Marcellus Drilling News

Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Zeits: Is NW PA the Next "It" Place for Marcellus/Utica Drilling?
April 18, 2013April 18, 2013

An important and extensive new analysis of what may be the “next frontier” in Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling comes from MDN’s favorite Seeking Alpha writer and energy analyst, Richard Zeits. In a post from yesterday, Zeits makes the case that northwest PA offers “promising stacked-play, liquids-rich potential in the Marcellus, Utica, and Upper Devonian shales but still remains a barely touched exploration frontier.”

What has Zeits turned on about NW PA? NGLs—natural gas liquids…

Read More “Zeits: Is NW PA the Next "It" Place for Marcellus/Utica Drilling?”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Mercer County | Pennsylvania | Venango County

Halcon Resources Completes 2 Utica Shale Wells…in PA!
April 18, 2013April 18, 2013

Halcon Resources, a driller headquartered in Houston, TX, is active in half a dozen different shale plays in the U.S., including the Utica Shale. The surprise part is that Halcon is drilling in the Utica in Pennsylvania as well as Ohio. Yes the Utica does underlay a large part of PA as well as eastern OH, but only a handful of Utica wells have been drilled in PA (from all drillers) because the prolific Marcellus Shale layer under PA has commanded the most attention.

Halcon’s CEO Floyd Wilson says the company has two rigs drilling in the Utica now, but it’s still very early days for “one of the most exciting unconventional resources plays in the lower 48.” Two of the eight wells they’ve spud (i.e. drilling) in the Utica are now completed—both of them in PA:

Read More “Halcon Resources Completes 2 Utica Shale Wells…in PA!”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Medical Socity of NY Renews Call for Fracking Ban at Confab
April 18, 2013April 18, 2013

The (Liberal, Anti-Drilling) Medical Society of the State of New York renewed their call for a statewide ban on fracking at their “House of Delegates” confab last weekend in Tarrytown, NY. This is not the first time this lefty group has called on state politicians to continue screwing landowners in the state out of their Constitutional right to drill on their own land.

Of interest, there was a guest speaker at the meeting—someone very much a part of the NY fracking story. A potential conflict of interest?…

Read More “Medical Socity of NY Renews Call for Fracking Ban at Confab”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Drillers Have 2 Weeks to Review Complex New Air Pollution Regs
April 18, 2013April 18, 2013

The West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality recently issued a draft document of new and revised regulations for controlling air pollution from oil and gas drilling well sites—and it’s a doozy. At 135 pages long (full copy embedded below), good luck reading, deciphering, and preparing to make intelligent comments on it—all by April 29th! (Railroading?) It appears to MDN the draft regulations are mostly aimed at complying with new rules issued by the federal EPA.

It seemed to us in a cursory glance that the internal combustion engine (in particular) is in the cross hairs…

Read More “WV Drillers Have 2 Weeks to Review Complex New Air Pollution Regs”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Inergy | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | UGI Energy Services | WGL Holdings

PA’s Commonwealth Pipeline Project Suspended – Indefinitely
April 18, 2013June 10, 2013

In December, MDN told you that work on the 120-mile Commonwealth Pipeline, a Marcellus Shale pipeline running from Lycoming County to the Philadelphia area was “on hold” (see Commonwealth Pipeline for Marcellus Region on Hold). You can now change that to work has been “suspended” on the pipeline—indefinitely. Did the anti-drillers win this particular skirmish in the fracking wars?

Read More “PA’s Commonwealth Pipeline Project Suspended – Indefinitely”
Aquatech | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Tioga County (PA) | Wastewater

Aquatech Opens New PA Marcellus Wastewater Treatment Plant
April 18, 2013April 18, 2013

Marcellus wastewater treatment company Aquatech cut the ribbon and opened a new centralized shale wastewater treatment plant in Tioga County, PA yesterday. The new plant is equipped to process up to 200 gallons per minute and sits in an area central to a huge amount of drilling…

Read More “Aquatech Opens New PA Marcellus Wastewater Treatment Plant”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

EQT Sheds Divisions/Assets to Focus on Marcellus Shale
April 18, 2013April 18, 2013

In a shareholders meeting held Wednesday at EQT Corp in Pittsburgh, the company laid out a strategy of focusing on drilling for shale gas in southwestern PA. That means they will continue to divest from other businesses, like their Equitable Gas utility company (waiting for regulatory approval to sell it), and the sale of their coalbed methane acreage in Virginia.

EQT plans to focus like a laser on the Marcellus Shale:

Read More “EQT Sheds Divisions/Assets to Focus on Marcellus Shale”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Apr 18, 2013
April 18, 2013April 18, 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, Apr 18, 2013”
Energy Companies | EnerVest | EV Energy Partners | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

EV Energy Partners Deal to Sell 104K Utica Acres Dead, What Now?
April 17, 2013April 17, 2013

EV Energy Partners/EnerVest Executive Chairman John Walker admitted yesterday that a deal to sell the company’s interest in 104,000 Utica Shale acres has fallen apart. MDN has chronicled the journey thus far in a number of articles. In September 2013, EVEP announced they had put 539,000 Utica acres on the auction block and were confident they would sell it by year’s end and receive in the neighborhood of $6 billion (see EnerVest Puts 539,000 Utica Shale Acres on Auction Block). That didn’t happen.

