Marcellus Drilling News

NYS Comptroller Threatens Chesapeake Energy

April 30, 2012April 30, 2012

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who is anti-drilling, “scolded” Chesapeake last week (according to the headlines) over the program that allows CEO Aubrey McClendon to participate in every well drilled by the company, with up to 2.5 percent ownership in each well. Although DiNapoli released a press statement to his favored mainstream media (MSM) buddies, he has yet to publicly release the statement “scolding” Chesapeake.

Here’s what we have from MSM accounts:

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Gov. Kasich: Shale Drilling is Good, but OH Needs Diversity

April 30, 2012April 30, 2012

Speaking at the Eastern Ohio Development Alliance’s annual meeting last Friday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said that although he supports shale oil and gas drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shales in his state, he doesn’t want to put all of Ohio’s economic eggs in one basket. He said the state needs to focus on more than just the energy sector to help elevate Ohio out of its current economic doldrums.

Polls

New MDN Poll: Will McClendon be CEO One Year from Now?

April 30, 2012April 30, 2012

MDN launches a new poll today. Over the past several weeks, Chesapeake Energy has been in the midst of a public relations storm. Chesapeake operates a program called the Founders Well Participation Program (FWPP) which allows CEO Aubrey McClendon to invest his own money, and reap the financial rewards, of up to a 2.5 percent stake in every well drilled by Chesapeake. He must help fund his 2.5 percent of drilling costs. Reuters disclosed a few weeks ago that McClendon has been borrowing—big time—in order to meet his obligations to the program. He has borrowed (i.e. mortgaged his interest) to the tune of $1.1 – $1.4 billion, depending on the news source.

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Mon, Apr 30, 2012

April 30, 2012April 30, 2012

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

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

NY DEC Chief Says Supportive Towns More Likely to be Drilled

April 27, 2012April 27, 2012

coin toss MDN reported earlier this week that certain key New York State senators (and others) were signaling that if/when hydraulic fracturing is allowed to go forward in the state, it may only happen in communities that support it (see this MDN story). We now have further confirmation that indeed that will likely be the case from none other than Joe Martens, the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Sullivan County

Woodstock & Fracking Have One Thing in Common

April 27, 2012April 27, 2012

The Town of Bethel, in Sullivan County, NY, was home to the Woodstock “music festival” in 1969. Bethel is also the latest New York township to ban hydraulic fracturing. Both events have at least one thing in common: They’re both supported by hippies and hippie-wannabes.

Last night, the Bethel town board voted 5-0 to ban fracking before a “crowd” of 70 in attendance:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

New Video about Dimock, PA Tells the Real Story

April 27, 2012April 27, 2012

There’s been no shortage of pejorative media coverage painting the small town of Dimock, PA (in Susquehanna County) as the new Love Canal—a chemical wasteland. The image portrayed in a constant drumbeat by mainstream media, and Hollywood celebrities, is that Marcellus Shale gas drilling has fouled the water in and around Dimock. MDN will not recount the history of Dimock, just do a search on MDN for a myriad of background stories.

What you need to know is that the water is clean (proven clean by multiple tests, the latest of which is from the federal EPA themselves). And what you further need to know is that anti-drillers, in their zeal to find one place, anyplace, they can point to where water was affected by drilling, has unfairly destroyed the reputation of this innocent town.

Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Yet Another PA Township “Supports” Act 13 Lawsuit

April 27, 2012April 27, 2012

Wednesday night, Scott Township, PA commissioners unanimously voted to pass a resolution showing symbolic (but no real) support for the PA townships that have sued the State of Pennsylvania over provisions in the new Act 13 Marcellus drilling law. The lawsuit takes exception to state rules replacing local zoning laws that control oil and gas drilling.

Scott is just the latest municipality, in addition to Pittsburgh, Tullytown, Wilkinson, Luzerne, Buffalo, Hanover and other municipalities who have also expressed support, but refuse to actually join the lawsuit (see this MDN story).

Sierra Club Will Try to Block Maryland LNG Export Terminal

April 27, 2012April 27, 2012

The Sierra Club will oppose and attempt to block a facility that will liquefy and export natural gas from Cove Point, Maryland. The very same facility from which Sumitomo and Tokyo Gas are trying to negotiate a deal to receive LNG from Dominion Resources (see this MDN story).

Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Japan Negotiates to Buy Marcellus Gas

April 27, 2012April 27, 2012

Japan needs natural gas and they need it badly. After the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, Japan has shut down 49 of their 50 nuclear reactors. That spells an impending shortage of electricity in the country. One of the ways to make it up is by using natural gas. Natural gas currently costs over $17 per million BTUs (mmBtu) in Asia. The U.S. commodity price of natural gas is currently under $2 mmBtu. So Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp and Tokyo Gas Co Ltd are in talks with Dominion Resources to import up to 2.3 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year for 20 years starting in 2017.

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies

Chesapeake Energy Ends Special Deal for CEO Aubrey McClendon

April 27, 2012April 27, 2012

Chesapeake Energy announced yesterday that the program they’ve had in place with CEO Aubrey McClendon that grants him 2.5 percent ownership and participation in every well drilled by the company (called the Founder Well Participation Program) will end in 2015 at the latest, and possibly sooner. The company also seemed to backpedal a bit from an earlier statement that the board was “fully aware” of McClendon’s private financing deals, deals that he used to cover his 2.5 percent portion of drilling expenses.

From the Chesapeake press release:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Apr 27, 2012

April 27, 2012April 27, 2012

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

Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Range Resources Corp | Regulation

EPA Region 6 Administrator: Crucify Energy Companies

April 26, 2012April 26, 2012

Roman crucifixion Lest you think MDN is a bit off the reservation when it comes to criticisms of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), you might want to read about EPA Region 6 administrator Al Armendariz in an expose by Forbes magazine. Region 6 oversees Texas and surrounding states. Armendariz, a former professor at Southern Methodist University and appointed by President Obama in November 2009 to be Region 6 administrator, is caught on tape talking about his philosophy of “enforcement” and how to target oil and gas companies. He compares his approach to enforcement to how the Romans used to enter a village, find the first five men they could find and crucify them on the spot so the other villagers would be compliant. (See the embedded video below.)

Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources Slide Deck: Complete with Cool Maps

April 26, 2012April 26, 2012

As part of Range Resource’s first quarter financial and operational update they released a PowerPoint presentation. With a theme of “inflection point,” Range lays out the case for why they believe double-digit growth is ahead for the company in the coming years. As MDN reviewed the slide deck, we found a number of slides we think you might like to view, so we’ve embedded the slide deck below and call your attention to the following slides:

Maryland | Statewide MD

Maryland Shale Commission Wants More Time for Study

April 26, 2012April 26, 2012

The ~~Laurel & Hardy~~ Maryland Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission wants more time to complete a study to determine whether or not it’s safe to do hydraulic fracturing in the pristine state of Maryland. Anyone surprised?

Energy Companies | Range Resources Corp

Range Resources Reports 1Q12 Results

April 26, 2012April 26, 2012

Range Resources released their first quarter results yesterday. As is usually the case, the press release they issued (below, in its entirety) is dense with facts and figures and financial terms. Who wants to read all of it?! (That’s why you read MDN!) Yet there is important information contained in it. MDN will “bottom line” it first, and then we’ll highlight those sections which would be of most interest to landowners—people who either have signed with Range and want to know what they’re up to, or those who have not yet signed and want to know if Range is the kind of company they should sign with.