The Daily Digger

CELDF founder Thomas Linzey From the Athens News: The county charter/community bill of rights for Athens County appears headed toward the Nov. 3 ballot, but it’s important for residents to be aware of its limitations and potential consequences. This isn’t intended to recommend how residents vote on the proposed county charge (not yet), but rather that when they vote yes or no, they do so with eyes wide open. Or another way of putting it, the question isn’t whether stopping oil and gas injection wells and regulating fracking are worthy endeavors (I think they are), but rather whether city and county community bill of rights amendments will accomplish that goal. Evidence strongly suggests they won’t. Even if the Athens County charter/community bill of rights wins in a landslide, it likely will have no effect on oil-and-gas drilling activities (including injection wells) in Athens County. If you’re voting for this measure to protect county water resources and the environment in ge...

We mentioned yesterday on the blog a new study from Stanford professor Rob Jackson.  It is the latest study to find no actual water contamination from fracking, although Jackson's focus in the study's conclusion was on the potential for such contamination to occur. Energy in Depth, an industry-backed site, has posted an article about this study.  Below you can read it in its entirety. New Stanford Study Confirms No Contamination from Fracking, “Shallow” or Not by Dave Quast, Energy in Depth Researchers led by  Rob Jackson  of Stanford University recently released a  study  in the journal Environmental Science and Technology  that suggests that shallower wells could pose more risk to groundwater than deeper ones. (You may recall Dr. Jackson from previous fracking-related work he did while at  Duke  University.) In the Stanford study, Dr. Jackson and his coauthors found  no evidence of the fracking process contaminating gro...

From the Los Angeles Daily News: The study found that while there is little evidence of widespread negative health and environmental effects directly related to fracking, there are huge gaps in record-keeping and data necessary to understand whether the practice is causing small earthquakes, contaminating future drinking water supplies and injuring nearby residents.  Oil producers, it says, should not be allowed unlimited use of hazardous chemicals because there are hundreds of harmful substances being injected underground without study. What’s more, the federal government is allowing oil producers to discharge fracking and other well-stimulation discharge into the ocean and isn’t keeping accurate records on those discharges. The first federal study on well-stimulation methods , released last month, found that the practices are largely safe but that there is insufficient data to truly know whether damage to the environment and human health is taking place.  “We should ...

From WTOV 9 : As hotels continue to pop up all over the Belmont County hillsides, another readies to open in a matter of hours.  It’s led Cafaro Company spokesman Joe Bell to suggest now, more than ever, is a boom time for the hotel industry in the county, as the drilling industry continues to spike a staggering demand for local housing.  "They’re finding now that when they open these hotels, within a few weeks, they're topping out at 90 percent occupancy," Bell said.  On the perimeter of the Ohio Valley Mall, part of that demand is still a work in progress. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

Rob Jackson From the Stanford Woods Institute: Stanford scientist's investigations show that drinking water sources may be threatened by thousands of shallow oil and gas wells mined with the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing. A new study suggests safeguards. The United States now produces about as much crude oil as Saudi Arabia does, and enough natural gas to export in large quantities. That's thanks to hydraulic fracturing, a mining practice that involves a rock-cracking pressurized mix of water, sand and chemicals.  Ongoing research by Stanford environmental scientist Rob Jackson attempts to minimize the risks of "fracking" to underground drinking water sources.  The most recent such study , published in Environmental Science & Technology , finds that at least 6,900 oil and gas wells in the U.S. were fracked less than a mile (5,280 feet) from the surface, and at least 2,600 wells were fracked at depths shallower than 3,000 feet, some as sh...

From Crain's Cleveland Business: In Ohio’s Utica shale, getting the natural gas out of the rock is the easy part.  Getting it out of the state, however, where it can fetch a decent price, is another matter entirely.  “The problem we have in this entire play is we’re still behind on midstream infrastructure and we need pipelines to get the gas out of the region,” said Ned Hill, an economist and former dean at Cleveland State University, now with Ohio State University, who has been studying Ohio’s shale boom.  Midstream means pipelines and processing plants for the most part. It’s the part of the oil and gas industry that either gets natural gas to end markets like Canada or the East Coast — where it sells for a fair bit more than it does in gas-drenched Ohio — or the part that separates out natural gas liquids like propane, butane and ethane and processes them.  In other words, it’s the highway to lucrative markets for the Utica shale’s two chief commoditi...

From Seeking Alpha's transcript of a CONSOL Energy conference call discussing the company's second-quarter results: But before we get into the important topics, let's first start with some recent dry Utica results that we're very excited about. This past Friday, we began flow back on the Gaut 4IH, a deep dry Utica well located in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The Gaut stands out over and above any other Utica wells built to-date because of its location and results. This is a true step out well which adds substantial breadth to the entire Utica play. Based on flow rate, the Gaut is the second best dry Utica well to drill to-date with maximum flowing pressures exceeding 9000 pounds and a 24 hour flow rate in excess of 61 million cubic feet a day. During the 24 hour flow test, the pressures never dropped below 7500 pounds. The Gaut has a 5840 foot lateral that was drilled and completed for approximately $27 million. And as we've seen with our Monroe County Uti...

