Marcellus Drilling News

About MDN | Calendar

Calendar of Events for Jul 2-15, 2012

July 2, 2012July 2, 2012

Below are upcoming events for this week and next.

New York

Pennsylvania

Webcasts/Online

2012-07-12 John Hanger: The Truth About Gas Drilling & America’s Energy Choices – Webinar

About MDN | MDN Resources

MDN’s First Webinar: The Truth About Gas Drilling and America’s Energy Choices

June 29, 2012July 13, 2012

Please join MDN editor Jim Willis has he welcomes former Sec. of the PA DEP John Hanger for a FREE webinar on Thursday, July 12, 2012 @ 7:00 PM EDT.

John will present on the truth about gas drilling, and its alternatives, in MDN’s first-ever public webinar. It’s free to attend, just sign up by clicking the link below.

Register Now! (Spaces are limited)
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/0h532/register/2692075399046932736

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

UK Academy of Engineering Study: Fracking is Safe

June 29, 2012June 29, 2012

A refreshing report has been issued by the UK Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society that says, in essence, hydraulic fracturing should be expanded in that country and when it’s properly regulated, fracking is perfectly safe. Issued earlier this month, the 76-page report is titled “Shale gas extraction in the UK: a review of hydraulic fracturing” (a full copy is embedded below).

Here’s the opening two paragraphs, which pretty much sum up the tone and findings of the report:

Erie County (NY) | New York

UB Issues Supportive Statement for its Shale Institute

June 29, 2012June 29, 2012

You may recall that recently the brand new Shale Resources and Society Institute at the University at Buffalo (UB) published a 52-page study that found environmental problems caused by Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania were isolated, mostly minor and on the decline. The enviro-left perceived a threat. This is a major university coming out in support of drilling—something that cannot stand. So the enviro-left flew into action to try and shame, cajole and bully UB into retracting support for its own newly established Institute. And it seemed to work (see this MDN story).

But what’s this? Yesterday UB issued a press statement that supports the Institute. Sort of. Lukewarm. Half-heartedly. UB defended the Institute by saying the university does not and will not dictate the positions taken by its faculty members on controversial topics, and that UB has no plans to get rid of the Institute. Here’s the full statement:

PA Legislature Reaches Deal on Tax Credit for Cracker Plant

June 29, 2012June 29, 2012

A deal has been struck by the Republican majority legislature in Pennsylvania to grant Shell a tax credit over a 25-year period starting in 2017. Gov. Tom Corbett had originally proposed the tax credit be capped at $66 million per year, or a total of $1.7 billion, but the final version of the law, if passed, places no limit on the total amount other than a credit of five cents per gallon of ethane used. So the total deal may exceed $66 million per year.

SRBC Suspends Water Withdrawals in Some Areas

June 29, 2012June 29, 2012

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), unlike the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), actively manages water withdrawals for shale drilling from the rivers and streams that are a part of its jurisdiction. The DRBC allows no water withdrawals at all—yet.

Yesterday the SRBC suspended withdrawals at 37 different locations because water levels have dropped from lack of rain. This happens periodically. Withdrawals in some locations are suspended for a time, and then allowed to restart when levels rise again. The SRBC continues to do a good job of managing water supplies throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Here’s the press release and list of affected areas:

Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Ethane, a “Stranded Commodity” About to be Rescued

June 29, 2012June 29, 2012

The Motley Fool blog site has an insightful article today on ethane, “the stranded commodity” that, according to the article, won’t be stranded for long! What does that have to do with Marcellus and Utica Shale gas drilling? Everything, as it turns out.

As explained in the article, ethane is produced from natural gas drilling in “wet gas” areas—mostly southwestern PA, eastern OH, and the northern panhandle of WV. Ethane, as MDN has explained countless times (but there’s always new readers!) can be “cracked” into ethylene, the raw material or “feedstock” used by chemical manufacturers to make plastics and products like tires and antifreeze. But there’s one problem with the ethane coming from the Marcellus and Utica Shale: it currently costs too much to transport it to the Gulf Coast and other points where it can be converted.

According to the author of the article, that will all change soon.

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Washington County

The Politics of Shale Energy

June 29, 2012June 29, 2012

There is a brutal fact of politics no candidate can escape (try as they might): People vote their pocketbooks. The quintessential example of that that political axiom is Washington County, Pennsylvania. Heavily Democrat in voter registration, Washington County voters did something 3 1/2 years ago they haven’t done in over 40 years—they voted for a Republican for president (John McCain). And you can bet your bottom dollar Romney will be their choice this time around.

