Dr. Shikha Sharma, an assistant professor at West Virginia University and the lead researcher of a new WVU study looking at the source of methane found in water supplies (see this MDN story), says those who think that hydraulic fracturing is the cause of methane found in their water supply may be wrong. And she can prove it—scientifically.
Read More “WVU Prof: Methane in Water Supplies is Not from Fracking”
We have a new development in the ongoing case from Susquehanna County, PA where a lower court upheld the “Dunham rule” declaring oil and gas are not part of mineral rights. The Dunham rule, a PA law precedent that’s been in place since 1882, was challenged by PA Superior Court (see this MDN story), threatening to overturn dozens if not hundreds of leases and deeds in Pennsylvania. The landowners in the case have now appealed directly to the PA State Supreme Court in an effort to lay this to rest and have the Dunham rule upheld.
Read More “Shale Gas Mineral Rights Case Appealed to PA Supreme Court”
The Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports on a rumor in today’s paper about a company in Endicott (Broome County, NY) thinking about treating fracking wastewater:
Read More “Rumor: Endicott Company May Want to Treat Fracking Wastewater”
A new database is on the way to track the impact of Marcellus Shale drilling on water quality in Pennsylvania, thanks to a $750,000 research grant by the National Science Foundation. The database will be created and maintained by Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, Bucknell University and Dickinson College. Researchers will identify and use data collected from multiple sources, including watershed groups, government agencies and others.
Read More “New Database to Track Marcellus Drilling Impact on PA Water”
Greene Township (Erie County, PA) supervisors have just passed an amendment to the township zoning ordinance requiring all new gas drilling to obtain a conditional-use permit before drilling a new well. A conditional-use permit means drillers not only have to file for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection, they also have to file for a permit with the township as well, appearing before the board of supervisors and explaining, in detail, their plans—before a permit will be issued.
Under Pennsylvania law conditional-use permits by local municipalities are allowed, although in some areas where it’s been implemented drillers have left the area in protest, preferring to work in areas that are more drilling-friendly.
Read More “Western PA Township Votes to Require Conditional-Use Permits”
More pipeline news. First Reserve, an investment company that invests primarily in the energy industry, has just pumped $100 million into a joint venture that will give it 50% ownership in two new pipeline gathering systems in Greene and Clearfield counties in Pennsylvania. Both pipelines service the Marcellus Shale drilling industry in those areas.
Read More “First Reserve Invests in Two PA Marcellus Gas Pipelines”
Marcellus shale gas is now flowing through the UGI Energy Services Auburn pipeline to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Susquehanna County, PA with volumes expected to reach 120,000 dekatherms per day “in the next several months.” What does it mean? It’s one more access point for Marcellus Shale gas to reach the larger interstate market.
Read More “Local Pipeline in NE PA Now Sending Marcellus Gas Interstate”
A daily list of stories about Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling and related issues.
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Monday, Oct 10, 2011”
According to last week’s poll, more MDN readers do not believe in the theory that man causes global warming than do. Looks like MDN editor Jim Willis is not so out-of-the-mainstream as some would charge. A conclusion I draw from this: the so-called science of global warming is far from settled. Those who believe in it want to call those of us who do not “flat earthers,” ignorant, and in denial. We’re the ones you want to keep in the back of the room at the cocktail party for fear we might embarrass the intelligencia with our crackpot notions. Seems there are a few more of us around than you might have thought!
Do you believe in man-caused global warming?
No (53%, 136 Votes)
Yes (41%, 107 Votes)
Not sure (6%, 16 Votes)
Total Voters: 259
Should shale gas be considered a mineral in Pennsylvania?
A few weeks ago MDN reported on a very important case working it’s way through the court system in Pennsylvania (see this MDN story). The Marcellus Shale is a rock layer in the ground—by all accounts and by anyone’s definition, it’s a mineral. But what about the gas, or oil, it contains? Is that gas and/or oil a mineral too? For legal purposes in PA, the answer would be “no”. That is, unless the Pennsylvania courts change it, which is what the current case is about.