FORT WORTH, TX  -- ( Marketwired ) --  07/28/15  --  RANGE RESOURCES CORPORATION  (NYSE: RRC) today announced its second quarter financial results. Highlights -- Production volumes reached a record high, averaging 1,373 Mmcfe per day, a 24% increase over the prior-year quarter. Unit costs declined  $0.36  per mcfe, or 11% compared to the prior-year quarter. Two Marcellus dry gas wells in southwest  Pennsylvania  were turned in line, each at 34.2 Mmcf per day, 1.8 Bcf per well of cumulative production in 90 days. Full-year 2015 capital budget of  $870 million  is on track to deliver 20% annual growth. Spectra's  Uniontown  to Gas City project is anticipated to open ahead of schedule allowing Range as anchor shipper to move approximately 170 Mmcf per day of net natural gas production, or approximately 28% of its average net second quarter production in the southwest Marcellus, to Midwest markets with improved real...

From Barron's:: Dingmann said that he "would not be surprised" to see Chesapeake to initiate another round of asset sales at one or two of its seven primary operating regions. The company could generate over $500 million in proceeds, which could be used to "take activity higher" than the company's year-end 2014 forecast of the nine to 19 rigs.  Dingmann also noted that Chesapeake is "one of the most asset rich companies" among his coverage with a net asset value "well north" of his $15 price target. The company's large position could enable it to "carve off" non-core sales as it did last year when it sold the Southern Marcellus/Eastern Utica acres for $4.975 billion.  The analyst also discussed Chesapeake's operating efficiencies and pointed out improvements at its operations at Utica and Eagle Ford. At Utica, the company "improved massively" its efficiencies with its spud/rig release around 13 this yea...

From Crain's Cleveland Business: Renewable energy backers are hoping their voices will be heard when the debate over Ohio’s future energy policy heats up.  That will likely begin next week, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency releases its Clean Power Plan, which will tell Ohio how much it needs to cut its carbon dioxide emissions.  That will be followed in August or early September by two reports done in-state. One is coming from the Ohio Legislature’s Energy Mandate Study Committee that is considering whether the state should resume, abandon or alter its energy efficiency and renewable energy standards, after freezing them in 2014.  Another will come from Ohio’s Energy Future, a group of clean-energy advocates that has been touring the state in recent months, working to get citizens and policymakers to advocate for state support of wind, solar and other forms of renewable power.  While OEF is concerned about the environment, its arguments are m...

From MarketWatch: The slump in oil prices isn't over yet, BP PLC's chief financial officer Brian Gilvary said Tuesday.  The company is positioning itself for a world in which oil prices remain "lower for longer," after the market tanked last June.  Though prices rebounded somewhat in the second quarter, they've fallen back in the last month after a nuclear deal with Iran raised the prospect of more supply in the coming months. Read the original article here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

In a decision that is likely driven by a desire to share the good production news ahead of the more disappointing financial figures, both Gulfport Energy and Eclipse Resources have chosen to issue press releases with operating results from the second quarter with a scheduled date included of when financial results will be coming. First, from Gulfport: Gulfport produced oil and natural gas sales volumes of 473.9 MMcfe per day during second quarter of 2015, representing a 12% increase over first quarter 2015 production of 424.4 MMcfe per day and a 196% increase over second quarter of 2014 production of 160.3 MMcfe per day. For the second quarter of 2015, Gulfport's production mix was approximately 77% natural gas, 13% natural gas liquids and 10% oil, as compared to 68% natural gas, 20% natural gas liquids and 12% oil during the first quarter of 2015 and 61% natural gas, 9% natural gas liquids and 29% oil during the second quarter of 2014.  Gulfport's second quarter of 201...

From a GreenHunter Resources press release: GreenHunter Resources, Inc. (NYSE MKT:GRH) (NYSE MKT:GRH.PC), a water disposal and total fluids management company operating in the Appalachian Basin, today announced production commencement late last week of the Harris C&W #1 (C&W) and McKelvey M #3 (McKelvey) SWD wells located at the Company’s Mills Hunter facility located in southeastern Ohio. The initial combined injection rate for the C&W and McKelvey wells is approximately 6,000 barrels per day, or approximately 3,000 barrels per day each. The increased injection capacity effectively raises GreenHunter’s overall disposal volumes from approximately 15,000 barrels per day to approximately 21,000 barrels per day, an increase of approximately 40 percent. Kirk Trosclair, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer said, “After a prolonged delay, we are finally able to report that two new disposal wells are online and operating near full capacity at our largest SWD fa...

by Jackie Stewart, Energy in Depth For the past five years EID has been following the anti-fracking campaigns of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), a Pennsylvania-based environmental activist group. Although CELDF has claimed that it’s not opposed to fracking, this claim does not withstand scrutiny. In fact, CELDF’s mission is actually far broader than just banning fracking, as its website  describes : “The Legal Defense Fund has now become the principal advisor to activists, community groups, and municipal governments struggling to transition from merely regulating corporate harms  to stopping those harms by asserting local, democratic  control directly over corporations .” (emphasis added) The public may not be familiar with CELDF itself, but its campaigns have become quite noticeable. More specifically, CELDF has been lobbying Ohio localities to adopt what it has termed “ Community Bill of Rights Fracking Ban ,” “ Anti-Fracking Bill of Rig...

