Some interesting comments made by Magnum Hunter CEO Gary Evans at the recent Marcellus Midstream Conference in Pittsburgh at their projected activity in 2011 and conventional vs. unconventional shale gas plays:
Range Resources has grown from one employee in Canonsburg, PA, to 350 employees in Canonsburg at the present time, and with plans to more than double that number again according to Range’s CEO John Pinkerton in comments he made at the recent Marcellus Midstream Conference in Pittsburgh.
Read More “Range Resources Continues to Create Numerous Jobs in Marcellus Shale Region”
In 2008, Pennsylvania landowners filed lawsuits to have their lease agreements, signed in 2007 with Range Resources, invalidated because the royalty payments they were receiving fell below the 12 1/2 percent level that is guaranteed under PA’s Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act (GMRA). The landowners separately were joined together into a class action lawsuit representing some 25,000 landowners. The case became known as Frederick v. Range Resources. The landowners challenged the method of calculating royalties that deducts expenses after the gas leaves the wellhead (processing, delivery, other fees). Their argument was that said fees should come from the driller’s side of the ledger sheet and not the landowner.
Read More “Range Resources Settles Royalty Lawsuit from Landowners for $22 Million”
You can drill and produce gas all day long from a Marcellus Shale well, but if you can’t get the gas from the well to a large interstate pipeline, it’s all for naught. Right now there are 150 natural gas wells that can’t go into production in Pennsylvania because smaller “transmission” pipelines are not getting built fast enough to meet demand. The reason? The U.S. federal government.
Read More “U.S. Government Drags Feet on Issuing Pipeline Permits in PA, 150 Wells Sit Waiting”
Penn State researchers have taken a close look at tax revenues from Pennsylvania counties active in the Marcellus shale. Here’s what they found:
Read More “New Study Shows Counties in PA with Marcellus Shale Drilling Do Better Economically”
A new resource for those interested in drilling in the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia, developed by WV geologists:
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley surprised Allegany County commissioners Sunday evening when he showed up at a meeting to discuss Marcellus Shale drilling in Maryland.
City officials in Moundsville (Marshall County), WV had a scare recently, and with good cause.
There was a lot of speculation in 2009 about a fish kill over a 30-mile stretch of Dunkard Creek in West Virginia. We now know that the cause was leakage from coal mines. But early on, wild theories were being spun. Our favorite was that the algae killing the fish, which grows only in salty water and is not native to any place in West Virginia, somehow hitchhiked to the area on Marcellus Shale drilling rigs coming from Texas and Oklahoma. Science has finally won out over fairytale, and now CONSOL Energy will pay:
Sage advice for those living close to where gas drilling takes place has been to test your water. Be sure to test it before drilling begins, and then again once drilling is underway. Only if a homeowner tests prior to drilling can there be an airtight case if water should become contaminated. MDN points out that among the many thousands of gas wells drilled, there have been no known documented cases of well water chemical contamination from hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale. (Note: If you know of any, please send the information to us so we can make it known. Further Note: The well water contamination in Dimock, PA was due to methane/natural gas leaking into water supplies and not from fracking fluid chemical contamination.)
Read More “How to Test Your Own Water if You Live Near Gas Drilling”
The Geological Society of America’s annual meeting was in full swing over the weekend with some 1,600 geologists meeting in downtown Pittsburgh. Prominent on the agenda is drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
Read More “Researcher Finds PA Marcellus Gas Drillers Reuse Two-Thirds of Wastewater on Average”
Where there’s drilling in rural areas with heavy trucks traveling the roadways, there will be road damage. The two go together, unfortunately. From Cameron (Marshall County), West Virginia:
MDN has previously covered the economic benefits of drilling and its impact on local lodging—hotels, motels and even apartment rentals. More evidence of that below, plus a new website to help workers visiting PA find lodging.
It was an exciting week for MDN. We launched our first special report on Monday, Will There Be Marcellus Shale Drilling Near Me? Drilling Permits for Marcellus Shale Gas Wells from January 2010 to February 2011 (see here). In order to download the free report, users are asked to first fill out a brief survey. Over 300 of you have done just that—a huge thank you! The results of the survey have been very interesting—especially the response to the last question which asks how we can make the site better for you. A number of people have left recommendations and suggestions—very good advice that we take to heart. So in the near future you’ll see some refinements here and there. And a big thank you for the encouragement and compliments you’ve left in your comments. Everyone likes an at-a-boy (or -girl) once in a while.
Among the comments received, from someone who downloaded and used the special report, is that “it sure would be nice if you gave the contact details for the drilling companies in the report.” We had thought of doing just that, but elected to wait and provide that information in a companion report due out soon. Only so many hours in a day! So keep watch on MDN for a guide listing details for each drilling company. In the meantime, you can always visit their websites. Most of them are listed on our Links page under the category “Energy Companies & Drillers”: //marcellusdrilling.com/links/.
Below you’ll find the “top 5” and calendar listings.
Happy reading,
Jim Willis, Editor
If you do nothing more than read or listen to the headlines in PA, you’d swear the peasants are coming with pitchforks for newly elected Gov. Tom Corbett because the budget he’s proposing (finally) balances the budget in PA—without raising taxes. After years of gimmicks and patches, and especially after two years of Obama’s stimulus money which has been squandered and is now gone (our children and grandchildren will thank us for that one—they’re the ones who will have to pay it back), states all over the country must now deal with serious deficits, including PA. Corbett was elected in part to do just that.
After issuing his budget last week, it’s been a non-stop scream fest from the media announcing how much residents hate the budget. The media narrative has been that Corbett “wants to slash spending on education but won’t levy a tax on Marcellus drilling.” In their efforts to support the narrative, newspapers and television outlets in PA commissioned a poll by Franklin & Marshall College, and they frequently quote bits and pieces from that poll to support their stated conclusions. The problem is, when you read the polling data for yourself, it doesn’t quite fit the narrative painted by the media.
Forthwith are the actual questions asked, and the full responses. This is not the complete survey which also includes demographic questions. You can download the full survey below and read it for yourself.
MDN offers its observations after each survey question—you can draw your own conclusions.
(Warning: Although this post includes details about Marcellus shale drilling, it also includes coverage of the broader issue of the PA budget and the recent poll conducted about the budget. Some of this material may appear to be “off topic” but in MDN’s opinion it provides the proper context to understand the issue of drilling and taxation.)
Read More “The Truth About How Pennsylvanians Feel About Gov. Tom Corbett and His Budget”
After a year-long investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, a waste hauler in southwest PA has been charged with illegal dumping of untreated fracking wastewater.
Read More “Southwest PA Waste Hauler Indicted for Illegally Dumping Marcellus Drilling Wastewater”