Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Feb 6, 2012
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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MDN Weekly Update – Feb 5, 2012: Josh Fox – Truth-teller or Propagandist?
Last week’s MDN poll asked whether or not you believe that President Obama is now genuinely a supporter of hydraulic fracturing and shale gas drilling. Seems there are quite a few skeptics in the MDN audience. Here are the results: Concerning President Obama’s statements supporting fracking & shale gas drilling, is he:
Genuine/Now in Favor (20%, 53 Votes)
Fake/Election Year Stunt (70%, 187 Votes)
I’m Not Sure (10%, 26 Votes)Total Voters: 266
This Week’s Poll: Is Gasland a truthful documentary, or propaganda?
This past week, the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Science, Space and Technology held a hearing on hydraulic fracturing. Specifically, the Republicans on the committee wanted to challenge the out-of-control Obama Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their attempt, via questionable research, to tie fracking to chemical contamination of well water in Pavillion, Wyoming.
There was plenty of press on hand to cover the hearing. Josh Fox, the filmmaker who created the “documentary” Gasland was there too. No doubt Josh needs some new footage for Gasland Deux. But it seems Josh didn’t have the proper press credentials, so the camera crew working for him, which was properly credentialed, was not allowed to film the proceedings. And Mr. Fox, refusing to leave, was arrested and escorted from the room (see this MDN story). Democrats were “outraged” and tried to pass a resolution letting him stay, and when that didn’t work, pass a resolution suspending the hearing for an entire week to allow Mr. Fox time to do what he should have done in the first place, get the proper credentials.
After the side show with Josh Fox was over, the Republicans got down to business and questioned EPA Regional Administrator James Martin who did some serious backpedalling on the topic of fracking (see this MDN story).
Josh Fox’s arrest may seem like so much hullabaloo, but his arrest is headline-worthy because of his documentary, Gasland. Wait, what? You haven’t watched it? Perhaps now is a good time! I’ve watched it, and I have to say, for all my criticism of Josh Fox, he is a talented filmmaker. The film is very slick, very polished. I won’t run a full critique here and now—I’ll do that in the future. What I would like to know for this week’s poll is whether or not you’ve actually watched the film, and if you have, what do you think? Do you consider it to be mostly trustworthy and accurate, or hogwash? Register your vote in this week’s poll along the right side of any page.
Below are the most recent “top 5” lists and the calendar of Marcellus-related events for the next two weeks.
Go Giants!
Jim Willis, EditorP.S. Watch for more details on the new MDN permits report this week.
Read More “MDN Weekly Update – Feb 5, 2012: Josh Fox – Truth-teller or Propagandist?”
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia
Waiting Game: Cracker Plants Talk to Property Owners
West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio are all in the hunt to land an ethane cracker plant in their respective states (see the long list of MDN stories on a potential cracker plant in the Marcellus/Utica Shale region). According to WV Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette, Shell and another unnamed company are now in talks with private property owners. That is, the deals are now being negotiated, and it’s a waiting game to see the outcome.All three states have offered huge tax incentives to land the plant. Shell originally set January for an announcement, but changed it a few weeks ago to be February.
Read More “Waiting Game: Cracker Plants Talk to Property Owners”
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Economic Impact | Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Monroe County | Ohio | Processing Plants
More on MarkWest’s New Investment in Ohio’s Utica Shale
Yesterday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and others provided more details about MarkWest’s Tuesday announcement that they will build two new natural gas liquids (NGL) processing plants and a new fractionation plant in Ohio’s Utica Shale (see MDN’s story on the original announcement here).
Read More “More on MarkWest’s New Investment in Ohio’s Utica Shale”
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Seneca Resources Marcellus Well Output up 91.5% in Q1 2012
Seneca Resources, the exploration and production division of National Fuel Gas Company, just reported their first quarter earnings for 2012. As part of the report, we get the following operational update which shows a 91.5 percent increase in production in Seneca’s Marcellus Shale wells.
Read More “Seneca Resources Marcellus Well Output up 91.5% in Q1 2012”
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Steuben County | Tioga County (PA)
RailAmerica Buys Wellsboro & Corning Short Line Railroad
One of the interesting but often-overlooked stories of the rapid growth of Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling is the revival of short line railroads. As drillers enter an area, equipment and materials need to be shipped to that area. Sand, especially, is used in large quantities, and short lines are the most economical way of getting sand to an active drilling area.
One of the short line railroads to came roaring back to life not so long ago is the Wellsboro and Corning Railroad (WCOR), running from Wellsboro in northeastern PA to just across the border connecting to Corning, NY.
