Marcellus Drilling News

New York | Statewide NY

NY Anti-Fracking Groups Join Forces
March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

Sensing that Gov. Andrew Cuomo may be close to moving forward with issuing permits for shale gas drilling, anti-drilling groups are joining forces in New York State to form a coalition called New Yorkers Against Fracking. Movie star Mark Ruffalo, who plays Bruce Banner (the Hulk) in the upcoming movie The Avengers, is on board with the effort. (Those who support drilling may want to consider bypassing The Avengers to send a message to Mr. Ruffalo and Hollywood.)

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Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD | Taxation

Maryland House Votes to Tax Non-Existent Shale Drilling
March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

From the “things that amuse us from Maryland” file: The Maryland House of Delegates passed a vote on a severance tax on shale gas drilling in the state. They generously reduced the original proposal from a 15 percent tax down to 7.5 percent. Thing is, there is no shale gas drilling in the state and there won’t be until 2014 at the earliest when a report commissioned by Gov. Martin O’Malley is due. And it’s a big “if” as to whether or not Maryland will ever allow drilling. The House seems awfully eager to tax something they haven’t even decided they will allow.

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Marcellus Revitalizes PA Company 150 Miles from Nearest Well
March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

PA State Senator Tim Solobay, a Democrat serving western PA’s 46th district, made the following report about the “broad-reaching economic impact” of Marcellus shale drilling and it’s power to revitalize businesses in the state:

Read More “Marcellus Revitalizes PA Company 150 Miles from Nearest Well”
Forest County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | McKean County | Pennsylvania | Warren County

Federal Judge Upholds Water Ban in Allegheny National Forest
March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

In a lawsuit to allow active drilling in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) in Pennsylvania, a federal judge ruled last Friday that the U.S. Forest Service does not have to end a ban they imposed on drillers who want to use surface water from the ANF for hydraulic fracturing. Drillers have argued that the Forest Service’s actions in banning water withdrawals from the ANF, and in delaying signoff on new drilling permits, have in essence stopped drilling in the ANF—a de facto ban. For a background on the long-running dispute, see this MDN story from last November.

Read More “Federal Judge Upholds Water Ban in Allegheny National Forest”
Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Number of NatGas Drilling Rigs Continues Slow Decline in PA
March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

The number of gas drilling rigs continues a slow decline in Pennsylvania as companies reallocate those rigs to Ohio and to areas in the country where shale oil drilling is expanding.

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Energy Companies | Seneca Resources

National Fuel Gas Announces Second Cutback in Marcellus
March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

National Fuel Gas Company and its subsidiary Seneca Resources announced yesterday that for the second time in two months they are further scaling back Marcellus Shale drilling in light of low natural gas prices. According to CEO David Smith they will curtail production by “a modest amount” and delay some completions in the Marcellus.

From the press release:

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Mar 27, 2012
March 27, 2012March 27, 2012

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

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Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Who’s Drilling Where (and How Much) in Ohio’s Utica Shale
March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

In one of the best “round up” articles MDN has seen, journalist Bob Downing from the Akron Beacon Journal gives a rundown of who’s drilling where in Ohio’s Utica Shale. From the introduction of the article:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Enviro Groups Warn Against Water Withdrawals for Fracking
March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

With the rapid expansion of natural gas drilling in Ohio’s Utica Shale comes a need for water used in the hydraulic fracturing process. Each well drilled can use upward of five million gallons of water. Some it comes from recycled wastewater from other fracking operations, but there’s still an ongoing need for water.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Boone Pickens: Fracking’s Long History Proves it’s Safe
March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

Speaking at last week’s Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference, Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Energy Management and a Texas oil billionaire going way back, says if you want to see whether or not hydraulic fracturing is safe, all you have to do is look where it’s been actively used, underneath aquifers, for decades:

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Alternative Energy | Industrywide Issues

Anti-Drilling Stupidity on Display for All to See
March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

Once again, a shining example of the obtuse philosophy that drives the anti-drilling crowd, on full display in a commentary in (where else?) the Ithaca Journal. This particular commentary is on the high price of gas and why that’s really a good thing:

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Dem Seeks to Tax Marcellus Towns to Cover Trooper Costs
March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, wants to assess a tax on rural municipalities in Marcellus Shale areas without a police department who rely on PA State Troopers to assist them, to help fund the expense of the troopers. Sturla, chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee, says the money the state spends on troopers for some 1,300 municipalities is money not available to spend on other transportation-related purposes.

