Revisiting PA Bill to Allow Shale Drilling Across Multiple Units
Two days ago MDN brought you news about a new bill in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, HB 247, which would allow fully leased parcels that are part of one drilling “unit” to be combined with parcels in a different unit (see PA Floats Bill to Allow Shale Drilling to Span Multiple Units). “Cross-unit drilling,” if you will. We connected a few dots and made some observations that maybe were not quite on the mark. This post presents “the other side” of the HB 247 issue.
Read More “Revisiting PA Bill to Allow Shale Drilling Across Multiple Units”
The “great crew change” is taking place in the oil and gas industry in general, and in the Marcellus/Utica in particular. Older workers are nearing retirement and exiting the industry in increasing numbers, and the industry isn’t attracting enough newer workers to fill the ranks. According to the Ohio Oil & Gas Association, the need for new workers in Ohio’s O&G industry is pressing. Everything from welders and truckers to people working with technology.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is conducting a series of four public meetings (called scoping sessions) for both the Williams Leidy South Project (see 
Last October MDN told you that the man largely responsible for the huge success of Range Resources in drilling in the Marcellus Shale, Range’s former senior vice president in charge of the Marcellus, John Applegath, left retirement to head on over to Huntley & Huntley, to helm the drilling program there (see 
Yesterday our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, issued our favorite monthly report, the Drilling Productivity Report. The DPR is a forecast of oil and gas production in the country’s seven major shale plays for the coming month, made by the expert number crunchers at EIA.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA House Environmental Committee meeting on DRBC March 20; Homeowners take fight against Atlantic Sunrise to U.S. Supreme Court; Natural gas-fired power outpaces coal for first time in PJM; Utilities, fossil fuel could win big from Ohio bill to reduce regulations; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Oregon House approves 10-year ban on ‘fracking’ for oil, natural gas exploration; Drilling company operating in Tyler completes $19 million natural gas drilling rig; Environmental groups push for ‘fracking transparency’ in Illinois; NATIONAL: The U.S. Gulf Coast became a net exporter of crude oil in late 2018; Tallgrass Energy promotes Bill Moler to president and COO; The frac sand revolution; Wastewater – private equity’s new black gold in U.S. shale; INTERNATIONAL: The Trump Administration can’t have it all when it comes to oil; All the world a stage: Rising U.S. oil clout on show in Houston; OPEC defers decision on oil production cuts to June.
On Friday MDN told you that Consolidated Edison’s deadline to apply to be added as a natural gas customer in Westchester County had arrived (see 
Last May, Liberty Utilities, located and operating in New Hampshire, announced a new pipeline project called Granite Bridge–27 miles of new natural gas pipeline to be buried along Route 101 from Stratham to Manchester, along with an LNG storage facility located midway along the pipeline (see 
CERAWeek (by IHS Markit) is held each year in Houston, Texas. There is no doubt it is the world’s premier energy event. Last week U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed attendees, as did Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Neil Chatterjee. Movers and shakers. Everyone from Saudi Arabian oil sheikhs to wildcatting frackers from America’s shale plays were there.
Marcellus Drilling News is happy to partner with the Oil & Gas Awards. Last week the 
In the same way America’s “unnecessary” and audacious effort to put a man on the moon in the 1960s produced the unintended consequence of discovering new materials and inventions that have fundamentally changed our society (practical applications, like computers), so too has the “unnecessary” practice of hydraulic fracturing led to new discoveries and information about how the human body works–enlightening scientists, ultimately improving human health.
The latest edition of the MDN Weekly Digest is now ready. The digest is the meat and “essence” of each story for all posts appearing on the MDN website during the past week, collected in a single PDF document capable of being downloaded and printed. The Weekly Digest is available to paying subscribers only as part of your 
Equitrans Midstream, which used to be called EQT Midstream, yesterday announced they have cut their first big deal since separating from EQT last year. Equitrans is buying a 60% stake in Eureka Midstream, a 190-mile pipeline system in Ohio and West Virginia serving both the Marcellus and Utica, and a 100% stake in the tiny 15-mile Hornet Midstream, a gathering system in WV that connects to Eureka.