• Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Jun 19, 2018

    The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: PA Senate committee OKs pipeline eminent domain landowner bill of rights; another CNG station starts up – in Altoona; dozens seek jobs in “fastest growing industry in Ohio Valley”; trucks take their toll on OH roads; Tellurian selling shares to fund Driftwood LNG pipeline; Pruitt faces revolt in Trump country; shale is a uniquely American story; NYC’s hired guns for climate lawsuit get pushback from judge; the pope lectures oil CEOs on global warming; Russian pipeline bad news for Ukraine; and more!
    Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Jun 19, 2018”

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    Cabot O&G to Begin Drilling in Ashland County, OH This Week

    Location of Cabot’s 2 initial test wells (in green), tan regions show gas storage fields – click for larger version

    As we have reported since late last year, Cabot Oil & Gas, long-known for the incredible amount of Marcellus natural gas they produce out of a single northeastern Pennsylvania county (Susquehanna), is eyeing north central Ohio as a potential spot for “what’s next” after the Marcellus (see Cabot O&G Considers Drilling in Ashland County, OH). Cabot locked up leases and is planning to drill a number of test wells in not only Ashland, but also Holmes, Knox, Richland and Wayne counties in the Buckeye State (see New Details Emerge on Cabot’s Shale Plans in Central Ohio). The company doesn’t know exactly what it will find–gas, NGLs or perhaps even oil–but they’re about to find out. In April Cabot began pushing dirt around to construct its first wellpad in Ashland (see New Cabot Drilling Program Kicks Off This Week in Ashland, OH). Sometime this week, the company will spud (drill) its first hole in the ground. Buckle up! This is an exciting time for landowners in Ashland County. Here’s more on Cabot’s new program in Ohio…
    Read More “Cabot O&G to Begin Drilling in Ashland County, OH This Week”

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    WV Ethane Cracker Plant Rumored to be Back On Again

    It increasingly looks like LyondellBasell Industries, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, will buy out/take over Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in Latin America (headquartered in Brazil). Braskem and its parent company Odebrecht, as you may recall, was hot-to-trot to build a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker near Parkersburg, WV–four years ago. Odebrecht got mired in scandal in Brazil and that put things on hold in 2015 (see Odebrecht Pushes the Pause Button on WV Ethane Cracker). But in 2016 it appeared the project may rekindle (see A Pulse! WV Ethane Cracker Project Comes Back from the Dead). Since that time, we’ve not heard much. A rumbling here and there, but not much. Now that LyondellBassell is actively pursuing Braskem, there is once again excitement about the cracker project in WV. MDN has heard from an industry source that if Braskem sells to LyondellBassell, the Parkersburg cracker plant will be a high priority. In fact, an expert speaking at the recent NGL storage hub event in Southpointe mentioned the WV cracker by name as one of three projects that he thinks will get final approval in the next 12 months (see Industry Expert Says 3 More Crackers Coming to M-U). Here’s news about how M&A deals happening on other continents directly affect our region–how a LyondellBassell purchase of Braskem may indeed reignite the Parkersburg ethane cracker project…
    Read More “WV Ethane Cracker Plant Rumored to be Back On Again”

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    Manufactured Controversy re $10B NGL Storage Hub Proponent

    Steven B. Hedrick

    There’s a new (manufactured) controversy swirling around Steven B. Hedrick, CEO of Appalachia Development Group and also CEO of the non-profit Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center, or MATRIC. What’s that? You’re not familiar with that name? Hedrick, in his role as CEO of Appalachia Development Group, has led an effort to get a $10 billion NGL (primarily ethane) storage hub established in Appalachia–most likely in West Virginia. It’s a huge amount of money, will take cooperation from multiple states and will require multiple sources of funding to make it all happen. Hedrick has led the effort. Both of WV’s U.S. Senators, Shelley Moore Capito (Republican) and Joe Manchin (Democrat) have worked on behalf of this project (one could argue they’ve worked on behalf of Hedrick) and have had words of high praise for Hedrick and his efforts. But the Charleston Gazette-Mail, working in tandum with the left-leaning ProPublica, has decided Hedrick needs to be taken down a notch or two. In a recent article, the Gazette-Mail tries to paint Hedrick as having a big conflict of interest and bilking taxpayers for a trip. Hedrich was a member of the delegation that visited China last year when then-Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher got China to sign a mammoth $83.7 billion deal to invest in shale and petrochemicals in WV (see China Agrees to Invest Amazing $83.7 BILLION in WV Shale, Petchem). The Gazette-Mail article says Hedrick went on the taxpayer-funded trade mission not to represent WV, but on his own behalf, attempting to get Chinese investment that would somehow benefit him (Hedrick) personally. No doubt he was trying to get the Chinese interested in investing in the $10 billion storage hub. We would expect nothing less! But that attempt has now been twisted into a narrative that Hedrick was trying to benefit himself rather than WV…
    Read More “Manufactured Controversy re $10B NGL Storage Hub Proponent”

