Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Apr 1, 2013
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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MDN Takes a Brief Pause for Good Friday & Easter
Marcellus Drilling News is taking today (Friday) off in observance of Good Friday and the Easter holiday. We wish you a blessed Easter, Happy Passover, or just a “best wishes and have a great holiday weekend.” We’ll be back with all of the Marcellus and Utica Shale news on Monday!Jim Willis, Editor, MDN
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OH State Police Put Extreme Enviro Groups Under Surveillance
Saying that “so far” Ohio has not seen any violence from extremist anti-drilling environmentalist groups—but that they do expect violence—the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s (OSHP) Central Intelligence Unit is now monitoring groups like Earth First! and Appalachian Resist. The OSHP says: “…some of these groups are considered domestic terrorists or vandals.”At a monthly meeting of first responders in Harrison County, OH who gather to discuss and plan for health and safety emergencies related to shale drilling, Sgt. Greg McCutcheon of the OSHP said the following:
Read More “OH State Police Put Extreme Enviro Groups Under Surveillance”
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BP | Energy Companies | Ohio | Trumbull County | Utica Shale
Better Late than Never: BP Gets First Permit for OH Utica
From MDN’s bedtime stories…Once upon a time (in April 2012), a huge international oil and gas company (BP) leased 84,000 acres all at once with landowners in Trumbull County, OH (see BP’s Big Utica Shale Deal, Leases 84K Acres in Ohio). They later tossed out some of the deals (see BP Cancels Deal for 7% of ALOV Leases in Trumbull County, OH). The end.
Whoops! Not much of story—but that’s been the entire story for a year now. After leasing all of that land in Trumbull County, BP has done no Utica Shale drilling. Zip, zero, nada. Earlier this year BP said, in essence, they’re taking their sweet time, but they do intend to drill a few initial wells this year, perhaps starting in April (see BP in OH Utica Shale: The Prospectivity of Producibility). Looks like the wait may be over…
Read More “Better Late than Never: BP Gets First Permit for OH Utica”
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WV Legislation Would Create Forced Pooling – with a Twist
A bill just introduced into the West Virginia legislature would allow for “forced pooling” in very specific cases. Forced pooling laws, in case you’re unfamiliar with the term, require or “force” landowners who have not signed a lease to allow drilling because their neighbors have all signed a lease and drilling under the holdout’s property is required in order to access the other leased properties. However, the WV bill adds a big twist: It will allow forced pooling only in cases where the owner of the mineral rights can’t be determined, or the owner can be determined but can’t be found.
Supporters of the bill, introduced by Sen. Brooks McCabe (D-Kanawha), are careful to point out the new bill (unlike previous failed forced pooling bills) does not force known, unwilling landowners to be placed into a “unit” for drilling…
Read More “WV Legislation Would Create Forced Pooling – with a Twist”
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Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Susquehanna County | Wildlife
USGS Study: Marcellus Drilling Fragmenting Forests in PA
The U.S. Geological Survey earlier this week released a new report raising concerns about Marcellus Shale drilling in the Allegheny Plateau (pretty much the entire Marcellus region). The 38-page report (full copy embedded below) looks at two counties in particular: Susquehanna County in northeastern PA, and Allegheny County in southwestern PA.
Using a series of maps and data, the authors raise concerns that Marcellus drilling, along with drilling for gas in coalbed methane (a similar process), is leading to “forest fragmentation”—a situation where forested areas get “carved up” with roadways and drill pads that lead to limiting the geographic habitat area for some species of animals:
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More Angst Over OH Utica’s Oil Prospects
Just a few days ago MDN highlighted a story by Reuters that raises the question of the Ohio Utica Shale’s oil producing potential (see Will OH Utica Turn Out to be Steak, or Just Sizzle? Eye on April). A writer on The Motley Fool website picks up on that theme and makes these observations about the Utica’s oil prospects:
Read More “More Angst Over OH Utica’s Oil Prospects”
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | New York | Tompkins County
NatGas vs Coal for Electricity, What’s an Anti-Driller Do?
An electrical generating power plant located in the most anti-drilling part of Upstate New York—Ithaca and Tompkins County—has filed with the state Public Service Commission to convert the plant from burning coal to burning clean natural gas. This puts anti-drillers like Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (Democrat from Ithaca) in a quandary. If she supports it, it points out her rank hypocrisy on the drilling issue. If she opposes it and the plant shuts down, she screws a whole bunch of people out of jobs. Not to mention that burning natural gas is a LOT cleaner than burning coal—so opposing it would put her on the side of more air pollution.
Yeah, it’s a real quandary for Ms. Lifton…
Read More “NatGas vs Coal for Electricity, What’s an Anti-Driller Do?”
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY
NY Anti-Drillers Send Letter to Cuomo: Stop the Health Review Now
In yet another public relations stunt, Walter Hang from the Ithaca-based Toxics Targeting group, along with several of his anti-drilling, eco-nut buddies (like failed Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan), sent Gov. Andrew “Ditherer” Cuomo a rambling 4-page letter on Tuesday requesting that he instruct NY State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah to abandon his current review of fracking rules with an eye on health impacts. Why? Because the current review is “fatally flawed” and “an exercise in futility.”
