Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Apr 3, 2012
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
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Energy Services | GASFRAC | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY | Tioga County (NY)
Anti-Driller Campaign Against LPG Fracking Begins in NY
It certainly didn’t taken long for anti-drillers to start talking down LPG (waterless) fracking. Just last week, a Tioga County, NY landowner group announced they will sign a lease with eCorp to allow drilling on 135,000 acres in New York using a proprietary technology by Canadian company GASFRAC (see this MDN story). The waterless technology uses liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a gel-like substance that replaces water in fracking. Perhaps most importantly, by using LPG fracking, eCorp can move ahead with permitting and drilling now (in New York!), ahead of the release of new fracking regulations that have been stalled in a four-year review process.MDN predicted that with almost all stated reasons to oppose water-based fracking now removed, anti-drillers would invent new reasons to oppose LPG fracking. MDN’s prediction has already come true. An article printed in the “news” section of the Albany Times Union, which clearly is an opinion piece, says this:
Read More “Anti-Driller Campaign Against LPG Fracking Begins in NY”
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NatGas Leak Caused Williams Compressor Station Explosion
A natural gas leak was the cause of an explosion last week in a Susquehanna County, PA natural gas compressor station (see this MDN story). Fortunately, an alarm triggered an automatic shutdown of the station just minutes before the explosion.
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WPX Sells Barnett Shale & Arkoma Basin Holdings
WPX Energy, the spun-off exploration and production arm of Williams, announced this morning that they are selling off their holdings in the Texas Barnett Shale and Oklahamo Arkoma Basin for $306 million, and using the proceeds to grow operations in the Marcellus and Bakken Shale areas, as well as the Piceance Basin.
Read More “WPX Sells Barnett Shale & Arkoma Basin Holdings”
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Park Foundation Continues to Fund Anti-Drilling Groups
Once again the Park Foundation, a philanthropic organization started by famed media mogul Roy Park, continues to fund anti-drilling activities. The latest example is the announcement of nearly $6 million in new grants from the Park Foundation. Nearly $3.3 million are scholarships for Ithaca College students, class of 2017. Just over a half million dollars will go to organizations, projects and programs in Tompkins County.
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Pittsburgh Customers Get Another NatGas Rate Reduction
The Pittsburgh area’s three largest natural gas utilities have just dropped their natural gas rates (again) for customers—this time up to 22 percent.
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CONSOL/CNX Opening New Branch in Columbiana County, OH
CONSOL Energy’s CNX Gas subsidiary has just leased 10,000 square feet at an industrial park in Columbiana County, Ohio. The new branch office will handle all of CNX’s Utica Shale efforts in Ohio, a signal that CNX has big plans for the Utica.
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Washington PA Honda Dealer Starts Selling CNG Vehicles
Here come the compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles! At least in western PA:
Read More “Washington PA Honda Dealer Starts Selling CNG Vehicles”
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Washington County, PA – HQ for Marcellus Drilling
Western Pennsylvania’s Washington County is, in many ways, the epicenter for Marcellus drilling activity. Numerous companies either have their headquarters or their main Marcellus branch offices located in the county, and the rate of expansion continues to be high:
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Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Apr 2, 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 – Apr 1, 2012: Waterless Fracking
This past week brought a surprise announcement from “stalled at the gate” New York State. A group of landowners in Tioga County, NY (which sits between Binghamton and Elmira, in what is called the Southern Tier region of New York) are signing a lease with eCorp to allow Marcellus drilling using a waterless fracking technology pioneered by the Canadian company GASFRAC (see this MDN story). By using LPG fracking technology, eCorp and the Tioga landowners can move forward with drilling now—they won’t have to wait for New York’s four-year-old moratorium on fracking to be lifted. They can frack now with this waterless technology.In the article about the Tioga landowner deal, MDN speculated that given most or all of the stated reasons anti-drillers oppose drilling would be gone, they will invent new reasons to not like waterless fracking too. That is, this situation will show the true colors of anti-drillers—that their agenda is really one of not only opposing the recovery of, but also the use of fossil fuels because of a misguided belief/philosophy/worldview that fossil fuels are evil.
Which brings us to this week’s poll question: Will anti-drillers oppose waterless LPG fracking too? I’d like to know what you think. Will those who oppose drilling now get on board? Or is their position so hardened, so unbending, so “over the top” that they will oppose any kind of extraction of natural gas? 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 believe that energy companies are intentionally overstating just how much recoverable gas there is in shale deposits. Here’s the results:Are drillers overstating recoverable shale gas estimates to increase the stock price and attract investors?
No (55%, 150 Votes)
Yes (26%, 71 Votes)
Not sure (19%, 53 Votes)Total Voters: 274
Below are the most recent “top 5” lists and the calendar of Marcellus-related events for the next two weeks.
Happy fracking,
Jim Willis, EditorP.S. Sales of the new “Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook 2012” continue to be strong—thanks! 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.
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Anadarko | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Otsego County | Regulation | Statewide NY | Tompkins County
Dryden & Middlefield NY Drilling Bans Officially Appealed
An update on the two New York lawsuits recently decided in lower courts that upheld local municipal bans on hydraulic fracturing and gas drilling:Read More “Dryden & Middlefield NY Drilling Bans Officially Appealed”
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Lawsuit Filed: PA Towns Sue State over Marcellus Act 13 Law
A threatened lawsuit to overturn Pennsylvania’s newly passed Act 13 law that preempts local zoning ordinances passed to prevent shale gas drilling has finally materialized. The lawsuit was filed yesterday by seven PA municipalities and several other people (a copy of the lawsuit is embedded below). Act 13, signed into law in February by Gov. Tom Corbett, contains a provision that disallows local PA municipalities from passing zoning laws that are specifically aimed at preventing shale gas drilling. The loss of zoning power has some municipalities hopping mad.
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Energy Services | GASFRAC | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Tioga County (NY)
GASFRAC’s LPG Fracking Method (and Future) Looking Good
In a follow-up to yesterday’s blockbuster news that fracking may begin in New York sooner rather than later if Tioga County, NY landowners move forward with LPG fracking (see this MDN story), the website Seeking Alpha makes the following interesting comment about the proprietary LPG technology used by GASFRAC, and about GASFRAC’s future prospects:
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Preservation League New York’s Newest Anti-Drilling Group
Surprise! There’s a new anti-drilling organization in New York State (where new anti-drilling organizations pop up like flies). You can now add the Preservation League of New York State to the list of those who want to strip away property rights from individuals in order to enforce their worldview on others. From the New York Times Green blog:
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Compressor Station Explosion in Susquehanna County, PA
A natural gas compressor station located in Susquehanna County, PA owned and operated by Williams Partners experienced an explosion yesterday morning that blew a hole in the roof of the complex. There were no injuries and the automated emergency shutdown kicked in preventing gas from entering or leaving the station.
Read More “Compressor Station Explosion in Susquehanna County, PA”
It certainly didn’t taken long for anti-drillers to start talking down LPG (waterless) fracking. Just last week, a Tioga County, NY landowner group announced they will sign a lease with eCorp to allow drilling on 135,000 acres in New York using a proprietary technology by Canadian company GASFRAC (
Last week MDN wanted to know if you believe that energy companies are intentionally overstating just how much recoverable gas there is in shale deposits. Here’s the results:
An update on the two New York lawsuits recently decided in lower courts that upheld local municipal bans on hydraulic fracturing and gas drilling: