Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jun 25, 2012
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Aither Chemicals | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kanawha County | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia
Aither Chemicals Still Trying for a Cracker Plant in WV
Will West Virginia ever get its own ethane cracker plant? It will if Aither Chemicals, based in South Charleston, WV has any say in the matter. MDN has been following the Aither story for some time. Aither Chemicals, a spin-off/subsidiary of Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research & Innovation Center, was established to build and operate ethane cracker plants that use modern technology making the plants smaller and less expensive to build and operate than tradition cracker plants (see this MDN story for background).Aither had a deal in principle with Bayer CropScience and MarkWest Energy to build one of these “new” kinds of cracker plants in the Charleston, WV area. That deal was set to be officially announced in mid-March (see this MDN story). But then the wheels came off the wagon and all was silent. No deal, no announcement. Until now.
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EIA Map of Shale Plays in 48 Lower U.S. States
MDN came across this handy map from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing the shale plays across all of the 48 lower U.S. states. Print it out and keep it handy for when you read the news, which each day seems to bring a new story about shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing. This map will be your guide to where the news is happening.
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Chesapeake Energy’s Board Changes, Archie Dunham New Chairman
You certainly can’t miss the news in the mainstream media that Chesapeake Energy has appointed five new board members and has “stripped” CEO Aubrey McClendon of his chairmanship (“stripped” even though weeks ago McClendon announced he would voluntarily step down from the role of chairman when a new chairman was found, such are the vagaries of headline writers).
The new incoming board members include…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Guernsey County | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio
Gulfport Drills Longest Horizontal Utica Wells to Date
Gulfport Energy reports it has just completed drilling the two longest horizontal Utica Shale wells—ever. The horizontal portion for one of the wells, located in Harrison County, Ohio, went over 1.5 miles.
Here’s the particulars:
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What’s the Reason Natural Gas Prices are So Low?
Why are natural gas prices at historically low prices? According to gas pricing experts, you can sum it up in a single word: Marcellus.
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New Deal Brings Midwest Sand to Marcellus/Other Shale Areas
Sand is a key ingredient in the hydraulic fracturing process. A special kind of sand, referred to as crystalline sand, is injected into cracks made during fracturing and stays in the cracks, propping them open so the gas can continue to come out (which is why it’s called a “proppant”). More sand will be on the way to the Marcellus and Utica region due to a new agreement between U.S. Silica, the nation’s second-largest sand producer, and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP will be the exclusive rail shipper for U.S. Silica’s new frack sand facility being constructed in Wisconsin.
From the CP press release announcing the exclusive deal with U.S. Silica:
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CNBC Special Report on Natural Gas and Shale Fracking
A CNBC “special report” asks the question: Who’s Winning the Natural Gas Game? The special report is actually a series of articles they’ve posted looking at various aspects of natural gas, including the controversy over the hydraulic fracturing of shale gas.
Part of the special report includes a poll. The poll itself, although an unscientific sample, illustrates the ongoing split in opinion of the general population on the issue of fracking. The poll asks, “Is Shale-Gas Fracking Environmentally Safe?” Here’s the results as of this morning when MDN voted:
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jun 22, 2012
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Wildlife Federation Sounds Alarm on Fracking in OH, MI
Sadly, we have to add the National Wildlife Federation to the list of rabid anti-drilling groups. In fact, a check of the NWF website shows they’ve drunken so deeply from the anti-everything pool they’re beyond redemption. The latest “wild” charge they’re making (pun intended) is that natural gas drilling, specifically fracking in Ohio and Michigan, will use excessive amounts of water from the Great Lakes and is an imminent danger to people and animals.
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Columbiana County Lease with Chesapeake, Highest Bonus Ever
Columbiana County, OH has just signed a deal with DPS Penn (an agent for Chesapeake Energy) to lease 548 acres for Utica Shale drilling. And they astutely doubled their money from the original offer from DPS a year ago. The new terms of the deal, just signed, are for $5,850 per acre and a 20 percent royalty. Columbiana also negotiated the lease term down to three years. A typical lease is five years.The deal makes Columbiana breaks the record as the highest signing bonus granted to any government body for a Utica (or Marcellus) Shale lease deal.
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Local Politicians Gather in Albany, NY to Support “Home Rule”
A number of New York State local government officials gathered in Albany on Monday, June 18 to talk about and support a new initiative to grant local municipalities the legal right to control oil and gas drilling in their borders. The concept is referred to as “home rule” and it’s gathering momentum with both Democrats and even with some Republican state legislators.
The event was sponsored by a group of anti-drilling groups, including Sustainable Otsego, Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy, and Otsego 2000. The anti-drilling group Shaleshock was also present and videoed the speakers. They offer the video on their website (click the link below to view it).
This was the press release about the home rule gathering:
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Utica Shale Drilling Causes Unemployment Drop in Eastern OH
The Coshocton County, Ohio unemployment rate has been stubbornly high, but now it’s starting to move lower. In May of this year the unemployment rate for Coshocton stood at 9.3 percent. It was 10.2 percent in April, one month earlier. And if you go back a year to May 2011, it was 11.3 percent. In fact, the current 9.3 percent rate is the lowest rate seen in Coshocton County since 2008.
What’s caused the Coshocton unemployment rate to go 2 percent lower in just one year? Yep, much of it can be credited to Utica Shale drilling.
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Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Shell | Statewide PA
PA Gov. Corbett Press Conference on Shell Cracker Plant
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett continues to push hard to get his package of tax incentives for a Shell ethane cracker plant passed before the state legislature goes on summer break at the end of June. Looks like it’s paid off. Word has come out the legislature will pass his proposed package.
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Bregal Invests Undisclosed Amount in Inflection Energy
Bregal Energy announced yesterday they have increased their investment in Inflection Energy. Inflection was founded in 2008 as a drilling company focused on the Marcellus Shale. They hold leases in both Pennsylvania and New York. Bregal is an investment company focused on the energy industry. The amount of the new investment and the terms of the deal were not disclosed in the press announcement.
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Josh Fox Releases Short Movie Targeting Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Josh Fox, a talented movie-maker and master purveyor of half-truths and outright lies in the mostly fictional movie Gasland, has just released a new short “documentary” called The Sky is Pink aimed squarely and solely at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It seems the anti-drilling movement is desperate to prevent any kind of high volume hydraulic fracturing from getting a fair evaluation in New York State—so they’re pulling out all the stops to try and make sure it doesn’t.
Read More “Josh Fox Releases Short Movie Targeting Gov. Andrew Cuomo”
Will West Virginia ever get its own ethane cracker plant? It will if Aither Chemicals, based in South Charleston, WV has any say in the matter. MDN has been following the Aither story for some time. Aither Chemicals, a spin-off/subsidiary of Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research & Innovation Center, was established to build and operate ethane cracker plants that use modern technology making the plants smaller and less expensive to build and operate than tradition cracker plants (
Columbiana County, OH has just signed a deal with DPS Penn (an agent for Chesapeake Energy) to lease 548 acres for Utica Shale drilling. And they astutely doubled their money from the original offer from DPS a year ago. The new terms of the deal, just signed, are for $5,850 per acre and a 20 percent royalty. Columbiana also negotiated the lease term down to three years. A typical lease is five years.