The Daily Digger

Gas & Oil:   Utica Summit II: Risks Must Be Managed   -    "Christopher Guith, who leads the development of the Energy Institute's policies related to oil and gas and nuclear energy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said during a recent Utica Summit II event that while there is a lot of good news related to oil and gas development, there are also a few storm clouds forming..." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:   Bans on Fracking Up For Vote in Utica Shale   -    "In this fall’s midterm races, hydraulic fracturing enjoys political support from many conservatives and liberals. President Barack Obama often touts it as a reason for new found energy independence. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, and Tom Wolf, his Democratic challenger, have generally disagreed only on how to tax it. Yet pockets of resistance to the extraction technique commonly known as fracking, which has revolutionized the oil and gas industry, have appeared in..." Columbus Busines

From the Canton Repository: Carroll County’s economic future was up for debate Thursday night, as residents and public officials, past and present, questioned the county’s development strategy.  Since Utica Shale drilling started in the county, leaders have looked for ways to turn cash from the boom into long-term, sustainable development.  Central to the discussion at Carrollton High School was the Northern Corridor project, which would extend water and sewer lines 11 miles from Malvern to Carrollton at a cost of $15 million, and upgrade parts of state Routes 43, 171 and 9 for another $6.92 million.  Without improving its infrastructure and quality of life, the county won’t be able to attract new businesses, said Aaron Dodds, the county’s economic development director.  The Northern Corridor improvements would be paid for by a private developer working in a partnership with the county, he said. In return, the county would give up sole decision-making authority on the proje

From Columbus Business First: The Berne processing complex in Monroe County, which has the capacity to hold three plants each processing 200 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, is almost ready to open.  The first 200 million-capacity plant will open in November, said Casey Nikoloric , spokeswoman for Blue Racer Midstream LLC, the company that runs the Monroe County project. Construction of the second unit has started and should be in-service in April.  Berne should be a boon to the chronically underdeveloped infrastructure in the Utica shale region. A new transmission line for the project was completed this week, according to a filing the company made to state regulators. Dallas-based Blue Racer had asked regulators for an expedited review of its plan to build the 138-kilovolt electrical transmission line in May and regulators approved the 2,000-foot line a month later. Read the rest of this article by clicking right here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

From Shale Play: The single bid received by the city to lease mineral rights on two pieces of Marietta property was reviewed by members of council late last month during a meeting of council's lands, buildings and parks and finance committees.  The bid, submitted by MNW Energy LLC, would give the city the option to earn more than $183,000 - $4,750 an acre - by leasing rights at Goose Run and at Gunlock Park between Lowe's and Wal-Mart. The city would also earn a 17.5 percent royalty on any earnings made over the five-year lease term, said city safety-service director Jonathan Hupp.  City Councilman Steve Thomas, D-3rd ward, said he is supportive of leasing the rights.  "I'm good with it. We need the money. And it's not going to be disturbing the ground," said Thomas.  Read the rest of the article by clicking here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

From RigZone: The economic benefits to the United States from the energy industry have more than doubled in just the past ten years, even after accounting for inflation, according to a new study by The Perryman Group. The growth in the industry is worth about $1.2 trillion in gross product each year, the study noted, adding that the growth in the oil and gas industry since the economic recession has been “dramatic.” In fact, since the start of the economic recovery, the energy industry has contributed about 30 percent of the total job growth for the nation, Dr. Ray Perryman, president and CEO of The Perryman Group, said.  While it is generally recognized that a thriving oil and gas sector helps to create new jobs within and outside of the energy sector, it is less well-recognized just how important the industry is to overall employment. However, the study shows just how large a role the energy industry plays in the number of new jobs in the country.  When the multiplier effect

From Gas & Oil: A new study conducted by Cleveland State University indicates enough ethane is estimated to be produced to support three large cracker plants in the Appalachian Region — and, just as importantly, current plans for plant construction specifically target Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The information was brought forward during a Utica Summit II, held in mid-October at Stark State College, in Canton.  Ethane cracker plants would be a tremendous boon to the area in terms of further manufacturing development. An ethane cracker facility creates ethylene, a compound used in the manufacture of plastic. Some estimates predict between 400 to 600 jobs in each cracker plant, with another 2,000 plus in indirect jobs and more than 8,000 additional jobs in the ripple effect that would follow with downstream manufacturers who rely on ethane and other products that will be created at the plants.  Huge economic benefits to the Appalachian Basin region were projected w

