Marcellus Drilling News

Marcellus Drilling Means High Housing Prices in Towanda PA

July 9, 2012December 19, 2012

When an area sees a lot a drilling, one of the unintended consequences is a serious jump in the price of housing—both rental and for purchase. Towanda (Bradford County), PA seems to be ground zero for an extraordinary jump in housing prices over the past few years. How about $2,000 to rent a two-bedroom apartment in this relatively rural part of PA? Yeah, nosebleed-high prices.

An article in yesterday’s Towanda newspaper, The Daily Review, highlights the plight of a family flooded out of their Towanda home last year. Because of the high prices for real estate due to the Marcellus drilling boom, they still have not been able to leave their FEMA trailer.

Belmont County | Energy Companies | Hess | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Belmont, OH Attorney Sues Hess to Dissolve Lease

July 9, 2012December 19, 2012

An attorney in Belmont County, Ohio—Rebecca Bench—is suing to end a lease deal she and her husband signed in 2008, originally with Mason Dixon Energy for $100 per acre. Mason Dixon later sold the lease to Hess Corp.

The $100 per acre Bench and her husband were paid is a fraction of recent transactions, some as high as $5,900 per acre. Bench says Mason Dixon was never registered to do business in Ohio, meaning the original contract was fraudulent.

NiSource, Hilcorp Energy Joint Venture in Utica Shale

July 9, 2012December 19, 2012

NiSource Inc. announced today they are entering a joint venture with Hilcorp Energy and combining their Utica Shale acreage together with Hilcorp doing the drilling. They’re also establishing a midstream joint venture called Pennant Midstream to construct an initial 50 miles of wet gas gathering pipelines in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania. And the new midstream company will build a natural gas processing complex in Ohio.

No word on exactly how much acreage the combined two have together in the Utica Shale, but the jv plus the new pipelines and processing plant is a major development for both eastern OH and western PA.

Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York

Paladino Says NY Sen. Libous (Ab)using Fracking to Fundraise

July 9, 2012December 19, 2012

Carl Paladino, a conservative who ran as the Republican candidate against Democrat Andrew Cuomo in the 2010 gubernatorial election in New York, isn’t a fan of New York State Senator Tom Libous. Libous is a Binghamton resident and the number two senator in the Republican-controlled (yes you read that right, Republican-controlled) New York State Senate.

If fracking begins in New York, much of it will be in the counties Libous represents. He’s been on record mostly supporting fracking in New York State, but there have been the odd statements here and there when he seems to back away from a full-throated endorsement. Paladino says Libous is a RINO (Republican In Name Only) who is manipulating the fracking issue to get more campaign money. Ouch. Tell us what you really think Carl!

He does just that. From an open letter issued by Paladino to the “222 Committeemen in Senate District 52” (which is Libous’ district):

Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Will There be Marcellus Drilling in PA State Parks?

July 9, 2012December 19, 2012

So far there has been no Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania’s 61 state parks that sit over top of the Marcellus (out of 120 state parks total). But that may soon change because the state doesn’t own the mineral rights for most of its parks.

Sierra Club Sues to Stop Water Sales in Steuben County, NY

July 9, 2012December 19, 2012

In March 2012, the village board in Painted Post (Steuben County), NY voted to sell water to Shell for use in fracking operations across the border in Pennsylvania. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) gave its blessing to Painted Post to sell up to 1 million gallons of water day. But the decision doesn’t sit well with anti-drillers.

According to NGI’s Shale Daily, the Sierra Club and several area organizations sued the village board in late June to stop the sale from taking place.

Education | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Stark County

OH High School First to Offer 2-Year O&G Tech Course

July 9, 2012December 19, 2012

In what is believed to be the first of its kind for Ohio, high school students at Marlington High School (Alliance, OH) can take a two-year course in oil and gas technologies starting this fall. The new course will prepare students with the skills they need to work in the rapidly growing shale drilling industry.

From a recent press article:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jul 9, 2012

July 9, 2012December 19, 2012

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

Uncategorized

Hartwick Area Landowner’s Coalition

July 8, 2012July 8, 2012

Area covered: Hartwick and surrounding townships in Otsego County, NY
Membership: Not disclosed
Contact: Michael Covert, 607-293-6621, HARTWICKaloc@aol.com

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The Friendsville Group

July 8, 2012July 8, 2012

Area covered: Bradford & Susquehanna counties, PA; Broome County, NY
Membership: 900+ landowners, 35,000+ acres
(lease signed, not accepting new members)
Contact: Christy Everitt, 607-786-2482, psxvestal@yahoo.com
Web: //www.thefriendsvillegroup.org

Uncategorized

Bainbridge Area Landowners

July 8, 2012July 8, 2012

Area covered: Bainbridge, Coventry, and South Guilford
Membership: 12,000+ acres
Contact: Jarrett Cannistra, 607-967-6268, bainbridgearealandownercoalition@yahoo.com
Web: https://sites.google.com/a/tds.net/bainbridgearealandownerscoalition/home

Uncategorized

Muskingum Valley Landowners Group

July 7, 2012July 27, 2012

Area covered: Muskingum, Coshocton, Perry, Licking and Morgan counties, OH
Membership: 80,000+ acres
Contact: Graham & Graham, 740-454-8585, info@grahamlpa.com
Web: //www.grahamlpa.com

Uncategorized

Grand View Lease Group

July 7, 2012

Area covered: Braddock and North Braddock in Allegheny County, PA
Membership: 10 landowners, 500 acres
Contact: Morascyzk and Polochak, 724-225-1110, info@mopolaw.com
Web: //www.coshoctoncountylandownersgroup.com/

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F&M Landowners Group #2

July 7, 2012

Area covered: Trumbull, Ashtabula, Portage, Geauga and Lake counties, OH
Membership: 2,000+ acres
Contact: Jeff Brown, 740-282-1911, brown.jeffrey@comcast.net
Web: //www.washingtonpalawyer.com/F_M__2_-_Northeastern_OH.html

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Cambria County Landowners Group

July 7, 2012July 27, 2012

Area covered: All townships in Cambria County
Membership: 25,000 acres and growing
Contact: CX-Energy, 724-933-1311, cambria@cx-energy.com
Web: //www.cx-energy.com

Uncategorized

Casselman Valley Landowners Group

July 7, 2012July 7, 2012

Area covered: Southern Somerset County, PA and the Casselman Valley
Membership: 20,000+ acres
Contact: Morascyzk and Polochak, 724-225-1110, info@mopolaw.com
Web: //www.washingtonpalawyer.com/Casselman_Valley_Group.html