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    Rover Refutes Ohio EPA Claim of 146K Gal. Spill @ Tuscarawas River

    Yesterday we brought you the news that the Ohio Dept. of Environmental Protection (OEPA) had made claims, in a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), that Rover Pipeline’s restart of underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) near the Tuscarawas River had resulted in a second large spill of drilling mud–146,000 gallons (see OEPA Continues to Hunt Rover Pipe, Claims 2nd Spill Near River). OEPA claims to have spies that told them that while drilling 146,000 gallons of drilling mud had disappeared “down hole.” That typically means the mud will reappear somewhere on the surface. OEPA does not regulate the Rover project–it is a FERC/federally regulated project. And that frosts OEPA’s director, tattletale Craig Butler. Except this time it appears OEPA was mistaken, or perhaps acting on bad information. According to a statement by Energy Transfer, builder of Rover, there has been no “release” or “spill” of drilling mud a second time at the Tuscarawas River site…
    Read More “Rover Refutes Ohio EPA Claim of 146K Gal. Spill @ Tuscarawas River”

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    Lancaster Nuns Demand “Religious Freedom” Trial re Pipeline

    A group of radicalized Catholic nuns whom we refer to as Sisters of the Corn are demanding a trial on the grounds of “religious freedom” in an effort to block Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline from crossing their land in Lancaster County, PA. The order of nuns, called Adorers of the Blood of Christ, have tried several strategies to derail Atlantic Sunrise. One of stunts they pulled, in league with a radical Big Green group, is to stick a few wooden park benches in the middle of a corn field that they own (leased to a local farmer), calling it a “chapel” (see Catholic Nuns Use Radicals to Build Chapel in Path of PA Pipeline). Which is why MDN dubbed them “Sisters of the Corn.” The heck of it is that the Sisters use natural gas to heat an old folks home they operate at the same address! Talk about religious hypocrisy. The Sisters used the chapel-in-the-corn as an excuse to sue the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over their approval of Atlantic Sunrise on the grounds that running the pipeline through their corn field violates their religious freedom (see Lancaster Nuns Sue FERC to Stop Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline). A federal judge in Reading, PA dismissed the frivolous lawsuit in September (see Fed Judge Tosses Lancaster Nuns’ Freedom of Religion Lawsuit re ASP). The Sisters, using Big Green lawyers, have just appealed the dismissal, hoping they can find a liberal judge somewhere, anywhere, to hear the case…
    Read More “Lancaster Nuns Demand “Religious Freedom” Trial re Pipeline”

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    Ohio Continues to Drag Feet Approving Mountaineer NGL Storage

    We’ve written plenty about Mountaineer NGL Storage hub project proposed for Monroe County, OH, located just across the river (and border) from West Virginia (see our Mountaineer NGL Storage stories here). What do we know about the proposed project? The Colorado company behind the project plans to spend up to $500 million to build it; some 20 drillers have expressed interest in contracting with the facility to store ethane; and the nearby PTT Global cracker plant project (if it gets built) and the under-construction Shell cracker plant are both interested in connections to the facility. In November, we learned there is a construction delay until mid-this year (see Yet Another Update on Stalled Mountaineer NGL Storage Proj in OH). Why the delay? The delay is because of regulators in Ohio. There is no one agency charged with reviewing and issuing permits for the entire project–it involves three OH agencies. There also seems to be an issue with one of the agencies, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR), becoming comfortable with storing NGLs in a salt cavern (done all the time in other locations). ODNR is dragging its feet, and members of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) are beginning to publicly voice their dissatisfaction with the delays…
    Read More “Ohio Continues to Drag Feet Approving Mountaineer NGL Storage”

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    PA House Advances “Fix DEP & Other Agencies” Plan with 5 Bills

    As part of the Pennsylvania Senate’s misguided and mangled budget bill last year, Republicans managed to slip in fixes to the state Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) chronic delays in issuing permits related to shale drilling (see PA Senate’s “Olive Branch” of “Relaxed Regulations” for Drillers). Unfortunately the fixes came out before the final budget passed. Problems remain for Marcellus drillers. Delays are long in the Keystone State when it comes to permits for shale wells. The problems NEED to get fixed, now. In early January, PA House Rep. Greg Rothman introduced a standalone bill to address the problem (see Bill Introduced to Fix PA DEP’s Extreme Delays Issuing Permits). Rothman’s bill, House Bill (HB) 1959, would give certified third parties the right to review and force the DEP to issue permits when/if the DEP can’t get off it’s duff and do it in a timely manner. Not long after Rothman’s bill was introduced, a second bill was introduced, by State Rep. Brian Ellis (see New Bill Would Force PA DEP to Work WITH the Marcellus Industry). Ellis’ bill, HB 1960, is called the “State Agency Regulatory Compliance Officer Act” and will create a new Regulatory Compliance Officer position in each state agency, including the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). The new Compliance Officer would have the authority “to block an agency from imposing fines and penalties for violations and to rewrite the policies under which fines and penalties are imposed.” The aim of the bill is to force all PA state agencies (including the DEP) to work *with* the people and companies they regulate, rather than play gotcha. Those two bills, plus three more, are part of a suite of bills being offered by the PA House “Common Sense Caucus.” The Caucus, headed by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, released a report yesterday called the 2017-18 Regulatory Overreach Report (full copy below). The report gives examples of egregious regulatory overreach and proposes five bills, including HB 1959 and HB 1960, to fix the problem. Note the Caucus is not just picking on DEP with this proposed fix–they ambitiously want to make all state agencies work better…
    Read More “PA House Advances “Fix DEP & Other Agencies” Plan with 5 Bills”

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    Illegal Shipment of LNG Coming to Boston has Huge CO2 Footprint

    This story continues to grate on our nerves–the fact that mainstream media is covering up a MAJOR scandal. What scandal? The scandal of Russian LNG banned from the U.S. coming to the U.S. (to Boston) because it was offloaded in the UK and reloaded on a different ship, to “whitewash” the gas (see Confirmed: LNG Coming to Boston on Jan 22 is Illegal Russian Gas). To make matters worse, the gas, from the sanctioned Russian Yamal LNG facility in the Arctic, has a massive CO2 footprint relative to LNG produced elsewhere (for those like who care about such things, like mainstream liberal media). And yet mainstream liberal media (i.e. fake news) totally ignores the story. We’d go so far as to say they are covering it up. Not here on MDN! Nick Grealy, a Brit who contributes articles to our friends at Natural Gas Now, has written an article delving into the sordid details of Russian gas coming to Boston–and how mainstream media in the UK has totally ignored the story. Nick uncovers some great information that continues to make our blood boil…
    Read More “Illegal Shipment of LNG Coming to Boston has Huge CO2 Footprint”

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    Fake Study Finds Shale Gas Not “Sustainable” for Electric Production

    A new “research study” was recently published that, per the usual routine, is generating false headlines that leave a false impression. The study is called “Sustainability of UK shale gas in comparison with other electricity options: Current situation and future scenarios,” published in the so-called journal, Science of The Total Environment. Here’s an example of a headline it’s generating in fake mainstream news: “Shale gas is one of the least sustainable ways to produce electricity, research finds” (Phys.org). We’ve seen that headline or variations of it in a number of publications. The narrative being spun by anti-fossil fuelers in quoting the study is this: “You know how shale gas has taken over as king of producing electricity–well you should ignore all of its benefits (clean burning, less polluting, cheaper) and instead use renewables because shale gas isn’t really sustainable and all that great after all.” That’s the upshot of the study, and the stories about the study. Just one teeny, tiny problem: The “research” is fake. Fraudulent. A heaping pile of doo-doo. The so-called researcher concocted his own biased set of criteria on which to judge various forms of electricity generation sources, and then declared shale gas flunks the test. Once again, fake research based on a twisted, biased worldview that says all fossil fuels are evil…
    Read More “Fake Study Finds Shale Gas Not “Sustainable” for Electric Production”

  • Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jan 17, 2018

    The “best of the rest”–stories that caught MDN’s eye over the break that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: PA drilling continues momentum in new year; OOGA looking for new executive VP; Range Resources donates $75K to Washington County; Enerplus announces 4Q Marcellus production numbers; U.S. oil and gas so hot they’re running out of workers; GOP looks to overhaul natgas, utility laws; Hess cutting hundreds of workers thx to pressure from corporate raider; Canadian natgas industry a “sad story”; and more!
    Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Wed, Jan 17, 2018”

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    Supersize Me! Marcellus/Utica Well Pads Now Host Up to 40 Wells

    The Marcellus/Utica Shale industry is changing underneath our feet–literally! Last time we checked, most well pads in the Marcellus/Utica sported an average of maybe 3-4 wells–with a dozen wells on a pad being “big.” Something has changed, dramatically, in the gas fields of PA, OH and WV. The “new normal” are supersized well pads–holding as many as (gasp) 40 wells! We hasten to add no such pad yet exists–a pad with 40 wells drilled from it. However, there is an EQT well pad in Allegheny County (near Pittsburgh) with 38 wells permitted (9 of which have been drilled so far). EQT says it now averages drilling 17-18 wells per pad. Antero Resources is drilling an average of 10 wells per pad–up from 3-4 “just a few years ago.” The trend now is more wells per pad, and longer laterals–meaning fewer well pads overall. That’s good for the environment, and good for the bottom line (less money spent pushing dirt around developing pads). Here’s an update on the trend to supersize well pads in the Marcellus/Utica…
    Read More “Supersize Me! Marcellus/Utica Well Pads Now Host Up to 40 Wells”

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    OEPA Continues to Hunt Rover Pipe, Claims 2nd Spill Near River

    Ohio EPA (OEPA) director Craig Butler, aka Captain Ahab, continues his mission to harpoon that rascally great white whale known as the Rover Pipeline. Somehow Captain Ahab, er, a, Mr. Butler has “learned” that underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD) Rover was recently allowed (by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) to resume near the Tuscarawas River (over the objections of OEPA) has “lost” 146,000 gallons of drilling mud “down hole.” This is at the same location where Rover previously lost 2 million gallons of drilling mud down hole, some of which turned up back on the surface, at a swamp (aka “wetland”) located next to the Tuscarawas (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). That 2 million gallon “spill” in April of last year triggered a shutdown of all HDD work in Ohio. It was only in December that Rover was allowed, by FERC, to resume more HDD work at the Tuscarawas site (see FERC Gives Rover OK to Resume All HDD Work, Incl. Tuscarawas River). Butler’s spies have reported to him that more drilling mud, some 146,000 gallons, has disappeared into the earth during HDD drilling at the Tuscarawas site. Some perspective on this alleged news: First, how did Butler even know of a “problem”? OEPA doesn’t regulate the Rover project! Second, since Rover doesn’t answer to OEPA (which frosts Butler), Butler runs like a tattling child to FERC with every perceived violation he can trump up–even though he doesn’t have all the facts. Third, even though drilling mud may disappear down hole, that doesn’t mean the mud comes back to the surface. Sometimes it stays down there–forever. Fourth, even if the mud does come back to the surface, drilling mud is nontoxic–the same stuff used in kitty litter, cosmetics and toothpaste. The only thing an overabundance of spilled mud can do is smother a few fish. This latest ploy by Butler to tattle on Rover to FERC is his attempt to try and manipulate FERC into shutting down Rover’s HDD work once again…
    Read More “OEPA Continues to Hunt Rover Pipe, Claims 2nd Spill Near River”

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    Rover Pipe Flows: Where Does the Gas Come From? Where Does it Go?

    Rover map – click for larger version

    We brought you news today about Rover Pipeline and a possible second drilling mud spill in the Tuscarawas River area (see OEPA Continues to Hassle Rover Pipe, Claims 2nd Spill Near River). The Ohio EPA continues its quest to hassle Rover. So we thought it fitting to bring you information about how Rover has, in the short few months it has been operating, changed the natural gas picture in the Midwest. Rover Pipeline is the largest pipeline being built in the Utica/Marcellus region (capacity-wise). When done, Rover will flow 3.25 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Utica and Marcellus Shale gas to various points west and (eventually) north, into Canada. With the latest portions of Rover going online in December and with much of the pipeline as it traverses Ohio done, the pipeline now flows 1.7 Bcf/d–half of what it will eventually flow, by the end of March this year. The ace team at RBN Energy recently researched where all that gas is coming from, and where it’s flowing to, along Rover. We found it fascinating and think you will too…
    Read More “Rover Pipe Flows: Where Does the Gas Come From? Where Does it Go?”

