Marcellus Drilling News

Cuyahoga County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Seismic Testing

Seismic Testing in OH Creates Uproar in Community
December 24, 2012December 24, 2012

It appears that Precision Geophysical, a company doing seismic testing in and around Chillicothe Road in Bainbridge (Cuyahoga County), OH, has stirred up a hornets’ nest of trouble with local homeowners. They used thumper trucks along the road without first gaining permission from each (possibly any) of the homeowners in the area, and in at least one case lied to a homeowner about what they were doing.

Precision’s actions have OH State Rep. Matt Lynch hopping mad and leading the charge to slap Precision with a large bill for damages they may have caused to structures in the area:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Ulster County

Wawarsing, NY Passes Town Ban on Fracking
December 24, 2012December 24, 2012

The town board for Wawarsing, a town in Ulster County, New York (lower Hudson Valley, near New York City) illegally banned hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) at a town board meeting last Thursday night. The vote was unanimous, following a public hearing where not one person stood up for liberty and the Constitutional property rights of landowners. This is how democracy dies—when no one stands up for our hard-won rights.

Not that Wawarsing’s actions make a hill of beans worth of difference. There’s no retrievable Marcellus Shale gas to be had under the town anyway. Still, it’s the principle that’s at stake—that a simple majority of two or three people on a town board can strip away the property rights for everyone in the town with a simple vote.

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Energy Companies | EV Energy Partners | Utica Shale

EV Energy Partners Utica Acreage Sale Delayed Until 2013
December 24, 2012December 24, 2012

Last week MDN told you to be on the lookout for a sale by EV Energy Partners (EVEP) of their Utica Shale acreage (see this MDN story). EVEP’s Executive Chairman, John Walker, said in November the company was looking to sell its interest in 100,000 operated acres by the end of 2012. Looks like that was a tad optimistic on Walker’s part…

Read More “EV Energy Partners Utica Acreage Sale Delayed Until 2013”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio

Utica Drilling Resurrects Railroad in Monroe County, OH
December 24, 2012December 24, 2012

Yes, MDN is a sucker for a good railroad story—always has been. And here’s another one…

A 12-mile short line railroad in Monroe County, Ohio will soon roar back to life after being closed for 10 years—thanks to Utica and Marcellus Shale drilling:

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Economic Impact | Housing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Marcellus Workers First to Get Studio 6 Motel in PA
December 24, 2012December 24, 2012

Author Tom Bodett is perhaps best known for commercials in which he’s the spokesman for a motel chain, using the phrase, “We’ll leave the light on for ya.” Quick: Which motel chain is it? If you said “Motel 6,” you would be correct. So you’ve heard of Motel 6, but have you ever heard of Studio 6? Probably not—but you soon will.

Studio 6 is a long-stay motel started by Motel 6—think something between a hotel room and a small apartment. The state of Pennsylvania is about to get it’s very first Studio 6. And where might you think it’s being built? Philadelphia? Harrisburg? Pittsburgh? Nope. It’s being built halfway between Pittsburgh and Washington, PA (so to be fair, it is in the Pittsburgh “orbit”). But PA’s very first Studio 6 is not being built for business travelers—it’s being built for those working in the Marcellus Shale drilling fields of western PA.

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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Utica Shale

The Undeniable Progress from Utica Shale Drilling
December 24, 2012December 24, 2012

The Warren, Ohio Tribune Chronicle ran an editorial yesterday that takes a look at the profound impact Utica Shale drilling has had on the Mahoning Valley area of Ohio. As part of that editorial, they make the following worthwhile (and astute) observations:

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Education | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Mahoning County | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OSU Group Connects Students with Drilling Industry in Ohio
December 24, 2012December 24, 2012

Two Ohio State University students from the Youngstown, OH area have started the Buckeye Shale Energy Organization, a student group aimed at connecting students with the state’s shale oil and gas industry:

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About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Dec 24, 20112 – Jan 6, 2013 [Free]
December 24, 2012December 24, 2012

Below are upcoming events for this week and next.

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Dec 24, 2012
December 24, 2012December 24, 2012

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

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CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies

CONSOL Energy’s Executive Management Shake-up
December 21, 2012December 21, 2012

CONSOL Energy, headquartered in Pittsburgh, has been known as a coal company for generations. More recently, they’ve accumulated the fourth largest number of Marcellus Shale acres under lease and have a very active shale drilling program in both the Marcellus and the Utica Shale. So when CONSOL issues an “innocent” press release announcing three members of the executive management team are retiring, we notice.

