Marcellus Drilling News

List of Biggest Drillers in Ohio, by Leased Acreage

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

Akron Beacon Journal reporter Bob Downing reports some interesting facts about the Utica Shale from a recent conference. Well worth your time to review.

Among the interesting facts, MDN found these most interesting:

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

Broome County, NY Township to Hold Hearing on Drilling Ban

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

In a completely unexpected move, the Town of Chenango (Broome County, NY) has scheduled a public hearing on October 1st to consider a proposed one-year moratorium on natural gas drilling. That is, a couple of town board members in Chenango may ruin the ability for all landowners in the the town to allow drilling on or under their land for the foreseeable future. This is bad news for landowners in Chenango (not far from where MDN is written).

Broome County is likely one of the places where initial permits to drill will be issued, but DEC Commissioner Joe Martens and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have both said communities that don’t want drilling won’t get it. A vote to ban it—even temporarily—is a loud and clear message to the DEC to stay away.

Energy Companies | EV Energy Partners | Ohio | Stark County | Utica Shale

EV Energy Strikes Oil & NGLs in Stark County, OH

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

EV Energy’s Utica well in Stark County, Ohio is producing large quantities of light crude oil in addition to large quantities of natural gas liquids. EV Energy’s CEO, Mark Houser, said their well in Stark looks better in the early results than oil wells in the Eagle Ford basin in Texas. High praise indeed.

Because of what EV and others have found, drilling activity for oil and NGLs is moving to Stark, Tuscarawas, Guernsey and Noble counties.

Judge Rules Act 13 Zoning Unconstitutional During Appeal

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

The ongoing and currently unresolved court case in Pennsylvania over PA’s newly passed Act 13 law has an interesting new twist. You may recall a few weeks ago the middle-level Commonwealth Court in PA upheld a lower court ruling striking down the zoning provisions in the new Act 13 drilling law (see this MDN story). Those provisions under Act 13 substitute statewide zoning rules for oil and gas drilling in place of any local restrictions. Seven townships sued to have that portion of the law struck down and so far two courts have agreed. It’s now on appeal to the PA Supreme Court.

However, while the decision of the lower courts is on appeal to the Supreme Court, the original zoning portion of Act 13 was still in effect—until a judge’s order on Wednesday.

Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

REX NatGas Pipeline Faces Stiff Competition from Marcellus

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

RBN Energy President Rusty Braziel says the Rockies Express natural gas pipeline (REX), which originates in Rio Blanco County, Colorado and sends gas to Monroe County, Ohio, is in danger of drying up because there’s so much shale gas coming from the Marcellus.

Braziel’s prescription? REX needs to look at flowing gas in other directions—either the Gulf Coast, the West Coast, or both.

PA Shale Gas Production Goes Up Again

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

Shale gas production in Pennsylvania, almost all of it from the Marcellus, increased 12% in the first half of 2012 over the last half of 2011 according to new data from the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection. Also during 1H12, Bradford County was displaced as producing the most shale gas in the state by…

Two WV Colleges Get $100K Grant from Dominion Foundation

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

Two West Virginia colleges received $100,000 ($50K each) in grant money from the Dominion Foundation to be used for hands-on oil and natural gas training. WV Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin presented the money in a ceremony on Thursday.

The press release from Gov. Tomblin’s office:

Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Marcellus Shale Coalition Expands with 2 New Hires

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), an industry-backed organization headquartered in Pittsburgh that does a terrific job at getting out the truth about drilling in the Marcellus, is expanding. They’ve just added two new people, Andrew Paterson will become vice president for technical and regulatory affairs, and Shari Williams, a former communications specialist with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, will head up MSC’s outreach efforts in the greater Philly area.

From the MSC press release:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Aug 17, 2012

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:

About MDN

No Stories Today – Courtesy of Delta Airlines [Free Access]

August 16, 2012August 15, 2012

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I won’t be able to post stories today (Thursday, August 16). My sincere apologies! I will catch them up for Friday—have no fear, if it’s newsworthy, it won’t escape my attention.

The extremely long explanation…

Dimock, PA Landowners Settle Lawsuit with Cabot

August 15, 2012August 15, 2012

lawsuit settlement The long nightmare for Cabot Oil & Gas in Dimock, PA is now about over. Recently, the EPA declared the water wells in and around Dimock are clean (see this MDN story). We now have word that all but four families that sued Cabot in an attempt at a big payday will settle—likely for far less than they had hoped to extract, although exact terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

There are still a few in Dimock who will fight to the bitter end, but that’s what keeps lawyers employed. So what. They’ll drag it on for years and they still won’t get what they want.

Shell Reaffirms PA Cracker Plant Still Planned, Not Certain

August 15, 2012August 15, 2012

As MDN has previously cautioned, although the proposed ethane cracker plant Shell wants to build near Pittsburgh is looking good, it’s still not a foregone conclusion that Monaca, PA will be the location (see this MDN story). That message of caution was reaffirmed by Shell at an industry conference yesterday, as reported by the Youngstown Business Journal:

Over 36K Shale Wells in U.S. Have Produced 23 TCF of NatGas

August 15, 2012August 15, 2012

Powell Shale Digest released a research report detailing how many shale wells there are in the U.S., and how much gas and oil/condensate those wells produce (see below). The results? Across the major shale plays—minus the Utica—the U.S. now has over 36,000 wells that have produced 23 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 682 million barrels of oil/condensate.

Centre County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PA Town to Vote on Fracking Ban

August 15, 2012August 15, 2012

In New York State, it’s not uncommon to read about two or three misinformed town board members voting to ban drilling for all of its citizens. But it’s not something you read about happening in Pennsylvania all that often. So when it does happen in PA, it’s news.

No, a PA town has not recently voted to ban fracking, but Ferguson Township in Centre County will have a referendum on the ballot in the November election asking citizens whether or not they want to strip away the property rights of their neighbors. Ferguson residents who favor the U.S. Constitution, make sure you get out and vote!

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Anti-Driller Cuckoo Birds on Full Display

August 15, 2012August 15, 2012

There’s no nice way of saying this, so I won’t. The closer we get to the release of new rules that will allow the 60-year old technology of hydraulic fracturing to be used in New York, more and more nut jobs will come out of the New York woodwork.

The latest case in point comes from Paul Bray, columnist for the Albany Times Union:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research

Soros-backed PAI Makes University of Texas Look Foolish

August 15, 2012August 15, 2012

In the ongoing drive to smear shale oil and gas any way they can, anti-drillers have turned to attacking research from respected universities, like research from the University of Texas. If the research doesn’t reflect their own biases, they attempt to discredit it any way possible. You don’t agree with my “enlightened” view? Your independent research is wrong! That’s the anti-scientific attitude of these politically-motivated hucksters.

Along the way, innocent people (and their reputation) become roadkill. Like Dr. Charles Groat, one of the authors of the University of Texas (UT) study titled “Fact-Based Regulation for Environmental Protection in Shale Gas Development,” released in February (see this MDN story).