Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Dec 28, 2012
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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AP: NY Drilling Rules “Likely” to be Released in Feb 2013
What’s this? The mostly-anti-drilling Associated Press appears to be throwing in the towel and admitting the DEC is likely to release new fracking rules in New York in February?! Indeed they are. But at the same time they are only too happy to cast doubt on when drilling might actually begin (hint—don’t plan on it next year):Read More “AP: NY Drilling Rules “Likely” to be Released in Feb 2013”
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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA
Shell Ethane Cracker in PA Still Not a Done Deal
As MDN has cautioned in previous stories, and as Shell themselves have said, the $2 billion ethane cracker plant planned for Monaca (Beaver County), PA is still not a done deal. Yes it’s looking good, yes PA passed the necessary tax incentives, but Shell is still studying the site for the proposed plant. Although Shell was supposed to purchase the land by the end of 2012, that now will not happen.
Like any real estate deal—until the money is in the bank and the deed in your hand, anything can happen…
Read More “Shell Ethane Cracker in PA Still Not a Done Deal”
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OH Gov. Kasich Keeps Beating the Higher Drilling Tax Drum
What is it about states like Texas that causes Ohio’s Gov. John Kasich to view them as “foreign” and their citizens as “foreigners” (see this MDN story). An anal retentive fixation on the part of Kasich? Perhaps.
His fixation is in full bloom again. Kasich reports he recently went on some “foreign travel”—to Houston, Texas—where he had private discussions about raising taxes. Kasich also has a fixation on raising taxes on the drilling industry in Ohio so he can “spread the wealth” around to everyone:
Read More “OH Gov. Kasich Keeps Beating the Higher Drilling Tax Drum”
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Air Quality | Alternative Energy | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA
Climate Change Being Used as Excuse for New Law in PA
In 2009, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Climate Change Advisory Committee released a plan with non-binding recommendations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent statewide by 2020. The move was prompted by a 2008 law passed by the state legislature. (Ever notice “global warming” became “climate change” because the earth isn’t actually warming? … but we digress.) Part of the “recommendations” to reduce carbon dioxide is more use of natural gas. But getting natural gas from the ground tends to increase the release of methane, another so-called greenhouse gas.
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Economic Impact | Health Impacts | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania
PA Hospital Loses Money Covering Uninsured Marcellus Workers
A small non-profit hospital in north-central PA will turn in its first operating loss in five years. The main reason for the loss this year, according to the hospital’s CEO? Marcellus Shale field workers who come to the hospital for treatment—workers without health insurance:
Read More “PA Hospital Loses Money Covering Uninsured Marcellus Workers”
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‘Promised Land’ Inspires ‘Rise of the Loonies’
The loonies are coming out of the woodwork in response to the release of the somewhat anti-fracking movie Promised Land starring Matt Damon. Case in point is a rally tomorrow in Youngstown, Ohio sponsored by Fracfree America:
Read More “‘Promised Land’ Inspires ‘Rise of the Loonies’”
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Accidents | Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kanawha County | NiSource | Pipelines | West Virginia
Thinning Pipeline Caused Explosion Near Charleston, WV
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), part of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, has issued a corrective order to Columbia Gas (subsidiary of NiSource) dealing with the pipeline explosion near Sissonville, WV on Dec. 11 (see this MDN story). The PHMSA found that the pipeline section that exploded, which was built in 1967, was getting too thin:
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Pittsburgh Cab Company Doubles Fleet of NatGas Vehicles
The next time you stand on the curb and holler “TAXI!” in Steel City you may just get a ride in a natural gas-powered vehicle. One cab company in Pittsburgh is doubling the number of natgas cabs in its fleet, saving its drivers more than a generous tip when it comes to fuel savings:
Read More “Pittsburgh Cab Company Doubles Fleet of NatGas Vehicles”
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Dec 27, 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 27, 2012”
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Seismic Testing in OH Creates Uproar in Community
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:
Read More “Seismic Testing in OH Creates Uproar in Community”
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Wawarsing, NY Passes Town Ban on Fracking
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.
Read More “Wawarsing, NY Passes Town Ban on Fracking”
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EV Energy Partners Utica Acreage Sale Delayed Until 2013
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”
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Utica Drilling Resurrects Railroad in Monroe County, OH
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:
Read More “Utica Drilling Resurrects Railroad in Monroe County, OH”
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Marcellus Workers First to Get Studio 6 Motel in PA
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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The Undeniable Progress from Utica Shale Drilling
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:
Read More “The Undeniable Progress from Utica Shale Drilling”
What’s this? The mostly-anti-drilling Associated Press appears to be throwing in the towel and admitting the DEC is likely to release new fracking rules in New York in February?! Indeed they are. But at the same time they are only too happy to cast doubt on when drilling might actually begin (hint—don’t plan on it next year):
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.