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Showing posts from May, 2019

Permitting Picks Up in Utica Shale as Rig Count Drops

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WEEK ENDING 05/25/2019 New permits issued last week:   17  (Previous week:  2 )   +15 Total horizontal permits issued:  3093  (Previous week:  3080 )    +13 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2601  (Previous week:  2600 )   +1 Total horizontal wells producing:  2186  (Previous week:  2186 )   +-0 Utica rig count:  16  (Previous week:  18 )   -2

Courts Clarify: Fractivists Aren't Experts

by Elizabeth Caldwell, Energy in Depth Activists relying on Professor John Stolz to lend scientific credibility to their “Keep It In the Ground” stance on energy might want to review court records from a recently decided Pennsylvania appeals case that made it clear he’s no expert on natural gas development. Stolz, director of the Center for Environmental Research and Education at Duquesne University, has  claimed  expert status on fracking. When a few residents in Westmoreland County, Pa., challenged Allegheny Township’s zoning ordinance that allowed for fracking, they brought in Stolz to testify on their behalf. It didn’t turn out well for him. Stolz was not qualified as an expert. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court this month officially ended the case, after the township zoning board that heard from Stolz, a county judge and the state Commonwealth Court all rejected appeals of the ordinance. The Commonwealth Court specifically highlighted the shortcomings of Stolz’s ‘knowledge’

Select Energy Services Pondering a Sale

From Bloomberg: Select Energy Services Inc. , a provider of water to shale drillers, is in the early stages of considering a sale, according to people familiar with the matter. The Gainesville, Texas-based company has spoken to advisers about exploring strategic options, including a potential sale, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. Select Energy Services hasn’t made a final decision and could opt to remain independent, the people said. Chris George, a spokesman for the company, declined to comment on any specific sale considerations. “We are always evaluating our strategic options, as can be seen from our recent decisions to divest of certain non-core businesses as well as to recently re-segment the reporting structure of the business,” George said. Click here to read more. Long-time readers of the blog may recall Select Energy Services' name from several years ago, when the company reneged on a deal to serve as the cornerst

Utica Rig Count Rises Again, But Permitting Remains Very Slow

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WEEK ENDING 05/18/2019 New permits issued last week:   2  (Previous week:  3 )   -1 Total horizontal permits issued:  3080  (Previous week:  3079 )    +1 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2600  (Previous week:  2600 )   +-0 Total horizontal wells producing:  2186  (Previous week:  2185 )   +1 Utica rig count:  18  (Previous week:  17 )   +1

Pin Oak Energy Scoops Up Utica Shale Assets in Deal with Protege Energy

From a press release: Pin Oak Energy (Pin Oak) has acquired from Protege Energy III LLC the Caywood A 1H Utica well located in Washington County Ohio along with nearly 10,000 net acres in Washington and Noble Counties Ohio and Wood County, West Virginia. In addition to the producing Utica well, Pin Oak acquired the Big Red pad location, 60 square miles of proprietary 3D Seismic, largely undedicated acreage position and a 4-mile gathering line connecting into Blue Racer Midstream’s Washington County Connector line. Marcellus Drilling News reports that Pin Oak is quickly moving on plans to develop its new assets: It didn’t take long for Pin Oak to form their first drilling unit in Washington County, called Big Red. We have the details on where it is, and which properties are included. Thanks to an MDN tipster, we have a copy of a pooling notice filed by Pin Oak on May 1. Pin Oak is pooling the land owned by 21 different landowners in Liberty Township (Washington County) to form a 4

Construction Finally Starting on $1.3 Billion Columbiana County Power Plant

From Business Journal Daily: Representatives from South Field Energy Partners will be on hand this afternoon to break ground for a $1.3 billion combined-cycle energy plant that is likely to employ more than 1,100 tradesmen during the peak construction phase.  The new plant, scheduled for commercial operation by mid-2021, would be fueled by natural gas and steam. It would be capable of generating 1,182 megawatts of power to the PJM grid, enough power to supply 1 million homes.  Meanwhile, South Field’s parent, Advanced Power, announced Tuesday that it has sold a 15% membership interest to JXTG, a major oil and energy company based in Japan. Thomas Spang, Advanced Power CEO, said the investment underscores the wide support the project has received in the private sector. Read the whole article by clicking here. 

Energy Transfer to Donate $450,000 to PA Special Olympics

From a Special Olympics Pennsylvania press release: Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) today announced a three-year partnership that will recognize Energy Transfer as its Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) Guardians of the Flame Premier Sponsor. LETR, the largest public awareness vehicle and grass-roots fundraiser for Special Olympics, is changing the future for people with intellectual disabilities and lighting the way for acceptance and inclusion.  Energy Transfer will donate a total of $450,000 over a three-year period to further SOPA's mission to broaden the opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Energy Transfer is one of the largest and most diversified midstream energy companies in the country with more than 86,000 miles of oil, natural gas and refined fuels pipelines traversing 38 states. Both organizations share a similar focus on working to improve the quality of life and well-being for the community.  Known as Guardians of the Flame, law enf

OOGEEP: Wide Range of Career Opportunities Available in Ohio's Oil and Gas Industry