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jun 29, 2012

June 29, 2012June 29, 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 | Regulation | Statewide NY

DEC Seeks Industry Feedback, Antis Throw a Temper Tantrum

June 28, 2012June 28, 2012

There’s a storm brewing you need to know about. But it’s actually more like a tempest in a teapot. There’s nothing “there” in this story, except posturing by anti-drillers. With that proviso…

The Albany Times Union reports in today’s edition (in a story posted online last night) that last year, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) sent preview drafts for a few sections of the proposed new drilling rules (called the SGEIS) to “the industry” in August, a few weeks before the official release of the latest version of the SGEIS in September. Why would the DEC “leak” it to the industry first? Conspiracy? Cozy relationship? No. The DEC shared a few select portions because state law requires the DEC to seek feedback from those who would be regulated by the new rules.

Hit and Run Protest at Talisman Office in Big Flats, NY

June 28, 2012June 28, 2012

Here’s the non-news news: About 100 protesters from Ithaca and New York City showed up for a 30-minute “hit and run” protest in front of Talisman Energy’s offices in Big Flats, NY (near Corning, in Chemung County). The rabble rousers, led by Shaleshock, made wild claims about Talisman polluting the environment and read a statement claiming they’ll lay down in front of trucks if drilling begins in New York. In less than a half hour from the time they arrived, they were “escorted” from the premises, where they were illegally protesting (it’s private property).

Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Yaterra Ventures

New Driller Arrives in the Marcellus – Hunting for Oil

June 28, 2012June 28, 2012

There’s a new name in drillers coming to the Marcellus Shale: Yaterra Ventures. In a press release yesterday (see below), Yaterra announced they they are close to concluding negotiations to take over the leases for 150 wells on 1,600 acres in western Pennsylvania. Yaterra does not mention who the potential seller is. It strikes MDN as unusual that Yaterra would issue a press release prior to the deal closing, but sometimes these high finance deals escape our understanding!

One thing we do understand from the release: Yaterra is not after natural gas in the Marcellus. They’re after shale oil.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Statewide VA | Virginia

Will VA Drill the Marcellus Shale Any Time Soon?

June 28, 2012June 28, 2012

A topic we don’t write very much about is Marcellus Shale drilling in Virginia. The reason? Two reasons really: There’s only a small sliver along the western edge that sits in the Marcellus play, and most Virginians are dead set against fracking (even though it’s already in use in the state today). So there has been no Marcellus drilling in VA to date. Will that change?

A wide-ranging article in Virginia Business titled “Virginia’s Burning Question” addresses the issue of whether, and when, drilling will take place in the state. A small section of that article:

CONSOL’s Plans for Ohio Utica Shale Have Begun

June 28, 2012June 28, 2012

CONSOL Energy’s drilling in Ohio’s Utica Shale is now under way and ramping up rapidly, according to CONSOL’s Harry Schurr who spoke Wednesday at a workshop on the campus of Kent State University. They’ve already drilled their first Utica well in Tuscarawas County, and they plan to drill 15 more this year. CONSOL also has a joint venture with Hess. Hess plans to drill six Utica wells this year.

Will Marcellus Shale Save Philly Marcus Hook Refinery?

June 28, 2012June 28, 2012

Last year the Philadelphia region was hard-hit when both Sunoco and ConocoPhillips announced they would shut down a combined three refineries in the area. Since then, ConocoPhillips sold its refinery for $180 million to Delta Air Lines which will convert and use the plant for jet-fuel production. Sunoco is in talks to sell its one of two refineries (in Philly) to a joint venture headed by the Carlyle Group—but if that doesn’t develop, they’re going to shut it down.

And then there’s the Marcus Hook refinery, which closed it doors “for good” in April. Officials from the town of Marcus Hook and Delaware County are working hard to get it reopened. As part of that process, they commissioned a $100,000 study, just released, from IHS Consulting. The study identifies seven possible uses for the idled refinery, and pegs its best chances of reopening based on the abundance of natural gas and gas liquids coming from the Marcellus and Utica Shale region.

Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

ExxonMobil CEO Delivers Major Speech on U.S. Energy

June 28, 2012June 28, 2012

In a speech delivered at the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson said fears about climate change, drilling and even energy dependence on other countries are all overblown. He said he believes burning fossil fuels does lead to global warming, but it’s no big deal and certainly not an impending cataclysm. He also said the press and environmentalists are manufacturing fear about fracking and fossil fuels.

Perhaps the most controversial thing he said is that the general public is “illiterate” when it comes to science and math.