Marcellus Drilling News

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

Lawyer Tom West Sees Light at End of NY’s Fracking Tunnel
December 6, 2012December 6, 2012

Albany-area lawyer Tom West addressed the annual meeting of the New York State Association of General Contractors. He gave them his latest thinking on whether, and when, fracking may begin in New York. Why does Tom West’s opinion matter? He’s the lead attorney for two cases working their way through the court system now, both cases dealing with the right (or non-right) of local municipalities to outright ban shale gas drilling in their communities.

Tom has a better insight than most into what’s happening with fracking in New York. And he sees a teeny, tiny light at the end of a very long tunnel…

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Siena Poll: NY Residents Unchanged, Majority Support Fracking
December 6, 2012December 6, 2012

According to the latest periodic Siena College Research Institute Poll, the trend that started in the previous poll showing a clear majority of New Yorker’s supporting fracking has continued in the most recent poll. In a poll taken Nov. 26-29, 42% of New Yorkers support fracking vs. 36% who oppose it. Those numbers are identical to the poll taken Oct. 22-24 (see this MDN story).

However, if you think that’s the end of the story, you would be wrong. A longer term trend we see in the underlying numbers is that there is stronger support for fracking in both in New York City and the suburbs of NYC than in upstate. In October, 43% of upstaters polled supported fracking vs. 41% who opposed it. In November, 39% of upstaters supported fracking vs. 45% who opposed it. Why the swing against fracking with upstaters?

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Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Moon Twp, PA Votes to Ban Fracking in 75% of the Town
December 6, 2012December 6, 2012

The Moon Township Board of Supervisors (Allegheny County, PA) voted last night to ban fracking in areas zoned for residential, commercial or educational uses. The vote revises Moon’s existing zoning ordinance to comply with the new Act 13 law which stipulates local municipalities cannot completely ban fracking.

Since no permits to drill have been applied for nor granted (yet) in Moon, the newly revised ordinance means landowners who previously signed leases and live in one of the banned districts will never be allowed to drill. A map showing where drilling is allowed indicates drilling will only be allowed in perhaps 25% of the town (see map below).

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Energy Companies | Noble Energy | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Noble Energy: 800 MMcf/d of Marcellus Production by 2017
December 6, 2012December 6, 2012

Noble Energy, Inc.’s senior management is hosting a conference today in Houston, Texas with analysts and investors to discuss the company’s current operations, future plans and operational outlook. In advance of the conference, Noble issued a preview of what they will talk about. Part of the preview includes an update (an important update) on their activities in the Marcellus Shale. One of the predictions: Noble will achieve an eye-popping 800 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) in production of natural gas in the Marcellus by 2017—within five years. Currently they’re at 140 MMcf/d.

Here’s Noble’s update for the Marcellus:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Natural Gas Workers See Salaries Rise $2K/Year
December 6, 2012December 6, 2012

Not only do the number of jobs grow when shale drilling comes to a region, but the salaries for those working in those jobs grows as well. Case in point comes from a new report released by WorkForce West Virginia. The average (average!) increase in salary for someone employed in the oil and natural gas industry in West Virginia went up by $8,100 from 2008 to 2011. When was the last you you even had a raise, let alone $2K per year? The average increase for pipeline workers was even more—$2,800 per year.

More job and salary numbers from WorkForce WV:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Dec 6, 2012
December 6, 2012December 6, 2012

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, Dec 6, 2012”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

The “Compendium of its Meaning” for NY Fracking
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

Both sides of the drilling debate in New York are still coming to grips with both the fact, and the way, the state Dept. of Environment Conservation (DEC) filed for a 90-day extension to the fracking rulemaking process—keeping the possibility of fracking alive in New York.

