Marcellus Drilling News

Coshocton County | Ohio | Utica Shale

The Prospects for Utica Drilling in Coshocton & Muskingum, OH
February 18, 2013February 18, 2013

Drilling in Ohio’s Utica Shale took off like a rocket in 2012. It seemed a week did not go by without new permits to drill being issued in counties like Carroll, Guernsey, Belmont, Harrison and Noble. But two counties in eastern Ohio have not been caught up in the drilling frenzy, at least so far: Coshocton and Muskingum. Has drilling passed by them? Not according to officials in both counties.

The head of the Coshocton Port Authority says it’s early innings yet:

Read More “The Prospects for Utica Drilling in Coshocton & Muskingum, OH”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Some NY Towns Want Fracking, Association Doesn’t Speak for Them
February 18, 2013February 18, 2013

New York State is drama central when it comes to whether or not shale drilling will happen. The big drama is whether the dithering Andrew Cuomo will finally make a decision and stick to it—he’s been called “Hamlet on the Shale” for his indecisiveness by no less than the New York Times. The second biggest drilling-related drama concerns where drilling will happen and whether or not local municipalities can control it. A pair of court cases heads for a hearing in March to help determine that.

As MDN has covered ad nauseam in the past, the town of Dryden (in Tompkins County) and Middlefield (in Otsego County) were sued to overturn their bans on the practice of hydraulic fracturing. Those court cases will be heard in March at the Appellate Court level. The New York State Association of Towns filed an “Amicus Brief” (“friend of the court” brief) supporting the two towns’ right to ban fracking. However, a group of towns in the Southern Tier of New York have filed their own letter with the Appellate Court that says in essence, “Wait a minute, NYSAT doesn’t speak for us!”

Read More “Some NY Towns Want Fracking, Association Doesn’t Speak for Them”
Crude Oil | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants

Boston Globe: Fracking is Good, Leads to Lower Oil & Gas Prices
February 18, 2013February 18, 2013

The Boston Globe features an article in today’s issue praising the miracle of hydraulic fracturing for keeping oil and gasoline prices lower than they otherwise would be, and highlighting the fact that domestically-produced oil (from fracking) is forcing Middle Eastern countries to keep their oil prices competitive.

When was the last time you read a quote in mainstream/liberal media about fracking in U.S. shale plays being a “game-changer” and something good? Yeah, we can’t remember either. That’s why this story is noteworthy:

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Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EnerVest | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | Momentum | Ohio | Processing Plants

Kensington, OH NGL Processing Plant Construction Progress
February 18, 2013February 18, 2013

Midstream build-out will be the big story of 2013 in the Utica Shale. One of the big projects under way is a natural gas processing facility in Kensington, Ohio, being built by a partnership between M3 Midstream (better known as Momentum), Chesapeake Energy and Enervest. The entire project will take five years to build, with the first portion going online sometime this year.

The latest on the Kensington project, being built in Columbiana County:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

What’s Holding Back USA from Achieving Energy Independence?
February 18, 2013February 18, 2013

Is American energy independence—because of the shale energy revolution—really possible? Or is it a pipedream?

Breitling Oil & Gas CEO Chris Faulkner says indeed it is possible for America to become energy independent by 2020, but…

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About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Feb 18 – Mar 3, 2013 [Free]
February 18, 2013February 18, 2013

Below are upcoming events for this week and next.

Read More “Calendar of Events for Feb 18 – Mar 3, 2013 [Free]”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Feb 18, 2013
February 18, 2013February 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: Mon, Feb 18, 2013”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

MDN Editor Jim Willis Corrects “First NY Marcellus Wells” Story
February 17, 2013February 17, 2013

No one likes to admit they were wrong, I know I don’t. Although MDN has attitude and edginess in its reporting (it is a blog/news site), I always try to be accurate and fair with the facts.

I ran what I consider to be a very important story on Friday about the potential locations of the first Marcellus and Utica wells to be drilled in New York when and if drilling begins (see Exclusive: First NY Marcellus Wells to be Drilled are Identified). There’s a decent chance I was wrong. Let me explain…

Read More “MDN Editor Jim Willis Corrects “First NY Marcellus Wells” Story”
Broome County | Cattaraugus County | Chautauqua County | Chemung County | Chenango County | Chesapeake Energy | Delaware County | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Madison County | New York | Norse Energy | Regulation | Statewide NY

Exclusive: First NY Marcellus Wells to be Drilled are Identified
February 15, 2013February 17, 2013

NOTE: Please see the correction to this story on this page:
MDN Editor Jim Willis Corrects “First NY Marcellus Wells” Story.

An astute MDN subscriber sent us a tip that the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) updated their “Notices of Intent to Issue Well Permits” web page last night at 7:00 pm (Feb 14, 2013). In the list of well permits they “intend” to issue are 43 Marcellus Shale wells and 1 Utica Shale well.

Does this mean DEC Commissioner Joe Martens is getting ready to accept the SGEIS and issue permits? We believe it’s still too early for optimism on that front. However, if New York does decide to move forward and issue drilling permits “within 10 days” after accepting the SGEIS drilling rules, it stands to reason the wells in this list will be the very first wells to receive permission to drill.

