Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jan 4, 2013
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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2012 NY Assessment – New Fracking Regs Will Protect Public Health
A draft assessment written in early 2012 by the New York State Dept. of Health, at the request of the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), offers us insight into the state’s thinking about potential public health impacts from fracking. The opinion expressed by the health department (and the DEC), at least at that time? If the DEC’s proposed new fracking regulations are adopted, shale drilling would be safe and public health would be protected.The New York Times and Gannett recently obtained a copy of the previously unpublished assessment. When asked about it, the DEC was quick to distance itself from the “old” and “outdated” assessment:
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Crestwood Midstream | Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | J-W Power Company | Pipelines | West Virginia
Enerven Completes Sale of WV Compressor Plants, All Other Assets
Crestwood Midstream announced in November they were purchasing a “bolt-on” acquisition of four compression/dehydration stations from Enerven Compression for $95 million (see Crestwood Midstream Buys 4 Compressor Stations in WV). The deal will mean an additional $11-$12 million in new revenue for Crestwood in 2013. As of Dec. 28, the transaction is officially completed and the stations now bear the name of Crestwood Midstream.
Apparently selling the four compressor stations was part of a larger strategy for Enerven. In addition to the WV sale, they’ve now sold the rest of the company!
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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Eclipse Resources | Energy Companies | Monroe County | Ohio | Triad Hunter
Two Fierce Competitors Join Forces to Drill in OH Utica Shale
Drilling company Magnum Hunter Resources announced a joint operating deal yesterday with Eclipse Resources to drill 12 Marcellus and 12 Utica Shale wells on 1,950 acres in Monroe County, OH over the next three years. Both companies together will invest $200 million in the program.
The reason for the partnership between these fierce competitors? According to Magnum Hunter, it’s due to the “treacherous terrain in this region” of the state. They want to pool resources and keep costs down. Of course, it also helps that Eclipse will start using Magnum’s pipeline system (Eureka Hunter Pipeline), providing more revenue for the midstream area of the business.
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ion GX Technology | Pennsylvania | Seismic Testing | Westmoreland County
Vandergrift, PA Threatens Seismic Mapping Co with Lawsuit
Ion GX Technology, a company that produces high fidelity underground maps, is attempting to produce a three-dimensional seismic map of the Marcellus formation over a 281-square-mile area (180,000 acres) covering nearly all of central and southern Armstrong County and crossing into parts of Westmoreland and Indiana counties. But they’ve hit a snag with the borough of Vandergrift (Westmoreland County), PA. Borough officials are concerned the technology used to create vibrations could potentially damage underground structures like sewer lines, so they’ve denied the company permission to test on public property.
GX, however, has tried to circumvent that denial by going direct to individual landowners to request permission, which has ticked off Vandergrift council members. The borough’s solicitor sent GX a letter telling them to “cease and desist” from trying to deal with private landowners in the borough under threat of a lawsuit. Sounds a bit dicey to tell a private company what it can and can’t do in private business transactions. The complication is, of course, if their activity did crack a sewer line…
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Accounting Tax Provisions are Not Subsidies for Big Oil & Gas
An important and insightful article appeared on the Forbes magazine website yesterday, detailing the rank hypocrisy by mainstream media in their reporting about “subsidies” for “big oil and gas.” The point of the article: There are no subsidies for oil and gas companies.
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Marcellus Website Gets Prominent Op-Ed Published in WSJ
Congratulations to Keith Mauck, publisher of the GoMarcellusShale.com website. He had an op-ed article published on the Wall Street Journal website yesterday titled, “The EPA’s Tainted Fracking Tests.”
The article takes a look at the flawed methodology used by the Environmental Protection Agency in its testing of the water aquifer in Pavillion, WY, where it claims fracking led to contamination. MDN has written about Pavillion a number of times (see API Says EPA Botched Pavillion, WY Fracking Tests).
For those without a subscription to the WSJ, read a full version of Keith’s excellent article on the GoMarcellusShale.com website here.