Anti-drillers, never at a loss for things to complain about, mostly complain the DEC’s revised proposed rules don’t indicate where the rules have changed from previous versions (i.e. redline), making them flip back and forth between previous versions and the new version (perhaps they have a case for carpel tunnel syndrome?)…

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Energy Companies | Ohio | Triad Hunter | Washington County (OH)

Washington County, OH’s First Utica Well Slated for 2013
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

Triad Hunter says it will be the first driller to sink a new Utica Shale well in Washington County, Ohio—and it will happen next year:

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Carroll County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Latest Permits Issued in Ohio’s Utica Shale, Week of Nov 25
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

Here’s where the latest round permits have been issued for Utica Shale drilling by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, for the week of Nov. 25, 2012:

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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

[Corrected] ODNR Moving to Quarterly Production Numbers for O&G
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

CORRECTION: MDN has just been alerted by our friends at the Akron Beacon Journal that our information about quarterly reporting coming from ODNR is not correct. The proposed legislation which contained language about filing quarterly updates to production numbers ultimately did not pass the state legislature and therefore Ohio will (for now) stay on yearly reporting—which is unfortunate. Our thanks to Bob Downing for the heads-up on this.

On Monday the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) issued its annual Ohio Mineral Industries Report. A very small part of that report covers drilling and production for oil and gas in Ohio (see that section of the report below). ODNR has taken a lot of criticism lately over the fact that shale oil and gas production numbers are only required to be filed and reported once per year by drilling companies. ~~Apparently the criticism has prompted ODNR to change the reporting requirement.~~

~~Starting in 2013, the ODNR will require (and will itself) report oil and gas production numbers on a quarterly basis.~~

Read More “[Corrected] ODNR Moving to Quarterly Production Numbers for O&G”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Fairfield County | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Pipelines

ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Will Pay OH Airport $450K
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

The Appalachia-to-Texas (ATEX) Express Pipeline, a 1,230 mile ethane pipeline which will run from the Marcellus and Utica region to the Gulf Coast is about to ink a deal with Fairfield County, OH Airport to allow the pipeline to run under airport property. If the deal is signed, as expected in the near future, the airport will receive $450,000 to allow the pipeline under its property.

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Anadarko | Energy Companies

Anadarko’s Big Marcellus Growth in Past 4 Years
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

Anadarko, one of the largest independent oil and natural gas E&P (exploration and production) companies in the world, issued an update yesterday for it’s onshore drilling. Among Anadarko’s onshore drilling locations is the Marcellus Shale, which has shown a dramatic increase in production over the past several years.

Anadarko’s full update is included below. The main point of the update is to crow that they’ve now passed the 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day for onshore production (a great milestone to be sure). The interesting thing (to MDN) are the charts that go with the update, which we’ve embedded below. The Marcellus chart shows Anadarko’s massive increase in production from virtually nothing in 2009 to more than 300 million cubic feet feet per day in 2012.

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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

FERC Green-Lights 2 Dominion Pipeline Projects in PA
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

Last Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an “environmental assessment” (EA) covering two Marcellus pipeline projects proposed by Dominion Transmission: The 19-mile Tioga Area Expansion project, spanning five counties in Pennsylvania and New York, and the nearby 3.5-mile Sabinsville to Morrisville project.

FERC’s EA says neither project will adversely affect the environment, giving the projects what amounts to a green light to move forward with construction next year.

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Commodity Price | Crude Oil | Economic Impact | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | NGLs

Rusty Braziel Sketches Scenarios for U.S. NGL/Crude Prices
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

Russell (“Rusty”) Braziel is one of the country’s most respected authorities on energy information and markets. He’s the former vice president of BENTEK Energy (bought out by Platts in 2010). He speaks, he writes, and he’s now President & Principal Consultant at RBN Energy, LLC.

Rusty presented at the LDC NGL (natural gas liquids) Forum in San Antonio yesterday, and he had some interesting things to say about the future of NGL and crude oil prices in the U.S. When Rusty speaks, people listen.

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Landowners: Planning for the Tax Man in PA
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

End of the year means it’s time to consider taxes (bloody awful if you ask us!). If you live in Pennsylvania and if you’ve leased your property for drilling (and perhaps even have royalties from drilled wells), you need to plan for the tax man—especially if you’ve sold your lease rights/property. All we can say is, a) it’s complicated, and b) find a lawyer/accountant to help you.

The law firm of McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC, with offices throughout PA, publishes a monthly newsletter. In the December issue they highlight a recent guidance document from the PA Dept. of Revenue dealing with Marcellus-related transfers and income taxes. If you’re a landowner with leases, you may find it interesting. If you’re a lawyer or accountant specializing in the Marcellus, you’ll definitely find it interesting:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Dec 5, 2012
December 5, 2012December 5, 2012

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, Dec 5, 2012”