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    Another New Gas-Fired Elec Plant Being Planned in New Jersey

    Click for larger version

    Details so far are sketchy, but it appears that plans are taking shape to build a 660-megawatt gas-fired electric plant in Holland Township (Hunterdon County), NJ. Phoenix Energy Center wants to build the plant along the shore of the Musconetcong River, classified as a Category One (C1) trout stream. Sierra Club nutters are in full panic mode, attempting to prevent such a horrible injustice from happening. God forbid more New Jerseyites get cheaper electricity from a cleaner source! The Holland plant, if it were to get built, would likely get its natural gas from Elizabethtown Gas, which in turn is due to get additional gas supplies from the still-unbuilt PennEast Pipeline. Holland Township officials stress talks are preliminary, and nobody has signed nor agreed to anything. Phoenix isn’t saying anything–and no wonder, because anytime Big Green (the Sierra Club) catches wind of a project like this one, they rush in to try and abort the baby before it’s even born. Here’s the few, scant details known about the Phoenix Energy Center project in Holland Township…
    Read More “Another New Gas-Fired Elec Plant Being Planned in New Jersey”

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    Part of Leach XPress Pipe Up and Running Following Explosion

    Leach XPress explosion location – click for larger version

    Last Thursday MDN reported that TransCanada was working to restore partial service to the Leach XPress Pipeline (see TransCanada Working to Restore Partial Service on Leach XPress Pipe). Leach XPress only came online in January. The pipeline experienced an explosion and fire on June 7 (see Leach XPress Pipeline Explodes in Marshall County, WV). Most of the 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of Marcellus/Utica gas flowing through the pipeline was stopped. As of Friday, the Stagecoach-LXP meter, which ties into the Strike Force South gathering system station, was once again flowing, up to 190 million cubic feet per day. Which means Monroe and Belmont counties (OH) are now reconnected and flowing. As for the rest of the pipeline and its various metering stations, it’s all still shut down with no word on when it will be repaired and back online. There’s still no word on what caused the explosion in the first place…
    Read More “Part of Leach XPress Pipe Up and Running Following Explosion”

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    FERC Denies Rehearing Request for Mountain Valley Pipe 3-2

    In May MDN told you that Big Green groups were successful in getting the U.S. District Court of Appeals for D.C. to force the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to either move forward with, or reject a rehearing request on their decision to approve the Mountain Valley Pipeline (see Fed Court Forces FERC to Decide on MVP Rehearing, No More Delays). MVP a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA–to move Marcellus/Utica gas south. Last Friday FERC obeyed the court and voted 3-2 against rehearing their previous decision to approve the project. Yes, the two Democrat Commissioners voted to rehear the decision–meaning they want to stop MVP. The two Dems have been co-opted by Big Green and Big Democrats and now apparently don’t/won’t think for themselves. It’s a scary proposition for “someday” when Dems regain the White House and can once again pack FERC with a majority–which will stop any new pipeline projects cold. Scary thought. At any rate, FERC’s Republicans made powerful and persuasive arguments for why the original decision to approve MVP was/is correct and doesn’t need to be revisited. Bottom line: Big Green is no doubt at the courthouse even as you read this filing a lawsuit against FERC and their decision. They could not file the lawsuit prior to a rehearing denial by FERC. Now that FERC has told Big Green to buzz off, a lawsuit to try and stop MVP is 100% certain to follow…
    Read More “FERC Denies Rehearing Request for Mountain Valley Pipe 3-2”

  • Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, Jun 18, 2018

    The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading: Analyst says Ohio in for chemical & plastics boom; Southern Star natgas pipeline catches fire in Kansas; US LNG exports drop last week, no cargoes from Cove Point; EIA expects Brent crude prices to average $71/barrel this year, $68/barrel next year; all eyes are on OPEC & Russia to see if they boost production; what if India & China used natgas and oil like the U.S.?; green future stars with natgas, world energy chiefs say; and more!
    Read More “Energy Stories of Interest: Mon, Jun 18, 2018”

  • FREE Audio: MDN Top 5 Stories for Week of June 11, 2018

    MDN is testing a new feature and would appreciate your feedback. Below is an audio recording (“podcast”) featuring the Top 5 stories most read over the past week on MDN–from Friday, June 8th to Thursday, June 14th. We don’t include Friday’s (today’s) stories in the mix as they’ve only been available for a few hours when this episode was recorded. Just click on the green button to listen.