Instead of the current review, Hang & Co. “request” the Dept. of Health perform a full, years-long public health impact study…
Read More “NY Anti-Drillers Send Letter to Cuomo: Stop the Health Review Now”
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Bradford County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Statewide NY | Statewide PA
Support from 2 Prominent Pennsylvanians for Fracking in NY
MDN wasn’t the only one to note the very loud, in-your-face editorial by former PA Gov. Ed Rendell printed in yesterday’s New York Daily News (see Former PA Gov. Rendell to Gov. Cuomo: Get Fracking). Karen Moreau, executive director of the NY State Petroleum Council, released the following statement yesterday noting Rendell’s support for fracking in New York, along with the support from a hospital administrator of a hospital that sits in the middle of the most-drilled county in PA (Bradford):
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Help Wanted: PA Fire Truck Co. Retools to Build Marcellus Tankers
More positive impacts from the Marcellus drilling industry in Pennsylvania. A major employer in Carbon County, PA, Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corporation (in Nesquehoning), a company that previously manufactured mostly fire trucks, is hiring 40 new workers to help with a new business line: water hauling tankers used by the Marcellus Shale industry. Kovatch’s increase in employment is rippling throughout the entire local economy…
Read More “Help Wanted: PA Fire Truck Co. Retools to Build Marcellus Tankers”
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Mar 28, 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, Mar 28, 2013”
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide PA
Former PA Gov. Rendell to Gov. Cuomo: Get Fracking
Interesting. Former PA Gov. Ed Rendell (“Fast Eddie” as he’s know around here) has penned a huge editorial printed in today’s New York Daily News, a left-leaning newspaper, aimed at one person: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Eddie’s words of advice to his fellow Democrat? Frack Andy Frack!Here’s Rendell’s op-ed:
Read More “Former PA Gov. Rendell to Gov. Cuomo: Get Fracking”
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Cabot Spins Gold from Hay with Low Cost Drilling
Cabot Oil & Gas is, so far, the only driller to attain 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural production in the Marcellus Shale (see Who’s a Member of the Marcellus “1 Bcf/d” Club?). Perhaps the most astonishing part of their story is that all of Cabot’s drilling happens in rural northeastern Susquehanna County, PA. Although Cabot is some 10 times smaller than Chesapeake Energy, the value of their stock (market capitalization) recently surpassed Chesapeake (see Guest Post: Corporate Hubris Humbles Chesapeake – Cabot Soars Sure & Steady).
Cabot’s ability to spin gold from hay is in no small part because of their Marcellus operation in Susquehanna County…
At a recent conference, Cabot made an investor presentation (full copy below) that shows, in part, why they’re so profitable—even in a low commodity price environment. As we’re writing this story, the commodity price of natural gas is exactly $4 per thousand cubic feet. Depending on geography, the cost to produce natural gas approaches $4/Mcf for many drillers. But for Cabot? Their average cost per Mcf in 2012 was $1.67, and for 2013 they estimate it will go even lower (see slide 10 below).
Read More “Cabot Spins Gold from Hay with Low Cost Drilling”
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Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Crime | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | NGLs | Processing Plants | West Virginia
2nd Bomb Threat Stops Construction at Natrium, WV NGL Plant
Just two days ago MDN told you that the Blueracer Midstream natural gas liquids (NGLs) processing plant being built in Natrium, WV is now several months behind schedule and not due to go online until later this spring (see Natrium, WV NGL Plant Behind Schedule, Will Open “Late Spring”). Back in February, the same Natrium plant had a bomb threat that stopped construction and caused an evacuation of 500 workers for several hours (see Bomb Threat at Natrium, WV NGL Plant Doesn’t Slow Construction). At the time, it was thought perhaps the bomb threat did not specifically target the NGL plant because the previous day a bomb threat was called at a different nearby WV Route 2 location, not related to the natural gas industry.
But now? We’re not so sure. Yesterday a second bomb threat was made against the Natirum facility, causing the evacuation of 700 construction workers, shutting down work for another several hours. The head of the WV Oil and Natural Gas Association is calling it a case of “domestic terrorism” and a crime:
Read More “2nd Bomb Threat Stops Construction at Natrium, WV NGL Plant”
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Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Wastewater | West Virginia
GreenHunter Tries to Repair Damage with Wheeling over New Project
As MDN reported yesterday, GreenHunter Water made a big faux pas by not genuflecting before the Wheeling, WV City Council before announcing their plans to build a fracking wastewater recycling and shipping facility in the city along the Ohio River (see Wheeling Councilwoman Vows to Prevent Frack Water Treatment Plant). GreenHunter attempted to repair some of the damage yesterday when they briefed city officials on their proposed project.
Did the meeting help? Maybe, but the city is not ready to “take a position on the project” just yet…
Read More “GreenHunter Tries to Repair Damage with Wheeling over New Project”
Marcellus Drilling News is taking today (Friday) off in observance of Good Friday and the Easter holiday. We wish you a blessed Easter, Happy Passover, or just a “best wishes and have a great holiday weekend.” We’ll be back with all of the Marcellus and Utica Shale news on Monday!
Saying that “so far” Ohio has not seen any violence from extremist anti-drilling environmentalist groups—but that they do expect violence—the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s (OSHP) Central Intelligence Unit is now monitoring groups like Earth First! and Appalachian Resist. The OSHP says: “…some of these groups are considered domestic terrorists or vandals.”
Interesting. Former PA Gov. Ed Rendell (“Fast Eddie” as he’s know around here) has penned a huge editorial printed in today’s New York Daily News, a left-leaning newspaper, aimed at one person: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Eddie’s words of advice to his fellow Democrat? Frack Andy Frack!