Marcellus Drilling News

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Muskingum County | Ohio | Regulation | Utica Shale

Not So Fast: Blue Rock State Forest Fracking on Hold
August 1, 2013August 1, 2013

A few days ago MDN told you that the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had plans to auction off shale drilling rights for Blue Rock State Forest in eastern Ohio (see Surprise! Blue Rock State Forest in Eastern OH to be Fracked). As we pointed out, most federal land auctioned for drilling is located in the western U.S.–this is the first such instance of BLM land being auctioned in the Marcellus/Utica region that we are aware of. The federal government owns the mineral rights in Blue Rock, and the state of Ohio owns the surface rights.

Ohio state officials complained they were not consulted by the BLM about the mineral rights auction or the possibility that the forest will be fracked. So the BLM has (for now) halted their planned auction for later this year…
Read More “Not So Fast: Blue Rock State Forest Fracking on Hold”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake 2Q13: Dramatic Turnaround from One Year Ago
August 1, 2013August 1, 2013

It appears that the great ship of Chesapeake Energy is, ever so gradually, turning around. We won’t recount how Chesapeake’s founder Aubrey McClendon was unceremoniously dumped by corporate raider Carl Icahn, nor how some of his closest long-time “friends” betrayed him. All water under the bridge now. The news is that Chesapeake released their second quarter update today and the numbers are mostly good–very good. The company’s EBITDA (net income) increased 77% from the same time last year, and operating cash flow was up 53%.

With respect to the Marcellus, Chesapeake says they connected an astonishing 131 wells during 2Q13, more than double the 52 they connected in 2Q12. Dry gas production in the northern part of the Marcellus averaged 780 million cubic feet per day, and wet gas production in the southern Marcellus averaged 208 mmcf/d, for a total of 988 mmcf/d–almost 1 bcf/d! (Cabot and EQT are the first two companies to average more than a billion cubic per day.) Chesapeake reports they have 11 active drilling rigs in the Utica Shale and 5 in the Marcellus.
Read More “Chesapeake 2Q13: Dramatic Turnaround from One Year Ago”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Harrison County | Hess | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Hess Drills 10 Wells in OH Utica Shale in 2Q13
August 1, 2013August 1, 2013

As part of their 2Q13 update, Hess reports the following details about their Utica Shale drilling program in Ohio for the past three month period:
Read More “Hess Drills 10 Wells in OH Utica Shale in 2Q13”
Energy Services | Williams

Williams 2Q13: Marcellus Profit $12M, Gathered Volumes Up 76%
August 1, 2013August 1, 2013

Williams Partners, a subsidiary of midstream behemoth Williams company, reported their second quarter financials and operational update yesterday. They report revenue for 2Q13 was up 5.3% from last year this time. The northeast (Marcellus) portion of Williams’ operations reports a profit of $12 million for 2Q13. In 2Q12 they had a $20 million loss–so this year shows a dramatic $32 million turnaround–no doubt due to the fact that Williams’ gathered volumes in the Marcellus shot up 76% from last year this time.

Select portions of yesterday’s update dealing with the Marcellus:
Read More “Williams 2Q13: Marcellus Profit $12M, Gathered Volumes Up 76%”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Aug 1, 2013
August 1, 2013August 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: Thu, Aug 1, 2013”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

UTA Research: High Levels of Arsenic in Water Wells Near Drilling
July 31, 2013

Technically this is not a story about the Marcellus or Utica Shale, but it is a story about fracking in shale, and making a splash among anti-drillers, so it deserves our attention and consideration. Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) have just published a peer-reviewed study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology titled, “An evaluation of water quality in private drinking water wells near natural gas extraction sites in the Barnett Shale Formation” (full copy embedded below for MDN subscribers). The study looks at 100 water wells in the Barnett Shale region of north Texas. UTA researchers used data from the 1990s–before horizontal drilling and fracking began in the region–and data from their own tests conducted in 2011.

What does the data show? It shows about one-third of the water wells have dangerously high levels of arsenic in them–levels that did not exist in the 1990s. The study’s authors theorize the high levels of arsenic can be tied to fracking and drilling, although they are quick to admit the arsenic did not come from drilling fluid contamination. How then, can you blame fracking?…
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CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Range Resources Corp | Upper Devonian Shale

Different Strokes for Different Upper Devonian-Drilling Folks
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

Different drillers have (surprise!) different opinions when it comes to whether or not drilling in the Upper Devonian Shale (UD) layer is a good idea to do now or later. They all seem to indicate the UD will get drilled, it’s only a question of when.

The three different strategies of EQT, CONSOL and Range Resources with respect to the UD:
Read More “Different Strokes for Different Upper Devonian-Drilling Folks”
Harrison County | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Roads | Trucking

Harrison County Ticked Off at Road Damage from Drilling Trucks
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

Trucks going to and from Utica Shale drilling sites in Harrison County, OH are damaging the roads, and County Commissioner Dale Norris says “the honeymoon is over” with respect to shale drilling in the county.

Norris says commissioners will consider adopting new regulations in the next few weeks to assess a permit fee for trucks using local roads, so they have money to fix the damage caused by the drilling industry…
Read More “Harrison County Ticked Off at Road Damage from Drilling Trucks”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

“Notable Increase” in WV/PA NatGas Production from New Pipelines
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published a brief article in their online “Today in Energy” publication that points out natural gas production for both dry gas and wet gas has gone up in West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania because of new infrastructure–pipelines and processing plants.

