Marcellus Drilling News

Still No Decision on Drilling Near Wheeling Park High School

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

Chesapeake Energy, the only driller with active operations in Ohio, Brooke or Hancock counties, wants to site a drill pad about 1,300 feet from the Wheeling Park High School (in Ohio County, WV). The school doesn’t like the plan. A decision has still not been made, but is under review by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Is it a good idea? Bad idea? Depends on who you ask:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Global Frackdown Protest was a Global Flop

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

Depending on your news source, the “Global Frackdown” series of events held on Saturday, Sept. 22 was supposedly happening in “more than 100 cities” across the globe, or “about 150 cities.” Take your pick. Either way, the Global Frackdown was a Global Flop.

Did anyone, anywhere actually see protesters on Saturday? Does anyone have a photo of a huge crowd protesting on Saturday? Did anyone count the actual number of locations with two or more protesters? No. And MDN believes the event was held in far fewer than 100 locations, and attended by far fewer than the so-called “thousands” who were said to have assembled to protest fracking. In fact, we believe there were more pro-drillers at a recent event in rural Upstate New York than showed up for the collective Global Frackdown (see this MDN story).

Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Total | Utica Shale

French Company Total Says “Non, Merci” to More Utica Shale

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

In December 2011, French energy giant Total purchased a 25 percent ownership stake in Chesapeake Energy’s Ohio Utica Shale leases for 10 Ohio counties for $2.3 billion. In May, Total paid Chesapeake another $2 billion for a 90% stake in 9,000 leases in Columbiana County, OH (see this MDN story).

It seemed like Total was going full speed ahead with purchases of shale acreage in the Utica Shale. Not any more.

Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

MSC Launches LearnAboutShale.org to Answer Questions

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

On Friday, Sept. 21, during the Shale Gas Insight event in Philadelphia, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) launched a new website called LearnAboutShale.org. The MSC just completed three months of eliciting questions from Pennsylvanians at “listening sessions” about shale drilling. That initiative was called Ask About Shale. They’ve now categorized and answered those questions and invite new questions at the LearnAboutShale.org website.

From the MSC press release:

About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Sep 24-Oct 7, 2012 [Free]

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

Below are upcoming events for this week and next.

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Sep 24, 2012

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

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

Bad to Worse in NY: Martens Invokes Another Delay for SGEIS

September 21, 2012September 21, 2012

fox in henhouse The news in New York on the future of drilling has just gone from bad to worse. True to form, and as MDN has been telling your for more than a year now, Joe Martens—the Commissioner of New York’s Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC)—has once again delayed the release of new drilling rules for the state. As near as MDN can tell, the delay is indefinite—certainly until well into 2013.

Issuing a press release yesterday (read it below), Martens says he’s requested NYS Health Commissioner Nirav Shah to conduct a “health impact analysis” of hydraulic fracturing before the DEC will release new drilling rules. Here’s the (sad, maddening, tragic) press statement from fox-in-henhouse Martens:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

NRDC Tries to Peddle Anti-Fracking Message in Ohio

September 21, 2012September 21, 2012

Ohioans beware: The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an anti-drilling group, is attempting to export their “ban fracking” message from New York to Ohio.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD

New Nonsense Report on Fracking Issued by Environment Maryland

September 21, 2012September 21, 2012

Environment Maryland, an extreme environmentalist group, released a new report yesterday titled, “The Cost of Fracking: Environment Maryland Documents the Dollars Drained by Dirty Drilling” (see a copy embedded below). The report is filled with innuendo, half-truths and outright lies about the miracle of hydraulic fracturing. Typical scare tactic stuff that radical environmentalists use to try and influence the debate on drilling for clean natural gas—because facts they ain’t got. This report is more of the same.

Here’s the press release from Environment Maryland announcing this latest fiction:

About MDN | Meetings

MDN Enjoys First Day of Shale Gas Insight Conference & Show

September 21, 2012September 21, 2012

MDN enjoyed our first day at Shale Gas Insight, being held in Philadelphia. The exhibit hall, where we’ve been hanging out for most of the time, is filled with exhibit stands bearing many of the names we’ve written about over the past several years.

Yesterday saw some real headliners on the podium: PA Gov. Tom Corbett kicked things off with an early morning session, followed by a vigorous debate moderated by Ted Koppel, featuring PA Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer (one of our personal favorites) representing the views of Mitt Romney against Kathleen McGinty representing the views of President Obama. Unfortunately we only heard a small portion of that debate, but what we heard was intriguing.

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Sep 21, 2012

September 21, 2012September 21, 2012

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

Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Lease & Royalty Payments | Mercer County | Pennsylvania

Halcon Says No Drilling for Half of Mercer County Landowners

September 20, 2012September 20, 2012

About the half the landowners in Mercer County, Pennsylvania who signed leases with Halcon Resources (via CX Energy) to allow shale gas drilling on their property found out Monday night that Halcon is not exercising their lease options. The other half found out Halcon will go forward with drilling on their property.

What happened?

Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Trucking

How Much of $6M Cost to Drill a Well is Water for Fracking?

September 20, 2012September 20, 2012

The cost of water used in fracking Marcellus Shale wells was a topic of conversation at the World Shale Oil & Gas Summit in Houston this week.

Southwestern Energy CEO Steven Mueller had this to say about how much it costs to move (truck) the water for a single Marcellus well, on average:

Mahoning County | Ohio

Youngstown, OH Delays Vote to Lease City Land for Drilling

September 20, 2012September 20, 2012

Youngstown, Ohio City Council members have delayed a vote to move forward with leasing city-owned land for natural gas drilling. A vote was planned for Wednesday, but council would not take a final vote, partly at the urging of state Rep. Bob Hagan (D). As frequently happens at government meetings when drilling is discussed, loud-mouthed protesters showed up to cheer, boo and in general make noise. One of the protesters was dragged out by police and charged with disorderly conduct.

Hagan and Democrat council members want the city to wait until the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completes a study on fracking—which won’t be done until 2014—before moving forward with leasing.

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

NY Biz Group Launches Ad Campaign to Convince Cuomo to Frack

September 20, 2012September 20, 2012

RebuildNYnow, a group of businesses across New York State joining forces to raise awareness about the state’s crumbling infrastructure (roads, bridges and more), is weighing in on the fight to allow fracking.

The group has just launched a new ad campaign designed to pressure Gov. Cuomo to allow drilling:

Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Will Marcellus & Utica Shale Gas be Exported Any Time Soon?

September 20, 2012September 20, 2012

Twelve applications have been made to the federal government requesting permission to set up export facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG), some of those for Marcellus and Utica shale gas. Japan desperately needs natural gas in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster which is shutting down all of Japan’s nuclear power industry. Most of Europe is impotent to begin fracking their own shale deposits (thanks to the iron grip of extreme environmentalism).

The U.S. has plenty of gas and other countries want it. But one thing stands in the way of exporting it—the Obama Dept. of Energy and a study they are conducting to evaluate how much natural gas prices will go up here at home if we start exporting it. The study was due to be completed early this year. Then “by end of summer.” And now? End of the year. Kind of sounds like the DEC in New York with their “study” of drilling!