One more economic benefit from Marcellus shale drilling in Pennsylvania: Shale cuttings, the bits of rock that are left over after drilling gas wells in the Marcellus Shale, are paying for new equipment and training for first responders in Bradford County, PA.
Many landowners in the Broome County, NY area who signed gas leases years ago are now receiving letters from the energy companies holding those leases that the landowner is “locked in” to the terms of the lease even though the original term has now expired. Why? The legal term is “force majeure,” which roughly means “due to circumstances beyond our control—the fact that New York State continues to prevent drilling—you have to stick with us for a while longer.” Because this involves contracts and interpretation of the terms of those contracts, it’s now in the hands of lawyers, or heading in that direction.
MDN received the following email from the Joint Landowner Coalition of New York, offering free bus rides to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) hearings scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 22 in Liberty, NY. Pickup locations include Binghamton, Windsor and Deposit, NY. The hearings are to accept public comments on the DRBC’s draft regulations that will govern drilling in the Marcellus Shale within DRBC-controlled areas. The DRBC adds an extra layer of regulation for drilling within watershed areas as part of it’s charter to protect water supplies. As Dan Fitzsimmons points out, it’s important for those who support drilling to make their voices heard at the DRBC hearings.
India’s largest private sector company, and one of the world’s largest energy companies, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), lost its bidding war with Chevron to buy Atlas Energy.
Westmont Resources, an independent oil and gas production company with headquarters in Bellevue, WA, just sold off their Canadian gold mining properties so they can concentrate on oil and gas drilling in the U.S., particularly in the Marcellus and Chattanooga Shale plays.
Read More “Westmont Resources Sells Gold Mines to Pursue Bigger Pot of Gold in the Marcellus Shale”
Yesterday MDN ran an article about a lawsuit filed in Chemung County, NY against Denver-based Anschutz Exploration Corporation (see here). The New York City personal injury law firm Napoli Bern Ripka & Associates recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine families in the Big Flats, NY area who are experiencing problems with their water wells.
West Virginia Governor Early Ray Tomblin wants to leverage Marcellus Shale drilling in his state as much as possible, and he’s created a new task force to encourage it.
Read More “WV Gov. Tomblin Creates Task Force to Encourage Marcellus Gas Chemical Manufacturing”
“Unconventional gas,” or natural gas from sources that have traditionally not been used to provide natural gas, is increasingly a big deal. Not only here in the U.S., but in Europe and Asia as well. There has also been activity of late in Africa. Unconventional gas includes shale gas, like that found in the Marcellus Shale in the Eastern United States.
Read More “Former BP Chief Executive Lord Browne Says Unconventional Gas is “A Game Changer””
A critical component in the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to study hydraulic fracturing is where they will conduct case studies. Starting on page 42 of the draft proposal, we find out.
There were 48 proposed locations suggested to the EPA, from which they will select between five and eight locations. We know five likely locations right now, and two of those are in the Marcellus Shale region—the other three are in other shale formations around the country.
Read More “Dimock, PA Among Likely Locations for EPA Study of Hydraulic Fracturing”
UPDATE: The headline and assumptions made for this article were based on lack of information and misinformation. The wells drilled by Anschutz were not hydraulically fractured, and the Trenton Black River formation is a limestone formation, not shale as stated in the law firm’s press release. Please see this article for more details: Anschutz Exploration Responds to Lawsuit Claiming Drilling Operations Contaminated Water Wells in Big Flats, NY.
A New York City personal injury law firm has filed a claim on behalf of nine families located in the Elmira, NY area against Anschutz Exploration Corporation, alleging that Anschutz contaminated their drinking water from natural gas drilling activities. The Anschutz drilling is in the Trenton Black River shale formation, not the Marcellus. So why is this news item included in MDN? Because it involves hydraulic fracturing of horizontally drilled natural gas wells, the same method used for drilling in the Marcellus. The Trenton Black River formation is about 10,000 feet down, the Marcellus “only” 5,000 feet down. So opponents of drilling will try to use this to paint all hydraulic fracturing, for any drilling (natural gas or oil, Marcellus or otherwise) as unsafe. Their aim is to ban the practice. The aim of the law firm is to shake down a drilling company and get as much cash as they can. The aim of the families affected is to get safe drinking water. Everyone has an agenda.
The West Virginia legislature is actively debating new legislation that regulates drilling in the Marcellus Shale. One of the provisions in the proposed legislation being hotly debated is the issue of forced pooling:
Read More “Forced Pooling for Marcellus Shale Drilling May be Coming to West Virginia Landowners”
Although not enough to offset the loss of revenue from lower commodity price of timber sales, the Pennsylvania State Game Commission says royalties from leasing state land for drilling in the Marcellus Shale is helping to keep the commission afloat.
At a recent meeting in Sherrard, West Virginia, senior trust officer for WesBanco Inc., Paul McKay, had some excellent advice for landowners as they get ready to sign leases. He told those at the meeting that the first lease they’re offered usually has room for negotiation, and some of the items landowners need to check for include shut-in royalties, the question of who pays taxes, and payment for natural gas liquids.
Read More “Marcellus Landowners: Check for These Important Things in Your Lease Before You Sign”
A quick note to readers of the Marcellus Drilling News service. We’ve been making a few improvements to the website that we hope will make using it a better experience. And we have plans for even more improvements in the coming weeks and months.
Here’s what we’ve changed in the past week or so:
Thank you for reading MDN. We value you, and appreciate that you have taken time to stop by and visit our site.
Jim Willis, MDN Editor
jim@marcellusdrilling.com
CONSOL Energy had a banner year in 2010 for natural gas discovery and production. CONSOL’s daily production of shale gas nearly tripled in 2010 from 2009, in large part due to their acquisition of Dominion Resources. From a recent press release we get these numbers:
Read More “CONSOL Energy Triples Marcellus Shale Gas Production in 2010”
A bone-headed move by Pennsylvania’s top Senate Republican:
The state Senate president, a key player in the debate over natural-gas drilling in Pennsylvania, accepted a free trip from one of the state’s largest energy companies to see the Pittsburgh Steelers play in the Super Bowl.
Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, had his ticket, plane ride, and hotel bill paid for by Consol Energy Inc., a major coal producer and one of the companies drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, according to Mr. Scarnati’s top aide.*
Read More “Pro-Drilling PA Senator Joe Scarnati Accepts Free Super Bowl Trip from CONSOL Energy”