From Market Realist: Chesapeake Energy ( CHK ) is on track with its “asset-divestment agenda.” On October 16, Chesapeake announced the sale of a large portion of its oil and gas assets in the Marcellus and Utica shales to Southwestern Energy ( SWN ). Enlarge Graph The image above shows Chesapeake’s operational footprint in the  Marcellus  and Utica regions. Read more about Chesapeake’s operations and recent quarterly performance at “ A key overview of Chesapeake and its second quarter 2014 earnings .”   The price tag   SWN will buy the Marcellus and Utica assets for ~$5.38. The transaction is believed to be Southwestern’s largest deal. Later in this series, we’ll discuss what the deal means for SWN.   Chesapeake wanted to achieve $4 billion in spending cash by the end of the year. It planned to get the money through asset divestments.   We’ll discuss why Chesapeake wants to achieve this goal later in this series. Read more of this series by clicking here. Connect with us

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has made the latest weekly permitting update available.  It wasn't a very busy week. Only 7 new permits were issued last week.  Jefferson County was the focal point, with 3 new permits.  That brings the total number issued there to 46.  2 permits were issued for drilling in Carroll County, and 1 permit each for Belmont and Tuscarawas counties. With these 7 new permits, there are now 1,567 total permits that have been issued in Ohio for Utica shale drilling.  1,141 wells have been drilled and 607 are producing.  The Utica rig count is 44. View the whole report by clicking here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

Third quarter production of 169.7 MMcfe/d exceeds high end of company guidance by 3%; represents a 32% sequential increase in average daily production over the second quarter of 2014 and 72% over the second quarter of 2013 Average daily production from oil, condensate and NGLs (including ethane) reached a record level of 10.4 MBoe/d, a 61% increase over the second quarter of 2014 Record oil and condensate production of 3.3 Mboe/d, a 20% increase over the second quarter of 2014 Full year 2014 production guidance increased by 2% at the midpoint of the guidance range  STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Oct. 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rex Energy Corporation (Nasdaq:REXX) today provided its preliminary third quarter 2014 production results, increased its full year 2014 production guidance and announced the date of its third quarter 2014 earnings release and conference call. Production Update Third quarter 2014 production volumes were 169.7 MMcfe/d, an increase of 72% over the third quarter of 20

From WaterWorld: A new research project at the University of Cincinnati (UC) is taking a groundbreaking approach to monitoring groundwater resources near hydraulic fracturing (fracking) sites in the state of Ohio. Conducted by Claire Botner, a UC graduate student in geology, the research is part of UC Groundwater Research of Ohio (GRO), a collaborative research project based out of the university to examine the effects of fracking on groundwater in the Utica Shale region of the eastern part of the state. First launched in Carroll County in 2012, the GRO team of researchers is examining methane levels and origins of methane in private wells and springs before, during and after the onset of fracking. The team travels to the region to take water samples four times a year. Amy Townsend-Small, the lead researcher for GRO and a UC assistant professor of geology, said the UC study is unique in comparison with studies on water wells in other shale-rich areas of the U.S. where fracking i

From ThinkProgress: Satellite observations of huge oil and gas basins in East Texas and North Dakota confirm staggering 9 and 10 percent leakage rates of heat-trapping methane. “In conclusion,” researchers write , “at the current methane loss rates, a net climate benefit on all time frames owing to tapping unconventional resources in the analyzed tight formations is unlikely.” In short, fracking speeds up human-caused climate change, thanks to methane leaks alone. Remember, natural gas is mostly methane , (CH4), a super-potent greenhouse gas, which traps 86 times as much heat as CO2 over a 20-year period. So even small leaks in the natural gas production and delivery system can have a large climate impact — enough to gut the entire benefit of switching from coal-fired power to gas.  Back in February, we reported that the climate will likely be ruined already well past most of our lifespans by the time natural gas has a net climate benefit. That was based on a study in Science

An Environmental Integrity Project Investigation finds at least 6 fracking fluids on the market with higher concentrations of benzene (a carcinogen) than diesel fuel, and at least 153 wells fracked with liquids containing ethylbenzene (a probable carcinogen) in 11 states (OK, ND, TX, WY, CO, CA, OH, LA, NM, MT, and MI). FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 22, 2014 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite a federal ban on the use of diesel fuel in hydraulic fracturing without a permit, several oil and gas companies are exploiting a Safe Drinking Water Act loophole pushed through by Halliburton to frack with petroleum-based products containing even more dangerous toxic chemicals than diesel. For example, a drilling company in West Texas injected up to 48,000 gallons of benzene (a carcinogen) into the ground just last month. The report by the Environmental Integrity Project, “Fracking’s Toxic Loophole,” describes how a gap in the Safe Drinking Water Act – nicknamed the “Halliburton Loophole” – requires per

