Marcellus Drilling News

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

WSJ Devastating Critique of “Promised Land” Movie
December 13, 2012December 13, 2012

There is a must-read opinion piece in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal (free access for the article), titled, “Good Will Fracking.” It is, of course, about the upcoming January release of the anti-fracking movie “Promised Land,” starring Matt Damon. Apparently the movie is (thankfully) a stinker, according to early reviews, so it likely won’t be seen by many people.

Here’s how the WSJ piece begins:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Dec 13, 2012
December 13, 2012December 13, 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 13, 2012”
Access Midstream Partners | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Williams

Chesapeake, Access & Williams in Complex 3-Way Midstream Deal
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

Chesapeake Energy has sold off its remaining midstream operations (pipelines, compressors and processing plants) to Access Midstream Partners for $2.16 billion. The sale includes Chesapeake’s midstream assets in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, along with assets in the Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Niobrara shale plays.

At the same time (keep your eye on the bouncing ball here), midstream giant Williams paid $2.4 billion to buy a 50% stake in Access Midstream. That is, the two deals are connected—Chesapeake to Access, Access to Williams. On paper, Chesapeake sold its midstream properties to Access, but it practice it seems the sale was actually to Williams via Access Midstream. In addition, Williams announced that Chesapeake is “supporting” their effort to build a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from the Marcellus/Utica area to the Gulf Coast.

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BP | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Ohio | Utica Shale

BP Continues to Expand in Ohio’s Utica Shale
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

BP continues to expand its footprint in Ohio’s Utica Shale. Lately, the company has been purchasing leases in Columbiana County:

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Air Quality | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Statewide NY

7 States Threaten EPA Lawsuit over Methane Emissions
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

An out-of-control New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is the ring leader for seven northeastern states who say they plan to sue the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the EPA to enforce even stricter air emissions rules (if such a thing is possible) to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas drilling. Earlier this year the EPA introduced far stricter rules that require drillers to install expensive new equipment to trap leaking (so-called “fugitive”) methane—perhaps driving some of them out of business in two years when the new rules are fully implemented.

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Energy Companies | Guernsey County | Ohio | PDC Energy | PDC Mountaineer | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

PDC Energy: Production from 1st Utica Well, 2013 Forecast
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

PDC Energy issued their 2013 forecast yesterday, along with an impressive production report on their first Utica Shale well, drilled in Guernsey County, OH. They plan to spend $53 million next year to drill and complete five horizontal Utica Shale wells in Ohio. Part of that budget will also be spent on additional acreage to lease—acreage contiguous to their existing leased acreage. (Landowners who are not yet leased, here’s an opportunity for you.)

PDC also has a joint venture in the Marcellus Shale and plans to allocate $48 million for its 50% share toward drilling and completing 14 wells and certain midstream infrastructure projects (pipelines/processing) .

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Feds ‘Hope’ States will Use BLM Rules for ALL Fracking
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

We are on a very dangerous and slippery slope. The federal government, under Barack H. Obama, has its sights set on usurping individual states’ rights (guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution) to regulate oil and gas drilling. MDN has pointed out for more than two years that the EPA wants to regulate fracking—an illegal act in our considered opinion. More recently the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the Dept. of Interior has gotten in on the act by issuing draft rules for fracking on federal lands. Word came yesterday from the Obama administration that the new BLM rules slated to be finalized this year will now be delayed until early 2013.

In addition to the delay from BLM comes word (an edict?) from the Obamadroids that they “hope” the states will use BLM’s finalized rules as a “template” to regulate all fracking and shale drilling—even on private land. It’s an awfully short step from “hope” to “demand” when it comes to Washington politicians and an out-of-control federal government.

