Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | EnerVest | EV Energy Partners | Ohio | Statewide OH

EV Energy Selling 539K Utica Shale Acres by Dec 31
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

EV Energy Partners, part of EnerVest Ltd., is in the final stages of a deal to sell its interest in 539,000 Utica Shale acres in Ohio, according to EV founder and chairman John Walker. (See this MDN story for background on how EV amassed such a large stake in the Utica.) When the final deal is done, it may bring in as much as $6 billion for EV.

Here’s what we know about the deal and what motivated it, from an investors call with Walker on Friday:

Read More “EV Energy Selling 539K Utica Shale Acres by Dec 31”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Mercer County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

Halcon Drills First Utica Well in Trumbull County, OH
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

One month ago Halcon Resources purchased Carrizo Oil & Gas’ northern Utica Shale acreage (15,000 acres) for $43 million (see this MDN story). Halcon is not letting any grass grow under their feet. They are already working on their first Utica Shale well—preparing the site—in Trumbull County, OH. When completed, it will be the first active Utica Shale well in the county:

Read More “Halcon Drills First Utica Well in Trumbull County, OH”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Research | Statewide NY | Wastewater

Yet Another Faux Report on Radiation Danger from NY Fracking
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

Grassroots Environmental Education, a leftist anti-drilling organization in New York State, released a biased report last week that says, in essence, if fracking is allowed in New York, radiation will poison us all for centuries to come. Another week, another faux report issued by a “scientist” with the viewpoint that all fossil fuels are evil. Film at eleven.

(Yes, we grow tired of reporting this claptrap, but you need to know about it because mainstream media is too lazy to evaluate it critically.)

Read More “Yet Another Faux Report on Radiation Danger from NY Fracking”
Allegheny County | Fayette County | Greene County (PA) | Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Washington County

Duquesne U Anti-Drilling “Study” Based on 14 Interviews
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

Duquesne University (Pittsburgh) is hosting a conference on the effects of shale gas drilling in a “Boom and Bust” conference being held today and tomorrow at the university. Although the conference flies under the banner of “science” and will share the results of a “scientific study,” it is any but. It’s about the findings of a so-called study that interviewed 14 hand-picked anti-drilling women about their feelings and attitudes toward drilling. They were interviewed twice each.

So much for scientific inquiry at Duquesne.

Read More “Duquesne U Anti-Drilling “Study” Based on 14 Interviews”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Preliminary EPA Report on Fracking Coming Soon
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

MDN has shared its view—for years—that the federal Environmental Protection Agency under Obama has become a rogue agency, attempting to usurp the U.S. Constitution by taking over regulation of that which belongs to the states. Namely, oil and gas drilling. How? By using the federal Clean Water Act and federal Clean Air Act to control drilling (among a plethora of other federal laws). The EPA’s favored target is and has been hydraulic fracturing.

The EPA is currently conducting a multi-year study on fracking. An interim report will be released in the next month or so, and if a high-ranking EPA official’s comments about it are any indication, the energy industry has reason to be concerned:

Read More “Preliminary EPA Report on Fracking Coming Soon”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Ohio | Trumbull County

Landowner Group Forms in Trumbull County to Field Halcon Offers
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

Very important for landowners in and around Trumbull County, Ohio: Halcon Resources, which took possession of some 31,000 acres of 20-50 year old gas drilling leases in northeastern Ohio, is approaching landowners about amending their leases to allow drilling in the Utica Shale. It’s a good opportunity for landowners to make money from drilling, but also a good opportunity to negotiate new protections.

A new landowner group has just formed in Lordstown, OH to help landowners navigate the offers being made by Halcon:

Read More “Landowner Group Forms in Trumbull County to Field Halcon Offers”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Guernsey County | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Gulfport CEO Says Company’s Future is the Utica Shale
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

On a conference call last week, Gulfport Energy’s CEO James Palm called the Utica Shale a “once-in-a-lifetime play … and a company changer.” He said the company plans to invest $225 million next year in Ohio’s Utica Shale to drill 50 new wells. The eventual goal? They plan to drill 400 Utica Shale wells in the next four years.

Read More “Gulfport CEO Says Company’s Future is the Utica Shale”
Energy Companies | Rex Energy

Rex Energy 3Q12: Income Up, First Utica Well Pumps 70% NGLs
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

Last week Rex Energy Corporation reported its third quarter financial and operating results. Among Rex’s notable results: The company’s first Utica Shale well averaged a 30-day sales rate of 731 Boe/d (70% Liquids). Counter to many other energy companies, Rex’s 3Q12 revenues were up 14% from the same period last year.