    Below the recording is a list of the Top 5 with links to click to read the full stories (available only for paying subscribers). Please let us know what you think of the recording. Good idea? Waste of time? Does Jim speak too slow/too fast. Etc. All feedback–positive and negative–gratefully accepted. Send an email to: jim@marcellusdrilling.com.

    This list is meant as a way for folks to quickly catch up on the most essential news of the week–“essential” as determined by MDN’s audience of readers. We hope you enjoy it!


    Read More “FREE Audio: MDN Top 5 Stories for Week of June 11, 2018”

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    PA PUC Overrules Lib Judge – Mariner East 1 Returns to Service

    As MDN predicted, yesterday the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) voted to overturn a previous action by liberal administrative law judge, Elizabeth Barnes, to shut down the Mariner East 1 (ME1) pipeline (see Antis Get Lib Judge to Shut Down All Mariner East Pipes, Dems Rejoice). ME1 is back up and running. All five PUC members supported returning ME1 back to service. However, three of the five PUC members agreed with Judge Barnes’ decision to temporarily shut down work on the Mariner East 2 pipeline project in West Whiteland Township (Chester County). Two of the five PUC members wanted all of Barnes’ ruling to be overturned. The reporting on this is somewhat confusing. PUC Chairwoman Gladys Brown put forward a motion to (a) turn ME1 back on, and (b) keep ME2 in West Whiteland stopped, for now, pending more information from Sunoco Logistics. The vote was 3-2 in favor of Brown’s motion. The 2 voting against it did so because it didn’t go far enough (they wanted ME2 construction to resume). So although the vote was 3-2, all 5 of the members wanted ME1 back on. That’s the real nub of the news–the subtlety that’s missed in most media reports. The 3-2 “split decision” that’s being reported is the decision to overrule Barnes on ME1, but keep her ruling intact (for now) on ME2. The PUC has ordered Sunoco to provide more information in the next 20 days: inspection and testing protocols, emergency response plans, and copies of safety training curriculum for employees and contractors. The PUC will then reconsider whether or not to allow ME2 work to resume in West Whiteland. But here’s the thing: Work on the rest of the 300+ mile pipeline continues everywhere else in the state–everywhere but West Whiteland. Overall, yesterday’s PUC action was a crushing defeat for PA State Sen. Andy “Tony Soprano” Dinniman (Democrat) and his Big Green cronies who want to assassinate the entire ME1 & ME2 projects by focusing on one small area…
    Read More “PA PUC Overrules Lib Judge – Mariner East 1 Returns to Service”

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    WV Commerce Secretary Who Brokered $83B China Deal…Fired

    Former WV Commerce Secretary – Woody Thrasher

    MDN had a call from a good friend yesterday sharing some earth-shattering news–at least earth-shattering for West Virginia (and possibly the entire region). WV Secretary of Commerce Woody Thrasher has been fired. Thrasher took over as Commerce Secretary in January 2017 as part of the new Gov. Jim Justice Administration. Thrasher is “the guy” most responsible for putting together the massive $83.7 billion deal for China to invest in WV shale and petrochemicals (see China Agrees to Invest Amazing $83.7 BILLION in WV Shale, Petchem). It was the relationships established by Thrasher that led to that deal. So what happened to Thrasher? Why was he fired? It has nothing to do with the China deal (more on why he was fired below). However, we have to ask the tough question that no one else is asking out loud: With Thrasher gone, is the China deal now in jeopardy? The Justice Administration currently appears to be in disarray…
    Read More “WV Commerce Secretary Who Brokered $83B China Deal…Fired”

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    Federal Court Upholds Ohio Forced Pooling Law in Chesapeake Case

