Marcellus Drilling News

Final Set of DRBC Hearings Held in Trenton, NJ – More of the Same

February 25, 2011February 25, 2011

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) held it’s final round of public hearings yesterday near its Trenton, NJ headquarters. The hearings held earlier this week in Liberty, NY and Honesdale, PA, along with the hearings yesterday in Trenton, NJ, were for public comment on the DRBC’s proposed new extra layer of drilling regulations for Marcellus Shale gas wells drilled within the Delaware River watershed, which includes portions of Pennsylvania and New York where Marcellus drilling occurs. By all accounts, there was a similar theme from the comments in Trenton: Those in favor of drilling say the regulations are way too restrictive, and those against drilling say they’re not strict enough.

Explosion at Chesapeake Drilling Site in Western PA Injures Three Workers

February 24, 2011February 25, 2011

An explosion last night at a well site along the Pennsylvania/West Virginia border injured three workers and resulted in a fire that burned for about three hours.
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Cabot Oil & Gas Calls Marcellus Operations “Prolific”; Penn Virginia Will Drill 14 New Wells in Marcellus in 2011

February 24, 2011

More gleanings from year-end financial statements from drilling companies, this time from Cabot Oil & Gas and Penn Virginia Corporation. Of note, Cabot talks about the “prolific nature” of their 44 Marcellus gas wells, and Penn Virginia will drill their second Marcellus gas well in 2011 as they continue to shift their resources to the Marcellus with plans to drill 14 wells this year.

Drilling in Marcellus Shale Created 88K Jobs and $8 Billion Revenue in 2010, Will More than Double by 2020

February 24, 2011February 24, 2011

Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, spoke at the Youngstown/Warren (OH) Regional Chamber economic breakfast yesterday. She outlined the economic boom created by drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus. That boom is not only benefiting Pennsylvania, but also over the border in Ohio as well. Some of her comments included:

Gas Drilling Supporters Outnumber Those Opposed at Honesdale DRBC Hearings, Roundup of Yesterday’s Hearings in PA and NY

February 23, 2011February 24, 2011

Yesterday saw the first round of hearings by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), four hearings total—two in Honesdale, PA and two in Liberty, NY (afternoon and evening sessions at both locations). The hearings were for public comment on the DRBC’s proposed new extra layer of drilling regulations for Marcellus Shale gas wells drilled within the Delaware River watershed, which includes portions of Pennsylvania and New York where Marcellus drilling occurs.

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Warren County | Wastewater

EPA Public Hearing on Proposed Fracking Fluid Injection Wells in Warren County, PA

February 23, 2011February 24, 2011

UPDATE: The EPA hearing scheduled for Feb. 23 was postponed because a stenographer was not available to attend and record the meeting. It will be rescheduled “in the next several weeks.”

Application has been made to inject wastewater from hydraulic fracturing operations in Pennsylvania into two wells in Warren County, PA.

Energy Companies | Reliance Industries

Reliance Industries Gets Major Investment from BP, What Does it Mean for Marcellus Shale?

February 22, 2011February 23, 2011

India’s largest private sector company, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), has appeared prominently in the news for the past couple of days. And there’s a tie-in with the Marcellus Shale. Here’s the highlights:

Energy Companies | Energy Services | Williams | Williams Production

Williams Announces it Will Split, Exploration & Production Will Become Separate Company

February 22, 2011February 22, 2011

Williams is one of the largest energy producers in the U.S. Their operations include exploration & production (E&P), as well as “midstream” – or processing, storage and transportation of gas, including an extensive network of pipelines. In fact, Williams owns three interstate natural gas pipelines totaling some 15,000 miles in length. We now get word that Williams is going to split the company.

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

New Drilling in PA State Forests Back On with New Governor

February 22, 2011February 22, 2011

The drilling moratorium on Marcellus drilling in Pennsylvania state forests has been lifted by new Gov. Tom Corbett:

Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Forced Pooling in W.Va. Taken Out of New Legislation

February 22, 2011February 22, 2011

West Virginia gets closer with new rules and regulations for drilling in the Marcellus Shale. And it looks like the forced pooling provision has been dropped:

Cortland County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York

Hydraulic Fracturing Debate at SUNY Cortland, Ingraffea vs Siegel

February 21, 2011February 22, 2011

Yesterday, a debate on horizontal hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), the process used to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, was held on the campus of the State University of New York at Cortland. “Debating the Pros and Cons of Gas Drilling” featured Professor Anthony R. Ingraffea from Cornell University on the anti-drilling side, and Professor Donald Siegel from Syracuse University on the pro-drilling side. Unfortunately MDN could not be in attendance. Since those opposed to drilling focus almost exclusively on the issue of fracking, one would expect this event to be heavily covered by the media. But checking news sources in the Binghamton, Cortland, Syracuse and Ithaca areas finds only a single report from all of the news outlets, from Binghamton’s WBNG-TV Channel 12 (embedded below).

Number of Permits Issued & Wells Drilled in Select PA Counties, including the County with the Most Wells

February 21, 2011February 21, 2011

In a story about how Armstrong County, PA has to keep the County Courthouse open late one night a week so researchers can review property records for potential Marcellus shale gas well development, we get some interesting numbers on recent drilling activity in PA:

Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Talisman Energy | Ultra Petroleum | Williams Production

What We Learn from Financial Statements About Future Plans for Drilling in the Marcellus Shale

February 21, 2011February 21, 2011

Reading financial statements by corporations is about as fun as watching paint dry—but hey, someone has to do it. We do learn important tidbits of news from drilling companies about their recent activities, and more importantly, what they are planning for the coming year. Henceforth, a few gleanings from some recent financial statements.

Statewide WV | West Virginia

IOGA’s Mike McCown Talks about Marcellus Drilling and the Future of Energy in West Virginia

February 21, 2011February 21, 2011

Mike McCown, president of the Independent Oil and Natural Gas Association (IOGA) in West Virginia, was interviewed by the Register-Herald (Beckley, WV). IOGA represents some 600 oil and gas companies throughout WV, including those drilling in the Marcellus Shale in that state. Among Mike’s comments:

MDN Weekly Update

MDN Weekly Update – Feb 20, 2011

February 20, 2011February 21, 2011

Welcome to a new, regular post on MDN called the MDN Weekly Update. With so many things happening in the Marcellus Shale, and with so many new people stopping by the site to read about them, I would like an easy way for MDN readers to know what issues are trending up and what issues seem to be catching people’s interest. No doubt I will tweak the format and content of this update in time, but for now, it will show the five most viewed stories from last week, two weeks ago and the past 30 days. I will also list any events MDN is aware of happening this coming week (from the MDN Calendar).

PA Marcellus Gas Coming to Broome County, NY via New Gathering Pipeline

February 18, 2011February 20, 2011

The Town of Windsor, located in Broome County, NY is about to get a new natural gas pipeline built that will connect gas wells across the border in PA (where drilling is happening) to the Millennium Pipeline which runs through Broome County. Yesterday the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) gave the green light for construction to begin*. The pipeline, being built by Laser Northeast Gathering Company, will be about 9.8 miles long on the New York side of the border, out of a total 33 miles.
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