The Daily Digger

From SNL Financial: Recent well results and fourth-quarter production reports out of Ohio indicate that the Utica Shale is profitable with natural gas prices in the neighborhood of $3/Mcf, RBC Capital Markets LLC said in a research report March 5.  While activity in the shale has slowed with a 16% cut in rigs working the play, well results continue to improve, RBC said, particularly those of smaller drillers such as Antero Resources Corp., Gulfport Energy Corp. and Aubrey McClendon's privately held American Energy Partners LP .  "Antero's liquids-rich wells were again quite impressive, with 16 new wells averaging 2,284 [barrels of oil equivalent per day] (6% oil)," RBC analysts led by Leo Mariani wrote after reading the latest fourth-quarter Ohio production report, released Feb. 25 by the state's Department of Natural Resources.  RBC noted that 22 new Gulfport wells had fourth-quarter 2014 production of 1,367 boe/d, with 15% oil, and that "American ...

From The Columbus Dispatch: Seitz said he sent the memo after listening to Kasich’s State of the State speech.  “What did he say? He said, ‘If you don’t like my plan, what’s your plan?’ So I was listening and here’s my plan,” Seitz said. “It’s intended to start a discussion.”  Seitz proposed keeping the two largest parts of Kasich’s tax package – his 23-percent income tax cut over two years, and his proposed half-cent increase in the state sales tax, from 5.75 percent to 6.25 percent.  Kasich’s proposed severance tax increase on fracking, Seitz argues, is too high and could hit drillers who are losing money. However, he said, the House-passed severance tax bill last session “was probably too generous in the opposite direction (particularly in allowing credit for CAT tax and ad valorem payments).”  Seitz said a happy medium must exist somewhere.  “I do not buy the argument that no increase can be considered due to falling oil prices,” Seitz wrote. “...

From the Times-Tribune: The proposed $11 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit involving payments to natural gas leaseholders will not affect the viability of two pending lawsuits that raise similar claims, attorneys representing the plaintiffs said.  Thomas McNamara, attorney for plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed last month by the A&B Campbell Family LLC Trust, and Robert Schaub, attorney for leaseholders represented in a suit filed in June by the Suessenbach Family LP, said their lawsuits will continue regardless of the outcome of the proposed settlement between Chesapeake Appalachia and Demchak Partners.  Attorneys for Demchak Partners filed a motion in December asking a federal judge to approve a revised settlement that would resolve a dispute with leaseholders who have “market enhancement” clauses in their leases — a provision Chesapeake contends allows it to deduct from leaseholders royalty payments any post-production costs associated with gas extracted t...

From Gas & Oil: The City of St. Clairsville in Belmont County, received a $1,479,251.84 check from Rice Energy at the city’s Jan. 20 council meeting in exchange for leasing just over 170 acres for oil and gas exploration. Attorney Joshua E. O’Farrell of Tzangas, Plakas, Mannos, Ltd. represented St. Clairsville in the lease negotiation. O’Farrell stated during the meeting: “Not only were we able to negotiate a lease that protects the city’s property from an environmental standpoint, but we were able to negotiate a lease that will enhance the city’s economic well-being not only in the near term but for many years to come.”  In addition to the nearly $1.5 million dollars in up-front signing bonus, the lease requires that Rice Energy pay St. Clairsville a 20 percent gross royalty on all oil, gas, and hydrocarbons produced from the leasehold, and prevents the company from using any of the city’s surface property for exploration activity.  According to O’Farrell, St....

From Forbes: The press has been abuzz recently with yet another energy surprise. America is producing so much oil from shale that the nation is, ostensibly, running out of places to store it all.  The total quantity of petroleum stuffed into huge steel tanks right now is at levels not seen for 80 years. Cushing, Oklahoma, for example, is filling up — the now infamous interconnect point for the Keystone pipeline is also the location of one of the nation’s big tank farms. According to Energy Information Administration data , Cushing is 72% full now compared to a 48% level at this time last year.  Who, just a decade ago, would have thought the United States would be seeing “peak storage” instead of “peak oil” so eagerly predicted by the anti-oil lobby?  And who would have thought that the oil price collapse may be setting up conditions for yet another flood of American oil into world markets?  The technology used in the shale fields means that the crude glut...

From the Akron Beacon Journal: A Cuyahoga County judge has struck down Broadview Heights’ community bill of rights that banned additional drilling.  The action came from Judge Michael Astrab in what was a major victory for Ohio’s drilling industry.  Astrab said the city’s community bill of rights conflicts with state law that gives the Ohio Department of Natural Resources sole authority to regulate drillers since 2004.  Many had questioned whether such community bills of rights are legal in Ohio, and the Broadview Heights case is the first Ohio case to get a legal review.  Other cities that have approved community bill of rights in varying forms include Yellow Springs, Athens, Mansfield, Cincinnati and Niles. Randolph Township, Youngstown and Bowling Green have voted against such bills of rights.  On Feb. 17, the Ohio Supreme Court in a 4-3 vote issued a similar finding on state, not local, control over drilling. Read more by clicking here. Conn...

From Cleveland.com: Gov. John Kasich said Friday he still hopes legislators will increase Ohio's tax on gas and oil profits as he has proposed, but cautioned that if they don't act, the decision could wind up before Ohio voters.  "We talked internally about trying to figure out who out there in the community may want to put this thing on the ballot," Kasich said during a meeting with the news media.  The Kasich administration is working now with lawmakers on his budget proposal for the next biennium. A budget must be approved by June 30.  As was the case with his last budget proposal, the governor wants lawmakers to increase the state's tax on oil and gas extracted by fracking wells . He has argued that all Ohioans should benefit from the harvesting of the state's natural resources. Read more by clicking here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog