Marcellus Drilling News

OSHA Issues Hazard Alert for Sand Used in Fracking

June 25, 2012June 25, 2012

A few weeks MDN wrote about potential health hazards to those who work with hydraulic fracturing from the sand used in the process (see this MDN story). That sand is silica, or crystalline sand. Very very fine—think extremely small like asbestos particles. And like asbestos, proper precautions must be taken when working around it to prevent it from lodging in the lungs and causing lung cancer.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) along with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), both federal agencies, have jointly issued a hazard alert for workers who handle sand during the process of fracking:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Jun 25, 2012

June 25, 2012June 25, 2012

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

Aither Chemicals Still Trying for a Cracker Plant in WV

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

never give up Will West Virginia ever get its own ethane cracker plant? It will if Aither Chemicals, based in South Charleston, WV has any say in the matter. MDN has been following the Aither story for some time. Aither Chemicals, a spin-off/subsidiary of Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research & Innovation Center, was established to build and operate ethane cracker plants that use modern technology making the plants smaller and less expensive to build and operate than tradition cracker plants (see this MDN story for background).

Aither had a deal in principle with Bayer CropScience and MarkWest Energy to build one of these “new” kinds of cracker plants in the Charleston, WV area. That deal was set to be officially announced in mid-March (see this MDN story). But then the wheels came off the wagon and all was silent. No deal, no announcement. Until now.

About MDN | MDN Resources

EIA Map of Shale Plays in 48 Lower U.S. States

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

MDN came across this handy map from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing the shale plays across all of the 48 lower U.S. states. Print it out and keep it handy for when you read the news, which each day seems to bring a new story about shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing. This map will be your guide to where the news is happening.

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Energy’s Board Changes, Archie Dunham New Chairman

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

You certainly can’t miss the news in the mainstream media that Chesapeake Energy has appointed five new board members and has “stripped” CEO Aubrey McClendon of his chairmanship (“stripped” even though weeks ago McClendon announced he would voluntarily step down from the role of chairman when a new chairman was found, such are the vagaries of headline writers).

The new incoming board members include…

Gulfport Drills Longest Horizontal Utica Wells to Date

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

Gulfport Energy reports it has just completed drilling the two longest horizontal Utica Shale wells—ever. The horizontal portion for one of the wells, located in Harrison County, Ohio, went over 1.5 miles.

Here’s the particulars:

Commodity Price | Industrywide Issues

What’s the Reason Natural Gas Prices are So Low?

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

Why are natural gas prices at historically low prices? According to gas pricing experts, you can sum it up in a single word: Marcellus.

Energy Services | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | U.S. Silica

New Deal Brings Midwest Sand to Marcellus/Other Shale Areas

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

Sand is a key ingredient in the hydraulic fracturing process. A special kind of sand, referred to as crystalline sand, is injected into cracks made during fracturing and stays in the cracks, propping them open so the gas can continue to come out (which is why it’s called a “proppant”). More sand will be on the way to the Marcellus and Utica region due to a new agreement between U.S. Silica, the nation’s second-largest sand producer, and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP will be the exclusive rail shipper for U.S. Silica’s new frack sand facility being constructed in Wisconsin.

From the CP press release announcing the exclusive deal with U.S. Silica:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

CNBC Special Report on Natural Gas and Shale Fracking

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

A CNBC “special report” asks the question: Who’s Winning the Natural Gas Game? The special report is actually a series of articles they’ve posted looking at various aspects of natural gas, including the controversy over the hydraulic fracturing of shale gas.

Part of the special report includes a poll. The poll itself, although an unscientific sample, illustrates the ongoing split in opinion of the general population on the issue of fracking. The poll asks, “Is Shale-Gas Fracking Environmentally Safe?” Here’s the results as of this morning when MDN voted:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jun 22, 2012

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

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

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Wildlife Federation Sounds Alarm on Fracking in OH, MI

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

Sadly, we have to add the National Wildlife Federation to the list of rabid anti-drilling groups. In fact, a check of the NWF website shows they’ve drunken so deeply from the anti-everything pool they’re beyond redemption. The latest “wild” charge they’re making (pun intended) is that natural gas drilling, specifically fracking in Ohio and Michigan, will use excessive amounts of water from the Great Lakes and is an imminent danger to people and animals.

Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Columbiana County Lease with Chesapeake, Highest Bonus Ever

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012

broken the record Columbiana County, OH has just signed a deal with DPS Penn (an agent for Chesapeake Energy) to lease 548 acres for Utica Shale drilling. And they astutely doubled their money from the original offer from DPS a year ago. The new terms of the deal, just signed, are for $5,850 per acre and a 20 percent royalty. Columbiana also negotiated the lease term down to three years. A typical lease is five years.

The deal makes Columbiana breaks the record as the highest signing bonus granted to any government body for a Utica (or Marcellus) Shale lease deal.

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

Local Politicians Gather in Albany, NY to Support “Home Rule”

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012

A number of New York State local government officials gathered in Albany on Monday, June 18 to talk about and support a new initiative to grant local municipalities the legal right to control oil and gas drilling in their borders. The concept is referred to as “home rule” and it’s gathering momentum with both Democrats and even with some Republican state legislators.

The event was sponsored by a group of anti-drilling groups, including Sustainable Otsego, Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy, and Otsego 2000. The anti-drilling group Shaleshock was also present and videoed the speakers. They offer the video on their website (click the link below to view it).

This was the press release about the home rule gathering:

Coshocton County | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Muskingum County | Ohio

Utica Shale Drilling Causes Unemployment Drop in Eastern OH

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012

The Coshocton County, Ohio unemployment rate has been stubbornly high, but now it’s starting to move lower. In May of this year the unemployment rate for Coshocton stood at 9.3 percent. It was 10.2 percent in April, one month earlier. And if you go back a year to May 2011, it was 11.3 percent. In fact, the current 9.3 percent rate is the lowest rate seen in Coshocton County since 2008.

What’s caused the Coshocton unemployment rate to go 2 percent lower in just one year? Yep, much of it can be credited to Utica Shale drilling.

PA Gov. Corbett Press Conference on Shell Cracker Plant

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett continues to push hard to get his package of tax incentives for a Shell ethane cracker plant passed before the state legislature goes on summer break at the end of June. Looks like it’s paid off. Word has come out the legislature will pass his proposed package.

Energy Companies | Inflection Energy

Bregal Invests Undisclosed Amount in Inflection Energy

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012

Bregal Energy announced yesterday they have increased their investment in Inflection Energy. Inflection was founded in 2008 as a drilling company focused on the Marcellus Shale. They hold leases in both Pennsylvania and New York. Bregal is an investment company focused on the energy industry. The amount of the new investment and the terms of the deal were not disclosed in the press announcement.