Marcellus Drilling News

New Utica Supply Chain Website for Ohio Businesses

August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

A new online service displays more than 700 companies in a 12-county region of Ohio that provide services and supplies to the Utica and Marcellus Shale drilling industry on an interactive map. The Ohio Shale Energy “supply chain” website provides a valuable service for businesses looking to plug in to the ever-expanding energy industry in Ohio.

Now that the site is up and running, there are plans to expand it to cover the entire state.

Industrywide Issues | Supply Chain

Advice for Companies Seeking to Work for Drilling Industry

August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

Do you work for, or own, a company interested in working with gas and oil drilling companies in the Marcellus/Utica Shale (often referred to as plugging in to the “supply chain”)? According to a speaker at a seminar in Ohio yesterday, the drilling industry is interested in one thing above all else: the safety of its workers.

If you want to plug in to opportunities in the industry, here’s some advice:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Poll: New Yorkers Remain Split on Fracking, Some Surprises

August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

Each month the Siena College Research Institute conducts a statewide poll in New York to gage opinions on various political issues and politicians. For several years running they have polled on the question of whether or not New Yorkers support shale gas drilling and fracking. The unsurprising results again for this month are that statewide, New Yorkers are evenly split for and against fracking (see the results embedded below).

However, when you dig into the numbers, a surprising fact emerges about the geography people live in who favor drilling versus the geography of those who don’t.

EV Energy: Production Updates for 2 Ohio Utica Wells

August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

EV Energy Partners has released initial production results for their second Utica Shale well (the Cairns 5H well in Carroll County) and issued an update on their first Utica Shale well (the Frank 2H well in Stark County):

Health Impacts | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Health Care Systems Partner to Study Marcellus Impacts

August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

Guthrie Health, a regional health care provider in northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New York serving 200,000 residents in 11 counties, along with Geisinger Health System, serving 2.6 million residents in 44 counties in northeastern and central Pennsylvania, have joined forces to study the health impacts of Marcellus Shale drilling.

Using medical records of their patients who live near drilling, preliminary results of the study on how drilling may (or may not) affect asthma, cardiovascular disease and cancer are targeted to be released sometime next year, while other data will take longer—up to 15 years.

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lancaster County | Pennsylvania

Marcellus-based Firm Expands to Service Other Shale Plays

August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

MDN doesn’t usually run press releases issued by companies apart from earnings and operations reports from drillers, or announcements of major new projects and deals. We see plenty of “we’ve just added two new people to our regional office in Mayberry” announcements and “we’ve just opened a new branch office in Pittsburgh” announcements. No big deal. It’s a “dog bites man” type of story.

But when a company that started life in the Marcellus/Utica region expands because of Marcellus/Utica drilling and opens a large regional office in other shale basin areas, that’s a “man bites dog” type of story, and one we think worth highlighting. Such is the case with RETTEW, a Lancaster-PA based company that provides engineering, consulting and construction-related services to the drilling industry.

About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Aug 20 – Sep 2, 2012 [Free]

August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

Below are upcoming events for this week and next.

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Aug 21, 2012

August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

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

Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH State Geologist: New Utica Map Coming in September

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

Mac Swinford, Ohio GEological Survey Assistant Chief Ohio’s official state geologist, Larry Wickstrom, chief of the ODNR’s Division of Geological Survey, was fired in May because he updated and released a map showing new boundaries for the Utica Shale and where the best places to drill would be located (see this MDN story). The update caused some of the previous lines to change, and that upset a few people (especially Larry’s political bosses). Mac Swinford has taken his place as interim state geologist. Swinford says a new version of the map will be released in September. Let’s hope he fares better than Wickstrom in navigating the politics of science.

Swinford has given us a heads-up of what the new map will show:

Energy Companies | Hilcorp Energy | Lease & Royalty Payments | Mahoning County | Ohio

Hilcorp Energy Leasing Utica Acreage in Mahoning County, OH

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

Hilcorp Energy is interested in drilling in Ohio’s Utica Shale. Specifically, they’re signing contracts and making offers in Mahoning County (northeastern Ohio).

Here are some of the lease offer deals they’ve recently made or signed:

Shell Rep Tells Monaca Residents Cracker Plant Looking Good

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

Last Wednesday night, a Shell general manager spoke to a gathering of people in Monaca, PA about Shell’s plans to build an ethane cracker plant in the community. As MDN has said numerous times, Shell’s deal to build a cracker plant in Monaca is a) not a sure thing, and b) will take years to complete when it does happen.

The Shell general manager, while reiterating those points, gave Monaca residents reason to be optimistic that the project will indeed happen in their community.

Chevron | Energy Companies | Harrison County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Chevron’s First Utica Shale Well Coming in September

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

Chevron is set to begin drilling it’s very first Utica Shale well in September. The Kinsey well will be drilled near Tippecanoe, Ohio:

Chesapeake Data Screw-up Means PA Production Figures Wrong

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

Last Friday MDN reported on the increase in Pennsylvania’s natural gas production in the first half of 2012 as compared with the second half of 2011 (see this MDN story). We noted that Bradford County was displaced by Susquehanna County as producing the most natural gas for 1H12. But there’s a “little” problem.

Chesapeake Energy, due to a “technical issue,” did not report its numbers—and they’re the number one producer in the state. Oops! The lack of Chesapeake data in the numbers has two implications:

PA Residents Weary of Fight with Rex over Water Contamination

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

MDN reported six months ago about an ongoing case 30 miles north of Pittsburgh in Connoquenessing Township, PA, in a community called the Woodlands. Some residents claim their well water was contaminated after Rex Energy drilled at least 15 natural gas wells in the area (see this MDN story). Water buffalos were installed for 11 families, but after a year and extensive testing, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) said that Rex Energy’s drilling was not the cause and Rex-sponsored water deliveries ended.

A new story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette updates the story with this background:

DTE Moves Forward with Bluestone Gathering Pipeline in NE PA

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

In July of 2011 DTE Energy announced they would file to build a 37-mile natural gas gathering pipeline through the Town of Sanford (Broome County, NY) as well as the towns of New Milford, Harford, Thompson, Jackson, Lenox and Harmony in Susquehanna County, PA. Dubbed the Bluestone Pipeline, the new gathering pipeline will hook to Marcellus gas wells along its route and connect to both the Millennium and the Tennessee interstate pipelines. (A data sheet issued in July 2011 showing the route of the pipeline is embedded below.)

DTE, under their subsidiary Bluestone Gas Corporation, filed a proposal on August 9 to move forward with building the pipeline. The New York State Public Service Commission is now accepting public comment on the proposed pipeline and its route until August 31. From the Public Service Commission press release:

Chesapeake’s Construction Investment in Ohio Continues

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

More jobs and more economic activity are on the way in eastern Ohio courtesy of Chesapeake Energy’s investments to build a new office complex near St. Clairsville (Belmont County) and their investment in a natural gas processing plant (Harrison/Columbiana counties). The new office complex is due to open in November while the processing plant is due to come online in 2013.