Marcellus Drilling News

BP | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

BP Moves into New Utica Shale Digs, Drilling Starts January
December 18, 2012December 18, 2012

Important Update: BP will not start drilling test wells until April 2013, not January as indicated in the headline (and as quoted in the story below). The news source quoted by MDN was inaccurate! Many thanks (and a hat tip) to MDN friend Andrea Wood, Publisher of the Youngstown Business Journal, for taking the time to notify us of the error.

BP announced yesterday they have begun moving into the company’s new “Utica Operations Center,” a 5,000 square foot office space with 38,000 sq ft of warehouse/storage space located in the Youngstown Commerce Park in North Jackson (Mahoning County), Ohio. BP aggressively leased Ohio Utica Shale acreage during 2012—signing up some 100,000 acres of leases this year. Of the Ohio acreage leased by BP, the vast majority (84,000 acres) is in Trumbull County, close to the new office space.

Ohio landowners who signed with BP, and businesses interested in supplying BP with products and services, will be interested to know BP plans to start drilling their first Utica Shale test wells in January 2013 (more details below).

Read More “BP Moves into New Utica Shale Digs, Drilling Starts January”
Energy Companies | EV Energy Partners | Lease & Royalty Payments | Utica Shale

EV Energy Partners About to Shed Utica Acreage
December 18, 2012December 18, 2012

Landowners in the Utica Shale who signed with EV Energy Partners, take note: Your lease may soon be reassigned.

An article on the Seeking Alpha website takes a close look at EV Energy Partners (EVEP) and their large Utica Shale investments. EVEP is structured as a “master limited partnership” or MLP. The focus for an MLP is distributing (via quarterly payments called distributions) most of the profit made by the company to its partners/shareholders. Because of its MLP structure, long-term development of “speculative” plays like the Utica is not in line with the company’s mission, so EVEP is looking to shed most of it’s Utica Shale leases—and they’re doing it soon…

Read More “EV Energy Partners About to Shed Utica Acreage”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Forbes Exposes Who’s Behind Newest Anti-Drilling Group
December 18, 2012December 18, 2012

The Forbes magazine website pries open the lid to reveal who’s really behind a new organization called Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSEHE). PSEHE was formed specifically to oppose shale drilling. And guess who’s behind it? The Ithaca, NY-based Park Foundation (funder of Gasland, Earthworks, Earth Justice and other rabidly anti-drilling causes), and Cornell professor Tony Ingraffea (co-author of a discredited anti-fracking study). In other words, PSEHE is a sham—a useful tool for mainstream media to use in creating the illusion that scores of “smart people” are opposed to fracking.

The Forbes exposé begins this way:

Read More “Forbes Exposes Who’s Behind Newest Anti-Drilling Group”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Maryland Shale Commission Misses Second Deadline for Report
December 18, 2012December 18, 2012

The “Keystone Cops” Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission appointed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to study natural gas drilling and produce a set of best practices for hydraulic fracturing will miss their second deadline to produce a draft report. The first deadline was August 1, 2012 (see this MDN story). At that time, they said “we’ll get ‘er done by end of the year.” Oops. That won’t happen either. Now they’re saying they need extra time and will produce the report “sometime this spring.” Anyone up for a betting pool on when?

Here’s the latest (sad) news from Maryland:

Read More “Maryland Shale Commission Misses Second Deadline for Report”
Energy Services | Fayette County | Industrywide Issues | Laurel Mountain Midstream | Pennsylvania | Violence | Williams

Farmer Does Jail Time After Confrontation with Pipeline Co
December 18, 2012December 18, 2012

A western PA cattle farmer claims workers from Williams/Laurel Mountain Midstream pumped acid mine drainage onto his farm and damaged his fences while drilling a ditch for a pipeline across his property. The farmer was ordered to stay away from the workers last month after confronting them about damage done to his fences. He violated a court order and confronted them a second time when he saw what he thought was acid mine drainage being pumped onto his land from the ditches being dug. This time he got four days in the local clink.

Here’s what we know of the story:

Read More “Farmer Does Jail Time After Confrontation with Pipeline Co”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Dec 18, 2012
December 18, 2012December 18, 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: Tue, Dec 18, 2012”
Allegheny County | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Airport Leases Land to CONSOL
December 17, 2012July 3, 2018

We have to wonder, was the fix in at the Pittsburgh Airport? MDN told you two weeks ago about the opening for two bids to drill on and under property owned by the Allgheny County Airport Authority (see this MDN story). EQT offered more than twice the per-acre signing bonus of CONSOL Energy. EQT’s bid to drill on 9,263 acres was $44 million!

On Friday, the Airport Authority announced that after two weeks of “very, very careful review” it has accepted CONSOL’s bid of $20.8 million as the representing the “best value.” Huh?

