Marcellus Drilling News

Six PA Counties to Receive $10M+ from New Impact Fee in 2012

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012

Washington County is among six counties in Pennsylvania that stand to receive more than $10 million in impact fee revenue this year from the newly adopted Marcellus drilling legislation signed into law by Gov. Corbett on Monday.

Energy Companies | Talisman Energy

Talisman Cutting Back in Marcellus from 10 Rigs to 3

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012

Talisman Energy is the latest major driller to announce they are cutting back on drilling in the dry gas Marcellus to instead concentrate on drilling in wet gas areas.

OH Drilling Rigs Expected to Increase 300% in Next 5 Years

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012

The executive director of the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Association, Rhonda Reda, predicts that oil and gas drilling rigs will increase 300% in the next five years, and those rigs will create new jobs to operate them:

Butler County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Taxation

Butler County Adopts New PA Impact Fee Ordinance in 2 Days

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012

Butler County, PA commissioners have already voted to adopt an ordinance to collect the newly created impact fee, just two days after the new law was enacted:

Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Statewide MD

Sierra Club Files Objection to Cove Point LNG Export Facility

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012

The Sierra Club continues to oppose clean-burning natural gas as a “dirty” fuel. Their latest attempt to force Americans to wean themselves from this nasty, dirty fuel is to oppose expansion of the Cove Point, Maryland liquefied natural gas export facility. Why? Because if cheap natural gas becomes even more popular than it is throughout the world, it will slow down adoption of the Sierra Club’s preferred energy sources, solar and wind.

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Feb 16, 2012

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012

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

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Chesapeake Selling Assets to Concentrate on OH/Wet Gas

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

for sale Under pressure from low commodity prices for natural gas causing a cash deficit for drilling, Chesapeake Energy is looking to sell off some of its oil and gas fields in Texas, Mexico and Oklahoma so it can continue to concentrate on drilling in eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale and other “wet gas” areas of the country.

Potential Cracker Plant Site in WV Leased for Drilling

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

One of the possible locations for a new ethane cracker plant in West Virginia is a 1400-acre parcel of land owned by Bayer Corp. located on the border of Marshall and Wetzel counties. Ahead of an announcement on a cracker plant, Bayer has decided to move forward with leasing the New Martinsville plant for shale gas drilling to Gastar Exploration in a deal expected to net Bayer $30 million over 30 years.

Start a Company or Get a Job in the Marcellus? Try Water

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

Looking for a way to participate in the Marcellus and Utica Shale economic boom? As an investor, or as a business owner or even as a job seeker, you might want to consider water. Yeah, water. Try these numbers on for size: In 2011, drillers paid somewhere between $1.3-$1.7 billion to dispose of fracking wastewater in the Marcellus Shale. In 10 years it’s estimated to be a $15-$22 billion market—just in the Marcellus Shale.

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

Fremont, NY Considers a Ban on Fracking

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

The Town of Fremont, NY is heading toward a vote to ban hydraulic fracturing. Fremont is in Steuben County, and a ban would adversely affect the property rights of rural landowners in the township.

Alternative Energy | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Earthworks Admits Real Reason they Oppose Gas Drilling

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

Although MDN has long pointed out the ideological underpinnings in the opposition of drilling for shale gas, here is yet another brief moment of honesty from an anti-drilling group about their true motivation:

Best of the Rest

Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Feb 15, 2012

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

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

Gov. Corbett Signs New Marcellus Drilling Law

February 14, 2012April 16, 2026

private No public ceremony for the signing of historic legislation to regulate Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania. Monday evening, Gov. Tom Corbett’s office announced he had privately signed the new legislation into law. A detailed summary of the legislation is embedded below.

Among the key provisions in the final bill:

PA Finally Joins the Cracker Plant Sweepstakes

February 14, 2012February 14, 2012

It seems that Pennsylvania has finally woken up to the fact that Shell is about to decide where they will invest some $2 billion and generate thousands of new jobs by building an ethane cracker plant. One of three bills signed into law by PA Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday was a bill that,

Bradford County | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Bradford County, PA: “The Recession Passed Right Over Us”

February 14, 2012February 15, 2012

A balanced article looking at arguments both for and against shale gas drilling posted on the 13-WHAM TV website begins this way:

Maryland Delegates Propose 15% Severance Tax

February 14, 2012February 14, 2012

They must be smoking something good in Maryland—at least in the Maryland House of Delegates where Del. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore) and Del. Sheila Hixson (D-Montgomery) introduced a bill last Friday that would require the state collect 15 percent of the wholesale value of any natural gas produced from Maryland’s portion of the Marcellus Shale.