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Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Mar 26, 2012
March 26, 2012March 26, 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: Mon, Mar 26, 2012”
About MDN | MDN Weekly Update

MDN Weekly Update – Mar 25, 2012: Inflated Reserve Estimates
March 25, 2012March 25, 2012

The most read story on MDN over the past seven days was about estimates of how much natural gas the Marcellus contains—and for good reason.

Last year the New York Times started a riff about how evil natural gas is. One of themes from the Times has been that the amount of shale gas in general that is recoverable (“proven reserves”) has been vastly overstated by the energy industry (see this MDN story). The Times, and most recently Rolling Stone (see this MDN story), have tried to make the case that shale gas drillers know there’s not as much recoverable shale gas as they state on their balance sheets and that they intentionally overstate how much gas there is to attract more investment and drive up the stock price for their companies. The Times and Rolling Stone claim the situation is akin to a Ponzi scheme, a house of cards that will at some point come tumbling down.

There’s just one small problem with that particular bit of fiction: a glut of new natural gas that’s hit the market and has driven the commodity price of natural gas to 10-year price lows. If the gas really isn’t there, why is there so much of it flooding the market?

Which brings us to this week’s poll question: Are drillers intentionally overstating how much shale gas there is to drive up the value of their companies and attract investors? What’s your opinion? Head on over to the right side of any page and register your vote.

Last Week’s Poll Results

Last week MDN wanted to know if you were surprised that the EPA found no water problems caused by fracking in Dimock, PA. And no surprise here: Most MDN readers were not surprised.

Were you surprised the EPA found no water problems from drilling in Dimock?

No (82%, 197 Votes)
Yes (18%, 43 Votes)

Total Voters: 240

Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook 2012

Thank you to the many MDN readers who have already purchased the “Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook 2012.” The Databook is a 116-page comprehensive guide to drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Chock full of maps showing where permits have been issued, including details on drillers, pipelines and regulations, this new publication is indispensable if you have an interest in shale drilling in the Marcellus and Utica. For more details, including sample pages, visit: MarcellusDrilling.com/Databook.

Below are the most recent “top 5” lists and the calendar of Marcellus-related events for the next two weeks.

May the odds be ever in your favor,
Jim Willis, Editor

Read More “MDN Weekly Update – Mar 25, 2012: Inflated Reserve Estimates”
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

GAO Setup for Federal Regulation of Gathering Pipelines?
March 23, 2012March 23, 2012

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report yesterday on the status of natural gas gathering pipelines (a copy of the full 41-page report is embedded below). We should note that the GAO issues a half dozen or more reports per day—i.e., they are a report-generating “mill” for the federal government, usually Congress—your tax dollars at work.

[Begin rant] Two Democrat Senators, Jay Rockefeller from WV and Frank Lautenberg from NJ, requested a report from the GAO on the safety or lack thereof for the estimated 240,000 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines now in use or under construction throughout the country. Sure seems like Congress is nosing around yet another federal takeover of what is properly a state’s Constitutional responsibility, and this report is designed to provide justification to do just that.

The report’s operating assumption is that all pipelines should be federally regulated—even small gathering lines. If a pipeline is not federally regulated, it’s an aberration, not normal, something is wrong—“Danger Will Robinson!” The further arrogant assumption is if pipelines are not regulated in the manner “we” say, they are not safe. Welcome to the nanny state where the federal government uses fear to manipulate public opinion: “Your pipelines will blow up or crack and leak nasty things if we don’t slap strict regulations on them right now.” Question: When was the last time you heard about a pipeline—any pipeline—exploding, breaking or leaking? [End rant]

Read More “GAO Setup for Federal Regulation of Gathering Pipelines?”
Commodity Price | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Range Resources Corp

Range CEO Predicts Long-Term Commodity Price of NatGas
March 23, 2012March 23, 2012

Here’s a prediction on the commodity price of natural gas from John Pinkerton, CEO of Range Resources, as delivered at the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference this week:

Read More “Range CEO Predicts Long-Term Commodity Price of NatGas”