Marcellus Drilling News

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

FracFocus.org Chemical Reporting Service Expands Rapidly

May 25, 2012May 25, 2012

FracFocus.org, the hydraulic fracturing chemical registry website, is now just over one year old and contains detailed information on the fracking chemicals used in over 18,000 hydraulically fractured wells. FracFocus.org is an independent organization that enjoys both drilling industry and environmental group support. With over 200 drillers now submitting data to the FracFocus.org website, it has become the de facto standard source for fracking chemical data, expanding rapidly each month as more and more drillers use the service.

A press release issued today describes FracFocus.org in more detail and links to online training offered by the organization along with a video of highlights from the past “wild ride” year:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, May 25, 2012

May 25, 2012May 25, 2012

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

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

Anti-Driller Groups in Ohio Don’t Like Being Legally Neutered

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012

scalpel Ohio legislators have been working to craft new shale oil and gas drilling rules that will do more to protect the environment, and at the same time, help protect the fledgling shale drilling industry in the state. New legislation passed in committee yesterday that will now go to the full House includes a provision to help prevent frivolous lawsuits brought by deep-pocketed anti-drilling groups, like the Ohio Environmental Council and the Sierra Club. These groups, who are opposed to expanded use of fossil fuels, use the legal system to tie up shale drillers in court and force them to spend huge sums of money as a tactic to reduce fossil fuel mining and use.

When the Ohio House added a protection against such shenanigans, predictably the anti-drillers objected.

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

NY DEC Chief Martens Says Fracking Can be Done Safely

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012

Finally, one thing that Joe Martens has said publicly that MDN fully agrees with. Martens, for those new to the drilling debate in New York, is the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation—the organization that is tasked with regulating oil and gas drilling in the state. Martens is also the former long-time president of the Open Spaces Institute, an organization dedicated to stopping development of land. Strange choice by Andy Cuomo to run the organization tasked with developing the state’s land. But whatever.

Here’s what Martens said at a conference yesterday in New York City:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Animated Map Shows Vertical vs Horizontal Gas Wells in PA

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has created a very cool animated map showing the transition from conventionally drilled, vertical natural gas wells to unconventional, horizontally fracked natural gas wells (Marcellus wells) from January 2005 to April 2012 (a copy of the video is embedded below). Just as cool—and startling—are a couple of bar charts (also embedded below) showing the dramatic increase in the volume of natural gas production in PA while at the same time the number of gas wells, the number of holes drilled in the ground, has gone down! How can that be?

Fracked horizontal wells drilled in shale formations are far more productive than conventional, vertically drilled wells.

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake’s Missing Slide Blames Media Attacks

May 24, 2012

Chesapeake Energy posted its monthly investor PowerPoint slide presentation on its website Tuesday morning. Slide number two in the presentation got a fair amount of attention from the media, who pays attention to these presentations. That slide blames an “unprecedented negative media campaign” for the steep drop in Chesapeake’s stock price over the past month or so. An attack which another bullet point on slide two says has failed.

Funny thing—the original PowerPoint was pulled within a few hours of being posted and a new version uploaded with a different slide two—nothing to do with negative press. However, MDN has the original version (embedded below).

Proposed Compressor Plant Near Wilkes-Barre Criticized

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012

Residents gathered in West Wyoming (Luzerne County), PA to hear about plans from UGI Energy Services, subsidiary of UGI Utilities, to build a natural gas compressor plant in the township. The compressor plant will help bring Marcellus Shale gas through a new 28-mile pipeline UGI is building from Wyoming County to Luzerne County. Getting shale gas to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area will lead to a 40 percent reduction in natural gas bills for customers over the next four years, according to UGI.

But the compressor plant is not without its critics…

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Responds to NYC Comptroller on Board Election

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012

Two days ago MDN reported that New York City Comptroller John Liu had written an open letter to Chesapeake Energy shareholders encouraging them to vote down the re-election of two board members (see this MDN story). Chesapeake has now responded, strongly, to Liu’s letter with a letter of their own.

From a Chesapeake press release:

Exporting | Industrywide Issues

U.S. Shale Gas Exports to Europe Will Grow 74% by 2035

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012

Amazingly, if you were to add up the volume of available shale gas in Europe, it totals an estimated 639 trillion (with a “t”) cubic feet of natural gas, more than four times the estimates for the Marcellus Shale in the U.S. Yet equally amazing European countries are either banning fracking or have instituted moratoria—they don’t want to use their own natural resources. No problem! The U.S will be happy to sell them some of ours.

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, May 24, 2012

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012

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

Columbiana County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Some OH Landowners Get $5,800/Acre While Neighbors Get $4/Acre

May 23, 2012May 23, 2012

contract A cautionary story for landowners comes from Columbiana County, Ohio. Some landowners, like Patrick and Jill McNicol, own land encumbered by old gas leases going back fifty years they knew nothing about. What does it mean? They’ll get $4 per acre for their land (and no royalties), while their neighbors will get $5,800 per acres and 12-20 percent royalties.

Is there any recourse for the McNicols? Maybe.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Sierra Club Hindering Change from Coal to Natural Gas

May 23, 2012May 23, 2012

In what can only be described as idiotic, the Sierra Club is actively preventing utility companies from converting electrical generating plants from coal to natural gas—because they don’t like fracking. This kind of stuff has to stop.

FERC Approves Spectra Energy’s $1.2B NYC Natural Gas Pipeline

May 23, 2012May 23, 2012

Spectra Energy’s proposed $1.2 billion natural gas pipeline for New York City finally won approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Monday. The 20-mile new pipeline to be built will connect New York to New Jersey and deliver 800 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to homes and businesses in New York. Most of the gas will come from the Marcellus Shale. It will ease the energy needs of New York because starting in 2015 the City will no longer allow No. 6 fuel oil to be burned.

The new pipeline and the energy it will deliver by saving all that oil burning will be the equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the road. That’s a good thing, right? So how have some New Yorkers responded? Thankful that they too will be able to access cleaner burning, lower cost natural gas? Thankful that this new pipeline will result in cleaner air? You guessed it—they don’t want it!

Columbiana County Port Authority Leases Land to Chesapeake

May 23, 2012May 23, 2012

The Columbiana County (OH) Port Authority voted on Monday to lease 43.9 acres of its property in Beaver County, PA to Chesapeake Energy.

PA Resident Wins Right to Appeal DEP Water Contamination Case

May 23, 2012May 23, 2012

The Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) ruled on May 16 that a Washington County resident who claims that nearby shale gas drilling is responsible for his water well being contaminated with methane and chemicals can appeal a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) determination that his well was not contaminated by shale drilling.

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

New Philly Association Formed to Help Businesses Crack the Marcellus

May 23, 2012May 23, 2012

A new association has been formed in the Philadelphia area to connect local businesses with business opportunities in the Marcellus Shale. So far the new association, called the Delaware Valley Marcellus Association (DVMA), consists of four founding member companies, but has plans to expand rapidly.

From the press release announcing the DVMA: