Marcellus Drilling News

Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Monroe County | Noble County | Ohio | Triad Hunter | Utica Shale | Washington County (OH)

Magnum Hunter Ramps up in OH Utica Shale with 4 Test Wells
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

The Marcellus Shale is the powerhouse workhorse, but the Utica Shale continues to be white hot for development. Magnum Hunter Resources and its subsidiary Triad Hunter announced yesterday the company will drill a minimum of four Utica “test wells” in 2013. Provided they find a good result, they plan “further development” of their 107,000 gross acres of Utica Shale leases later in 2013—which connotes they’ll drill those test wells early this year. In fact, Triad Hunter is already working on their first Utica well pad in Washington County, OH. A second well pad in Washington County is already in the planning stages, as is a well pad in Noble County.

Magnum Hunter’s press release outlining their plans for Ohio, including references to new OH Marcellus wells just completed and new pipelines on the way for some of their existing OH Marcellus wells:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA | Wastewater

Duke/Kent State Publish New Research on Marcellus Wastewater
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

A new report by researchers at Duke and Kent State universities takes a close look at the wastewater produced in Marcellus Shale gas well drilling. The paper, titled “Generation, transport, and disposal of wastewater associated with Marcellus Shale gas development,” appears in the January issue of the journal Water Resources Research. MDN was not able to score a copy of the full article and so must rely on the abstract and the press release (below) to describe it’s findings. However, from what we’ve read, it appears to be a careful, balanced and scientific look at the issue of drilling wastewater.

What did the researchers find? Shale wells produce about 10 times more wastewater than conventionally drilled wells, but they produce 30 times more natural gas. That is, shale wells are far more efficient and produce less wastewater per amount of gas produced than conventional wells. However, there are so darned many shale wells (in the Marcellus and other shale plays), the sheer volume of wastewater threatens to overwhelm the ability to deal with it.

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

NY Gov Cuomo Omits Money for Drilling Inspectors in 2013 Budget
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

We believe we’ve seen this movie before… NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo released his proposed 2013 budget yesterday. Not included in the budget was money to hire new inspectors for the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to inspect oil and gas drilling—inspectors that will be needed if shale drilling finally begins in the state this year.

Is the omission of money for new inspectors important, and does it indicate which way the governor is leaning with his career make-or-break decision? According to the governor himself, don’t read too much into it…

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

MD Marcellus Drillers Withdraw Applications, No Drilling for Now
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

Will there be Marcellus Shale drilling any time soon in the two western Maryland counties that have Marcellus Shale? The short answer: no. You need to have drillers who want to drill, and as of now, applications to drill in the Marcellus from the four drillers who filed them with the state Department of the Environment have all been withdrawn.

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Economic Impact | Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Ethane | Fairfield County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines

OH Airport Receives $450K Check to Allow Ethane Pipeline
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

In early December, MDN told you about a deal the Fairfield County (Ohio) Airport was contemplating to allow the ATEX Express ethane pipeline to be built under airport property (see ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Will Pay OH Airport $450K). Fairfield County commissioners signed the deal yesterday and received a check for $450,000.

What do the commissioners plan to spend the money on, and when will construction on the pipeline under airport property begin?…

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Energy Services | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Santrol

New Frack Sand Terminal Opens Near Youngstown, OH
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

Hydraulic fracturing uses sand—a lot of sand—during the process of drilling for natural gas. The sand is a special kind of very pure sand called silica. It’s used to “prop open” tiny fractures in the shale so gas can drain out—hence it’s referred to as a “proppant.” Most silica is mined in the Midwest, in states like Wisconsin and Minnesota, so getting it from point A to point B for use in drilling can be expensive. Terminals are created to bring in sand by railroad and truck and to store it, making it less expensive.

Santrol, a subsidiary of Fairmount Minerals company, announced today they have just opened a new proppant terminal for Marcellus and Utica Shale drillers. The new terminal is located just south of Youngstown, OH—close the border areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. From the Santrol announcement:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jan 23, 2013
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:

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Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Utica Drilling in a Nutshell: Permits & Wells Drilled, by Driller
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

The Akron Beacon Journal has done a great job of cataloging a condensed list of who is actively drilling—or intends to drill—in the Utica Shale. There are 23 companies in the list. No surprise that Chesapeake is #1 with 325 of the 498 permits handed out so far.

