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:
Read More “OH Utica Shale Drilling Will Continue Rapid Expansion 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:
Read More “Utica Shale Job Search Resources in Eastern Ohio”
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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:
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NY Elected Politicians Make Another Try to Stall Fracking
Once again, anti-fracking elected political leaders in New York (people who need to be voted out of office, see their names below) are trying to pressure the waffling Gov. Andrew Cuomo into extending the new public comment period from 30 days to 90 days. A group of them sent a letter to Cuomo and DEC Commissioner Joe Martens requesting the extension (dated Dec. 21, copy of the letter embedded below).Why do they want to extend it from 30 to 90 days? To force the restart of the entire process of approving new fracking regulations. If the comment period is extended to 90 days, it will go beyond the end of February forcing the restart of the entire process to evaluate and approve new fracking regulations. Restarting the process would effectively kill any fracking in the state—most likely forever.
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Probe into Chesapeake’s CEO Aubrey McClendon Nears End
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the probe into the financial dealings of Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon, which started in April 2012 and was supposed to be wrapped up in “weeks not months” has still not concluded, but will do so by mid-January. When it does, don’t expect McClendon to step down as CEO…
Read More “Probe into Chesapeake’s CEO Aubrey McClendon Nears End”
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Checking Up: Did ODNR Meet Goal of 90 Well Inspectors?
In May 2012, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR), the state agency that oversees the permitting and drilling of oil and gas wells, set a goal of tripling the number of well inspectors by the end of 2012—which would mean having 90 inspectors on staff. The agency has struggled with a heavy load of inspections due to a ramp up in Utica Shale drilling.
So, did ODNR meet its goal?
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New Pipeline/Compressor Plant Coming in Belmont County, OH
Ohio Gathering Co. has posted a $5 million bond in Belmont County, OH to cover the cost of potential road repairs and maintenance in connection with a pipeline and compressor plant project they have under way in the county.
Here’s where (in the county) the pipeline and compressor plant is being built, along with the roads that will be affected by truck and heavy equipment traffic:
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New NGL Barge Shipping Operation to Open in Toronto, OH
MDN recently told you about a natural gas liquids (NGLs) “tank farm” located at Half Moon Industrial Park in Weirton, WV (along the Ohio River) that started shipping NGLs by river barge to be processed in Houston, TX (see this MDN story). An initial shipment of one million gallons of NGLs were floated by barge first down the Ohio River, then the Mississippi River.
Toronto, OH, which sits just a few miles up the river from Weirton on the opposite bank of the Ohio River, is about to get in on the NGL barge-shipping business too. A 40-acre site in Toronto’s port was just sold to a company that will set up a tank farm and start shipping NGLs to the Gulf Coast for processing:
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OH Land Conservancies Try to Prevent Utica Drilling
In an article about the merger of a local land conservancy group with a larger, regional conservancy group in Ohio—the Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC)—MDN spotted remarks that indicate land conservancies have an anti-drilling philosophy, which raises the issue of whether or not you should support them or sign an agreement with them if you’re a landowner.
Remarks from the president of Little Beaver Creek Land Foundation (LBCLF), the local land conservancy group that merged with the WRLC:
Read More “OH Land Conservancies Try to Prevent Utica Drilling”
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Trumbull County’s First Utica Shale Well Now in Process
Although BP is the largest leaseholder for Utica Shale drilling in Trumbull County, OH with 84,000 acres under lease, Halcon Resources, which purchased 15,000 acres of leases from Carrizo Oil & Gas in October (see this MDN story), is the first to put drill bit to earth and is currently drilling the county’s very first horizontal Utica Shale well:
Read More “Trumbull County’s First Utica Shale Well Now in Process”
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.
Once again, anti-fracking elected political leaders in New York (people who need to be voted out of office, see their names below) are trying to pressure the waffling Gov. Andrew Cuomo into extending the new public comment period from 30 days to 90 days. A group of them sent a letter to Cuomo and DEC Commissioner Joe Martens requesting the extension (dated Dec. 21, copy of the letter embedded below).