Here is the EIA article, complete with nifty chart showing the rather dramatic increase in daily production:
Read More ““Notable Increase” in WV/PA NatGas Production from New Pipelines”
Energy Services | Heckmann | Industrywide Issues | Wastewater

Wastewater Company Nuverra: Too Much Success in Marcellus/Utica
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

Nuverra Environmental Solutions (formerly Heckmann), a company that recycles and otherwise disposes of shale drilling wastewater and leftover rock and dirt from drilling, decided to release the “bad news” ahead of an earnings call on August 8 that 2Q13 profits will not meet expectations. They’ll show earnings of a measly $165.5 million. Nuverra has a growing presence in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region.

So what were the challenges in 2Q13 that caused Nuverra to falter financially? Believe it or not, one of the reasons for their “poor” financial showing is stronger than predicted growth for their business in the Marcellus/Utica. The strong growth forced them to parcel out work to subcontractors, which costs more than having your own employees do the work. Nuverra says they’re now ramping up and expanding their own people in the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “Wastewater Company Nuverra: Too Much Success in Marcellus/Utica”
Access Midstream Partners | Energy Services

Access Midstream 2Q13: Marcellus Throughput Passes 2 Bcf/d Mark
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

Access Midstream Partners (formerly the midstream division of Chesapeake Energy) released its financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2013. The report shows revenue was up a whopping 70.9% from 2Q12, with natural gas throughput on their pipelines increasing 27.9% from 2Q12. The Marcellus is credited with some of that increase.

Access says their gas throughput recently sailed past 2 billion cubic feet per day in the Marcellus…
Read More “Access Midstream 2Q13: Marcellus Throughput Passes 2 Bcf/d Mark”
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Talisman Energy

Talisman 2Q13: Marcellus Production Down, 20 New Wells Coming
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

Talisman Energy, a driller with operations both on- and off-shore in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions, released its second quarter results today. The report/update is long. Talisman doesn’t say much about the Marcellus in the report, but what they do say about their drilling in the Marcellus is interesting, so we’ve extracted out those references and we present them below.

Bottom line: Marcellus production volumes have gradually declined due to no new drilling (because of the low commodity price of natgas), but Talisman plans to reverse that trend…
Read More “Talisman 2Q13: Marcellus Production Down, 20 New Wells Coming”
Calfrac | Energy Services

Fracking Service Calfrac Revenue Down, Marcellus Work Up in 2Q13
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

Calfrac, a Canadian oilfield services company that provides shale fracking services for drillers worldwide, including in the Marcellus Shale, issued their second quarter update today. Calfrac reports revenue was down from a year ago (14%) due to low gas prices and bad weather in Canada. However, they also report an uptick in business coming from the Marcellus.

Selected sections from the Calfrac update mentioning the Marcellus:
Read More “Fracking Service Calfrac Revenue Down, Marcellus Work Up in 2Q13”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jul 31, 2013
July 31, 2013July 31, 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, Jul 31, 2013”
Energy Companies | New York | Norse Energy | Statewide NY

Bankrupt Norse Energy to Sell NY Leases – Who Will Want Them?
July 30, 2013July 30, 2013

The “little energy company that could” has become the “little energy company sunk by Andrew Cuomo.” A pair of press releases from Norse Energy Corp. yesterday tell the sad story. Norse, with 130,000 leased acres in New York State (most of it in the Marcellus & Utica Shale) had been hanging on by a thread, waiting for shale drilling to begin. The company filed for bankruptcy last December, clinging to the promise that Cuomo and the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation were about to release new fracking rules (see Norse Energy Hurt by NY Fracking Delay Files for Bankruptcy). If shale drilling had been allowed even starting this spring, there’s a chance Norse could have pulled out of bankruptcy and continued. Alas, the new fracking rules have still not been released, and now Norse will be forced to sell off the only assets it has left: its leases…
Read More “Bankrupt Norse Energy to Sell NY Leases – Who Will Want Them?”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

LA Times Attempts New Hatchet Job on Fracking in Dimock
July 30, 2013July 30, 2013

It appears that the Los Angeles Times needs to bump up their circulation numbers, so this past Sunday they trotted out the “Dimock” story once again (perhaps inspired by watching Gasland 2 on HBO). The Times claims to have a leaked “internal report” from the EPA, which we learn is (laughably) a PowerPoint presentation, not a real report. The article’s fictional thesis is that “big oil” has gotten to the Obama EPA and that at least some brave souls inside the EPA still believe, contrary to their own scientist’s research, that shale drilling in Dimock, PA was responsible for “contaminating” nearby water wells with methane and nefarious chemicals like arsenic–even though arsenic is naturally occurring throughout the region. (Pay no attention to those naturally-occurring chemicals behind the curtain, Toto!)

MDN would like to make a bold assertion: The LA Times emperor has no clothes. We’ve searched high and low and the so-called PowerPoint “EPA report” they claim to have possession of is nowhere to be found. We think it probably exists. Maybe. Perhaps. However, what we have is the LA Times making a wild claim–their own interpretation–of what is on the PowerPoint slides, without sharing the source document with anyone else. Given the Times and its reporters are liberal and anti-drilling in the extreme, excuse us if we say that until they share the so-called EPA internal report, we assume they’re lying about what’s in it. The motives and veracity of reporting by the Times is to be questioned and is, for us, the real story here…
Read More “LA Times Attempts New Hatchet Job on Fracking in Dimock”