Marcellus Drilling News

Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Cabot to Plug Unviable Gas Well in Dimock, PA
July 15, 2013July 15, 2013

Cabot Oil & Gas announced last week that they will plug one of the first Marcellus wells they drilled in Dimock Township (Susquehanna County), PA as soon as the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) concludes an investigation into the gas well and two nearby water wells that may have been contaminated with methane from the Cabot well. The well is “unviable.” Cabot (and the DEP) stress that the investigation into whether or not the well is creating methane migration is not done and in the meantime Cabot is supplying water to one of the two affected homes…
Read More “Cabot to Plug Unviable Gas Well in Dimock, PA”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Exporting | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

France Sticks its Collective Head in Frack Sand
July 15, 2013July 15, 2013

Apparently the matter is now settled in France. As long as President Francois Hollande is in office, he will not allow shale drilling in France. Too bad for the French people. Great news for the U.S.–France just became a huge export market for us…
Read More “France Sticks its Collective Head in Frack Sand”
About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Jul 15-28, 2013 [Free]
July 15, 2013July 15, 2013

Below are upcoming events for this week and next.
Read More “Calendar of Events for Jul 15-28, 2013 [Free]”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jul 15, 2013
July 15, 2013July 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, Jul 15, 2013”
Earthquakes | Industrywide Issues

Science Magazine Article on Fracking & Earthquakes: Nothing New
July 12, 2013July 15, 2013

Major…media…is…breathless…… Fracking causes earthquakes! A single article by a single author published in Science magazine means it must be so, right? Wrong. Here’s what you need to know about the new article called, “Injection-Induced Earthquakes,” released yesterday on the Science website but containing a publish date of today: The article (from what we can tell by the abstract and media synopses of it), tells us nothing we don’t already know.

What do we know? Injecting any kind of fluid under pressure–fracking fluid, nasty waste chemicals, or even water itself–will cause an earthquake if enough fluid is injected near a seismic fault. We already know that. What you won’t see in major media accounts of the story is any kind of context, which MDN provides for you below…
Read More “Science Magazine Article on Fracking & Earthquakes: Nothing New”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Lehigh County | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Dems Beat the ‘Ban Shale Drilling’ Drum, Voices Grow Louder
July 12, 2013July 12, 2013

A few weeks ago MDN was one of (perhaps the only) media outlet of any kind to call attention to the insanity of the Democrat party in Pennsylvania in casting a vote at their statewide convention calling for an immediate moratorium on all fracking in the state (see PA Democrat Party Votes to End Marcellus Shale Drilling Statewide). Seems that major media just wants to ignore this story, perhaps thinking no one will notice that the inmates now run the asylum in the PA Democrat party.

However, the crazies will not be silent. A group of Democrat protesters gathered in Allentown yesterday to encourage/cajole/agitate PA Senator Pat Browne (Republican) to support their call for a moratorium on fracking. It was one of 10 such “rallies” held yesterday. Warning to all PA residents: if you elect a Democrat legislature and governor in the next election cycle, you run the very real risk of shutting down the only thing that keeps the PA economy from being 10 times worse than it is: shale drilling. Look for the Dems to become more vociferous against fracking as the election season heats up. This is just the beginning…
Read More “PA Dems Beat the ‘Ban Shale Drilling’ Drum, Voices Grow Louder”
Electrical Generation | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

DOE: Climate Change Affects Fracking & NatGas Too
July 12, 2013July 12, 2013

The climate, it’s a changin’. Ought to be a song. Yesterday, the Obama Dept. of Energy (DOE) released a new report on American energy sector “vulnerabilities” that come from mythical man-made global warming (euphemistically renamed “climate change”). The new report is titled, “U.S. Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Extreme Weather” (full copy embedded below). It says that unconventional shale drilling either is, or soon will be, affected by global warming from lack of water supplies to use in fracking. It also asserts that as temps rise, less natural gas (and oil) will be used for heating, but more electricity will be used for cooling.

Here’s the DOE press release announcing the study:
Read More “DOE: Climate Change Affects Fracking & NatGas Too”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues

United Church of Christ Votes to Divest from Fossil Fuel Companies
July 12, 2013July 12, 2013

As a practicing Christian, there’s nothing quite so repugnant to MDN editor Jim Willis as a religious denomination claiming God is against something He never said He was–like fossil fuels. Yet that’s what the entire United Church of Christ denomination, from Christianity’s “left wing,” has just done. UCC has just voted to divest any investments they have in “fossil fuel” companies. It’s an utterly stupid move. Why stop there?

Why not divest from companies that use fossil fuels? Or divest from companies that sell goods and services to nasty, evil fossil fuel companies? Heck, why not divest from your own congregations–they all use fossil fuels to heat and keep the lights on!…
Read More “United Church of Christ Votes to Divest from Fossil Fuel Companies”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Better Check Your Ramsbottom, It May Get Fracked!
July 12, 2013July 12, 2013

Say ain’t so! MDN saw the following headline and it gave us a smile, so we thought we would share it with you. For your Friday entertainment. The headline is this:

Controversial fracking technique could be used in Ramsbottom

Who, or more properly where, is Ramsbottom? And why will it get fracked? Read on, dear reader…
Read More “Better Check Your Ramsbottom, It May Get Fracked!”
Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Gov Corbett Signs Back-Door Forced Pooling Bill into Law
July 11, 2013July 11, 2013

It’s sad for us to have to report this, but PA Gov. Tom Corbett has signed a bill into law that’s bad for PA’s landowners. MDN told you about Senate Bill SB259 last week (see New PA Royalty Bill SB259 Faces Opposition from NARO). While the bill has some very good things for landowners in it (more transparency with items deducted from royalty checks), there’s one last minute addition that’s a big problem: There’s language that allows landowners with older leases to be pooled with others, putting them at a disadvantage–they can’t renegotiate their lease for a better deal.

It’s a bad deal for landowners. No matter how much lipstick you put on this pig (see Corbett’s statement below), it’s still a pig…
Read More “PA Gov Corbett Signs Back-Door Forced Pooling Bill into Law”
Bradford County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Talisman Energy

Rumor: Talisman Shopping Some of its PA Marcellus Acreage
July 11, 2013July 11, 2013

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”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

DRBC Feeling the Pressure from PA Over Fracking Rules
July 11, 2013July 11, 2013

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”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

Congressman Proposes Bill to Fastrack Pipeline Approval
July 11, 2013July 11, 2013

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”
Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Latest OH Utica Numbers: 767 Permits, 386 Wells Drilled
July 11, 2013July 11, 2013

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”
Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Oil & Gas Awards – Enter Now
July 11, 2013July 11, 2013

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”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Jul 11, 2013
July 11, 2013July 11, 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: Thu, Jul 11, 2013”

Controversial fracking technique could be used in Ramsbottom