Marcellus Drilling News

Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Norse Energy | Regulation | Statewide NY

Will Drillers Bother to Show Up if NY Allows Fracking?
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

A new article by Platts asks the question MDN is often asked: “If shale drilling is allowed in New York State, will any drillers bother to show up and drill?” The Platts article quotes a number of experts who say, in a word, “no.” MDN has heard the same “no” sentiment from other experts as well. We’ve grappled with this issue in the past (see this MDN story from March 9, 2011).

These days, MDN has a contrary-to-popular-opinion position on the question of whether drillers will want to drill in New York soon after it’s allowed. But first, the viewpoints of those who say no:

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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

U.S. will Produce as Much Oil as Saudi Arabia Starting 2013
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

Not so long ago those of us who support shale gas drilling would proudly say, “The United States has as much natural gas sitting under it as Saudi Arabia has oil,” feeling the satisfaction of knowing that someday, somehow we may get out from under the thumb of counties who are our enemies by shifting our economy from using mostly oil to using mostly natural gas.

Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine saying, “The United States produces as much oil as Saudi Arabia.” Seemed like a fantasy. But starting next year, that statement will be true. Why? You guessed it: Shale.

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Research

Shale Drilling will Create 3.5M Jobs, $5.1T in Investment
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

A major new study was released yesterday by global research company IHS titled “America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the Economy.” The study builds on previous IHS research on the economic impacts of unconventional gas to provide the most complete assessment to date of the economic contributions—in terms of jobs, economic value and government revenue—for both unconventional oil and unconventional gas in the United States.

What did the study find? Upstream (i.e. drilling) in the shale oil and gas sector will provide 1.7 million jobs—in 2012 alone! By 2035 there will be 3.5 million people employed in just the upstream sector of unconventional shale. Here’s a real heart stopper: By 2035, $5.1 trillion in capital expenditures ($2.1 trillion in the oil sector, $3 trillion in the gas sector) will be invested in upstream shale exploration and production.

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues

Microbes Eat Coal, Poop Natural Gas
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

Although strictly speaking this post is not about the Marcellus or Utica Shale, and it may seem a bit offbeat, it does have relevance. We include it to illustrate American ingenuity and creativity, and as a lesson that the energy industry is always on the lookout to better their technology and reduce the impact to the environment.

Who knew that microorganisms liked to eat coal?! And who knew we would figure out how to use that discovery to create more natural gas? Here’s the poop scoop from MIT:

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Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles | Research

Handy Market Overview of U.S. NG Vehicle Infrastructure
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

The natural gas vehicle (NG vehicle) market in North America has all the signs of rapidly expanding. FC Business Intelligence, which is hosting the 2nd Natural Gas Vehicle Infrastructure Conference & Exhibition next February in Houston, has created a handy info pack full of charts, facts and figures about the NG vehicle market in North America (see below). The info pack is a clever marketing ploy by FC to garner interest in the conference—but there’s certainly nothing wrong with that! Hey, it worked. The info pack is worth your time if you have an interest in NG vehicles.

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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

President Obama’s Abysmal Energy Record
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

Startling news today that the U.S. is set to eclipse Saudi Arabia as the leading producer of oil (yes, oil) in the world by the end of next year (see this MDN story). This year, the U.S. will be the most energy independent we have been since 1990. We’re now on track to produce 4/5 of the energy we consume. Why? The miracle of hydraulic fracturing.

President Obama and his administration try to claim credit for this energy renaissance and make noise about an “all of the above” energy strategy. But a close examination of the record shows Obama’s energy policies have actually worked against our energy independence. Without his policies of restricting drilling on federal lands and offshore, we might actually be energy independent right now.

The numbers don’t lie:

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Economic Impact | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Senator to DOE: Explain Ground Rules for NatGas Exports
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

A super abundance of natural gas supply in the U.S. means we have the opportunity to export natural gas, reducing some of the supply and making money for our country (reducing our international trade imbalance). But the Dept. of Energy (DOE) stands in the way of issuing new export permits to allow that to happen. The DOE has commissioned a study on how exports will affect prices and other considerations here at home.

The Senate Energy Committee’s top Democrat member, Senator Ron Wyden, wants to know the precise criteria, the “ground rules” the DOE will use to make decisions on exporting natural gas. He’s asking some very pointed questions of DOE Sec. Steven Chu:

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Beaver County | Commodity Price | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Low NatGas Price Will Benefit Shell’s Ethane Cracker Plant
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

The low price of natural gas may not be good for drillers, but it’s great for manufacturing companies who power their plants with it. The fact that manufacturers are increasingly converting to natural gas to power their operations, and relocating to areas with an abundant supply of low priced gas—like Pennsylvania—is a good thing for Shell and their proposed ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA. Why?