The latest weekly update on Utica shale permitting in Ohio has been made available by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  It was another relatively slow week. Five new permits were issued.  Monroe County was the hot spot, with four of those five permits going to Gulfport Energy for wells there.  The only other permit was issued to Chesapeake Energy for its Ellie 19-14-6 1H well in Carroll County's Orange Township. The five new permits last week push the cumulative total to 1,980, with 1,543 wells drilled and 926 producing.  The Utica rig count held at 20. The report can be viewed below. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

Fulton County Expositor:   Court: NEXUS Can Conduct Surveys   -    "Fifteen Fulton County residents who adamantly refused NEXUS surveyors access to their property have been ordered by Common Pleas Court Judge James E. Barber to step aside and let the work be completed. However, the time to complete..." Seeking Alpha:   The Dry Gas Utica Is A Diamond - No Longer In The Rough And, As It Turns Out, As Big As The Ritz   -   "Those investors who are concerned that the Marcellus will run out of cheap natural gas too soon today have a reason to sigh with some relief - the Dry Gas Utica is standing by to help on the supply side and it is continuously proving to be a very capable..." Marcellus.com:   Oil, Gas Industry Will Bounce Back From Low Prices   -    "The oil and gas industry eventually will bounce back from low energy prices, an Ohio Oil and Gas Association spokesman says. Mike Chadsey, the association’s director of pu...

EQT CEO David Porges From Seeking Alpha's transcript of EQT's 2nd quarter earnings call: Moving on to our dry gas Utica well. Last week we successfully completed the fracking of this well. The frac was an 18 stage job in a 3,221 foot lateral that utilized ceramic proppant. We were able to successfully place 100% of the planned proppant while maintaining our desired pumping rates.  Last night we concluded a 24 hour deliverability test to sales of this well. During this test, the well averaged 72.9 million cubic feet per day with an average flowing casing pressure of 8,641 psi. This equates to a 24 hour IP per 1,000 foot of lateral of 22.6 million cubic feet per day. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest reported IP of any Utica well to-date and the per-foot rate is more than double the previous high. As you might expect, we're very pleased with the results of this well.  I want to make note of the fact that we were able to flow this well directly into t...

From Columbus CEO: First was the shale oil and gas boom. Eastern and southeastern Ohio saw a surge in lease activity, pipeline projects and hiring. New wealth trickled through the economy to car dealers, hotel operators and restaurants.  And then, late last year, the price of crude oil plummeted.  Now, Ohio’s shale country is an uncomfortable place, with elements of the boom still in place, and some companies facing what can only be described as a bust.  “To me there’s a very clear picture,” says David Hill, an independent oil and gas producer in Guernsey County, and president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association. “If you’re in the oil and gas business right now, you’re very, very concerned about your future.”  He is referring to a slice of the oil and gas business, the one that explores, drills and produces energy. One of his key indicators is the number of active drilling rigs, which was 23 at the end of May, down from 38 a year ago, according to Baker H...

From Forbes: Last year the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, initiated an economic oil war against the United States when it refused to cut production in November of 2014 like it usually does when oil prices drop. This was an attempt to drive some U.S. shale oil producers bankrupt and stem the flow of North American shale oil onto the global market.   In fact, OPEC actually increased oil production in November, which drove oil prices down to nearly $50/bbl, the price at which many shale producers can’t even break-even. But it hasn’t quite worked out the way they wanted.   In fact, I think they’ve lost this war by inadvertently making the U.S. shale oil industry leaner and meaner.   “ The deliverability of Middle East oil is just not there in the long-term ,” says David Zusman, Managing Partner of  Talara Capital Management , with whom a long discussion generated a clearer picture of what is coming for the future ...

From the Akron Beacon Journal: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown on Wednesday called for doing more to get rid of older railcars transporting hazardous materials to better protect Ohio communities.  “We’ve seen too many derailments of trains with unsafe cars, often carrying crude oil and other hazardous material. It’s time to put a stop to these dangerous and costly spills,” Brown said in a teleconference.  “That’s why I introduced legislation that would help reduce risks to communities near railroad tracks by phasing-out older tank cars, providing a tax credit to help companies upgrade to newer, safer cars and help communities better prepare for accidents,” he said.  Up to 50 trains per week carrying volatile crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale pass through Ohio on their way to East Coast refineries.  The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that trains carrying crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times per year for the next 20 years, ...