Since 1882 a ruling called the “Dunham rule” in Pennsylvania law has maintained that natural gas is not considered a mineral (for the purposes of real estate) and gas in the ground is not conveyed with “mineral rights” unless specifically stated. If all rights to a piece of land are being conveyed to a buyer, no problem. All is all and includes oil and gas as well as anything else. But if mineral rights were at some point separated from the deed, and if someone else owns those rights, oil and gas is NOT assumed to be part of those mineral rights unless there is language specifically making them a part.
That’s the way it has been until a recent court case. A lower court in Susquehanna County ruled in a case that the Dunham rule applies (see the original story for details). But on appeal, the PA Superior Court sent the case back to the lower court asking them to hear expert testimony. The loud and clear message is, maybe it’s time to change the Dunham rule and make natural gas and oil a part of mineral rights by definition. This action by the higher court is causing a great deal of angst for landowners and drillers. To overturn a 129 year-old precedent would throw the drilling industry in PA into turmoil with lawsuits popping up like spring dandelions.
Almost all other states presume that natural gas and oil are part of “mineral rights” for the purposes of real estate contracts. Pennsylvania is unusual in that it does not. However, it’s been that way in PA for a long, long time.
MDN wants to know what you think. Should PA courts redefine natural gas as a mineral right? Or would such an action constitute changing the rules of the game long after the game has been played? Register your opinion in this week’s poll on 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.
Happy reading,
Jim Willis, Editor
Read More “MDN Weekly Update – Oct 9, 2011: Is Gas a Mineral?”
Central and northwest Pennsylvania saw record-breaking amounts of rainfall from Tropical Storm Lee, and massive flooding along with it. It brought devastation to a wide area of Pennsylvania. Although some accuse the Marcellus drilling industry of only being in it for the buck, a number of drillers stepped up to the plate to help with flood relief.
Read More “Energy Companies Big Help with Flood Relief in PA”
The PA Department of Environmental Protection reports Marcellus Shale drilling companies are extracting more gas faster—60 percent more gas in the first six months of this year, compared to the last six months of 2010. More wells are coming online in PA, and drillers are becoming more efficient and using less chemicals, water and sand as they learn how best to use the ingenious technology of hydraulic fracturing.
Read More “PA Marcellus Drillers Extracting More Gas Faster”
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: Friday, Oct 7, 2011”
A list of 250+ physicians and other health care professionals, along with the usual group of opposition groups, sent a letter to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo yesterday requesting more study of shale gas drilling’s affects on health before approving new regulations and issuing permits to drill. A copy of their letter is embedded below.
A copy of the list of “health care professionals” which includes doctors, nurses, psychologists, veterinarians, dentists, professors, students and others is listed below in case those who support drilling might want to re-think whether or not they continue using the services of these people given their activist stance against drilling.
Read More “List of Health Care Pros Who Oppose Gas Drilling in NY”
Pipeline company Magnum Hunter Resources has signed a deal with natural gas processor MarkWest Liberty to deliver and process “liquids-rich” Marcellus Shale gas from northwest West Virginia. As part of the deal, a Magnum Hunter subsidiary (Eureka Hunter) is selling an under-construction gas processing plant to MarkWest. What it all means is that Magnum Hunter and MarkWest are joining forces to handle a large capacity of shale gas that needs processing in northwest WV.
Read More “Magnum Hunter & MarkWest Do Deal to Process WV Shale Gas”
A new research study is on the way in West Virginia that tackles the question of “Is there methane in the water supply? And if so, how did it get there?” One of the charges often leveled at shale gas drilling is that it causes a migration of methane (natural gas) into water supplies. Perhaps the most famous case in recent years is that of Dimock, Pennsylvania (see MDN stories about Dimock).
A researcher from West Virginia University is conducting a new study by sampling and analyzing water samples in the Monongahela River watershed to determine if there’s methane in local water supplies, with an eye to determining how it got there if it is there.
Read More “New WVU Study Looks at Methane in Water Supplies”
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: Thursday, Oct 6, 2011”