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    FERC Denies CORNball, Sierra Club Request to Stop NEXUS Pipeline

    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, is now under construction. NEXUS got final approval for the project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in August, the first major pipeline to get approved following a newly restored quorum at FERC (see New FERC Quorum Votes Final Approval for NEXUS Pipeline). However, radical environmental groups have fought the project tooth and nail. CORN (Coalition to ReRoute Nexus, folks we call CORNballs), and the far-left Sierra Club, launched lawsuits and regulatory actions against the pipeline. One such action was to file a request last fall for a rehearing of FERC’s decision to approve the project (see CORNballs, Sierra Club Continue to Fight NEXUS Pipeline in Court). A rehearing is the first step to take, a necessary step before Big Green groups can legally file a lawsuit against the project. In what is being characterized as a blow to the CORNballs and their buddies at the Sierra Club, FERC last week denied that request for a rehearing of the NEXUS approval, meaning it looks like clear sailing for NEXUS to complete their project, even with various lawsuits pending…
    Read More “FERC Denies CORNball, Sierra Club Request to Stop NEXUS Pipeline”

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    PA Enviros Resist Transferring Surplus to Help Balance State Budget

    Last September, amidst a heated state budget battle in Pennsylvania (where the phrase “severance tax” was on the lips of every Democrat and RINO in Harrisburg), a group of PA House Republicans did the hard work Gov. Tom Wolf and his cronies in the legislature refused to do: They figured out how to fund a wildly overspent budget without raising a single tax (see PA House Introduces Balanced Budget with NO Severance Tax). How did House Republicans do it? They went looking for state agencies hording money, with a plan to relieve them of their surplus. You know how it goes. Each year agencies don’t spend all of their allotted money, yet they ask for more the following year anyway, knowing legislators may shave some from the request. It’s obscene. Yet that’s how the game is played. When Republicans went looking, they found even the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) have been squirreling money away, unused in some of their programs. The House Republican plan from last September was not adopted, but elements of it were included in the final budget. The final budget passed in October instructs Gov. Wolf to reallocate $300 million from surpluses at various state agencies–from the agencies of his own choosing–as part of the “funding” for this year’s budget. The House Appropriations Committee will hold a meeting on Jan. 25 to question representatives from DCNR and DEP about the use and operation of special funds under their administration–to see if there’s a bit of surplus there that can be used for the state budget. Judging by the reaction from a former DEP Secretary, it seems both agencies take umbrage at having to subject themselves and their surpluses for scrutiny. At its core, this issue is about who will pay bloated teacher’s salaries in Philadelphia. Big Green wants to target the Marcellus industry to pay “for the children.” Yet when they themselves are asked to contribute a small amount of their bloated excess (give it up for the Philly teacher’s unions), THEY resist! They are all for raiding another industry, but refuse to have their own departments “raided” in order to balance a hugely overspent state budget. Anyone else smell rank hypocrisy?…
    Read More “PA Enviros Resist Transferring Surplus to Help Balance State Budget”

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    PA DEP Considers Rule Reducing/Eliminating VOC Emissions for O&G

    On Jan. 24 the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) Small Business Compliance Advisory Committee will hold a meeting in Harrisburg to discuss, among other things, RACT (“reasonably available control technology”) regulations for the oil and gas industry. The new regulations are aimed at further reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions at oil and gas sites. The new regs, scheduled to go into effect in 2021, will require the use of technology to achieve a 95% reduction in VOCs from existing sources, including storage tanks, pneumatic pumps and centrifugal compressors. Supposedly this is a requirement being driven by a Control Technology Guideline (CTG) from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. We’re not sure whether conventional/vertical, or unconventional/shale will be affected by the coming changes. We suspect both will be affected. So it behooves the industry to get involved now, while there’s still time to tweak the new regs…
    Read More “PA DEP Considers Rule Reducing/Eliminating VOC Emissions for O&G”

