last year and currently separates handles 60 million cubic feet of gas per day (Mmcf/d), separating out gas liquids like ethane, propane, butane and pentane. MarkWest is busy building an expansion of the plant that, when done, will add an additional 125 Mmcf/d of capacity.

An update on MarkWest’s $1.8 billion infrastructure projects under way in Ohio this year:

Read More “Good Progress on MarkWest’s Cadiz, OH Processing Plant”
Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Education | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

The Nutty Antics of Anti-Drilling Kids – Pittsburgh Edition
April 16, 2013April 16, 2013

Just a few days after MDN editor Jim Willis visited Pittsburgh, a small group of 15 anti-drillers made fools of themselves in front of EQT Plaza in downtown Pittsburgh. Their (latest) cause? They don’t like the new Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) and EQT’s participation in it. They believe the CSSD legitimizes "dirty" fossil fuels, like clean-burning natural gas, and since they (irrationally) hate all fossil fuels, any effort at ensuring mining of those fuels is done safely is tantamount to killing Mother Earth. Wackos.

To illustrate the "folly" of big, nasty drillers cooperating with eco-nut organizations like GASP and the Heinz Foundation, this small group of true believers (local college students with time on their hands, from a Fruit Loops organization called the Energy Action Coalition) staged a mock wedding in front of EQT…

Read More “The Nutty Antics of Anti-Drilling Kids – Pittsburgh Edition”
Allegheny County | Pennsylvania

Southwest Airlines Begins Daily Roundtrip Houston/Pittsburgh
April 16, 2013April 16, 2013

Makes sense that Houston, the reigning champ as "energy capital of the world" and Pittsburgh, the challenger and on the ascendancy to the title, would have a direct airline flight between them. Until last weekend, there was one–United. United is now joined by a second direct flight every day: Southwest Airlines.

Southwest announced on Sunday they have begun a daily flight from Pittsburgh to Houston and back.

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Apr 16, 2013
April 16, 2013April 16, 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, Apr 16, 2013”
Accidents | Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Eureka Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Tyler County | West Virginia

Flash Fire at Pipeline Station in WV Kills 1, Injures 3 Others
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

A flash fire at a "pig receiving station" along a Eureka Hunter pipeline near Wick (Tyler County), WV last Thursday evening seriously injured three people requiring they be airlifted to Pittsburgh. A fourth person was taken to a local hospital. Sadly, one of the seriously injured workers, 56-year-old Bruce Phipps of Marietta, Ohio, died late Friday night. Pipeline Inspection Gauges (or Pigs) are used for pipeline cleaning, inspection and maintenance, and fluid batching in pipelines. A pig is pushed along the inside of a pipeline by the flow of liquid or gas. A pig launching station is used to insert the pig into a pipeline using a series of valves and hatches. The pig is pushed through the pipeline by the liquid or gas stream to the pig receiving station.

It was at such a receiving station where the flash fire occurred. According to news accounts, the flash fire was under control within 15 minutes…

Read More “Flash Fire at Pipeline Station in WV Kills 1, Injures 3 Others”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Shale Drilling Bills that Failed in 2013 Legislative Session
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

Whether it was from industry lobbying, landowner pushback, or just lack of interest, a number of bills introduced in the West Virginia legislature’s 60-day session for 2013 (which adjourned Saturday) failed to get enough traction for a vote and have died.

A short list of the measures that didn’t measure up:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

JLCNY Keeps up Letter Writing Pressure on NY Gov. Cuomo
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

The 77,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York issued another request from gas drilling supporters late last week to keep sending letters to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in an attempt to convince him to move forward with authorizing drilling. Saying that "we ARE winning in NY," and that this is now "a numbers game," JLCNY president Dan Fitzsimmons provided two more form letters for supporters to print out and send (both embedded below). MDN encourages you to do it…

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Fish & Boat Commission Wants to Charge Drillers for PA Water
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

The executive director of the PA Fish and Boat Commission, John Arway, is "mad" and says the Marcellus drilling industry is "stealing" PA’s water and not paying for it, and that ticks him off. Solution? Make industry pay. Oh, it will also help close a shortfall in his department’s budget of $9 million too (starting in 2017).

