Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Robinson Twp, PA Drags Feet on Approving New Permits to Drill
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

Why are drilling permits from Range Resources not being approved in Robinson Township (Washington County), PA? You may recall that Robinson is one of seven towns in PA that sued the State of Pennsylvania over Act 13, a new shale drilling law passed in February 2012. Robinson and the other towns object to a provision in Act 13 that replaces the right of local towns to enact zoning restrictions on oil and gas drilling and instead replace local rules with a uniform set of zoning rules from the state (see Lawsuit Filed: PA Towns Sue State over Marcellus Act 13 Law).

Robinson and the other towns went to court over the provision and won their case in the lower courts. The decision was appealed by the state all the way to the PA Supreme Court where a everyone eagerly awaits a decision (see PA Supreme Court Hears Testimony on Act 13 Zoning).

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Obama Energy Sec. Steven Chu Resigns
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

The third shoe has finally dropped (if that’s even a legitimate metaphor!). Obama’s Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, has resigned. You may recall MDN reported early on that the three Obama cabinet members who most directly affect shale drilling—Chu, EPA chief Lisa Jackson and Dept. of Interior Sec. Ken Salazar were all rumored to be departing a second Obama term (see 3 Top Officials Rumored to be Leaving Obama Administration).

Of the three, Chu was the one rumormongers were most sure about. Yet Jackson was the first to go, and Salazar the second. On Friday, Chu announced he too would depart. His tenure at Energy has been marked by crony capitalism with the government handing out big big money to politically-connected Obama donors—Solyndra being the most famous example. It’s “so long and don’t let the door hit you on the way out” to Sec. Chu…

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Medina County | Ohio

Will Medina County, OH See Any Fracking? Probably Not
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

It seems that residents of the City of Medina, OH, and indeed residents of Medina County at large, may not have to worry about fracking in the county, regardless of whether they are for or against.

According to ODNR and industry group Energy in Depth Ohio, the shale under Medina is too thin to bother with…

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

Home Stretch for NY Fracking Generates New Ad Campaign
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

In what may be the final stretch of four and a half long years to win approval for New York State to begin using the miracle of hydraulic fracturing as has Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Colorado and so many other states, the New York State Petroleum Council (NYSPC) has launched a new ad campaign aimed at one person: Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Listen and watch the new commercials below.

Last Friday the NYSPC issued this press announcement about the new ad campaign:

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Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

2 New Studies of Marcellus Drilling’s Impact on PA Air Quality
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania was responsible for just a small fraction of PA’s air pollution in 2011 according to newly released data (the first full year of data we have) from the Dept. of Environmental Protection, and from a private study by Rand Corporation (see below). How much did it contribute? PA’s shale gas industry was responsible for about 4% of total air pollution emitted by all industrial facilities in 2011.

Although the overall numbers are low, that’s not to say there aren’t concerns or things to improve…

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Wants Drillers to Use Acid Mine Water in Fracking – Will They?
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

Pennsylvania has a big problem with water seeping from abandoned coal mines—the water mixes with minerals from the mine and is highly acidic. Some 300 million gallons of it flow—every day—into Pennsylvania’s waterways, killing off fish and plant life in 4,000 miles of rivers and streams. The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently launched a plan to encourage shale drillers in the state to use “mine influenced water” (MIW) for drilling and fracking operations. It kills two birds with one stone: it helps to get rid of MIW and it gives drillers a steady source of water for fracking (see PA DEP Finalizes Procedure for Using Acid Mine Water in Fracking).

Just one problem: Drillers are scared to death of “if you touch it, you own it for evermore.” That is, drillers are rightly concerned about liability in this day and age of litigate everything. Who wants to get sued for doing the right thing? What can PA do to reassure drillers to give MIW a shot?

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Legislation Would Release Untapped Acreage for New Lease
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

Help may be on the way for Pennsylvania landowners who have leased their land, but not all of their land is part of a “production unit.” PA State Sen. Gene Yaw has introduced legislation what would release the land not in production so it could, theoretically, be leased again, or leased to someone else.

This update from one of our favorite blogs, ShaleEnergyLawBlog:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues

80,000 Locations Left to Go for Marcellus Drilling
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

Speaking at the Marcellus-Utica Midstream conference last week in Pittsburgh, ITG Investment Research analyst Manuj Nikhanj said their research shows there are an astounding 80,000 locations still drillable in the Marcellus Shale, and that the Marcellus is “absolutely massive” and dwarfs the next biggest shale play. How long will it take to full drill the Marcellus? “Decades.”

