Marcellus Drilling News

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MDN Weekly Update – Jul 31, 2011: Boycotting Cities and Towns that Ban Drilling
July 31, 2011July 31, 2011

First, the results of last week’s poll, which asked:

If anti-drillers engage in civil disobedience to prevent drilling, should those who support drilling retaliate and engage in civil disobedience too?

No (63%, 143 Votes)
Yes (33%, 76 Votes)
Not sure (4%, 8 Votes)

Total Voters: 227

Current Poll – No Stomach for Civil Disobedience, but How About a Boycott?

Two weeks ago MDN wrote about a civil disobedience training meeting on the shores of Keuka Lake, NY and mused what if the shoe was on the other foot. Would those who support drilling be willing to engage in civil disobedience against those who civil disobediently try to obstruct legal and lawful drilling? It seems the answer, at least from the MDN audience, is a resounding “no”. Breaking laws, even if it’s in response to those already breaking them, is not in the DNA of most who support drilling.

So this week MDN further muses, what about a boycott instead? On Friday, MDN covered a story about drillers in West Virginia who are growing weary of municipalities in that state enacting Marcellus Shale drilling bans, citing concerns over water supplies (see this MDN article). The West Virginia Independent Oil & Gas Association said they’re not interested in doing business with the businesses of municipalities that ban drilling. A boycott breaks no laws and only changes purchasing behavior. It puts pressure on businesses who in turn fund the political campaigns of local politicians who are enacting the bans. That is, it hits them where it hurts—in the pocketbook.

So what if not only drillers, but landowners and those who support drilling, were to join in and stop doing business (as much as possible) with businesses in municipalities that ban drilling? That’s the question MDN asks in this week’s poll:

Should those who support drilling boycott businesses in municipalities that ban drilling until the ban is lifted?

Register your vote along the right side of any page on the site.

Below are the most recent “top 5” lists and the calendar of Marcellus related events for the next few weeks.

Happy reading!
Jim Willis, Editor

Read More “MDN Weekly Update – Jul 31, 2011: Boycotting Cities and Towns that Ban Drilling”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Major Discovery – Chesapeake Energy Strikes Oil (and Gas) in Ohio’s Utica Shale
July 29, 2011July 29, 2011

After two years of research and experimental drilling, Chesapeake Energy announced yesterday they have struck oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas in Ohio’s Utica Shale. This new find will boost Chesapeake’s company value by 15-20 billion dollars and is causing quite a sensation among Ohioans.

Read More “Major Discovery – Chesapeake Energy Strikes Oil (and Gas) in Ohio’s Utica Shale”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

EPA’s Proposed New Air Pollution Rules for Hydraulic Fracturing in the Oil and Gas Industries
July 29, 2011July 29, 2011

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday released a 604-page set of rule changes that will force oil and gas drillers that use hydraulic fracturing to use new or improved processes and equipment in an attempt to cut the level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other air pollutants they say are emitted during the completion of new and modified hydraulically fractured wells. There are some 25,000 oil and gas wells that are fracked on land in the U.S. each year, so this is will have a major impact on the entire industry.

The new rules will cost the industry 3/4 of a billion dollars by 2015 according to EPA estimates, although they also say the rule changes mean that more methane (natural gas) will not escape into the atmosphere as it is now, and therefore the cost of complying with the new rules will be offset by extra revenue from selling the gas that doesn’t disappear into the atmosphere—that is, “it all comes out in the wash” and evens out. (Gotta love EPA math.)

Read More “EPA’s Proposed New Air Pollution Rules for Hydraulic Fracturing in the Oil and Gas Industries”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wetzel County

WV Drillers Threaten Economic Boycotts of Local Businesses in Cities that Ban Marcellus Drilling
July 29, 2011July 29, 2011

Here and there, some city municipalities in West Virginia—like Morgantown—have banned hydraulic fracturing and Marcellus shale gas drilling inside, and even outside of their borders. The latest WV city to do so is New Martinsville (Wetzel County). The West Virginia Independent Oil & Gas Association has had enough and is threatening to stop supporting local businesses in cities that have enacted bans.

