Marcellus Drilling News

PA Commonwealth Court Hears Arguments in Act 13 Lawsuit

June 7, 2012June 7, 2012

Arguments in the lawsuit brought by seven Pennsylvania townships and a handful of individuals against the state over newly passed drilling legislation known as Act 13 were heard in PA Commonwealth Court yesterday in Harrisburg. The towns are suing to overturn a portion of the Act 13 law which eliminates most of zoning rights of PA towns when it comes to zoning oil and gas drilling (see this MDN story for background).

So how did it go? Depends on who you ask.

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Infographic Shows Impact of PA Marcellus Impact Fee

June 7, 2012June 7, 2012

A helpful (?) infographic in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette shows the breakdown of where the new Marcellus Shale impact fee being collected in Pennsylvania will go, by county and by the townships within those counties.

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

Fracking Bills in NY Legislature See Movement

June 7, 2012June 7, 2012

Several bills that deal with hydraulic fracturing are making their way through the legislature in Albany, but with only eight days left in the legislative session for 2012, it’s not at all assured any of them will pass. The bills range from stricter control of fracking wastewater to an outright ban on fracking in the state—and everything in between.

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

Elected Democrats Tell Cuomo to Continue Fracking Moratorium

June 7, 2012June 7, 2012

A new partisan effort is under way to pressure New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to just keep the hydraulic fracturing moratorium in place for another year, and another year, and another year…

This effort is to get elected officials throughout the state to sign a letter which asks Cuomo to keep the moratorium in place, “until analyses have thoroughly and properly evaluated the potential health, economic, and cumulative environmental impacts on local communities.” Of course that very analysis has been going on now for four years, so may we presume another four years or more is what they’re asking for?

So far, the “letter” (which is really a website with a form on it) has 306 signatures (as of June 7) from elected representatives—everything from town clerks to county legislators to mayors—virtually of them Democrats.

You can find the letter and the list of signatories (people you should vote out of office), here: //www.nyelectedofficials.org/.

Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

New Website Wants Philly Residents to Ask About Shale

June 7, 2012June 7, 2012

The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), a Pennsylvania-based industry group, has just launched a new outreach website targeted at PA residents living in the greater Philadelphia area. Called AskAboutShale.org, the site intends to solicit questions from residents in southeastern PA and then answer those questions using facts and science.

From the MSC press release:

C&J Energy Services | Energy Services

C&J Energy Services Buys Casedhole Holdings for $272.5M

June 7, 2012June 7, 2012

C&J Energy Services, an oil field services company providing hydraulic fracturing, coiled tubing and pressure pumping services to drillers, announced yesterday they have bought out another oil field services company—Casedhole Holdings—for $272.5 million in cash. Casedhole provides cased-hole wireline services including logging, perforating and pipe recovery.

C&J gets two things from the deal: A complimentary new set of services it can offer to its existing customers, and expansion into new territories where it currently does not operate, including the Marcellus and Utica Shale region.

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Jun 7, 2012

June 7, 2012June 7, 2012

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

NY Rumor Mill: Cuomo to Allow Test Sites for Fracking?!

June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

rumor mill The anti-drillers are hot and bothered. A fringe anti-drilling group called Toxics Targeting (from where else, Ithaca, NY) held a small rally in Binghamton yesterday. They enlisted the support of the Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan to their cause. And this week’s cause? Send a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo asking him to ban fracking, but especially to drop any plans to allow the drilling of “demonstration wells” in Broome, Tioga and Chemung counties.

Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

New Study: Methane Emissions Half of EPA’s Previous Estimates

June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

A new study just released by America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) finds that methane emissions from hydraulic fracturing are at least 50% less than estimates from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). And this is not a wild, unsubstantiated claim by “the industry.” ANGA and API have the science to prove it.

The new study (full copy embedded below) takes the most comprehensive look at the data to date—data from 91,000 U.S. natural gas producing wells. That’s a sample size 10 times larger than the EPA used in their estimates.

Here’s some of the stunning results found by the new study:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Regulation | West Virginia

Morgantown WV Attempts to Ban Fracking a Second Time

June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

Here we go again. Yesterday, the Morgantown, WV City Council voted on new legislation that would “regulate” (i.e. ban) hydraulic fracturing. But this time, those sharp-as-a-tack council members have contented themselves with regulating it within their own borders.

You may recall that last year the same Morgantown City Council (pictured below) passed a ban on fracking that included areas up to one mile outside of the city limits in a blatant attempt to try and stop the fracking of two gas wells that sit about a mile from the edge of the city. A WV circuit court judge overturned the ban (see this MDN story). Since then, both of those Marcellus wells were fracked, came online, and somehow, mystically—there has been no water contamination or ill health affects of any kind. Who woulda thunk?

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Watershed Looking to Increase Water Sales for Fracking

June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) has ordered a study to determine if three of the district’s reservoirs—Clendening, Atwood and Leesville—can safely become a source of water sales for drillers who need water for hydraulic fracturing. Some residents are concerned, but the MWCD is already successfully selling some water and believes there may be an opportunity to sell more.

PA Gov, Lt Gov Speak Out on Shell Cracker Plant Tax Break

June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

In brief public comments yesterday, both Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley supported and defended a plan to grant Shell a 25-year, $1.7 billion tax forgiveness plan if they will build and operate an ethane cracker plant in the state. For those new to the issue, ethane is one of the chemicals that comes out of the ground from natural gas drilling. Ethane can be “cracked” or converted in ethylene, a raw material used to make plastics.

The plant that Shell proposes to build will generate some 20,000 jobs and create an economic impact of $17-$20 billion. Investing $1.7 billion to get $17-$20 billion is a no-brainer.

Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Trucking

US DOT Clamps Down on Max Hours Shale Industry Truckers Work

June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently delivered a “rule clarification” that means trucking firms may no longer subtract “down time”—like waiting for water and sand to be loaded/unloaded—from the maximum number of hours a driver can work per day. Some trucking firms were using a loophole, an exemption for special oil field service equipment, to increase the total number of hours drivers worked. No more.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

The Enviro-Left’s Motivation to Ban Fracking

June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

An article on the Legal Newsline website takes a look at the motivations behind calls for a ban on hydraulic fracturing—and they get it right:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Ulster County

Town of Rochester, NY Considers Fracking Ban

June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

The Town of Rochester, NY, located in Ulster County along the Hudson River (and not the City of Rochester located on the opposite side of the state) is considering a ban on hydraulic fracturing:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jun 6, 2012

June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

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