CARROLLTON, OHIO: Carroll Concerned Citizens will show a video by Dr. Julie Weatherington-Rice at its Thursday November 6 meeting that provides insight into the links between shale gas and oil wastes and surface radioactivity. Filmed in September as part of an Ohio State University Extension educational outreach program, Dr. Weatherington-Rice shares somewhat technical information about radioactive wastes from Marcellus and Utica shales. The Ohio Fracture Flow Working Group’s research seeks to answer questions such as: What radioactive wastes are, How they are managed, and Should we be concerned. The meeting will begin at 7:00pm at the Church of Christ, 353 Moody Ave. Carrollton. It is free and open to the public. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

From Columbus Business First: Ohio oil and gas officials often say that the state's Utica shale play still is in its infancy. It's a common refrain made to temper any outsized ambitions about the current state of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in the eastern part of the state.  But rarely are oil and gas officials in the same room to compare and contrast. That's not the case this week – government officials involved in regulating the burgeoning U.S. shale boom gathered at the Hyatt Regency as part of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multi-state group that shares concerns and stories that emanate from the industry.  Oklahoma, North Dakota and Colorado all are ahead of Ohio in shale production, where there are 1,548 permits to drill in the Utica shale play compared with just three only four years ago. Read the whole article by clicking here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

From BakerHostetler's North America Shale Blog: Due to increased drilling activity in the Utica shale formation, state and federal courts in Ohio and the 6th Circuit have recently issued decisions related to local drilling regulations, drilling permits, leasing, indemnity provisions, and whether a landowner can state a strict liability claim against a drilling company that survives a motion to dismiss. While separate, future blog entries will discuss in more detail Ohio’s Dormant Mineral Rights Act and strict liability claims against fracking operations, the following post summarizes some recent developments in Ohio law that are relevant to the oil and gas industry. The post goes on to examine several decisions, categorized under the headings: Obstacles to Drilling, Lease Terms, and Potential Liability.   Click here to read the whole article. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

Combined Flow Tests of 97.4 MMCFE per Day HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwired - Oct 22, 2014) - Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation (NYSE: MHR) (NYSE MKT: MHR.PRC) (NYSE MKT: MHR.PRD) (NYSE MKT: MHR.PRE) (the "Company" or "Magnum Hunter") announced today that the Company has completed test results on its 100% owned Stewart Winland Pad located in Tyler County, West Virginia. The Stewart Winland Pad has four 100% owned recently completed wells (3 Marcellus and 1 Utica). The Stewart Winland 1301M was drilled and cased to a true vertical depth of 6,155 feet with a 5,762 foot horizontal lateral, and successfully fraced with 27 stages. The well tested at a peak rate of 17.0 MMCFE of natural gas per day (~23% Condensate and ~25% NGL) on an adjustable choke. The Stewart Winland 1302M was drilled and cased to a true vertical depth of 6,147 feet with a 5,676 foot horizontal lateral, and successfully fraced with 29 stages. The well tested at a peak rate of 17.1 MMCFE of natural gas

From the Youngstown Vindicator: To understand the mentality of the individuals who refuse to take “no” for an answer in their campaign to ban fracking and other related gas and oil activities in the city of Youngstown, consider this comment:  “There’s no one protecting our air and property rights, so the community members have to do it.”  Thus said Susie Beiersdorfer, one of the mainstays of the committee that has again placed the anti-fracking Community Bill of Rights charter amendment on the Nov. 4 general election ballot in Youngstown.  On three previous occasions, city residents rejected the anti-fracking charter amendment and the arguments put forth by Beiersdorfer, and her husband, Ray, a public employee.  But they and other self-styled protectors of the people of Youngstown who are thought of as environmental bumpkins refuse to give the voters the respect they deserve.  Let Susie Beiersdorfer’s opinion of city residents be your guide as you attempt to understand wh

From the University of Colorado Boulder: Oil and natural gas production fields can emit large amounts of air pollutants that affect climate and air quality—but tackling the issue has been difficult because little is known about what aspects of complex production operations leak what kinds of pollutants, and how much.  Now a study led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics sheds light on just that, pinpointing sources of airborne pollutants.  CIRES is a joint institute of the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The results have important implications for mitigation strategies in the nation’s oil and natural gas production.  “Before you can stop a leak, you have to know where it is,” said lead author Carsten Warneke, an atmospheric chemist with NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Col