From an OOGEEP press release: As we celebrate "In-Demand Jobs Week" in Ohio, the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) wants Ohio students and job-seekers to know that there are more than 75 different rewarding and high-demand careers available in Ohio's natural gas and oil industry. In-demand jobs are defined as jobs that have a sustainable wage and a promising future based on the projected number of openings and growth.  "In 2011, our industry employed around 14,000 Ohioans, and today that number has dramatically increased to nearly 200,000, thanks to the ongoing development of the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations," Rhonda Reda, OOGEEP Executive Director said. "As a result, workforce development remains a priority for our industry."  OOGEEP recently released a new Career Guide and an online Career Video Series that highlights the in-demand careers in Ohio's natural gas and oil industry including diesel mechanics, welders,

2020 Dems Take Extreme Positions on Oil & Gas Development

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by Jack Anderson, Energy in Depth With the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination getting  more crowded every week , gaining the financial favor of deep-pocketed fringe activists could make a difference for candidates hoping to escape the first round of Democratic tryouts. It’s no secret that Big Green has plenty of greenbacks to go around this election cycle, and Democratic hopefuls have been openly  competing for those dollars . But for many, simply pledging to uphold the Paris climate accords isn’t enough to draw the support of well-endowed environmental activists, leading several candidates in the field to take extreme “keep-it-in-the-ground” (KIITG) stances on federal energy policy, ignoring key facts about oil and natural gas development on federal lands and its environmental benefits. As of last week, nine Democratic hopefuls have pledged to enact a moratorium on new oil and natural gas development on federal lands if elected president, or at least restrict

Permitting Remains Slow, Rig Count Holds at 17 in Utica Shale

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WEEK ENDING 05/11/2019 New permits issued last week:   3  (Previous week:  4 )   -1 Total horizontal permits issued:  3079  (Previous week:  3076 )    +3 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2600  (Previous week:  2584 )   +16 Total horizontal wells producing:  2185  (Previous week:  2179 )   +6 Utica rig count:  17  (Previous week:  17 )   +-0

Rumor Central: Belmont County Cracker Plant Decision Could Be Coming in September, Project May Be Sold to New Company

Jim Willis of Marcellus Drilling News reported last week a rumor that was passed along to him by a trusted source regarding the cracker plant that has been in the planning stages for Belmont County for some time now. Here is a small portion of what Jim reported: Then our source added this, about the timing of an FID announcement: PTT is saying that it likely will be September when an FID is announced.  Finally, our source dropped a bombshell–that PTT may end up having to sell the project: Multiple players are saying that PTT and Daelim are having enough trouble with the financing (causing the September timing) that they will be forced to sell the project to a bigger player. Two super majors are sniffing around, and there is some indication that a couple other major US and European players are sniffing too. You can read the whole report, which has quite a bit more information on this, by clicking here (subscription required).

Jefferson County Becoming Key Location in Utica Shale Drilling

From WTOV 9: An event was held by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce to give the community an update on progress being made in the oil and gas industry. Several topics were up for discussion, including pipeline investment projects, natural gas powerplants and more.  Representatives with the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, Encino Energy and Ascent Resources were all in attendance.  Jefferson County, in particular, is a growing area when it comes to Utica Shale. Based on Monday’s presentation, they only see more progress being made. Click here to view this article in its entirety on WTOV's website.

New Nature Study Affirms the Climate Benefits of Increased Natural Gas Use

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by John Glennon, Energy in Depth The increased use of natural gas in electricity generation contributes to long-term “climate stabilization objectives,” according to a new study published in  Nature . Notably, the study’s top line finding should address concerns that natural gas is less effective at reducing emissions than initially anticipated: “We found that the coal-to-gas shift is consistent with climate stabilization objectives for the next 50-100 years. Our finding is robust under a range of leakage rates and uncertainties in emissions data and metrics. It becomes conditional to the leakage rate in some locations only if we employ a set of metrics that essentially focus on short-term effects. Our case for the coal-to-gas shift is stronger than previously found…” The study is unique in that it is the first to employ a “multimetric approach” to analyze the impact which takes into account “short-term (a few decades) and long-term (about a century) climate impacts.” Metha

Infighting and Upheaval Seem to be Ruling the Day at EQT

EQT's merger with Rice Energy in 2017 made the company the largest natural gas producer in the United States. Given recent events, some at EQT might be questioning if bigger is always better. Starting several months ago, the Rice brothers mounted a challenge to EQT's leadership .  The fight has remained ongoing, and all seems to be leading up to a major showdown in July.  In the latest developments, the Rices filed a lawsuit against EQT regarding the company's handling of the proxy bidding process for board nominations. Now that lawsuit has been dropped after EQT made some adjustments to resolve the issues that the Rice brothers had with the process. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: EQT Corp. and the former leadership of Rice Energy Inc. are continuing their feud even as a lawsuit filed by Toby Rice against the Downtown-based company has been dropped.  EQT is fighting off an animated proxy challenge from Mr. Rice, his brother Derek Rice and a group of former

May 2019 Shale Activity Maps

Rig Count Bounces Back in Utica Shale

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WEEK ENDING 04/27/2019 New permits issued last week:   10  (Previous week:  6 )   +4 Total horizontal permits issued:  3071  (Previous week:  3062 )    +9 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2581  (Previous week:  2574 )   +7 Total horizontal wells producing:  2179  (Previous week:  2179 )   +-0 Utica rig count:  17  (Previous week:  14 )   +3 WEEK ENDING 05/04/2019 New permits issued last week:   4  (Previous week:  10 )   -6 Total horizontal permits issued:  3076  (Previous week:  3071 )    +5 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2584  (Previous week:  2581 )   +3 Total horizontal wells producing:  2179  (Previous week:  2179 )   +-0 Utica rig count:  17  (Previous week:  17 )   +-0