Eastern Geauga Landowners
Area covered: Geauga, Trumbull, Ashtabula, Lake & Portage counties in Ohio
Membership: Hundreds of members, thousands of acres
Contact: Mark Dolezal, 440-724-3126, mmm.dolezal@gmail.com
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Holmes County Group
Area covered: Holmes & Wayne counties
Membership: 12,000 acres
Contact: Larry Weaver, 330-231-5289, plehilcon@yahoo.com -
Chenango County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Landowner Coalition News | New York | Regulation
Will NY Gov. Cuomo’s Fracking Plan be Limited to 4 Counties?
Is the Lucky Five counties in New York that will see drilling now the Lucky Four? You may recall a few weeks ago the New York Times, using an unnamed source inside Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration (cough *Andy* cough), floated a “trial balloon” plan that will allow high volume hydraulic fracturing, i.e. fracking, for a limited number of permits in five Southern Tier counties for a two-year period: Broome, Chenango, Chemung, Steuben and Tioga (see this MDN story).One of New York’s largest landowner coalition groups, CNY Landowner’s Coalition, represents Chenango County—one of the Lucky Five. They have reliable “inside” sources that tell them Chenango County may not be included in the limited, two-year experiment. And they are marshaling their members to make noise about it.
Below is an email received by MDN on July 3 from the CNY Landowner’s Coalition outlining the rumor they’ve heard, and what they want members to do about it.
Read More “Will NY Gov. Cuomo’s Fracking Plan be Limited to 4 Counties?”
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DRBC Says No Marcellus Vote Until Nov. 2012 Earliest
Eastern parts of Pennsylvania that sit within the boundaries of the Delaware River Basin have been locked in a drilling moratorium since the Marcellus drilling boom began. Eastern PA has the misfortune of sitting inside the boundaries of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), which delayed a vote to allow drilling in November 2011. That vote has still not taken place.
Carol Collier, executive director of the DRBC, made an impromptu visit with Wayne County, PA landowners while in the area last week, and updated them on the “progress” being made on adoption of new drilling rules. She told landowner coalition representatives there are two reasons why new drilling rules for the Delaware River Basin will not be voted on before November 2012 at the earliest: (1) They’re waiting to see what New York does, and (2) they’re waiting for the Nov. 6 election.
Read More “DRBC Says No Marcellus Vote Until Nov. 2012 Earliest”
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New Shale Oil Well Just Drilled…in NY?!
This story caught MDN’s eye because it involves drilling an oil and gas well, in New York State, in a shale layer, using horizontal drilling. But not fracking:
Read More “New Shale Oil Well Just Drilled…in NY?!”
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WV Landowners Drive a Hard Bargain for Pipeline Deals
Some West Virginia landowners who feel shortchanged with low drilling signing bonuses ($5 per acre) and royalty rates (12.5%) are holding out for better deals to run pipelines across their property, and that’s leading to a slow-down of new wells coming online in the state, according to a former DEP representative.
Counties being affected by the slowdown include Ohio, Brooke and Hancock. Typically pipeline easements are a one-time payment, like a signing bonus, and are based on a per foot price. How high will those prices go? Some of the numbers being tossed about are breathtaking.
Read More “WV Landowners Drive a Hard Bargain for Pipeline Deals”
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EQT Converts Marcellus Drilling Rigs to Run on LNG
Drilling rigs take a lot of horsepower to run, and the engines that run them are big and use a lot of fuel. That fuel is typically diesel, and the emissions may (or may not) cumulatively contribute to air pollution if there are enough drilling rigs in a particular region. At least that’s the contention of the federal EPA.
EQT, in a public relations coup, is the first to start converting its Marcellus Shale drilling rigs from running on diesel to running on liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG has a couple of advantages: it costs about 40% less than diesel, and it pollutes less when burned. EQT’s first conversion is a rig operating in northern West Virginia.
Read More “EQT Converts Marcellus Drilling Rigs to Run on LNG”
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Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Mahoning County | Ohio
Salem, OH to Sign Lease Deal with Chesapeake for $7K+20%
The City of Salem, Ohio, which straddles both Columbiana and Mahoning counties, is due to sign a three-year oil and gas lease with Chesapeake Energy today for 381 acres of land owned by the city.
The deal calls for an initial $3,500 per acre signing bonus and 20% royalties, with an additional $3,500 per acre for a three-year extension. All told, it will be $7,000 per acre for a six-year lease—one of the highest amounts MDN has seen (if the three-year extension is exercised).
Read More “Salem, OH to Sign Lease Deal with Chesapeake for $7K+20%”
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Accidents | Bradford County | Chief Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania
Hydrochloric Acid Spill at Drilling Site in Bradford, PA
It wasn’t a happy July 4th at the Yoder Unit 1H Marcellus well in Leroy Township (Bradford County), PA. The well, in the process of being drilled by Chief Oil and Gas, experienced a leak of 4,700 gallons of hydrochloric acid from a faulty valve. Most of the acid stayed on the drill pad, but some of it ran off into a local “plunge pool” constructed by Chief and killed some minnows. Fortunately, the acid never reached nearby Towanda Creek and did not create a safety hazard for nearby landowners.
Read More “Hydrochloric Acid Spill at Drilling Site in Bradford, PA”
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Anti-Frackers to Descend on Washington, D.C. July 28
Oh joy. Anti-fossil fuel, anti-drilling hippie wannabes will convene in (where else) Washington, D.C. on July 28th for a protest against fracking (the sex is free but bring your own drugs). Hollywood stars and starlets will be in attendance to whip up the faithful—like Mark Ruffalo, Ed Asner, Josh Fox and Margot Kidder.
Titled “Stop the Frack Attack,” community organizers and other protesters will lead a rally and march from the West Lawn of the Capitol at 2 pm on Saturday, July 28.
Read More “Anti-Frackers to Descend on Washington, D.C. July 28”
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Ohio Beefs Up Inspection Force, Numbers will Triple by 2013
One more sign that Utica Shale drilling in Ohio is heating up: By the end of this year, the state will add as many as 70 new field inspectors, tripling the size of its inspection team.
Read More “Ohio Beefs Up Inspection Force, Numbers will Triple by 2013”
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jul 6, 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: Fri, Jul 6, 2012”
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EPA’s Draconian Air Pollution Rules Go into Effect, Sort of
Marcellus Shale operations in Pennsylvania—and oil and gas operations nationwide—will need to reduce so-called air pollution emissions to comply with new federal rules issued yesterday. And even though the “fix” in “air pollution” regulations was mandated by a kangaroofederal court, the EPA autocratically delayed implementation for parts of the new standards for more than two years, to Jan. 1, 2015. Why? The stated reason from the EPA is that the equipment drillers will need for “green completions” is not yet widely available.The real reason for the delay is because Obama wants to remove it as a political issue during his re-election campaign. Just like the tragedy that is nationalized health care, the real “bite” from the new EPA “fix” won’t take effect until midway through what Obama hopes is his second term, when the unpopular parts and the massive expense of the EPA ruling becomes apparent, but it can’t touch Obama politically. Sleazy.
Read More “EPA’s Draconian Air Pollution Rules Go into Effect, Sort of”
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Norse Sells Another Slice to Shareholder Megaron for $2M
It looks like today’s “extraordinary shareholder’s meeting” for Marcellus & Utica Shale driller Norse Energy, held at corporate HQ in Norway, has yielded the desired result. As MDN pointed out in our sneak preview of the shareholder presentation (see this MDN story), Norse was pitching existing shareholders on the concept of giving Norse more money to drill because “New York is almost ready to allow drilling” and when that happens, Norse will need the cash to ramp up operations. (Plus, they need the cash to keep going until then.)
Norse just issued a press release that they’ve raised an additional $2 million from existing shareholder Megaron AS, who agreed to a convertible loan. It was a good deal (potentially) for Megaron—they’re getting 10% interest on the loan.
Read More “Norse Sells Another Slice to Shareholder Megaron for $2M”
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Utica Shale
Chesapeake’s Best Utica Well (Buell 8H) in Legal Trouble
From time to time MDN will tackle a complicated issue and try to, as briefly as possible, break it down for our readers to understand the essence of it. This is one of those issues. It involves property rights, contracts, deeds, a sympathetic landowner, and Chesapeake Energy’s single largest-producing Utica Shale well in Ohio—the Buell Well.
The Buell Well, designated Buell 8H by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is named after the landowner Kenneth Buell, a 73 year-old farmer. It’s located in Archer Township in Harrison County, OH. It was one of the first Utica Shale wells to be drilled in Ohio and previously yielded 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 198 days—2% of the total gas production for the entire state. It’s 300 times more productive than the average vertical well in Ohio, and it has also has produced in excess of 13,000 barrels of oil. By any measure it’s a star performer—the star performer in Ohio. And it’s now in danger of being shut down because of legal disputes over who owns the rights to drill it. That’s where the situation gets messy and complicated.
Read More “Chesapeake’s Best Utica Well (Buell 8H) in Legal Trouble”
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Patriot Water Treatment | Trumbull County | Wastewater
Patriot Water Treatment Wins Case Against Ohio EPA
Earlier this year MDN reported on the story of the Patriot Water Treatment facility in Warren, Ohio. Patriot accepts and treats raw fracking fluid from Marcellus drilling operations, removing heavy metals, bromide and other contaminants. Last fall, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican who seems to be rather anti-drilling in his actions, declared that Patriot’s permits were illegal because they were not using the latest technology (see this MDN story).
The Ohio EPA took DeWine’s findings as a cue to go after Patriot to shut them down. They did so by not allowing the City of Warren to accept Patriot’s treated wastewater. With no place to send the treated wastewater, Patriot had to shut the plant down in April. Patriot appealed the EPA decision and on Tuesday, Patriot prevailed. The plant will reopen today.
Read More “Patriot Water Treatment Wins Case Against Ohio EPA”
Is the Lucky Five counties in New York that will see drilling now the Lucky Four? You may recall a few weeks ago the New York Times, using an unnamed source inside Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration (cough *Andy* cough), floated a “trial balloon” plan that will allow high volume hydraulic fracturing, i.e. fracking, for a limited number of permits in five Southern Tier counties for a two-year period: Broome, Chenango, Chemung, Steuben and Tioga (
Marcellus Shale operations in Pennsylvania—and oil and gas operations nationwide—will need to reduce so-called air pollution emissions to comply with new federal rules issued yesterday. And even though the “fix” in “air pollution” regulations was mandated by a