MDN has no idea whether these announcements really mean anything beyond what they are: long-time employees retiring—although one of the three has only been with the company since 2005. Still, a big change (shake-up?) in upper management may spell a strategy change coming for the company. Here’s CONSOL’s press release from yesterday:

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Antero Resources | Chesapeake Energy | CNX Resources | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Hilcorp Energy | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale | XTO

New Utica Permits for Hilcorp, Chesapeake, Others
December 21, 2012December 21, 2012

The latest permits issued last week by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) for Utica Shale drilling include permits for Hilcorp, Chesapeake, Gulfport, XTO, CNX Gas and Antero.

Here’s the details on which counties and for how many wells:

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

JLCNY Sends Gov. Cuomo a Special ‘Happy New Year’ Card
December 21, 2012December 21, 2012

The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) wants its 77,000 members to keep up the pressure on Gov. Andrew Cuomo—especially over the holiday period—by sending him a very special “Happy New Year” card (see a copy below).

MDN received an email from the JLCNY to its members encouraging them to print out and mail a copy of their special holiday greeting card. In addition, they want members to phone the governor’s office. The message to convey? “We’ve waited long enough.”

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Chesapeake Energy | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Status Report on Chesapeake’s Utica Shale Drilling Program
December 21, 2012December 21, 2012

Chesapeake Energy is the second largest natural gas producer in the United States, behind ExxonMobil. If you’ve followed the shale gas drilling space for any length of time, you no doubt have heard about Chesapeake’s “problems” this past year. Their main problem is overextension: Leasing too much acreage without possessing enough money to drill on it. A further complication has been the low price of natural gas, meaning Chesapeake doesn’t make as much profit when they do drill. Too many bills to pay, not enough cash to pay them. The solution? Sell some of your assets.

Read More “Status Report on Chesapeake’s Utica Shale Drilling Program”
Anadarko | Chesapeake Energy | Chevron | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EnerVest | Exxon Mobil | Gulfport Energy | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Motley Fool’s “Ubiquitous in the Utica”
December 21, 2012December 21, 2012

The Motley Fool investing website published a “round-up” type of article two days ago that focuses on the major players (drillers) in the Marcellus Shale (see this MDN story), part of a series that looks at major energy plays in the U.S. Yesterday they continued the series with an article that looks in detail at the Utica Shale.

The article starts off by listing the top 7 companies by the amount of acreage they lease. They are (from highest to lowest amount of acreage):

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Venango County

Venango County Geophysical Study for Marcellus/Utica is Done
December 21, 2012December 21, 2012

NEOS GeoSolutions, a company that measures and analyzes what’s under the ground to help energy companies figure out “what’s down there” announced yesterday they have completed a new geological and geophysical study of the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays in and around Venango County, PA. NEOS delivered the findings to the unnamed party or parties that paid for the project (the “underwriters”). According to NEOS, the rest of us (euphemistically called non-underwriters) will get to see the study results on March 15, 2013.

Landowners in Venango County: Between now and March 15, if someone turns up on your doorstep eagerly wanting to sign you to a lease, take a deep breath and ask to see a copy of the survey results before you sign anything. Information is power, and the information in these kinds of studies can give those who possess it an advantage.

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Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | Utica Shale | West Virginia | Williams

Dominion, Caiman in $1.5B Utica JV: Blue Racer Midstream
December 21, 2012December 21, 2012

Two large midstream (pipeline & processing plant) companies, Dominion and Caiman Energy II, announced a new $1.5 billion, 50/50 joint venture to form a new midstream services company to service the Utica Shale in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The name of the new company is Blue Racer Midstream. Sound familiar? It should. Yesterday MDN brought you the news that Williams is investing $380 million in Caiman Energy/Blue Racer (see this MDN story).Williams owns nearly half of Caiman Energy II (47.5%).

One of the core assets of the new Blue Racer Midstream company will be Dominion’s previously announced $500 million natural gas liquids processing plant in Natrium, WV (see this MDN story). The Natrium plant was scheduled to go online by Dec. 31—a deadline that won’t be met. However, work on the new NGL plant continues at a “furious pace” and the plant will be online in early 2013. Dominion’s extensive gathering pipeline system in eastern Ohio is also part of the deal.

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