Here’s the entire list of 23 companies, along with a rundown of who’s drilled all 48 wells currently in production:

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Energy Companies | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Seneca Resources

Seneca Resources: Impressive Results for 6 PA Marcellus Wells
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

Seneca Resources, the drilling arm and subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Company, released a brief statement today announcing some very impressive initial flow rates on six recently completed Marcellus Shale wells in Lycoming County, PA—some of the best results in the Marcellus we’ve seen:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

New USGS Study Proves Fracking Does Not Contaminate Water Wells
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

An important new scientific study was released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on Jan. 9 that tests 127 water wells in the Fayetteville Shale area of north-central Arkansas. Fracking for natural gas began in the Fayetteville Shale in 2004, and since then, some 4,000 wells have been drilled. There were good historical records available for the 127 water wells to compare pre- and post-drilling results. Who woulda thunk we would actually use science to determine whether or not fracking is safe? What a novel concept.

The study is titled “Shallow Groundwater Quality and Geochemistry in the Fayetteville Shale Gas-Production Area, North-Central Arkansas, 2011” (full copy embedded below). What did the USGS find? They found that fracking didn’t affect water wells. No chemical contamination. Nada.

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Research | Statewide PA

PA NatGas Pipelines: Coming to a Roadway Near You?
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

An excellent report on natural gas pipelines in Pennsylvania issued in December has just come to our attention. The report (full copy embedded below) was created by PA Gov. Tom Corbett’s Energy Executive, Patrick Henderson, as a requirement under the state’s new Act 13 drilling law. The report provides a brief history of natural gas pipelines in the state with an excellent overview of how pipelines are regulated and who regulates them, followed by 16 recommendations for lawmakers to consider in crafting new policies.

Among the recommendations: Run new pipelines along existing local and state road right-of-ways; make it easier to share pipeline capacity without forcing a pipeline into becoming a public utility (with the associated nightmare of heavy regulation); and the state’s Public Utility Commission should create and maintain a comprehensive map displaying the routes for all shale gas pipelines.

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BP | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Research

BP Energy Outlook 2030: Shale Energy Impact “Far Reaching”
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

Energy giant BP, like energy giant ExxonMobil, are both drillers in the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays. They both also publish an annual energy outlook that shares their latest thinking about where the world’s energy markets are headed in the next few decades. ExxonMobil’s annual Outlook for Energy was published in December (see ExxonMobil Predicts World Fossil Fuel Usage Up 5% by 2040). BP’s Energy Outlook 2030 was just released this month (full copy embedded below). The word “shale” appears a lot.

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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs

IHS Report from Davos: U.S. Shale Energy is Changing the World
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

Research company IHS, which has produced many excellent reports over the year, particularly in the area of energy, is releasing a brand new report titled Energy and the New Global Industrial Landscape: A Tectonic Shift later this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. A copy of the Executive Summary for the new report is embedded below.

According to the new report, unconventional energy in the U.S.—shale gas and tight oil plays—is changing not only the U.S. but the world by reviving U.S. manufacturing, creating 1.7 million jobs here at home and adding $62 billion to federal and state coffers—and that’s just for 2012!

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Portage County | Regulation

Anti-Drilling Fervor Heats Up in Kent, OH
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

Anti-drillers in and around Kent, Ohio have some helpful suggestions for elected officials in Kent: ban fracking. And if you can’t ban it, make zoning so onerous that the practical effect would be to ban it. And if you can’t do that, be sure to pass a law that blocks access to all water supplies around Kent so drillers have no way of fracking. And if you can’t do that… See a theme developing here?

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Columbiana County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | Ohio | Trucking

Columbiana Port Authority Close to Final Deal with Marathon
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

Back in July MDN told you about a deal the Columbiana County Port Authority hoped to do with Marathon Petroleum to sell Marathon 3.6 acres in along the riverfront in Wellsville, OH so they can build a transfer station (truck terminal) to accept natural gas liquids and oil from local shale drilling by truck and, load it onto barges which would then float downriver for refining (see Columbiana Port Authority Helps Shale Industry).

Two actions taken on Monday by the Port Authority significantly advanced the ball down the field toward making the deal a reality:

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Schoharie County | Williams

Iroquois Announces Interconnect for Constitution Pipeline in NY
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

In news related to the soon-to-be built Marcellus Shale Constitution Pipeline (being built by Williams), Iroquois, a major interstate natural gas transmission pipeline, announced today they plan to move forward with development of a new interconnect project that will expand their existing compressor station and metering facilities in Wright, New York in anticipation of the new Constitution pipeline connecting to the Iroquois at Wright. Plans call for Iroquois’ new construction to be completed by March 2015 when the Constitution plans to go in service.

From the Iroquois/Constitution joint press announcement:

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