Below are relevant sections of the Rex 3Q12 update:

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Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | Statewide OH

Ohio May Still Get an Ethane Cracker Plant
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

Could Ohio (and for that matter West Virginia) still get their own ethane cracker plant? That would be a “yes” according to Cal Dooley, CEO of the American Chemistry Council. He was interviewed last week by Columbus Business First reporter Jeff Bell.

This is what Dooley had to say:

Read More “Ohio May Still Get an Ethane Cracker Plant”
Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

JLCNY Declares Victory over Anti-Drillers in NY Elections
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

According to Dan Fitzsimmons from the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY), the elections last week produced an excellent result—at least locally in the Southern Tier of New York State. The most visible anti-drillers—candidates running on an anti-drilling platform—went down to defeat.

Here’s the letter sent out by the JLCNY late last week:

Read More “JLCNY Declares Victory over Anti-Drillers in NY Elections”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Obama’s Re-election Impact on Ohio’s Utica Shale Drilling
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

A sobering and excellent article in the Coshocton Tribune takes a look at how the re-election of Barak H. Obama will negatively impact small businesses and the Utica Shale drilling industry in Ohio. We highly recommend you read the entire article to gain an understanding of the implications for all types of small businesses—businesses that are the economic backbone of our country.

Here’s a small portion of the article that deals with federal impacts on shale gas drilling in Ohio:

Read More “Obama’s Re-election Impact on Ohio’s Utica Shale Drilling”
Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EV Energy Partners | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Utica Shale

Hanoverton, OH NGL Processing Plant on Track for May 2013
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

In May 2012, MDN told you about a new $400 million cryogenic processing plant to be built in Hanoverton (Columbiana County), Ohio by a joint venture between Chesapeake Energy, M3 Midstream and EV Energy Partners (see this MDN story). The plant will collect and process shale gas, separating out natural gas liquids like propane, butane and ethane. In early October we told you construction had begun and the first phase of the new plant is due to come online in May 2013 (see this MDN story).

Last week an official for M3 Midstream, one of the partners in the project, visited the construction site and said things are track to meet the “very aggressive” May 2013 opening date:

Read More “Hanoverton, OH NGL Processing Plant on Track for May 2013”
Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Nov 12, 2012
November 12, 2012November 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: Mon, Nov 12, 2012”
Commodity Price | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues

Energy Industry Expert Says Shale Gas Will Last <10 Years
November 9, 2012November 9, 2012

Here’s a contrary view if ever we’ve seen one: Bill Powers, editor and writer of the Powers Energy Investor newsletter and someone who has sat on the board of three oil and gas companies and has been an active investor for 25 years, says shale gas supplies in the U.S. have been vastly overhyped. Over the past three years Powers researched and next spring will publish a new book called: Cold, Hungry and in the Dark: Exploding the Natural Gas Supply Myth. In the book he argues that contrary to the popular belief that the U.S. has a 100-year supply of natural gas due to shale gas fracking, he believes it’s more on the order of 5-7 years. Say what??

Powers was interviewed by The Energy Report and the interview was posted on the Seeking Alpha website. Here’s a brief excerpt:

Read More “Energy Industry Expert Says Shale Gas Will Last <10 Years”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Wastewater

Marcellus Wastewater Ban Leads to Lower Bromide in PA Rivers
November 9, 2012November 9, 2012

Not long after Michael Krancer was appointed Secretary of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection, he “requested” (which was more order than request) that municipal sewage treatment plants still accepting and processing Marcellus drilling wastewater stop the practice. At the time there were 15 plants accepting Marcellus wastewater. Under pressure from Krancer, they ended the practice in May of last year (see this MDN story).

The reason Krancer wanted the practice to end was because the plants were discharging wastewater with high concentrations of bromides which, when combined with chlorine, can produce harmful compounds. It looks like Krancer’s directive has worked. Bromide levels in the Monongahela River have come down:

Read More “Marcellus Wastewater Ban Leads to Lower Bromide in PA Rivers”
Energy Companies | New York | Norse Energy | Statewide NY

Norse Energy 3Q12: Revenue Down 33%, Waiting on NY Moratorium
November 9, 2012November 9, 2012

Norse Energy is the plucky drilling company still holding on in New York State. MDN has written quite a bit about Norse. They rolled the dice and bet on acreage in New York State (brave people). Norse currently holds some 130,000 acres of leased land in New York. Problem is, there’s no shale gas drilling in New York and there hasn’t been for 4 1/2 years. All of which has caused Norse to do everything but sell off the kitchen table in an effort to “hang in there” until the day New York does finally allow drilling.

Yesterday Norse released their third quarter financial and operational update. Oil and gas revenue for Norse was down 33% from one year ago. The company says they produced less gas, and the gas they did produce was sold for less money (due to the low commodity price) than gas from a year ago, which led to the decrease in revenue.

Read More “Norse Energy 3Q12: Revenue Down 33%, Waiting on NY Moratorium”