Read More “Pittsburgh Airport Leases Land to CONSOL”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Ohio

The Secret to Gulfport’s OH Utica Drilling Success
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

An excellent article on the Youngstown Business Journal website from Saturday delves into the question of why Gulfport Energy has (so far) turned in the most impressive results of all Utica Shale drilling in Ohio (see this MDN story for background on their success). Gulfport CEO Jim Palms credits better science and a little of luck for their astonishing success.

The real secret as to why Gulfport’s wells in Harrison and Belmont counties are doing so much better than counties farther north, like Carroll and Columbiana? It has to do with pressure…

Read More “The Secret to Gulfport’s OH Utica Drilling Success”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Offers Buyout to 275 Older Employees
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

Calling it a potential “benefit” for longer-term employees to cash in on their years of service, Chesapeake Energy on Friday announced a “voluntary separation program” to get rid of 275 older employees by February 2013. At least that’s MDN’s understanding after reading the official company announcement:

Read More “Chesapeake Offers Buyout to 275 Older Employees”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Portage County | Seismic Testing | Utica Shale

More Drilling on the Way in Portage County, OH?
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

There hasn’t been much in the way of Utica Shale permits or drilling in Portage County, Ohio—yet. At least compared to other Ohio counties. At last official tally, Portage has seen 14 permits so far (see this MDN story).

That may about to change. Why would we think so? Because of orange cables strung along roadways throughout the county…

Read More “More Drilling on the Way in Portage County, OH?”
New York | Statewide NY

NY Officials Make Plans to Use More Natural Gas
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

MDN friend Andy Leahy, who writes excellent posts on his NYShaleGasNow.com blog, has done it again. He’s sniffed out documentation from the New York Public Service Commission which maps out a plan for the state to use more natural gas. You read that right! While NY is in the throes of debating whether or not to allow fracking, state officials are making official plans to use more of the very thing fracking would produce—abundantly and cheaply.

Andy points out the following on this quiet-but-profound policy shift:

Read More “NY Officials Make Plans to Use More Natural Gas”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Wastewater

GreenHunter’s Plans to Move Wastewater by Barge Delayed
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

The U.S. Coast Guard must decide whether or not to allow fracking wastewater to be transported by barge along rivers and lakes in the U.S.—so says Cmdr. Michael Roldan, chief of the Coast Guard’s Hazardous Material Division. If the Coast Guard decides transporting fracking wastewater is not allowed, that would be a huge problem for GreenHunter Water. They’ve already invested in five barge terminals in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to do precisely that—move Marcellus and Utica fracking wastewater to facilities that can treat and dispose of it. They’ve made those investments with the understanding it would be allowed. Their understanding may have been misplaced.

Read More “GreenHunter’s Plans to Move Wastewater by Barge Delayed”
Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EnerVest | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | NGLs | Ohio | Processing Plants

Columbiana County NGL Plant On Track for May Opening
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

An update on the excellent progress being made with the construction of a new $400 million natural gas liquids collection and processing plant being built in Hanoverton (Columbiana County), Ohio by M3 Midstream:

Read More “Columbiana County NGL Plant On Track for May Opening”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Stantec | Stark County | Washington County

Canadian Firm Buys PA Marcellus Survey/Mapping Company
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

Canadian firm Stantec, which provides consulting service in engineering, surveying and environmental sciences, announced on Friday that they have bought out Landmark Survey and Mapping. Landmark, with 24 employees in both Washington, PA and North Canton, OH, specializes in surveying and mapping oil and gas pipelines—a growing area of focus for Stantec.

From the announcement:

Read More “Canadian Firm Buys PA Marcellus Survey/Mapping Company”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio

Road Trip! Youngstown, OH Chamber Goes to Houston, TX
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

The Youngstown-Warren (OH) Regional Chamber of Commerce went on a road trip last week—to Houston, TX. The Regional Chamber is aggressively marketing the Mahoning Valley area as the supply chain hub for the Utica and Marcellus Shale—encouraging Houston companies to open operations in their area to leverage an abundance of low-cost natural gas and natural gas liquids.

Chambers of Commerce and economic development agencies from other locales would do well to follow their example:

Read More “Road Trip! Youngstown, OH Chamber Goes to Houston, TX”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Gas Drilling Lingo: Pumpjacks, Yellow Dogs & Gushers, Oh My!
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

If you stop by a diner along Route 29 in Susquehanna County, PA on any given day, you may hear the patrons using words you’re not familiar with. Words like pumpjack, yellow dog, and kick down. You may also hear them talking about a Christmas tree—but it’s probably not the one you’re thinking about that stands in your living room this time of year.

Time for a vocabulary update, to define some of the terminology you may hear next time you go out to eat in a community where there’s active shale drilling:

Read More “Gas Drilling Lingo: Pumpjacks, Yellow Dogs & Gushers, Oh My!”