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Jan 3, 2013
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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OH Utica Shale Drilling Will Continue Rapid Expansion in 2013
Some interesting facts about Ohio Utica Shale drilling for 2012, and predictions for 2013…Fact number one: There are 45 producing horizontal Utica Shale wells in Ohio as of Dec. 31, 2012. They produce 40% as much natural gas as all 64,000 vertical-only natural gas wells in the state produce. (You read that right!) Conclusion: When Ohio reaches 113 producing Utica Shale wells (sometime in 2013), it will equal the entire natural gas production of all 64K vertical natural gas wells in the state. Behold the miracle of hydraulic fracturing.Here’s a few more fascinating facts about Ohio’s Utica Shale drilling in 2012, and predictions for what’s ahead in 2013:
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Antero Resources | Ashland County | Carroll County | Chesapeake Energy | Devon Energy | HG Energy | Medina County | Monroe County | Noble County | Ohio | Portage County | Stark County | Utica Shale
Flip Side: Some OH Utica Shale Wells Get Plugged/Abandoned
When it comes to drilling in the Ohio Utica Shale, a lot of attention has been focused on the ramp up in activity—the growing number of drilling rigs, huge land lease deals, and eye-popping initial production results for some of the wells drilled. But there is another side to the story.
Every now and again, a well does not produce. Could be the driller did not properly find the shale layer (extremely rare). Could be they did find it but for whatever reason the layer doesn’t produce in that area. More likely there were problems during the drilling that caused the work to be stopped—like a broken-off drill bit. In Ohio, there have been nine Utica Shale wells that have been plugged and abandoned (so far). Here’s where they are located and who did the drilling:
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Chesapeake Energy’s Huge Vote of Confidence in Ohio’s Utica Shale
Chesapeake Energy is the largest driller (by far) in the Ohio Utica Shale—a situation not likely to change any time soon. Chesapeake is in love with Ohio’s Utica Shale.
Here’s a rundown of their drilling operations in the Ohio Utica, including how many wells drilled (to date), how much they’ve invested in the state, and their plans for 2013:
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Utica Shale Job Search Resources in Eastern Ohio
Do you live in eastern Ohio, have heard about the Utica Shale boom and want a job in the industry? Here’s a handy list of job center locations, phone numbers and websites to help you with your job search:
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Portage County Landowners Get Free Pre-Drilling Water Tests
Landowners who live in Portage County, Ohio who have a concern that their water may become contaminated from Utica Shale drilling activity can have their water tested now, before drilling begins, for free. The free testing will be done on Jan. 6 (and on the first Sunday of each month) in Shalersville by the anti-drilling group Concerned Citizens Ohio/Shalersville.
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Accidents | Chesapeake Energy | CNX Resources | Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | West Virginia
WV Landowner Sues 3 Companies for Methane Contamination of Water
A landowner in Marshall County, West Virginia had previously sued Chesapeake Energy, claiming Chesapeake’s nearby drilling and fracking operations (from 2009/2010) caused methane to migrate and contaminate his water well. Chesapeake sampled the well and found the kind of methane in the well (the “fingerprint” for the methane) does not match the methane from their drilled natural gas well.
The story then gets complicated. It seems that CNX Gas, a division of CONSOL Energy, had previously drilled a number of shallow natural gas wells in the area, and that Columbia Gas, a division of NiSource, has an underground natural gas storage field adjacent to the landowner’s property. Oy vey. There’s no shortage of possibilities for how the methane may have gotten into his well, and so now everyone is now getting sued…
Read More “WV Landowner Sues 3 Companies for Methane Contamination of Water”
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Did Man Convicted of Dumping Shale Wastewater Get Off Easy?
The Pennsylvania State Attorney General’s office has appealed the sentencing of a man who owned a shale gas wastewater hauling company who was convicted off dumping millions of gallons of wastewater into streams and abandoned mine shafts. The AG thinks a sentence of seven years’ probation with no prison time is not good enough:
Read More “Did Man Convicted of Dumping Shale Wastewater Get Off Easy?”
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jan 2, 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, Jan 2, 2013”
A draft assessment written in early 2012 by the New York State Dept. of Health, at the request of the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), offers us insight into the state’s thinking about potential public health impacts from fracking. The opinion expressed by the health department (and the DEC), at least at that time? If the DEC’s proposed new fracking regulations are adopted, shale drilling would be safe and public health would be protected.
Some interesting facts about Ohio Utica Shale drilling for 2012, and predictions for 2013…Fact number one: There are 45 producing horizontal Utica Shale wells in Ohio as of Dec. 31, 2012. They produce 40% as much natural gas as all 64,000 vertical-only natural gas wells in the state produce. (You read that right!) Conclusion: When Ohio reaches 113 producing Utica Shale wells (sometime in 2013), it will equal the entire natural gas production of all 64K vertical natural gas wells in the state. Behold the miracle of hydraulic fracturing.