Marcellus Drilling News

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Statewide OH | Trumbull County

The Economic Revival of Warren, OH Thanks to Shale Drilling
July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

Yet more evidence that when shale drilling arrives, so do jobs and economic expansion. This time the evidence comes from Warren, Ohio.

From the number of area residents hired by the drilling industry in new jobs, to increased business for restaurants, an increase in new car sales, an increase in new home sales and even an uptick in tax revenues—all of the economic indicators in eastern Ohio are trending up—amidst the worst economy since the 1920s. Why? Shale drilling on private land.

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Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Trend Toward Wet Gas Drilling Continues: Rig Count Data
July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

Yet more evidence that Marcellus and Utica Shale gas drilling is migrating from Pennsylvania to Ohio and West Virginia—away from dry gas areas toward wet gas areas. The number of drilling rigs, as tracked by Baker Hughes, tell the story:

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Commodity Price | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues

Natural Gas Ties Coal in Generating Electricity in U.S.
July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

What’s the number one energy source used to create electricity in the United States? If you answered “coal” you would have been right—up until very recently. Natural gas’ use to generate electricity has now tied coal—something that hasn’t happened in at least 40 years.

And with strict new federal EPA rules in place, there’s virtually no chance new electric generating plants powered by coal will be built. To build a new coal-fired plant compliant with emissions levels by the EPA would be too expensive to make it profitable.

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jul 16, 2012
July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

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

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Broome County | Chenango County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Battle Royale in NY Townships – Support or Ban Fracking?
July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

Many townships in the Southern Tier area of New York State want Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation to know they support responsible gas drilling. Tuesday night the town board in Bainbridge (Chenango County) voted to adopt a resolution supporting drilling (if by support you mean let’s wait until the DEC issues its new rules). The towns of Preston and Guilford, also Chenango County, both voted to approve the resolution Wednesday night. The resolution was slated for a vote in both Afton and Oxford townships (again, Chenango County), but MDN does not have details yet on the outcomes there—although it was likely positive.

A copy of the resolution as adopted in May by the Town of Windsor, in Broome County, NY, is embedded below. That same resolution, more or less, is what the other towns are adopting.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Nationwide Is Not on Your Side – If You Frack for O&G
July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

If you’re a landowner who leases your land for gas drilling, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company is definitely not on your side (and you may want to consider changing insurers). They announced yesterday they will not cover any damage related to natural gas drilling and fracking. Their denial of coverage will also apply to landowners who lease their land for drilling and make a claim that arises from an issue related to drilling.

Frankly, there’s nothing new about homeowner insurance not covering industrial processes—the drillers have their own insurance accidents and damage. But Nationwide’s statement—and the way they are spinning it—shows hostility to the natural gas industry. That’s why you should dump them.

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CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Westmoreland County

CONSOL Operations Update: Westmoreland, PA Well Hits 17.9 Mmcfd
July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

CONSOL Energy, a large coal and natural gas company heavily invested in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, released an operational update today. The big news is that one of the Marcellus Shale wells CONSOL has just completed in Westmoreland County, PA—the Gaut 4A well—produced an astonishing peak rate of 17.9 million cubic feet of natural gas in a single 24-hour period. The highest ever for a CONSOL gas well.

The operational update below outlines CONSOL’s activities in the second quarter of this year for the Marcellus and Utica Shale, and provides forecasts for what they plan in the third quarter, including details of their joint ventures with Noble and Hess.

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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Seismic Testing | Washington County (OH)

Why Would Seismic Testing Happen Inside City Limits?
July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

An article in The Marietta Times (Marietta, Ohio) does an excellent job of describing the process of seismic mapping recently performed in the City of Marietta. Having a map of underground structures—how the rock formations and layers are arranged—is worth millions to drillers. So they hire companies to create maps.

Cables are laid along side roadways and a truck moves along “stopping at regular intervals to lower large vibrating metal disks from each truck onto the road surface.” The cables record seismic vibrations and create a 2-dimensional map of structures under the surface.

The initial 2-D mapping shows what’s happening directly beneath the road. If companies see areas that pique their interest, they then order a 3-D map, a more involved process. But they hardly ever (perhaps never) order 3-D maps for cities because drillers typically don’t want to deal with signing hundreds or thousands of individual landowners over a relatively small area. So the question is, why were seismic trucks doing 2-D mapping inside the city limits of Marietta if no drillers would ever want to drill there?