Apparently both Republicans and Democrats are showing interest in the idea and have introduced a measure in the PA Senate to study the idea of slapping a surcharge on PA’s water:

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CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies

CONSOL’s Detailed 1Q13 Operations Update for Marcellus/Utica
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

On Friday, CONSOL Energy (CNX Gas) issued an operational update for the first quarter of 2013. CONSOL said they had a "strong" start to 2013 by drilling 14 new horizontal wells—12 of them in the Marcellus, and 2 in the Utica.

Here’s the portion of the update dealing their gas drilling operations which identifies not only what they did, but where they did and didn’t do it, and in the case of joint ventures, who they did it with:

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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Ohio | Triad Hunter | Utica Shale | Washington County (OH)

Magnum Hunter Drills First OH Utica Shale Well
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

Although Friday for Magnum Hunter Resources was marred by the sad news of the flash fire in Tyler County, WV, the company (earlier in the day) issued a good news press release, one of importance: Magnum Hunter, through it’s subsidiary Triad Hunter, has just started drilling it’s first Utica Shale well in Ohio—northern Washington County.

The press release identifying where it’s being drilled:

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Industrywide Issues | Taxation

IRS Provides Helpful Tips on Reporting Shale Drilling Income
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

Tax day. Yuck. The IRS has issued a helpful guide for landowners in the Marcellus and Utica Shale (or anywhere for that matter) called "Tips on Reporting Natural Resource Income" that will lists IRS publications that can help. It appears their list of resources page (see below) was posted on the IRS site on April 11–not really time enough to do much about it now except to quickly file an amended return (if you’ve already filed) or an extension (if you haven’t filed). As painful as it is, landowners should review the information below—at least scan it—to be sure you’re not overlooking something important.

From lease bonus payments to royalties to "depletion deductions," the IRS has it covered…

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Washington County | Wastewater

PA Rep Jesse White to Introduce Law Banning Open Frack Ponds
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

PA State Rep. Jesse White, a Democrat from Cecil with an ongoing grudge match with Range Resources (and someone who claims to be in favor of responsible drilling), will soon introduce a bill into the PA legislature that would ban Marcellus Shale wastewater frack ponds. He’s looking for co-sponsors for the legislation and using the new Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) as his political cover/excuse to push for it.

White incorrectly states the CSSD’s new standards call for the elimination of open impoundments or frack ponds. Standard #3 says no open ponds for fracking fluid, but Standard #4 says open frack ponds are permissible for "produced" or "flowback" water—the deep layer salt water that comes out after the drilling fluid has been removed (see MDN’s summary of the rules here: Important: Drillers & Enviros Form New Group, Launch Cert Program). Although he uses the CSSD for justification, White’s proposal goes well beyond what they’re stipulating…

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Cumberland County | Education | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Taxation

Brainwash Complete: Dickinson Co-Ed Wants PA Severance Tax
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

A young college co-ed from Dickinson College has penned an editorial run in the Harrisburg Patriot-News proving what a valuable education one gets at Dickinson—where they teach kids that drilling destroys the environment. (Hint: You may want to re-think sending your children, and your money, to Dickinson College).

Here’s her "brilliance" on display (with snarky MDN comments inserted):

Read More “Brainwash Complete: Dickinson Co-Ed Wants PA Severance Tax”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain

Air Products in Wilkes-Barre, PA – A Shale Gas Success Story
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

Air Products is located on the outskirts of Wilkes-Barre, PA. If you’ve ever heard of the Air Products business, you may conjure up an image of small cylinder tanks of helium or other "rare" gases sitting inside a chain fence. Yes, Air Products sells gases by the tank, but they also manufacture the mother of all gas tanks, and that’s where the shale gas business comes in…

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Apr 15, 2013
April 15, 2013April 15, 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, Apr 15, 2013”