From the Huffington Post: The company that wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline was  recognized this week for leadership on climate change -– to the shock of environmental activists.  Alberta-based TransCanada, which has been seeking permission to build the 1,660-mile pipeline from Canada's oil sands to refineries in Texas, was included as a corporate climate leader on the Carbon Disclosure Project's Climate Performance Leadership Index 2014 . The Carbon Disclosure Project, or CDP, is a United Kingdom-based nonprofit that works with companies to tally and report their greenhouse gas emissions. TransCanada was one of five energy sector companies included on the "A List" in this year's report.  The report notes that the company has set targets for emission reductions, and includes a quote from TransCanada: "Our business strategy is informed by the risks and opportunities from climate change regulations, physical climate parameters and other climate-

Gas & Oil:   Kent State University Offers Job Training in Gas, Oil Industry   -    "Kent State University at Tuscarawas, in partnership with Stark State College, ShaleNET and Ohio Means Jobs (The Employment Source), is offering a floor hand course beginning Nov. 3. This three-week class will run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the..." National Science Foundation:   New Tracers Can Identify Frack Fluids in the Environment   -    "Scientists have developed new geochemical tracers that can identify hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids that have been spilled or released into the environment. The tracers have been field-tested at a spill site in West Virginia and downstream from an..." Columbus Business First:   Bank Deposits Booming in Utica Shale Counties   -    "Just five years ago, in the midst of the Great Recession, it probably would have been unthinkable to see some of Ohio’s fastest-growing banks located in small rural areas

The latest weekly permitting update from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is now posted.  It was a busy week for Harrison County as the Utica shale numbers continue to rise. 12 new permits were issued last week.  6 of those permits were issued to American Energy Utica for Harrison County wells.  5 went to Antero Resources for Monroe County sites, and the remaining 1 permit is for a Belmont County well to be drilled by Rice Drilling. These 12 new permits now move the Utica shale up to 1,560 total permits issued.  1,122 wells have been drilled, 607 are producing, and the Utica rig count is 46. View the report by clicking here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

Southwestern Energy has acquired 413,000 acres of Marcellus and Utica shale assets from Chesapeake Energy in a $5.375 billion transaction.  Here are the announcements from the two companies. First, Southwestern Energy: Southwestern Energy Co. , Houston, has agreed to acquire assets in the southern Marcellus shale and a portion of the eastern Utica shale in West Virginia from  Chesapeake Energy Corp. , Oklahoma City, for $5.375 billion. The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, encompasses 413,000 net acres and 1,500 wells in northern West Virginia and southern Pennsylvania along with related property, plant, and equipment. Average working interest in the properties is 67.5%. Of a total of 435 horizontal wells, 256 are operated and producing in the Marcellus and Utica and an additional 179 are nonoperated or nonproducing in the  Marcellus  and  Utica . Net production in September totaled 336 MMcfd of gas equivalent, of which 55% is gas, 36% are NGLs, and 9% is oil.

From CSMonitor.com: Natural gas may not be of much use as a “bridge” fuel en route to achieving significant cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions unless its use is accompanied by rigorous policies aimed at curbing emissions – policies that some analysts say should be designed to harness gas as an ally of renewable-energy sources, rather that as a competitor.  That is the implication of a new study analyzing the effect of globally abundant natural gas on competing energy sources and on greenhouse-gas emissions. The global abundance would result from the use of techniques such as hydraulic fracturing to tap so-called “unconventional” sources of natural gas worldwide.  Assuming that no new climate policies are adopted beyond those that are in place today and that market forces continue to determine the price of gas, an international team of researchers found that gas would replace coal – a help in curbing the emission of greenhouse gases, since natural gas releases about half the carbo

Phelim McAleer, who directed and produced FrackNation, recently attempted to question former mayor of Dish, Texas Calvin Tillman, who is a prominent anti-drilling activist, about a study that he had commissioned a few years ago.  It's all explained in this video. Although Tillman chose not to engage the discussion further with McAleer in the video above, he did choose to issue an angry response via his blog . It finally happened on July 25, 2014 - I was doing a presentation in Santa Maria, CA, when the creepiest side of the oil and gas industry showed up at a presentation I was giving at the local library. This was of course the ethically challenged documentary film makerPhelim McAleer. Mr. McAleer did the false and misleading propaganda documentary Fracknation which was funded by the oil and gas industry. This film was funded to counter the award winning Gasland documentary, which showed the downside of oil and gas operations. He has been harassing other people who