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Feb 3, 2012
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Gasland Creator Josh Fox Arrested at House Hearing
Funny how those who oppose drilling want there to be plenty of rules (i.e. regulations) that would govern every aspect of drilling, but when it comes to following rules themselves, they don’t want to. Witness the arrest yesterday of Josh Fox, so-called documentary film maker and creator of the anti-fracking propaganda film Gasland when he tried to film a House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee hearing without proper credentials:Read More “Gasland Creator Josh Fox Arrested at House Hearing”
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EPA Backpedals on Pavillion Fracking Contamination
In a U.S. House subcommittee hearing yesterday, EPA Regional Administrator James Martin backed off EPA’s previous stance that fracking causes groundwater contamination—at least not anywhere outside of Pavillion, Wyoming. You may recall the hubbub when the EPA released a preliminary report in December that “theorized” hydraulic fracturing in the Pavillion, WY area “may have” caused chemical contamination of “some” water wells in the Pavillion area (see this MDN story).
Read More “EPA Backpedals on Pavillion Fracking Contamination”
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Predicting the Price (and Production) of Natural Gas
According to David Sterman, a 20-year investment analyst writing on the Seeking Alpha website, the commodity price for natural gas has likely bottomed out in the U.S. and will now slowly rebound. Natural gas is currently trading around $2.45 per thousand cubic feet (mcf). Goldman Sachs believes by the end of this year prices should be around $3.75 mcf, moving to $4.25 in 2013, and $5.50 in 2014.
How does the commodity price of natural gas affect landowners? It costs drillers roughly $2.30 mcf to drill, pipeline and sell natural gas, so if prices hit that level, production stops. As the price falls into the sub $3.00 range, drillers slow production, stop production, or shift production from dry gas (methane-only) areas to more lucrative wet gas (natural gas liquids) areas.
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Flaring of Gas Wells – Still Used, But Not as Much Anymore
In areas where there is active drilling, like northeast and southwest Pennsylvania, near the end of completing a gas well is a process called flaring—when some of the gas and other impurities are burned off. Sometimes flaring a well, which results in a large flame coming out of the well, can be seen up to 10 miles away, which catches neighbors by surprise. Tony Gaudlip from Range Resources explains the flaring process, and why it’s not used as much as it once was.Read More “Flaring of Gas Wells – Still Used, But Not as Much Anymore”
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Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County
Washington County Commissioners to Vote on Modifying Gas Lease
Commissioners for Washington County, PA will vote today on modifying an agreement they have with Range Resources to allow drilling for gas at a county-owned park. The revisions will limit how much time Range has to complete drilling and extracting natural gas, and it also ups the royalty percentage.
Read More “Washington County Commissioners to Vote on Modifying Gas Lease”
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NiSource to Build New $145M Marcellus Pipeline in PA
NiSource, which owns and operates over 15,000 miles of interstate natural gas pipelines, will build a new Marcellus Shale pipeline “through western Pennsylvania” they announced yesterday. Details, including the one driller signed on so far, are thin. Here is what we know:
Read More “NiSource to Build New $145M Marcellus Pipeline in PA”
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Feb 2, 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: Thu, Feb 2, 2012”
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Accidents | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County
Cabot Accuses EPA of Cherry Picking Old Water Test Data
Cabot Oil & Gas has accused the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of “cherry picking” old water test data to justify its intrusion into Dimock, PA. For a quick backgrounder on the situation in Dimock and why Cabot is being blamed by some for pollution of a handful of local water wells in the area, see this MDN story.Read More “Cabot Accuses EPA of Cherry Picking Old Water Test Data”
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Accidents | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County
Dimock Residents Petition EPA to Stop Their Investigation
A group of residents from the Dimock, Pennsylvania area have formed a group called “Enough is Enough” to combat the negative image being painted of their quaint, rural town in the Endless Mountains region of northeast PA. A steady drumbeat of negative press over the past three years, instigated by anti-drilling organizations, has created an image of Dimock as a chemical wasteland a la “Love Canal” (the Niagara Falls neighborhood that became famous in the 1970s because of widespread underground chemical contamination) in the minds of those who have never visited the area.
Dimock residents want to dispel that image.
Read More “Dimock Residents Petition EPA to Stop Their Investigation”
Last week’s MDN poll asked whether or not you believe that President Obama is now genuinely a supporter of hydraulic fracturing and shale gas drilling. Seems there are quite a few skeptics in the MDN audience. Here are the results: 
West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio are all in the hunt to land an ethane cracker plant in their respective states (see the 
Funny how those who oppose drilling want there to be plenty of rules (i.e. regulations) that would govern every aspect of drilling, but when it comes to following rules themselves, they don’t want to. Witness the arrest yesterday of Josh Fox, so-called documentary film maker and creator of the anti-fracking propaganda film Gasland when he tried to film a House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee hearing without proper credentials:
In areas where there is active drilling, like northeast and southwest Pennsylvania, near the end of completing a gas well is a process called flaring—when some of the gas and other impurities are burned off. Sometimes flaring a well, which results in a large flame coming out of the well, can be seen up to 10 miles away, which catches neighbors by surprise. Tony Gaudlip from Range Resources explains the flaring process, and why it’s not used as much as it once was.
Cabot Oil & Gas has accused the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of “cherry picking” old water test data to justify its intrusion into Dimock, PA. For a quick backgrounder on the situation in Dimock and why Cabot is being blamed by some for pollution of a handful of local water wells in the area,