Marcellus Drilling News

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

NY 2012 Fracking Health Assessment Continues to Reverberate
January 4, 2013

Yesterday’s revelation that early last year the NY State Health Department and the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had drawn up a draft 8-page assessment which said fracking is safe for public health in New York continues to reverberate around the state.

There were predictable reactions from both sides of the debate, jockeying to frame the drilling issue before a final final final public health impact review is released sometime later this month (or in February)…

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Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP to Release Marcellus Drilling Air Emissions Data Soon
January 4, 2013January 4, 2013

In the next few weeks, data on air emissions from Marcellus Shale drilling operations will be made public via the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) website. The data, required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, has sparked a new idea at the PA DEP.

The DEP intends to also require emissions filings from compressor plants on conventional (non-shale) gas pipelines starting in March…

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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Williams

NC Utility Signs Deal with Cabot for PA Marcellus Gas
January 4, 2013January 4, 2013

Piedmont Natural Gas, a natural gas utility based in North Carolina, has just signed a 15-year contract with Cabot Oil & Gas to buy a “meaningful portion” of its natural gas supplies from the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale starting in 2015.

Although the details of the agreement are confidential, Piedmont’s CEO did share the following on an investor’s call yesterday:

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Encore Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Utica Leasing Agent’s Acreage Grows to 1/4 Million
January 4, 2013January 4, 2013

In July MDN told you about Encore Energy, a horizontal well operator formed last year and headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky, that’s acting as a leasing agent for a large tract of Utica Shale acreage. At the time they advertised they “have access to” 175,000 acres in Ohio (see Encore Energy Shopping 175K Utica Shale Acres in OH). That number has grown. Encore is advertising they have now have access and rights to lease a quarter of a million acres in the Ohio Utica.

Wanting to remind drillers they’re still around and have land deals to lease, they issued another press release on Wednesday:

Read More “OH Utica Leasing Agent’s Acreage Grows to 1/4 Million”
Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

NJ Electric Generating Plant Powered by PA Marcellus Gas
January 4, 2013January 4, 2013

Although New Jersey seems hell-bent on opposing pipelines for low-cost Marcellus Shale gas (and would never tolerate fracking of their pristine soil), the state continues to benefit from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. The latest example is a brand new electrical generating plant currently being built in West Deptford Township. The new 738 megawatt plant will go online in 2014 and will be powered by—yep—PA Marcellus Shale gas, generating low-cost electricity for the residents of New Jersey. Can anyone say “hypocrites?”

An announcement from the company that will supply the new plant with low-cost Marcellus Shale gas to power it for the next 15 years:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jan 4, 2013
January 4, 2013January 4, 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, Jan 4, 2013”
Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

2012 NY Assessment – New Fracking Regs Will Protect Public Health
January 3, 2013January 3, 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.

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
January 3, 2013January 3, 2013

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
January 3, 2013January 3, 2013

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
January 3, 2013January 3, 2013

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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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Taxation

Accounting Tax Provisions are Not Subsidies for Big Oil & Gas
January 3, 2013January 3, 2013

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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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Marcellus Website Gets Prominent Op-Ed Published in WSJ
January 3, 2013January 3, 2013

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.
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Jan 3, 2013
January 3, 2013January 3, 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: Thu, Jan 3, 2013”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Utica Shale Drilling Will Continue Rapid Expansion in 2013
January 2, 2013January 2, 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
January 2, 2013January 2, 2013

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:

Read More “Flip Side: Some OH Utica Shale Wells Get Plugged/Abandoned”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Chesapeake Energy’s Huge Vote of Confidence in Ohio’s Utica Shale
January 2, 2013January 2, 2013

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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