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues

The Economist Says Every Gas Field Should be Like Marcellus
July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

MDN had to do a double-take. We just read a story in The Economist magazine about the aesthetics of Marcellus Shale drilling. Normally The Economist leans anti-drilling in its coverage of the shale development issue. But this article is complimentary! The article does a good job of describing the drilling and hydraulic fracturing process, and describes how after the drilling is done, there’s hardly anything on the surface that would indicate there was once drilling at that location.

Here’s the closing few sentences:

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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies

Storm from 2 Weeks Ago Still Affecting Marcellus Production
July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

Magnum Hunter Resources says the fallout from severe thunderstorms that roared across the Washington, D.C. area and further inland, straight into Marcellus Shale country, continue to impact their ability to get gas to market. Some 10% of their Marcellus production is still “shut-in” (closed down)—a number this is higher than they expected at this point. And unfortunately, it may be some time before things return to normal.

From a statement issued yesterday:

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Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

Fitch Ratings Looks at Major Pipeline Projects in Marcellus
July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

Fitch Ratings issued a special report on Tuesday titled, “Marcellus Shale Report: Midstream and Pipeline Sector — Challenges/Opportunities.” Fitch is a credit ratings agency so their primary focus is evaluating companies and the risks those companies face that might affect their stock price and credit worthiness. So bear that in mind.

But the analysts who wrote this special report (see below) do a good job of identifying the major midstream (pipeline) companies in the Marcellus, and a good job of outlining the prospects (and risks) to those companies. Starting on page 4 the report chronicles the major Marcellus Shale pipelines underway, and page 12 shows a chart of the top 10 drilling companies in the Marcellus, complete with estimates of how much natural gas they produce in the Marcellus, and how much of the overall Marcellus acreage they lease. A very handy chart indeed.

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Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

NiSource Announces $4B Upgrade Plan for Interstate Pipelines
July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

Midstream and utility company NiSource is in the news for a second time this week. On Monday, NiSource announced a joint venture with Hilcorp to build new Utica Shale gathering pipelines and a processing plant in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania (see this MDN story).

Yesterday NiSource announced a new project to rebuild and upgrade 12,000 miles of its Columbia Gas Transmission interstate pipelines and compressor stations to the tune of $4 billion over the next 15 years. Much of that work will benefit the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, resulting in more shale gas finding its way to market, according to NiSource.

NiSource reps, federal government officials and the Mayor of Columbus held a press conference yesterday to talk about this major new initiative by NiSource. Below is the follow-up press release, rearranged by MDN to show the important information first:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jul 13, 2012
July 13, 2012July 13, 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 13, 2012”
About MDN | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | MDN Webinars

Webinar Replay: John Hanger on Gas Drilling and Energy Choices
July 13, 2012July 25, 2012

On July 12, former Sec. of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection presented MDN’s first webinar, titled: The Truth About Gas Drilling and America’s Energy Choices. John spoke of his love of alternative energy sources—especially wind and solar—but he also spoke about the overblown criticism of natural gas drilling. He pointed out there are advantages and disadvantages to every form of energy, and if you say “no” to one form, you must say “yes” to another form.

Following the webinar John took a number of questions from the MDN audience. It was a lively and informative session. MDN subscribers can replay it below. A copy of the PowerPoint slides is also available for download below.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

DOE National Lab Tackles Question of Fracking Fluid Migration
July 12, 2012December 19, 2012

The Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Pittsburgh is tackling the thorny question raised by Duke University earlier this week: Can and does fracking fluid (or any fluid) migrate upward through rock layers? The Duke study released earlier this week suggests it’s possible for fluids to migrate from thousands of feet down (see this MDN story) up to water aquifers near the surface. News of the Duke study continues to reverberate throughout the media with hundreds of stories being written and endlessly recycled.

The NETL will tackle the same question using an active, commercially drilled Marcellus Shale natural gas well in southwestern Pennsylvania. Using a single well won’t provide definitive answers because Marcellus geography varies from region to region—but at least it’s a start. Recall that the Duke study focused on data from six northeastern Pennsylvania counties and their data did not include sampling from active drilling sites.

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Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources O&G Production Sees Huge Increase in 2Q12
July 12, 2012December 19, 2012

Range Resources announced second quarter results today. Production volumes for all classes (natgas, NGLs and oil) are up an eye-popping 42% over the same quarter last year, and up 10% from the first quarter of this year. And if they remove the Barnett Shale numbers from the equation for last year, production would have been up 51%. Range sold off their Barnett assets last year, which included 390 active wells on 52,000 net acres. Range’s main focus continues to be the Marcellus and Utica Shale region.

Production, by volume, was 80% natural gas, 14% natural gas liquids, and 6% crude oil. From the press release:

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