Marcellus Drilling News

Columbiana Port Authority Helps Shale Industry

July 17, 2012July 17, 2012

The Columbiana County (OH) Port Authority on Monday passed a measure stating they intend to sell 3.6 acres in Wellsville, OH to Marathon Petroleum for $2.4 million. The property is part of the Port Authority’s riverfront industrial park and sits adjacent to Marathon’s storage tank/transfer facility. Marathon will use the property for trucks transporting oil and gas produced from local shale drilling.

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Jul 17, 2012

July 17, 2012July 17, 2012

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

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Statewide OH

Chesapeake Seeks to Change Terms of OH Leases Already Signed

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

tic tac toe change the rules According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Chesapeake Energy is attempting to change the terms of leases with Ohio landowners—after the leases were signed. One of the issues faced by Chesapeake is that they have signed, or purchased, a lot of leases in Ohio’s Utica Shale (and other shale plays for that matter). In Ohio, it amounts to leases for about 5% of Ohio’s total land area.

In order to fulfill their end of the bargain, Chesapeake must drill wells on all that land within a certain period of time—usually within five years. At least one well must be drilled on a “unit,” usually defined as 640 acres of land, or one square mile. Multiple landowner properties are usually part of a single unit.

But Chesapeake has a problem: cash. They don’t have enough of it right now to drill all of those units to “hold” them. So they’re redefining the unit—they now want a unit to be two square miles in stead of one square mile.

Patriot Water Fires Back at OEPA & ODNR, Alleges Govt Abuse

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

Patriot Water in Warren, Ohio lost its permit to dispose of treated shale gas drilling wastewater via the Warren municipal wastewater treatment plant earlier this year. A few weeks ago they won a ruling against Ohio’s EPA (OEPA) and thought that would allow them to restart shipments of treated wastewater, but the OEPA said “not so fast” and has steadfastly refused to reissue a permit to allow it (see this MDN story for background).

Last Friday the president of Patriot Water, Andrew Blocksom, issued a strongly-worded statement saying the OEPA and Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) treatment of Patriot is tantamount to government abuse, and it needs to stop.

We get the full text of Blocksom’s statement from the Youngstown Business Journal:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Yoko Ono and Son Sean Lennon Go on Anti-Fracking Tirade

July 16, 2012March 11, 2015

This one is just too delicious to pass up. It seems that John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, and their 37 year-old son Sean, have launched a website and campaign of so-called celebrities against fracking. And they appeared on Jimmy Falon’s show last Friday night to make horses’ rear-ends of themselves (and they did so in spades, see the video below).

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Stark County | Utica Shale

Chesapeake to Build Utica Shale Field Office Near Canton, OH

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

Chesapeake Energy will build a new Utica Shale “field office” on a 291-acre site in Louisville, OH—in Stark County, just east of Canton, OH.

BP CEO Visits Ohio to Talk About Shale Drilling

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

The CEO of BP, Bob Dudley, visited Cleveland last Friday to talk about BP’s massive investment in Ohio’s Utica Shale—and what that investment will mean in the way of jobs for Ohio. He also had an eye-opening statement about just how much energy is currently being produced from shale plays in the U.S.

SE PA’s First Shale Gas Well Stopped by New Moratorium

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

The new moratorium on shale gas drilling in southeastern Pennsylvania, instituted as a last-minute political ploy by none other than Republicans in the latest state budget (see this MDN story), has claimed its first victim. An exploratory gas well in the South Newark Basin (Bucks County) due to be drilled by Turm Oil has been denied a permit by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection.

Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation

Gov. Kasich Still Determined to Raise Taxes on Utica Drilling

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a conservative Republican, still sounds a lot like a liberal Democrat when it comes to taxing the drilling industry in his state. He has not given up on his idea to raise the severance tax rate on the infant Utica Shale drilling industry. His latest comments:

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.

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:

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.

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:

Battle Royale in NY Townships – Support or Ban Fracking?

July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

Battle Royale 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.

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.

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.