Marcellus Drilling News

PA to Grant $1.7B in Tax Credits for Shell Cracker Plant

June 5, 2012June 5, 2012

The AP is at it again. This time they’ve taken aim at Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett over the proposed new ethane cracker plant that Shell announced they would build in Beaver County, PA (see this MDN story for background).

The breathless headlines are that (gasp) Pennsylvania will have to grant Shell $66 million a year in tax breaks, for a total deal of some $1.7 billion in foregone taxes over 25 years (while at the same time that nasty Corbett keeps cutting previously scheduled obscene pay increases for teachers, never mind that the state is broke after years under Ed Rendell and Democrat control). That’s the sum total of the AP story running in hundreds of newspapers now.

Let’s provide some perspective, shall we?

Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Is Frack Sand a Health Risk?

June 5, 2012June 5, 2012

The hydraulic fracturing process uses sand—a lot of sand. The sand is used as a “proppant” to prop open the cracks created during the fracturing process.

But it’s not just your ordinary seaside sand that is used. It’s a special kind of sand that is almost 100% crystalline (pure). When that sand gets into the air, its particles are so fine they can irritate the lungs, and according to some, may cause lung cancer. This is generally not a problem for landowners or others who live nearby a drilling site, as any airborne sand would quickly fall to the ground. However, it may be a health risk for workers handling the sand if they are not properly protected.

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

Gulfport Energy Gets Active in Ohio’s Utica Shale

June 5, 2012June 5, 2012

Gulfport Energy Corporation is an Oklahoma City-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Most of Gulfport’s oil and natural gas drilling operations are located along the Louisiana Gulf Coast and in the Permian Basin in West Texas. However, Gulfport has acquired acreage and is starting to make moves the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio. They are currently in the process of drilling and completing their first five Utica Shale wells.

Yesterday Gulfport provided an operational update. Here are the relevant sections with respect to their Utica Shale operations:

Commodity Price | Economic Impact | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

New IEA 5-Year Report Says Natural Gas Future is Bright

June 5, 2012June 5, 2012

In a new report released earlier today at the World Gas Conference in Maylasia, the International Energy Agency (IEA) paints a rosy five-year picture for natural gas around the world. You may recall that last week the IEA released their “golden rules” for shale gas drilling (see this MDN story).

The report released today says a quarter of new gas demand over the next five years will come from China, and that electrical generating plants in the U.S. will convert and use gas as much as coal. The IEA also advocates for a global market price for natural gas and hints that a spot price for gas in Asia may be on the way.

From the IEA press release:

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Surveying Company Caught Sneaking Illegal Immigrants to PA

June 5, 2012June 5, 2012

A strange-but-true story: GPX, a Texas-based seismic surveying company doing work in Pennsylvania for the oil and gas industry, was caught trying to sneak in illegal aliens to work on their surveying crews in PA.

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Jun 5, 2012

June 5, 2012June 5, 2012

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

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Onondaga County | Statewide NY

Alec Baldwin Takes Aim at Fracking in Syracuse Appearance

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

On Saturday night, a B-list actor with anger management issues (who used to be A-list), Alec Baldwin, was joined by one-trick pony Josh Fox to show Josh’s masterful propaganda film, Gasland, to a small gathering at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, NY.

Alec has found yet another cause célèbre—defeat fracking in New York. (Oh, and Alec’s mom lives in Syracuse, so that’s why he was really in town.)

Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA DCNR Wants Money for Drilling Under Public Streams/Rivers

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)—not to be confused with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)—has found a new and novel way of extracting money from natural gas drillers in the state. If drillers have horizontally drilled underneath a public stream or river, the DCNR is going to ask those drillers to pony up with lease and royalty payments to the DCNR’s coffers. This one is going to be a lawyer’s delight.

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

AP Story: NY Should Give Up on Drilling Before It’s Begun

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

An AP story that appeared over the weekend attempts to make the case that Pennsylvania is so far ahead in the natural gas game that New York shouldn’t even make an attempt to allow fracking. The opening paragraph compares the situation to a runner with a huge lead in a foot race—PA will dominate natural gas for years to come.

The logic of the AP writer goes like this:

Columbiana County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Statewide OH

The Value of Land for One Eastern Ohio Landowner

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

How much are your lease rights worth? It all depends on where your land is located. Right now, eastern Ohio seems to be commanding the best lease and royalty deals. PBS station WVIZ in Cleveland aired a story yesterday about an 82 year-old woman, Jackie Pendleton, who lives by herself on 62 acres of land in Columbiana County, OH. The offers she’s received for both her mineral rights and the outright purchase of her entire property have made her head swim.

Lease & Royalty Payments | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wetzel County

Royalty & Production Figures from WV Northern Panhandle

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

An excellent article in Sunday’s The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register takes a look at production numbers for a sampling of natural gas and oil wells in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Chock full of numbers, some of the gems include:

Antero Resources | Energy Companies

Antero Sells Assets in Arkoma Basin, Expands Utica/Marcellus

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

Antero Resources is selling off natural assets in both the Woodford Shale and Fayetteville Shale to Vanguard Natural Resources for $445 million in cash. Antero plans to use the money to grow it’s operations in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region.

MarkWest/EMG Finalize Deal with Gulfport Energy in OH Utica

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

MarkWest’s joint venture with EMG, called MarkWest Utica, has finalized their deal with Gulfport Energy to provide midstream infrastructure services (pipelines and gas processing) in Harrison, Guernsey and Belmont counties in Ohio. The deal was initially announced in early March (see this MDN story). No word on the price tag for the deal.

About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Jun 4-17, 2012 [Free Access]

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

Below are upcoming events for this week and next. Read More “Calendar of Events for Jun 4-17, 2012 [Free Access]”

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jun 4, 2012

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

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

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Stark County | Statewide OH

Chesapeake’s Ohio Utica Drilling Program: Full Speed Ahead

June 1, 2012June 1, 2012

full speed ahead An update on Chesapeake Energy’s Ohio drilling program: They just received approval for two more Utica Shale horizontal wells at sites in eastern Stark County, brining their total to 10 permits for Stark.

Chesapeake has drilled four of the 10 permitted wells in Stark, although none are yet in production.