Read More “WV Drillers Threaten Economic Boycotts of Local Businesses in Cities that Ban Marcellus Drilling”
Broome County | Chemung County | New York | Tioga County (NY)

Three NY State Counties Along Border with PA Will be Focal Point for Marcellus Drilling According to Experts
July 28, 2011July 28, 2011

Three New York State counties that sit on the border with Pennsylvania will likely be the first, and biggest beneficiaries of Marcellus Shale drilling when it finally begins in New York. Those counties are Broome, Tioga and Chemung. That prediction comes from two of the most prominent geologists in the Marcellus Shale:

Read More “Three NY State Counties Along Border with PA Will be Focal Point for Marcellus Drilling According to Experts”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines

How Much Should Landowners be Paid for Marcellus Pipelines on Their Property?
July 28, 2011July 28, 2011

With an increase in the number of Marcellus gas wells drilled, comes an increase in the need for pipelines to get that gas to market. Local pipelines that gather the gas and take it to a compressor station where it’s then sent to a larger pipeline, and pipelines that bring water to drilling sites, can be from as small as 4 inches in diameter to as large as 36 inches in diameter. In Marcellus Shale states like West Virginia and Ohio, the mineral rights to drill for gas beneath the ground are often owned by someone different than the landowner who owns the surface rights. A pipeline contract is known as a right-of-way easement with the surface owner.

Since surface owners will not see any royalties from the gas, they understandably want to get as high a price as they can for allowing pipelines to traverse their property, pipelines that once installed, will be there for many years—often longer than the producing gas well. But what’s a fair price?

Read More “How Much Should Landowners be Paid for Marcellus Pipelines on Their Property?”
Blair County | Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Altoona Water Authority Expands Sale of Treated Wastewater to Marcellus Drillers in PA
July 28, 2011July 28, 2011

The Altoona [PA] Water Authority is looking to expand its program to sell treated sewage wastewater to Marcellus drillers in central PA.

Read More “Altoona Water Authority Expands Sale of Treated Wastewater to Marcellus Drillers in PA”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Cabot Operational Update: 81 Horizontal Marcellus Wells Producing 420-430 Mmcf of Gas Per Day
July 28, 2011July 28, 2011

Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas just released its quarterly operations update. Cabot reports the following about its operations in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale region:

Read More “Cabot Operational Update: 81 Horizontal Marcellus Wells Producing 420-430 Mmcf of Gas Per Day”
Industrywide Issues | New York | Roads | Statewide NY

Leaked NY Dept of Transportation Analysis Says Potential Impacts from Marcellus Drilling on State and Local Roads are “Ominous”
July 27, 2011July 27, 2011

A leaked internal document from the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) expresses concern that the state is not ready for a dramatic increase in heavy truck traffic that will occur when Marcellus Shale drilling begins in the state. The document, titled “DRAFT Discussion Paper: Transportation Impacts of Potential Marcellus Shale Gas Development,” was leaked to the anti-drilling organization Chenango, Delaware and Otsego Gas Drilling Opposition Group. The group’s spokesman, Mike Bernhard, declines to say how the group obtained the document. As the document is now being circulated by media sources, MDN is embedding a full copy below.

This strong language in the opening Executive Summary of the Discussion Paper:

Read More “Leaked NY Dept of Transportation Analysis Says Potential Impacts from Marcellus Drilling on State and Local Roads are “Ominous””
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY DEC Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel Appointed by Joe Martens in Disarray
July 27, 2011July 27, 2011

An amazingly balanced and non-partisan article by WNYC News delves into the 13-member Advisory Panel appointed by Joe Martens, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), to advise the DEC on issues with implementing the new Marcellus drilling regulations. The article, which MDN highly recommends you read, points out the confusion among the panel members about what, exactly, they are supposed to do.