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    Enviro. Defense Foundation Continues Quest to Gut PA DCNR Funding

    Big Green insanity continues at the so-called Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF). The only thing they “defend” is their own twisted philosophy of trying to gouge out the eyes of the oil and gas industry in PA–even at the expense of de-funding their own beloved PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources. Last June, the PEDF won a case at the PA Supreme Court by the skin of their teeth (see PA Supreme Court Hands Antis Partial Victory re State Land Drilling). The case dealt with the narrow issue of how PA can spend revenue raised from drilling for oil and gas under state-owned land. A divided court ruled that money from royalties (not lease signing bonuses) must be used only for “environmental” purposes. The Supremes sent the case back down to the lower Commonwealth Court to settle some of the still-unsettled issues. PEDF tried to fleece Commonwealth Court into disallowing lease bonus payments and royalties from being used to pay the operating expenses of the PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). That is, antis want to gut the funding that pays the people in the department to do their jobs! PEDF wants lease and royalty money to be used exclusively for Big Green causes. Last week Commonwealth Court told PEDF: “No” (see PA Court Rejects Request to Block Royalties Funding DCNR Operations). The lower court will NOT address the issue of funding salaries and operating expenses of DCNR. The only decision the lower court will make, per their instructions from the lofty Supremes, is whether or not lease bonus payments must also be used for the same things royalty payments are used for–whatever those “same things” happen to be (operating expenses or not). Last week we said, “If PEDF wants to gut DCNR, they will have to go back to the Supremes to do it.” That’s just what they’ve done. The PEDF radicals have filed with the Supremes yet again, asking the Supremes to either take up the issue again, or force Commonwealth Court to rule the way PEDF wants–to gut the funding of DCNR…
    Read More “Enviro. Defense Foundation Continues Quest to Gut PA DCNR Funding”

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    PA Gov. Wolf Creating “Instability” with Demand for Severance Tax

    Unstable people tend to create instability wherever they go–it’s just something we’ve noticed. Other people have noticed it too, at the highest levels of Pennsylvania state government. Business groups in PA are pointing a finger at unstable PA Gov. Tom Wolf. His repeated calls, his maniacal mission to force a severance tax on the Marcellus industry on top of the existing impact tax, is causing “instability” in the industry in PA. That is, companies are pulling back, not willing to drill as much, and investors are not willing to invest, because of the uncertainty of whether or not there will be a severance tax. It’s spooking the industry. These business groups, representing hundreds of thousands of PA residents, are calling on Wolf to end his unstable ways and quit calling for a severance tax. Specifically, they say, “He needs to stop it.” Is that blunt enough? Instead, these groups call on Wolf to reign in out-of-control spending. The less you spend, the less you need to rob from hardworking companies–companies providing tens of thousands of jobs and over a billion dollars of tax revenue for the state so far…
    Read More “PA Gov. Wolf Creating “Instability” with Demand for Severance Tax”

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    WVU Research to Convert Shale Gas into Hydrogen and “Good” Carbon

    It never ceases to amaze us at how an unshakable belief in the myth of man-made global warming drives normally sane people to do insane things. Like using millions in taxpayer dollars (“grants”) to figure out a way to convert shale gas into a more “environmental friendly” form of fuel for energy usage–explosive hydrogen. Methane (i.e. natural gas) has one carbon atom along with four hydrogen atoms–CH4. What do you do with that carbon atom when you split methane into its component parts? We can’t have that carbon atom mating with a couple of oxygen atoms and forming CO2 (carbon dioxide)! Perish the thought!! (Even though CO2 is what you exhale every time you breathe, CO2 has been bastardized into being considered a pollutant by the general population thanks to the efforts of Big Green.) West Virginia University, along with Southern California Gas Company and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is launching new research this month that aims to convert “methane to CO2-free hydrogen and solid carbon nanotubes”–that is, into hydrogen and “good” carbon, not “bad” CO2 carbon. Whatever…
    Read More “WVU Research to Convert Shale Gas into Hydrogen and “Good” Carbon”