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Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

OSHA Puts Brakes on New Silica Handling Rules for Fracking
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

In June 2012, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) issued a joint hazard alert for workers who use silica (sand) used in fracking (see this MDN story). OSHA has been working for several years on a revision of its silica dust regulations—long before a new report was issued by NIOSH on silica used in fracking. The NIOSH report, released in May 2012, caused OSHA and NIOSH to issue the joint hazard alert in June.

The hazard alert, while using strong language to encourage stricter rules for handling silica, apparently does not carry the full weight of being a regulation—i.e., it’s not enforceable. The enforceable regulation comes from OSHA and release of a revised regulation on silica handling for fracking and other uses is now on pause. How come?

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Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | NGLs | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Neighbors Not Happy with MarkWest’s Short Line RR
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

It’s not all peaches and cream when drilling comes to an area. Industrialization does have impacts—more truck traffic, more noise, higher rents, packed restaurants. Add to that list more railroad traffic. That can be good—MDN loves covering the stories of short line railroads on their way out that suddenly are revitalized.

But sometimes the railroad story has a few bumps. MarkWest Energy purchased an old short line railroad right of way that runs 4 1/2 miles in Mount Pleasant Township (Washington County, PA) a couple of years ago and rebuilt the rails. They recently started running a train along those rails to connect their Houston processing plant with a larger railroad to carry natural gas liquids (NGLs) including propane and butane to market.

Neighbors living close to the rail lines have complained of noise and late night runs:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Oct 24, 2012
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

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

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Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | Taxation | West Virginia

WV Tax Dept. Will Not Tax Well Pad Sites for Landowners
October 23, 2012October 23, 2012

The West Virginia Tax Department has decided they will not assess a property tax value to well pad sites for landowners. Officials were concerned that by assessing a value for a well pad site it would cause the landowner, who may not even own the mineral rights, to be classified in a higher tax bracket. This is good news for West Virginia landowners.

How the decision to not assess well pad sites was made:

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Bradford County | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lackawanna County | Luzerne County | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Sullivan County | Susquehanna County | Wyoming County (PA)

Updated Study: Marcellus Drilling Economic Benefits in NE PA
October 23, 2012October 23, 2012

Several colleges in northeast Pennsylvania including Keystone College, King’s College, Luzerne County Community College, Misericordia University, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, University of Scranton and Wilkes University belong to, support and form an organization called the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development. In 2008 the Institute published a study comparing economic and demographic changes of three shale plays in three specific areas of three shale plays: the Barnett, the Fayettville and the Marcellus.

The purpose of the original study was to show what may lie ahead in northeast PA should it follow a similar track to the then far more mature shale plays in the South and Southwest. The Institute has just released an update to the original study in a new report titled “A Review of Changes in Selected Economic & Demographic Indicators in Particular Counties in the Barnett, Fayetteville and Marcellus Shale Play” (embedded below). Wow, what a difference four years makes! The Marcellus in many ways has eclipsed the Barnett and Fayettville and continues to grow. But has that growth translated into good things in northeast PA? That’s the question asked and answered in this latest update by the Institute.

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

More Comments from Martens about NY Fracking Health Review
October 23, 2012October 23, 2012

Here’s a bit more about what New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens said last Friday about the current health review, some comments he made we did not previously see reported:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Fracking Fluids/Technology Getting Greener Each Year
October 23, 2012October 23, 2012

The TriplePundit blog does a good job of summarizing how fracking technology is getting greener in a post titled, “Is There Really Such A Thing As Green Fracking?” Author RP Siegel runs down the latest alternatives to chemicals being added to water-based fracking, and alternative technologies to water-based fracking.

Here’s a short list of the “green fracking” solutions either commercially available today, or nearly ready:

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

Marcellus Economics: PA Manufacturer Adds 50 Jobs, $2.4M
October 23, 2012October 23, 2012

Pennsylvania manufacturing company K-Fab is expanding with help from the state, providing an additional 50 new manufacturing jobs in Columbia County. The company manufactures equipment for the Marcellus Shale drilling industry. Their plans call for investing $2.4 million in renovations and improvements.

PA Gov. Tom Corbett’s office issued the following announcement about the latest new jobs and economic expansion thanks to the Marcellus Shale:

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