Earlier this year, EVEP seemed to pull back from the original offer and instead push 104,000 acres concentrated in Stark, Tuscarawas and surrounding counties (see EnerVest Strategy: Sell Utica, Drill Vertical, Expand Midstream). That smaller deal has now also “failed” according to yesterday’s call. Apparently the price was right, but the terms were not. So what happens now?
Read More “EV Energy Partners Deal to Sell 104K Utica Acres Dead, What Now?”
Crime | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Wastewater

Youngstown Illegal Dumper’s Former Company Files for Bankruptcy
April 17, 2013

It looks to be an ignominious end for D&L Energy, the company previously owned by Youngstown fracking wastewater dumper Ben Lupo (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater). Yesterday, D&L filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. District Court. The paperwork for the filing notes that although Lupo recently resigned as an officer and director at D&L, he retained 80% of the stock. The rest of the stock is owned by his wife and one other person. The paperwork also indicates the three D&L owners may have “improperly diverted funds of the debtors to other peripheral business entities owned or operated by one or more of these individuals for little or no consideration.” So it appears some hiding of assets/money may have gone on.

Here’s the low-down on the bankruptcy filing and who’s owed how much from D&L:
Read More “Youngstown Illegal Dumper’s Former Company Files for Bankruptcy”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

FrackNation’s McAleer to Attend Gasland 2, Plans to Confront Fox
April 17, 2013

Phelim McAleer, the creator/writer/director of the fabulous documentary FrackNation is going to attend the premier of Josh Fox’s Gasland 2 “documentary” at the Tribeca Film Festival next week. According to Phelim, he will “likely clash with Fox” at the screening.

In case you haven’t yet seen it, FrackNation is a must-see film (see MDN Reviews New Documentary FrackNation). Phelim has tried, repeatedly, to get Fox to debate him–but so far Fox has been a coward (see GASLAND vs FrackNation: Josh Fox Refuses to Debate Phelim McAleer). So Phelim has decided to take it Josh at his own screening. We love Phelim’s fearlessness! (Interesting how telling the truth makes you confident and fearless.)

Here’s the announcement from Phelim about attending Gasland 2:
Read More “FrackNation’s McAleer to Attend Gasland 2, Plans to Confront Fox”
Accidents | Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Eureka Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Tyler County | West Virginia

Second Death from Flash Fire at WV Pipeline Station
April 17, 2013

A second man has now died from injuries received last Thursday in a flash fire at a “pig receiving station” along a Eureka Hunter pipeline near Wick (Tyler County), WV (see Flash Fire at Pipeline Station in WV Kills 1, Injures 3 Others for our original report and background details).

We mourn with the families of Raymond Miller and Bruce Phipps:
Read More “Second Death from Flash Fire at WV Pipeline Station”
Ohio | Statewide OH

Utica Whisker Away from 600 Utica Permits, 300 Wells Drilled
April 17, 2013

Ohio is just a few permits short of 600 Utica Shale permits for drilling, and just a few wells short of having drilled 300 Utica Shale wells. And no signs of letting up.

Here’s the latest numbers provided by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, updated through April 6:
Read More “Utica Whisker Away from 600 Utica Permits, 300 Wells Drilled”
Accidents | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Wastewater

Tag Team Grudge Match: Jesse White/Patch v Range Resources/DEP
April 17, 2013

The ongoing grudge match between western PA Rep. Jesse White (from Cecil) and Range Resources continues and has grown. Last week White made a formal “Right to Know” request with the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (another favorite target of White) over the alleged leakage of 30 gallons of…fresh water? frack wastewater?…it’s not clear to MDN which it is–from a Range impoundment located in Cecil Township.

Regardless of the tiny amount of whatever leaked, the DEP has not responded to White, yet, so he’s turning up the pressure by going to his favorite media stenographer, Canon-McMillanPatch:
Read More “Tag Team Grudge Match: Jesse White/Patch v Range Resources/DEP”
Air Quality | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Laurel Mountain Midstream | MarkWest Energy | Regulation

EPA Makes MarkWest, Laurel Mountain an Offer They Couldn’t Refuse
April 17, 2013April 17, 2013

The heavy hand of the federal Environmental Protection Agency continues to insert itself into regulating oil and gas drilling (contrary to the U.S. Constitution that grants that right to the states). The latest example is an “agreement” from two midstream companies–MarkWest Liberty Midstream and Laurel Mountain Midstream–to implement expensive new measures to comply with EPA’s air regulations. Neither MarkWest nor Laurel Mountain have done anything wrong. Neither has had an accident or pumped too much nasty stuff into the air. The EPA wants them to install equipment that will (in their opinion) help prevent an accident or the possibility of too much air pollution in the future.

When the howitzer cannon of the federal EPA is pointed at your head, you nod up and down politely…
Read More “EPA Makes MarkWest, Laurel Mountain an Offer They Couldn’t Refuse”
Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy

Utica Shale Darling: Gulfport Rings the Closing Bell for NASDAQ
April 17, 2013

Times Square in New York City is always a favorite place to visit for MDN editor Jim Willis. He gets there at least 3-4 times a year, passing through on business. For those who have never been, the first time you visit, it’s sensory overload. So many lights, so many people–all in an organized chaos. It’s fun!

We’re not sure if Jim Palm, CEO of Gulfport Energy (a rising drilling star in the Ohio Utica Shale) has previously visited Times Square, but he was there yesterday–ringing the closing bell for the NASDAQ MarketSite.*
Read More “Utica Shale Darling: Gulfport Rings the Closing Bell for NASDAQ”