The Daily Digger

New permits issued last week:   9  (Previous week:  1 )   +8 Total horizontal permits issued:  3006  (Previous week:  3000 )    +6 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2535  (Previous week:  2532 )   +3 Total horizontal wells producing:  2141  (Previous week:  2141 )   +-0 Utica rig count:  17  (Previous week:  15 )   +2

From WKSU: Encino is a natural gas and oil acquistion and development company created by a group of successful former executives of other major gas & oil corporations. Late last year it made a multi-billion dollar deal to get the Ohio holdings of Chesapeake Energy, the original leader in the Utica Shale development.  Encino's Director of External Affairs Jackie Stewart says the company is now committed to its new Utica headquarters in Louisville. “We’re trying to hire local. I mean, over 70% of our entire employees are here in Ohio.”  She says the size and richness of the Utica shale has a lot to do with that. “When you think about the future and oil and natural gas career pathways in Ohio, we have world class rock here. So, we’re going to be here for a long time.”  Stewart says Encino has already hired more than a 100 people in Louisville and is actively recruiting. Read on by clicking here. 

Last month CNX discovered a leak as they were finishing a Utica shale well in Pennsylvania, as mentioned on our blog .  Now the price tag from the problem is becoming clear. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The opportunity to complete the three wells that didn’t trigger the problem still exists, the company told investors on Monday. But that’s not on the budget for 2019 or the carryover budget for 2020.  These large Utica wells — which CNX pioneered in this area of southwestern Pennsylvania — are voluminous, both in gas production and expense. They are about a mile deeper than their Marcellus cousins and the gas they tap is therefore at greater pressure than in the shallower layers.  In the most recent company earnings call, executives said they’re spending around $14 million per well for development, but they’re shooting to get that down to $12.5 million.  On Monday, CNX disclosed that all told, the Shaw pad will account for $30 million in capital spendin...

From the Times Reporter: More than a year after Ohio’s Attorney General sued Rover Pipeline for polluting a Stark County wetland and other alleged environmental violations, the parties continue to fight over whether a local court should hear the case.  The state has said Rover Pipeline and six subcontractors broke various regulations involving the release of stormwater, drilling fluid or water used in pressure-testing the 713-mile-long interstate natural gas pipeline.  Rover Pipeline and the subcontractors have argued that only the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, not the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, has the power to enforce environmental regulations on an interstate pipeline.  There is no timetable for when the judge will make her ruling.  Rover Pipeline, comprising two 42-inch-diameter mainlines, transports up to 3.25 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Utica and Marcellus shale regions to users in the United States and Canada...

New permits issued last week:   1  (Previous week:  15 )   -14 Total horizontal permits issued:  3000  (Previous week:  3000 )    +-0 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2532  (Previous week:  2531 )   +1 Total horizontal wells producing:  2141  (Previous week:  2141 )   +-0 Utica rig count:  15  (Previous week:  14 )   +1

From the Norwalk Reflector: Area school districts in the path of the new NEXUS natural gas pipeline appear confident they will get new tax revenues beginning in 2020.  Beyond that, there’s still uncertainty about what the net effect will be, as school districts such as Edison assume the state will cut school funding in response to the gas pipeline windfall.  Late last year, gas began to flow through the 36-inch, 256-mile NEXUS natural gas pipeline, which runs from Kensington in southeast Ohio through to Michigan, passing through Erie and Sandusky counties.  Several years ago, NEXUS published an estimate on the amount of ad valorem property tax revenues the pipeline would generate for local school districts and governments.  Some of the biggest projected revenues for the first year of funding, which apparently will be 2020, are $3.6 million for Edison Schools, $735,200 for EHOVE, $1.4 million for Perkins Schools, $6.2 million for Margaretta Schools and $870,...

From the Ohio Department of Natural Resources: Belmont County first responders will receive $425,000 to enhance their ability to keep their communities safe through new equipment and training, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).  The funding for these first responders is provided in accordance with a compliance agreement between XTO Energy Inc. (XTO) and ODNR. This financial support will directly fund the purchases of equipment and training to bolster response capabilities within the communities of Belmont County.  “The safety of our local first responders is paramount in any emergency situation,” said ODNR Director Mary Mertz. “That is why we worked to help provide them with the additional support, training and equipment to ensure they are prepared and able to safely respond.”  The table attached to this release designates the name of each public entity, the corresponding address and the amount to be remitted to the public entity.  ...