    In 2015, landowners in Harrison County, OH who own 127 acres (the Kerns) filed a lawsuit alleging their property rights were about to be violated because Chesapeake Energy had filed a pooling request with the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) to pool (combine) the Kerns property with surrounding properties for shale drilling. The Kerns had not signed and do not want drilling under their land. Their neighbors do. Ohio has a law on the books that allows for “forced pooling” in cases when a majority of the surrounding land is leased but landowners with small positions refuse to sign. The Kerns resisted and fought the case all the way to Ohio Supreme Court, which rejected their claims. Chesapeake drilled and fracked three wells (on a neighboring property), which included drilling under the Kerns’ property. So the Kerns filed a new lawsuit in 2016, in federal court, claiming a “taking” of their property had occurred. The federal court has just ruled–against the Kerns. This was the first time a court case dealt directly with the constitutionality of Ohio’s unitization (forced pooling) law. The upshot: Ohio’s forced pooling law remains intact and in force…
    Read More “Federal Court Upholds Ohio Forced Pooling Law in Chesapeake Case”

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    Green, OH Won’t Allow Nov. 6 Vote to Nix NEXUS Pipeline Deal

    In February the City of Green, OH (Summit County), finally faced the reality that NEXUS Pipeline–a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada–will come through their paradise (see Antis of Green, OH Finally Face Reality – Will Allow NEXUS Pipe). Green hired a high-priced Cleveland law firm to try and scuttle the NEXUS project (see Green, OH Paying Lawyers $100K to Fund Stop NEXUS Crusade). In the end, everyone has their price. For Green, the price was $7.5 million and 20 acres of land that sit next to an existing city park. While Green antis in city government hate the idea of the pipeline getting built at all (especially Green’s anti-pipeline mayor), the writing was on the wall. They would lose and they knew it. To save face, the mayor negotiated a deal with NEXUS that city council voted to accept. However, the mayor and city council’s actions didn’t sit well with some of the more radical elements in Green. The rads launched a petition campaign to put a referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot on whether or not the city should settle with NEXUS. The city says the signed settlement is an administrative action, not subject to a popular vote. The rads say otherwise. In a bold move, even though the rads have enough signatures to put the referendum on the ballot, the city has refused to allow the it to appear on the ballot. Which will surely send the radicals into orbit. It’s shaping up to be a battle between left and lefter…
    Read More “Green, OH Won’t Allow Nov. 6 Vote to Nix NEXUS Pipeline Deal”

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    Lycoming County Residents Oppose Loyalsock Creek Gathering Pipe

    Pennsylvania General Energy drills in several PA counties, including Lycoming County in the north central of the state. According to the just-published Marcellus & Utica Shale Upstream Almanac 2018, PA General Energy is the fourth-largest producing driller in Lycoming County, with 103 producing wells and 42.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas production in 2017. PA General Energy wants to drill more wells. Those wells will need a gathering pipeline connected to them. Current plans for a pipeline have it running along a portion of the Loyalsock Creek, and that has some folks in the area up in arms. Yesterday at a county commissioners’ meeting, residents voiced their opposition to PA General Energy’s pipeline plans. A company rep at the meeting tried to assuage concerns. The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper has offered to be an “unbiased party” to “facilitate discussions between the company and those who reside along the creek.” You know what we think of so-called Riverkeepers who claim to be THE voice of a river…
    Read More “Lycoming County Residents Oppose Loyalsock Creek Gathering Pipe”

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    Westmoreland Co. Pays Big Bucks for Reservoir Testing 8 Yrs Later

    In 2011, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, PA began a new water testing and monitoring program for the Beaver Run Reservoir which supplies water to about 150,000 residents (see Westmoreland County, PA Municipal Authority Initiates New Water Testing for Reservoir Located Near Marcellus Drilling). CONSOL Energy (now CNX Resources) had 100 shallow gas wells on municipal property near the Reservoir, and at the time had started to drill Marcellus Shale wells. The Authority also leased land near the reservoir to Dominion Resources, which ended up drilling more than a dozen shale wells on the property. The water testing program was precautionary, to ensure water is not being affected by nearby drilling activity. The Municipal Authority contracted with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) to do the monitoring and testing. The early results showed no impact from testing (see Water Tests at PA Reservoir Show No Affects from Gas Drilling). Over the years, the Authority continued to award contracts year after year to IUP–starting at $55,000 and going as high as $100,000 (see Pricetag to Test Water at Reservoir Near CONSOL Drilling Goes Up). The Authority renewed their contract with IUP in 2016 for $85,000 (see Beaver Run Reservoir Tests Since 2011 Show No Harm from Drilling). And they’ve just done it again, paying IUP $99,000 to test water quality, and another for $24,700 to test the air at the reservoir. Our point: Since the first tests began more than eight years ago, there have been a number of shale wells drilled on the property next to the reservoir–and there has been NO negative impacts from shale drilling in all that time…
    Read More “Westmoreland Co. Pays Big Bucks for Reservoir Testing 8 Yrs Later”