Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Mar 14, 2013
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Senators Wants Answers from EPA Nominee about “Crucify Them” Al
The ranking Republican member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (Republican from Louisiana), and several of his Senate colleagues, are “demanding answers” from Gina McCarthy, Obama’s choice to head the EPA, over her involvement with the discredited and fired Al “Crucify Them” Armendariz (see EPA Administrator Al Armendariz Resigns over Crucify Comment). Seems a colleague at EPA emailed old Al when he was under fire and Al responded at the time essentially “don’t worry about me” and made mention of Gina McCarthy’s new EPA air pollution rules as “icing on the cake.”Clearly Armendariz saw McCarthy’s efforts as dovetailing nicely with his own strategy to “crucify” several oil and gas companies as examples to scare the rest of the “villagers” into falling into line. Sick and sleazy. (Armendariz went to work for the Sierra Club after leaving EPA.) Vitter and other Republicans are rightly concerned over the tight relationship between Armendariz and McCarthy—specifically on the matter of Armendariz’s action in outlawing Las Brisas Energy Center (LBEC) in Corpus Christi, Texas—and they want answers. Vitter issued the following press release yesterday:
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Devon Energy Accuses EPA of “Seriously Flawed Misuse” of Data
Devon Energy sent a letter March 5 to the federal Environmental Protection Agency to inform them that Devon is pulling out of the EPA’s Natural Gas STAR Program—a program aimed at reducing methane emissions. Devon says in the letter that EPA is guilty of “seriously flawed misuse” of the data provided to it by drillers to justify costly regulations and to “taint policy research.” The Devon letter minces no words…
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UMD Issues 172-Page Report on Marcellus Drilling Best Practices
In the past MDN has been critical of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission appointed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. There were supposed to provide a set of best practices for hydraulic fracturing to the state legislature and have repeatedly missed their stated deadlines to do so (see Maryland Shale Commission Misses Second Deadline for Report). The first deadline that slipped by was August 1, 2012. Then it was Dec. 31, 2012. Then they (wisely) didn’t commit but said some time in the spring of 2013.
We don’t know for sure, but perhaps their recommendations are late in coming because they’ve been waiting on the University of Maryland (UMD) to complete a report on best practices. Three weeks ago, the UMD Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg, Maryland, submitted a 172-page report (full copy embedded below) of recommendations for drilling and fracking best practices to the Maryland Dept. of the Environment (MDE).
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IOGA of NY Goes to Albany to Engage in “Hallway Chatter”
One day after Gov. Andrew “the Ditherer” Cuomo verbally slapped around landowners and those who favor fracking by saying they ought to refrain from lobbying and “hallway chatter” (see The Gall: Cuomo Lectures Landowners on How to Play Politics), the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York held their annual lobbying day in Albany to, well, engage in hallway chatter…
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Antero Resources | Crestwood Midstream | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | West Virginia
Crestwood Midstream – New Deal with Antero for Compressor Station
Crestwood Midstream provides pipelines and compressor stations in West Virginia for their customer, driller Antero Resources. In Nov. 2012 Crestwood purchased four compressor stations in Harrison and Doddridge counties to better serve Antero. Yesterday Crestwood announced another new deal with Antero to build yet another compressor station (for $35 million) to service Antero’s “western” acreage in WV.
The Crestwood announcement about the new deal with Crestwood:
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Green Groups Turn up Heat on Obama over NatGas Exports
America finally has a gift—wrapped up in a bow—ready to help it regain some of the economic footing we’ve lost in the world over the last decade or so of unprecedented trade deficits and debt. That gift? Hydraulic fracturing and the shale gas it produces in huge quantities. All we have to do is frack it and sell it—both here at home and as an export to other countries. Everyone wins.
A long list of extremist environmental groups including Earthjustice, Earthworks and the Sierra Club are lobbying the Obama administration to stop plans for new export facilities for natural gas. Why? Because it’s an evil fossil fuel and would help make America great again. A press release from said groups issued yesterday:
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY
Deerfield, NY Extends Fracking Moratorium Another 6 Months
It’s time to toss out (at the next election) the anti-Constitutional town board members of Deerfield (Oneida County), NY. Monday night they voted unanimously to extend an illegal moratorium on fracking for another six months:
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Lackawanna College Converts Branch Campus to Natural Gas Program
On Tuesday Lackawanna College announced the establishment of a School of Petroleum Natural Gas at its New Milford (Susquehanna County), PA location. The program will offer two associates degrees. The branch college campus at New Milford is being transformed and dedicated to the new program. Lackawanna notes a number of major oil and gas companies have a local presence, providing a ready job market for graduates.