It also recounts the rushed and last-minute approach Martens took in creating and appointing members to the panel. The article points out how the panel is stacked with members who are largely anti-drilling (MDN’s words, the article refers to them as environmentalists). Even the so-called industry representative on the panel, Mark Boling from Houston-based Southwestern Energy, is ~~colluding~~ working with the Environmental Defense Fund on a new “industry code of conduct.” He admits his views are not mainstream in the energy industry.

Read More “NY DEC Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel Appointed by Joe Martens in Disarray”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Equinor/Statoil | NOVA Chemicals

NOVA Chemicals Signs Second Agreement for Marcellus Ethane to Feed its Corunna Cracker Plant
July 27, 2011July 27, 2011

NOVA Chemicals continues to seek out Marcellus ethane to feed its Ontario-based Corunna cracker chemical plant. In May of this year, NOVA penned an agreement with Range Resources to buy ethane (see this MDN article). Just yesterday, they signed a second agreement, this time with Statoil:

Read More “NOVA Chemicals Signs Second Agreement for Marcellus Ethane to Feed its Corunna Cracker Plant”
Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide PA

WSJ Article Compares PA and NY Approaches to Marcellus Drilling
July 27, 2011July 27, 2011

The Wall Street Journal ran an excellent article in yesterday’s edition comparing Pennsylvania’s approach to drilling in the Marcellus Shale with New York’s approach. It’s a tale of two states: One state embraces economic opportunity, and the other let’s environmental politics strangle development.

The article says this about Pennsylvania:

Read More “WSJ Article Compares PA and NY Approaches to Marcellus Drilling”
Broome County | Chenango County | Energy Companies | Madison County | New York | Norse Energy | Statewide NY | Utica Shale

Norse Energy Eyes the Utica Shale in New York, Says the Utica May Outperform the Marcellus in Much of NY
July 26, 2011July 26, 2011

Norse Energy Corp, a drilling company headquartered in Norway but with local operations and 180,000 net acres of leases in New York State, filed the state’s first application to drill in the Utica Shale last week. Norse believes that the Utica Shale for New York will be what the Marcellus Shale is for Pennsylvania. Why? It all has to do with depth:

Read More “Norse Energy Eyes the Utica Shale in New York, Says the Utica May Outperform the Marcellus in Much of NY”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Temple University Launches Study to Investigate Possible Link Between Marcellus Drilling and Methane in Water Wells
July 26, 2011July 26, 2011

Yet another study is about to be launched looking for a connection between Marcellus Shale gas drilling and elevated methane (natural gas) levels in nearby water wells—this time from a group of researchers at Temple University.

You may recall that Duke University recently released a study which supposedly showed a connection between drilling and high levels of methane in water wells (see MDN story here). However, the Duke study cherry-picked the locations they used—locations where there was already high levels of methane in the water, methane that is naturally occurring (and has been for decades). Hopefully the Temple researchers will employ a more rigorous methodology in their study.

Read More “Temple University Launches Study to Investigate Possible Link Between Marcellus Drilling and Methane in Water Wells”
Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA

Range Resources: Natural Gas Liquids and Higher Commodity Gas Prices Equal a Very Good Quarter
July 26, 2011July 26, 2011

Range Resources, one of the largest drillers in the Marcellus Shale, had a very good second quarter (revenue-wise) because of increased production of natural gas liquids and because of an uptick in the price of natural gas in the commodity markets:

Read More “Range Resources: Natural Gas Liquids and Higher Commodity Gas Prices Equal a Very Good Quarter”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission Final Report with 96 Recommendations
July 25, 2011July 25, 2011

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission filed their final report on Friday, containing some 96 recommendations for Gov. Corbett and the PA legislature to consider that will strengthen regulation of, and further promote, the shale gas industry in the state. The entire report (137 pages, containing a lot of background details) is embedded below. What follows first is a high level summary of the recommendations, to give you the bullet point quick overview.

Read More “PA Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission Final Report with 96 Recommendations”