We’ve harvested the information for all of the “Intent to Issue” wells, looking up each latitude and longitude and translating it into a street address. We’ve also rearranged the information in an easier to scan and understand format. You won’t find this information anywhere else but on MDN…

Read More “Exclusive: First NY Marcellus Wells to be Drilled are Identified”
Crime | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Wastewater

Youngstown Shale Wastewater Dumper Faces Jail and Big Fines
February 15, 2013February 15, 2013

MDN has been tracking the story of Ben Lupo, owner of Hardrock Excavating and D&L Energy in Youngstown, OH. Lupo instructed an employee to repeatedly dump shale drilling wastewater into a storm drain that ended up in the Mahoning River. The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources quickly shut down both Hardrock and D&L (see OH Company Dumping Frack Wastewater in Drain May Appeal Shut-Down). It was thought there was originally up to six dumping incidents and about 200,000 gallons of wastewater, but the Hardrock employee involved has confessed it was more like 20 dumping incidents. It represents a mind-boggling millions of gallons of wastewater literally down the drain.

In addition to having his companies shut down, Lupo now faces the prospect of jail time and huge fines. He’s facing federal criminal charges from the U.S. Attorney’s office for violating the Clean Water Act:

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EMG | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Rex Energy | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

MarkWest Does Midstream Deal with Rex Energy in Utica Shale
February 15, 2013February 15, 2013

MarkWest Utica, a joint venture between MarkWest and EMG, announced today that they’ve signed up Rex Energy to provide pipeline gathering and processing services for Rex’s Utica Shale wells. Yesterday MDN told you about Rex’s big plans for the Marcellus and Utica Shale region (see Rex Energy Plans to Invest $200M on Marcellus/Utica Drilling in 2013). If you do a lot of new drilling, you’re going to need a way to get the gas to market. That’s what this deal does.

MarkWest says when their construction is done in 2014 they will have the largest processing and fractionation capacity in the entire Utica Shale. Here’s today’s announcement about their deal with Rex:

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Aquatech | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Tioga County (PA) | Wastewater

PA DEP Issues Permit to Shale Wastewater Facility in Northern PA
February 15, 2013February 15, 2013

The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has granted a permit to Aquatech to operate a shale wastewater treatment facility in Tioga County, PA. The facility will treat and recycle wastewater from PA’s Marcellus Shale drilling operations, mostly located in the northeastern and north central parts of the state.

The announcement from Aquatech:

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Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

ShaleNavigator Mapping Service Adds Pipelines for ALL Shale Plays
February 15, 2013February 15, 2013

MDN partners with ShaleNavigator to produce the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook—a 3-volume set of maps and commentary that shows where permits and drilling are happening, county by county, throughout the Marcellus and Utica Shale region. ShaleNavigator is a top-notch online mapping system that offers users the ability to zoom in and out and add various “layers” of detail—layers like “show me recent lease offers in a certain area” and “show me where compressor stations are located.” It is without a doubt the premier online mapping system for natural gas development.

Infrastructure is the story for 2013 when it comes to shale plays. Pipelines, compressor stations and processing plants are needed—and quickly—to get the enormous amount of gas that’s been drilled to market. ShaleNavigator is great at showing infrastructure. Pipelines in the Marcellus and Utica Shale have been one of the most-used layers in ShaleNavigator. Now, ShaleNavigator has added a new layer showing all major gas pipelines across the United States located in every shale play. Wow! This new feature is a Godsend for drillers, contractors, utilities, real estate people, abstractors, appraisers…the list goes on. ShaleNavigator offers a free 7-day trial, and the lowest subscription prices we’ve seen for this kind of service. Details below…

Read More “ShaleNavigator Mapping Service Adds Pipelines for ALL Shale Plays”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Feb 15, 2013
February 15, 2013February 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: Fri, Feb 15, 2013”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Washington County

PA DEP Not Attending Hearing on Water Testing Near Shale Drilling
February 14, 2013February 14, 2013

PA State Rep. Jesse White, Democrat from Cecil, PA, is hosting a hearing next week in Western PA that will look at the state Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) policies in conducting water testing near shale drilling sites. The one organization that won’t be there? The DEP. They’re calling White’s hearing next week political theater, unproductive, unprofessional and a waste of time…

Read More “PA DEP Not Attending Hearing on Water Testing Near Shale Drilling”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Frack Update: Cuomo Dithers, Landowners Mad, Lawyer Explains
February 14, 2013February 14, 2013

It’s painfully obvious the reason New York is not moving forward with hydraulic fracturing is because of its governor, Andrew Cuomo. He’s the man the New York Times says “is becoming Hamlet on the Shale,” meaning he’s dithering and indecisive. Not good qualities to have if you’re a political leader seeking the highest office in the country.

Yesterday, Cuomo continued his pathetic excuses about why there’s an ongoing delay with fracking in New York State. Also yesterday, the group representing 77,000 landowners with more than a million acres of land to lease fired back at the DEC’s latest delay. Plus, we have a bit more insight from a pro-fracking lawyer about Joe Martens’ mysterious statement of moving forward with permits even without new regulations. Read on…

Read More “NY Frack Update: Cuomo Dithers, Landowners Mad, Lawyer Explains”