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

Oxford, NY Tables Consideration of Fracking Moratorium
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

Village leaders for Oxford (Chenango County, NY) tabled consideration of a fracking moratorium at a contentious meeting last night:

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Accidents | Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kanawha County | NiSource | Pipelines | West Virginia

Columbia NatGas Pipeline Explodes Near Charleston, WV
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

This is big news because it’s so extremely rare: A 20-inch natural gas transmission pipeline—the Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline (owned by Nisource)—exploded near Sissonville, WV, 10 miles north of Charleston. The resulting fire burned for more than an hour and has shut down a portion of nearby Interstate 77 for at least two days.

The explosion happened not far from the Lanham Compressor Station, although there is no indication the compressor station had anything to do with the explosion. An investigation into the explosion is just beginning and there are few known facts. The (rather thin) details as we know them:

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Alternative Energy | Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Industrywide Issues | Research

ExxonMobil Predicts World Fossil Fuel Usage Up 5% by 2040
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

ExxonMobil, not only the world’s largest energy company but the world’s largest company period by revenue, publishes an annual Outlook for Energy. Yesterday they issued the 2013 edition (embedded below). The annual publication is an inside look at how some of the world’s keenest minds in energy view what’s coming down the road for energy over the next 30 years.

A few (very interesting) highlights from this year’s edition:

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

Westchester County, NY Bans Fracking Wastewater
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

The Westchester County Board of Legislators voted on Monday (unanimously) to ban fracking fluids from the county. The ban specifically disallows treatment of fracking fluid wastewater in municipal treatment plants (already illegal under DEC rules) and a ban on using the salt from fracking wastewater to treat roadways during the winter.

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Dec 12, 2012
December 12, 2012December 12, 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 12, 2012”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Begins 30-Day Public Comment Period Wednesday
December 11, 2012December 11, 2012

The starter pistol is ready to be fired. On Wednesday, the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation will begin a 30-day public comment period as part of a 90-day extension on proposed new rules to allow hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for horizontal drilling in the state.

Both sides of the drilling debate are pulling out the big guns to try and influence the outcome:

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Chenango County | Industrywide Issues | Landowner Coalition News | Litigation | New York

CNY Landowners Establish Legal Fund to Sue Towns with Bans
December 11, 2012December 11, 2012

Landowners in the central New York area are tired of having their property rights trampled by a few of their discontented (and misguided) neighbors. When two of three town board members vote to institute a ban or moratorium, it strips away the rights of all landowners in the town and devalues their property, making it all but impossible for them to sign leases for potential future natural gas drilling.

The CNY Landowner’s Coalition (Central New York) has established a fund to help with attorneys fees to defend their property rights against what they consider to be an illegal seizure of their property rights by some towns. First up is to defend their rights against a misguided moratorium in Oxford (Chenango County, NY). Note to Oxford town board members and residents: prepare to spend big bucks to defend a permanent moratorium if you pass one. It’s not a threat—it’s a promise.

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Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Shell | SWEPI | Warren County

Marcellus Permits Nearly Double in Warren County, PA
December 11, 2012December 11, 2012

Over the past decade, 11 permits for horizontal Marcellus Shale drilling have been issued in Warren County, PA: Range Resources got 6 of those permits, PA General Energy got 4 of them, and Hunt Marcellus Operating received 1 permit.

The number of permits has now almost doubled in Warren. SWEPI LP recently received 10 permits to drill—all of them for the Hook Run Farm in Mead Township.

Read More “Marcellus Permits Nearly Double in Warren County, PA”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

World Marvels at U.S. Fracking Water Management
December 11, 2012December 11, 2012

The rest of the world is looking to the United States to learn how to leverage the miracle of hydraulic fracturing. A newly released report from global management consulting firm Accenture, titled “Water and shale gas development: leveraging the US experience in new shale developments” (full copy embedded below), looks at the water issue when it comes to fracking—and how the U.S. has effectively managed water use and disposal. According to the report, we in the U.S. are masters at moving water from point A to point B, conserving it, and disposing of it—and our hard work and innovation can benefit other countries now considering fracking their own shale deposits.

Here’s a description of the report from Accenture:

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