He also had some interesting analysis on the question of what natural gas price is breakeven for drillers to make a profit:

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Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Revises Unproved Resource Potential Up
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

Range Resources has revised its unproved resource potential—how much recoverable gas they believe they have in the ground for their leased acreage—by a little bit. At the end of 2011, Range estimated their reserves at 47-66 trillion cubic feet. At the end of 2012, they’ve revised it up to 48-68 Tcf. Not a huge jump, but hey, 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas will heat 1 million homes for 15 years, just to give you some perspective.

Here’s the announcement from Range:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Feb 4, 2013
February 4, 2013February 4, 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, Feb 4, 2013”
Devon Energy | Energy Companies | Utica Shale

Devon Energy Puts 240K Acres of Utica Shale Leases Up for Sale
February 1, 2013February 1, 2013

On Wednesday Devon Energy Corp. confirmed it’s selling off all of its holdings in both the Ohio Utica and Louisiana Tuscaloosa Marine Shale. Between the two shale plays, the company is hoping to raise about $3 billion. Devon’s Utica Shale holdings include 244,000 gross acres (195,000 net) in eastern Ohio in the liquids-rich portion of the play. Devon has hired Scotiabank’s Scotia Waterous (USA) Inc. M&A division to handle the sale. A map of Devon’s eastern Ohio Utica property is embedded below.

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Energy Companies | Hess

Corporate Raider Paul Singer Tries to Force Hess Out of Shale
February 1, 2013February 1, 2013

Corporate raider Paul Singer is pushing Hess Corp. to get out of shale drilling. Singer’s company, Elliott Management Corp., is one of Hess’ largest investors owning 4% of company stock. On Jan. 25, Elliott Management gave notice it’s buying another $800 million of company stock and would make a play to replace some board members in order shake up management at the company.

Hess announced earlier this week it’s selling off it’s last refinery and getting out of the refining business and will become an exploration and production company. As for selling off their operations in the Utica, Bakken or Eagle Ford Shale plays and getting out of shale? Hess CEO John Hess tells Singer, no thanks buddy…

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Atlas Energy | Chevron | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA

Top 5 Drillers in SW Pennsylvania by Number of Wells Drilled
February 1, 2013February 1, 2013

Each year the Pittsburgh Business Times ranks the “top 25” drillers in southwestern PA according to the total number of wells they’ve drilled to date in the Marcellus Shale. The 2013 list was published today.

Here’s the top five from that list—with driller name and the number of wells drilled:

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Beaver County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Gov Tom Corbett: Shell Cracker Plant in PA Not “Off the Rails”
February 1, 2013February 1, 2013

Shell was supposed to purchase land in Monaca (Beaver County), PA to build a new $2 billion ethane cracker plant (a multi-year project) by Dec. 31, 2012, but instead Shell and the owner of the site signed a six-month extension to (according to a Shell spokesperson) give Shell more time to assess the site’s suitability and time to crunch the numbers to provide Shell “confirmation that the project is economically robust and competitive” (see Shell Ethane Cracker in PA Still Not a Done Deal).

The six-month delay has led to rumors that the deal for Monaca may be in doubt. Wednesday after a speech at the Marcellus Midstream Conference in Pittsburgh, PA Gov. Tom Corbett said contrary to those pesky rumors, Shell is not checking out other states to build the ethane cracker plant and that the delay in purchasing the land is due to lawyers “dotting I’s and crossing T’s.” Here’s how it played out:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio County | Supply Chain | West Virginia

Strange/Interesting Things Companies Sell to the Shale Industry
February 1, 2013February 1, 2013

It never ceases to amaze MDN the kinds of businesses that benefit from Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling. Here’s yet another one we bet you didn’t know about: The West Virginia manufacturer sells a 6,000-pound “cattle stop” to the Marcellus and Utica drilling industry.

Er, what is a cattle stop, and who does this manufacturer sell them to? Read on…

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Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues

What’s the Break-Even Price of Marcellus NatGas for Drillers?
February 1, 2013February 6, 2013

Another stellar column from Seeking Alpha blogger and energy analyst Richard Zeits—this one delving into the thorny topic of, “At what natural gas commodity price is it profitable for a driller to continue drilling?” In particular, at what price in the Marcellus Shale.

His column begins this way:

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