The Lackawanna announcement from Tuesday:
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Mar 13, 2013
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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NY Health Com. Nirav Shah Says Fracking Health Review Almost Done
An interesting development in the “As Cuomo Dithers” fracking soap opera. Freshly back from a road trip to confer with researchers studying the health effects of fracking, New York State Commissioner of Health Nirav Shah appeared at a press conference yesterday with Gov. Cuomo. In a surprise announcement, Shah said he will render his judgment on the question of frack/no frack “in weeks.” Cuomo himself made some encouraging remarks at the presser too, including his belief that the two-year moratorium bill passed by the NY Assembly last Wednesday is going nowhere fast.You may recall we are currently waiting for Shah’s review and official opinion on whether or not fracking as done under the rules proposed by the Dept. of Environmental Conservation would negatively impact “public health.” Shah and his assistants went on a road trip to find out what they could from fracking health studies now under way (see Deadline for NY Fracking Regs Slips Again…Or Does It?). One of those studies, being performed by Geisinger Health Systems, has only just received $1 million in funding and preliminary results won’t be available for at least a year. Anti-drillers celebrated and took that to mean fracking in New York will be on hold for several more years. Shah and Cuomo’s comments from yesterday may have burst their bubble…
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The Gall: Cuomo Lectures Landowners on How to Play Politics
It appears the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York, the New York Petroleum Council and other pro-fracking groups have caught the attention—and irritation—of Gov. Ditherer Cuomo.
After a cabinet meeting yesterday, Cuomo was questioned about fracking and the looooooooong time it’s taking him to make up his mind. How did he respond? By verbally slapping around New York’s landowners that have waited nearly five years for drilling to begin:
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New Study: PA Marcellus Shale Drilling Doesn’t Pollute Waterways
A new research study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences shows that Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania does not pollute the state’s waterways—at least not appreciably. The paper is titled “Shale gas development impacts on surface water quality in Pennsylvania” (full copy embedded below) and looks only at surface water—not underground aquifers. The study is significant because it looks at nearly 5,000 shale drilling sites in the state, and according to the lead author, they “didn’t find evidence in waterways of significant chemical spills from drill sites.”
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Marcellus Shale will Hit 10 Bcf/d in Production in 2013
Another stellar article on the Seeking Alpha website by energy analyst Richard Zeits. This one takes a look at the Marcellus Shale and notes that something “inconceivable” even a few years ago will become true this year: The Mighty Marcellus Shale will hit 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas production per day. Wow!
Here’s how the article starts:
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Drive-by Shooting at Marcellus Well in NW PA
Two shots were fired in a drive-by shooting at a Marcellus Shale well in Mercer Township (Butler County), PA last Saturday afternoon at 5:45 pm. Witnesses report a suspect in a white Ford Ranger pickup truck did the shooting…
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GPX Pleads Guilty in Using Illegal Aliens for PA Marcellus Work
The final chapter is now written. MDN previously told you about GPX/GPX USA, a Texas-based seismic surveying company doing work in Pennsylvania for the oil and gas industry that was caught using illegal aliens to work on their surveying crews. It appeared they would only be fined $25,000 for the violation (see GPX Gets Off Easy After Using Illegal Aliens for PA Survey Crew). However, in addition to the $25K fine, they also have to forfeit a $250,000 cash bond. Ouch. That’s more like it.
In addition, the operations manager in charge of the illicit arrangement faces six months in jail and a $5,000 fine:
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An interesting development in the “As Cuomo Dithers” fracking soap opera. Freshly back from a road trip to confer with researchers studying the health effects of fracking, New York State Commissioner of Health Nirav Shah appeared at a press conference yesterday with Gov. Cuomo. In a surprise announcement, Shah said he will render his judgment on the question of frack/no frack “in weeks.” Cuomo himself made some encouraging remarks at the presser too, including his belief that the two-year moratorium bill passed by the NY Assembly last Wednesday is going nowhere fast.