WorkForce West Virginia issued a new report to the WV legislature on Wednesday documenting that employment throughout WV in the oil and gas industry has increased 10% since 2008, and average wages for those workers have gone up 19%. Why? The Marcellus Shale, of course.
A few more interesting facts and figures from the report:
Read More “WV Jobs, Wages Go Up Because of Marcellus Shale Drilling”
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, Nov 29, 2012”
First we had the “Alpha Dog” Utica Shale well from Gulfport Energy, the Wagner 1-H well producing 14 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (see this MDN story). Then we had an even bigger success with Gulfport’s Shugert 1-1H, which MDN dubbed the “King of Utica Shale wells” producing a whopping 20 million cubic feet of gas per day (see this MDN story). We’re running out of metaphors to use! Yesterday Gulfport reported a flow rate of 28.5 million cubic feet per day on the Shugert 1-12H well (in Belmont County, OH), sister well to the 1-1H. Wow! Shall we call the 1-12H the Emperor Utica Shale well? It certainly ascends to the throne as the top-most producing well in the Utica.
In the same announcement from yesterday Gulfport said it has made its first sales in the Utica Shale via MarkWest Energy. Here is the full press release with details on the Shugert 1-12H and MarkWest:
Read More “Gulfport’s New Utica Well Produces Mind-blowing 28.5 Mmcf/d!”
It’s official: The New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will file for a 90-day extension on the rulemaking process for fracking. Although it would be better for the DEC to just release the new rules now, before tomorrow (Nov. 29), at least the process is still alive, albeit now delayed. Still, given the current climate in New York, MDN takes it as good news for landowners and a signal that drilling may indeed yet come to the Empire State.
Here’s how it all came down yesterday, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo admitting to reporters that the DEC will “have to” file for an extension:
Read More “NY DEC Files for 90-Day Fracking Rules Extension, What Now?”
Trans Energy issued the following production update yesterday about two Marcellus Shale wells they’ve drilled in Wetzel County, WV, which they call “two of our best performing wells to date”:
Read More “Trans Energy Update on WV Marcellus Wells: “Two of Our Best””
MDN recently told you about Seneca Resources, the first Marcellus driller to convert a drilling rig to run on a 100% liquefied natural gas (LNG) engine, a rig they now use for drilling in Lycoming County, PA (see this MDN story). Seneca has just completed the conversion of a second 100% LNG-powered rig and uses it for drilling in Forest, Elk, Jefferson and McKean counties in PA.
Stands to reason the company that makes the engine would want to crow about it, and sure enough they now have. General Electric is the manufacturer of the Jenbacher J320 turbocharged natural gas engine, and they issued this press release yesterday about their innovative new engine being used by Seneca:
Read More “Second Seneca 100% LNG-Powered Drilling Rig Goes Online”
In order to comply with the Great Lakes Compact, the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation yesterday instituted a new permitting system for large water withdrawals from NY bodies of water. The new system impacts any industry or user withdrawing more than 100,000 gallons per day. It also helps pave the way for natural gas drillers who use fracking—when and if new fracking rules are released in the state.
Read More “NY DEC New Permit System for Large Water Withdrawals”
A few facts and figures about the Marcellus Shale and it’s immense importance to the energy picture in the United States, from a recent U.S. Energy Information Administration report:
You mostly hear about about drillers targeting the Utica Shale formation in eastern Ohio. But the Utica is much larger than just portions of Ohio—it underlies much of New York and Pennsylvania as well. Yesterday Seneca Resources (the drilling division of National Fuel Gas Company) issued an update that details how they are testing the Utica in western Pennsylvania, which lies beneath most of their leased Marcellus acreage.
Here’s what Seneca reported on initial results from a well drilled in Forest County, PA:
Read More “Seneca Resources Targets Utica Shale – in Western PA”
A few weeks ago the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette took a swipe at the gas drilling industry with an article that implied that wastewater from drilling is responsible for ongoing, high levels of bromides in the Allegheny River near Pittsburgh. Louis D’Amico, the president and executive director of the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA), responds in today’s PPG to set the record straight and provide background and context missing from the article.
Read More “Setting the Record Straight on Bromides and Drilling in PA”
The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York (IOGA of NY), Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) and a number of other landowner and business groups announced yesterday they have launched a new public relations advertising campaign that calls on Gov. Cuomo and state leaders to end the delays in allowing safe natural gas drilling in the state.
From the press announcement:
Read More “NY Groups Launch New Ad Campaign – End Fracking Delays Now”
Principle Energy Services, a Texas-based company with offices and operations in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions, has just launched a new product/service called Whisper Noise Enclosures™ that it says will drastically cut noise coming from compressor stations.
Calling it a “game changing solution,” here’s the Principle press release announcing their new service:
Read More “New Product Reduces Noise from Pipeline Compressor Stations”
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, Nov 28, 2012”
A major court case before the West Virginia Supreme Court was decided last week, and the decision is not favorable to surface rights landowners. MDN previously alerted you to the case as it went to court back in September (see this MDN story). In brief, in WV the sub-surface mineral rights in many cases were severed and sold separately from the surface landowner rights—years ago. Surface rights landowners understand that mineral rights owners (and drillers) need access, but they want the right to have a say in where a drilling pad will be located on their property—and just compensation for taking the property for that purpose.
The WV Supreme Court decided last week (a copy of the decision is embedded below) that surface rights landowners cannot challenge WV DEP permits for drill pads, and where the pads are located, on their property:
Read More “Major WV Court Case Goes Against Surface Landowners”
The mainstream media loves to run stories about the dozens of townships in New York state that voted to ban hydraulic fracturing. What the media doesn’t cover are the dozens of townships in New York state that have voted to ban or restrict wind power in their communities. You read that right. Many communities in New York don’t like the noisy, disruptive (and permanent, unlike natural gas drilling) presence of huge wind turbines.
Take the case of 60 residents in Herkimer County who are suing Iberdrola, the parent company of New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG), over a wind farm in their community:
An update on the latest drilling permits (issued the past two weeks) for the Utica Shale in both western PA and eastern Ohio, by driller and county: