The Daily Digger

After being off last week, we've tried to catch you up to some of the most relevant stories we missed getting a chance to post about.  There are a couple more of those coming, but here is a quick rundown of some more just to get caught up.  It's today's Links of the Day. U.S. EIA:   Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Lead to Smaller Price Discounts in Appalachian Region   -    "As new pipeline projects and expansions are completed, the difference between the Henry Hub national benchmark price and daily spot natural gas prices at pricing hubs in the Appalachian region has narrowed. Through the first seven months of 2017, the difference between prices at the Henry Hub in Louisiana and at Dominion South in southwestern Pennsylvania averaged $0.53 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), about two-thirds..." Rigzone:   Energy Transfer Offering Exposes Pipeline Parent Trap   -   "Investors gave a thumbs up on Tuesday to Energy Transfer Partne...

by Jack Anderson, Energy in Depth The  Oregon Clean Energy Center  (OCEC) opened for business in Ohio on Monday. Ohio Gov. John Kasich visited OCEC to join the ceremonial ribbon-cutting as the facility came to life, adding 870 megawatts of power to the grid. The combined-cycle natural gas fired plant is officially the most environmentally friendly power plant in the state, and provides enough electricity to power over 700,000 homes. “We are excited to announce that the Oregon Clean Energy Center is online, providing clean, affordable reliable power to hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses and consumers,” said Peter Rigney, Projects General Manager at OCEC. “This milestone would not have been possible without the support and cooperation from the City of Oregon, from its initial approval of the project to reaching commercial operations this month.” OCEC’s development has provided an economic boom for the surrounding region. Investments totaling $800 million were ma...

From Bloomberg: U.S. shale oil will prevail over OPEC as the two rivals compete in an oversupplied world market, Citigroup Inc.’s head of research said.  The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies may have boosted oil prices by cutting production, but they’re losing revenue in the process and their position “is not sustainable over a long period,” Citigroup’s Ed Morse said in a Bloomberg television interview on Tuesday. On the other hand, U.S. shale drillers have adapted to survive prices as low as $40, he said.  “In the end, the markets are going to win, and it’s going to be shale,” Morse said. “If we’re in a $40 to $45 world, we’ll have enough drilling to add to the surplus in the world as a whole.”  Oil prices have lost 12 percent in London this year, trading near $50 a barrel, as output curbs by OPEC, Russia and other partners fail to drain a global surplus. U.S. shale explorers have boosted drilling and are poised to reach a record out...

From PennRecord: A man employed as a drilling fluid engineer for an oil and natural gas company alleges that he was not paid for overtime work.  Burton Williford filed a complaint on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated on July 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Division against Rice Energy Inc. alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that he was improperly classified as an independent contractor and was not paid any overtime compensation during his employment from June 2014 to April. The plaintiff holds Rice Energy Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly refused to pay overtime wages to the plaintiff despite working more than 40 hours per week and instead only paid a day rate.  The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks unpaid back wages, liquidated damages, interest, court costs and any further relief the court grants. He is repres...

From Reuters: U.S. shale oil companies are pulling back on the amount of sand they use to hydraulically fracture new wells, responding to rising prices of the material that are driving up costs.  Investors worry a slowdown in sand use, combined with new mining capacity coming online, could lead to a glut of the material and bring down prices. The worries have pressured shares of sand companies.  Sand prices soared in the last year as oil companies ramped up shale drilling and production.  But with crude LCoC1CLC1 prices below where they started the year, oil producers are employing new well designs and chemical agents that lessen the use of sand that represents around 12 percent of the cost of drilling and fracturing.  The price of frack sand is expected to rise 62 percent this year to average $47 a ton, according to researcher IHS Markit. That is expected to drive oilfield service price inflation to 15 percent over 2016, according to researchers at Wood Ma...

by Jackie Stewart, Energy in Depth A group of Ohio legislators and their staffs attended a “Natural Gas Lifecycle Tour” last week that illustrated the tremendous positive economic impact Utica Shale development is making across each segment of the Buckeye State’s natural gas industry. Thanks to accommodations by companies like Ascent Resources, MarkWest and Dynegy, the tour included a first-hand look at a well pad, midstream operations and a natural gas power plant, comprehensively illustrating the importance of pipelines for takeaway capacity, the need for end users of natural gas and the significant Utica Shale investment that is creating billions of dollars in economic activity and tax revenue. House Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman Al Landis attended the tour and  explained  to EID the importance of understanding the natural gas lifecycle, “These tours and informational meetings were very important to the process legislatively because legislators g...

New permits issued last week:   6   (Previous week:  6 )  +-0 Total horizontal permits issued:  2579   (Previous week:  2572 )  +7 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2090   (Previous week:  2076 )  +14 Total horizontal wells producing:  1615   (Previous week:  1613 )  +2 Utica rig count:  28   (Previous week:  21 )   +7 Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

Source: Jack Chan for Streetwise Reports   08/20/2017 Technical analyst Jack Chan charts the latest moves in the multiyear bear market in oil and gas. Our proprietary cycle indicator is down. $OSX is on a major sell signal. The trend remains down. Summary The energy sector is on a major sell signal. The trend is down; the cycle is down. The multiyear bear market continues. We closed out our long-term positions early this year and that will remain the case until conditions improve. Jack Chan is the editor of simply profits at www.simplyprofits.org , established in 2006. Chan bought his first mining stock, Hoko Exploration, in 1979, and has been active in the markets for the past 37 years. Technical analysis has helped him filter out the noise and focus on the when, and leave the why to the fundamental analysts. His proprietary trading models have enabled him to identify the NASDAQ top in 2000, the new gold bull market in 2001, t...

by Nicole Jacobs, Energy in Depth The Oil and Gas Industry Labor-Management Committee, led by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and North America’s Building Trades Unions, released a  report  this week showing the tremendous amount of work the pipeline industry provided to skilled trades unions from 2006 to 2015. Now that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)  officially has a quorum  to approve  $13 billion worth of projects – equating to 23,000 construction jobs  – that have been in limbo while FERC awaited confirmation of new commissioners, this trend of growth and opportunity for local unions should continue in 2017 and 2018. As Jack Gerard, API president and CEO, said in a  statement ,  “As the new study confirms, building new pipelines will create thousands of jobs for America’s skilled craft professionals across all 50 states. These are good-paying, middle class-sustaining jobs that do not rely on taxpayer dollars. “B...

Our availability for sharing new posts this week as limited, as I am tied up with some special training courses.  I will try to share a few posts later in the week to get caught up on some of the news that we are missing. I apologize for the inconvenience.  We'll be back to our regular schedule next week! Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

Seeking Alpha:   Gulfport Energy's (GPOR) CEO Mike Moore on Q2 2017 Results - Earnings Call Transcript   -    "On the operations front, in the Utica the team delivered solid results experiencing significant efficiencies at the drill bit and exceeding numerous previous records set in the field. During the second quarter, we spud 28 gross wells utilizing six operated rigs. The well released during the second quarter had an average drilled lateral length of approximately 8,409 feet, up 3% over the first quarter and 12%..." Seeking Alpha:   Rex Energy's (REXX) CEO Tom Stabley on Q2 2017 Results - Earnings Call Transcript   -    "Staying on the topic of liquidity, during the second quarter we closed on an agreement for the sale of our Salineville waterline in Warrior North Keystone Clearwater Services. The sale was for approximately $7 million in cash and an additional $1 million of water transfer work on upcoming pads in..." Cleveland.com: ...

by Jackie Stewart, Energy in Depth Columbus Business First  just released tax data showing that Utica Shale producing counties have the highest income growth in Ohio. And guess which county in Ohio has the highest income growth? Monroe County, home of the best natural gas producing wells in the state. The new report highlights similar reports over the past few years showing a correlation between oil and natural gas drilling and production with and the personal income growth of residents who live and work in those counties. The report found that from 2010 to 2015 tax filers in Monroe County reported more than $200,000 in adjusted gross income, representing a staggering  855 percent  jump. In fact the top six high-income growth counties are all squarely located in the core of Utica Shale development.  Recall that it was only four years ago that the Akron Beacon Journal  reported , “Shale has produced 630 new millionaires in two Ohio counties.” Source: Col...

From the Youngstown Vindicator: An anti-fracking charter amendment could be kept off the city’s Nov. 7 ballot by the Mahoning County Board of Elections because of a conflict with state law.  Gov. John Kasich signed a bill in January – effective April 6 – that included an amendment giving more discretion to county boards of elections to invalidate local charter proposals that conflict with state law and/or the state constitution.  The anti-fracking proposal, rejected six previous times by city voters, would require the city to ban hydraulic fracturing and any activity related to it including “the depositing, storage, treatment, injection, disposal, transport or processing of wastewater.”  However, state law gives jurisdiction over fracking to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  When the Ohio Senate approved the measure in December, state Sen. Kevin Bacon of Minerva Park, R-3rd, specifically mentioned the Youngstown anti-fracking proposal as a main rea...

From Seeking Alpha's transcript of Energy Transfer Partner's second quarter earnings call: As to Rover, construction of Phase 1 is substantially complete with 100% cleared and graded and the pipes strong, welded and lowered in. We expect to be finished with the construction of Phase 1a from Cadiz to Defiance by next week and plan to immediately ask for permission to bring Phase 1a in service. On Phase 1b from Seneca to Cadiz, once we receive approval from FERC to drill under Captina Creek, we believe we will have it drilled and completed in approximately 40 days, at which point we will request FERC permission to bring this segment into service. When approved, all of Phase 1 will be in service. We are waiting on approval from FERC to resume drilling the HDDs. In the meantime, we continue construction on all phases of the pipeline except the HDDs. Assuming quick resolution by FERC regarding Phase 2, we expect to be in service by the end of November or early December with full c...

From WHIZ News: The two-day meeting was a chance for more than 300 operators, suppliers, contractors and industry affiliates to get together for fun and professional development.  Shawn Bennett, OOGA Executive Vice President, said the oil and gas industry is the third most important industry in the state of Ohio.  “So not only do we bring energy, we provide well-paying jobs as well as royalties to land owners across the state,” said Bennett. “When you look at this industry in the state of Ohio, while it’s largely unnoticed from people outside of the oil and gas producing region it provides significant benefits for all Ohioans.”  Bennett said the industry has seen a downturn in previous years, but that trend is expected to change. View the original article by clicking here. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

From Natural Gas Now: I have joyous news for all our readers. Cabot Oil & Gas has fired a shot against the seedy trial lawyers and even seedier hustlers trying to earn fame and money with jugs of brown water and filthy accusations surrounding Dimock. Cabot has filed a lawsuit against pig farm suer Charlie Speer, his Luzerne County trial lawyer associates and Ray Kemble, the  Dimock junkyard plaintiff  fractivists have descended to using as an example despite his complete lack of credibility on virtually anything.   It’s a $5 million lawsuit enjoyable to read for entertainment but, more than that and the obvious quest for justice, this is a glorious opportunity to expose some of the special interests behind fractivism. Discovery is going to be a nightmare for Speer, Kemble and allies.   The lawsuit  may be found here  and I’ve highlighted the important parts. Here are some of the basics (emphasis added):   Prior to 2012, Defendant Speer, a ...

From BTU Analytics: While electricity rate cases will most likely be the bulk of the commission’s backlog, a few important Appalachian pipe projects are in there as well, notably Nexus and PennEast, both of which have missed their scheduled certificate approval dates (which were due in February and July, respectively) as a result of the lack of a FERC quorum. In February 2017 when there was a push by FERC to approve projects prior to losing its quorum, both Rover and Atlantic Sunrise received their approval, while NEXUS’ decision was left out. This was based on FERC’s methodology of addressing projects by their original application date. Now with FERC’s quorum restored, there is no reason to think it will be delayed much longer.  Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley are both scheduled to receive their certificate approval at the end of September. FERC should be in full swing of things by then, however any ramifications due to the backlog of approvals would put this timi...

The laundry list of problems that have occurred in connection with construction of the Rover pipeline are hardly a secret.  Spills, destruction of a home that was under consideration for registry as a historic landmark, and upsetting farmers by pumping rainwater out of trenches into fields have been a few of the stories that have marked the months since Energy Transfer Partners began working in earnest on the pipeline. Now an article from Oil & Gas is highlighting more of the reasons that local residents are upset with ETP, as even those that fought to carefully craft their agreements with the company are finding that they have a new fight on their hands as the company rushes to complete the project.  An excerpt: After the Rover Pipeline was announced and Roger Meggyesy learned it would bisect farmland he owns, he expressed concerns about maintaining the quality of the topsoil and proper mitigation programs to restore productivity.  That was in 2015. Fast-forwa...

From Seeking Alpha's transcript of Antero Resources' second quarter earnings call: Holly Stewart   Okay and then maybe, final one for me. Since you hit on Rover, the delays. I know you guys have kind of shifted some activity back to the Utica in preparation for that project coming online has this delay impacted any thoughts on kind of the development schedule?   Paul Rady   Not really, those Utica wells and pads are being drilled down, so we're timing the completion to dovetail with Rover Phase 1 as it arrives at Seneca, our latest estimate and obviously we're in contact with both energy transfer on the Rover project as well as with regulatory people on the other side and do see that the project is moving forward. We expect Rover Phase 1 to get to Seneca in September, October and so we'll time the completion of our pads there in the Utica to that. And then we would expect Rover Phase 2, it's probably a month or two behind that. So we're thinking Octo...

From Reuters: Energy Transfer Partners LP said on Friday sabotage or an accident might have caused diesel to get into drilling fluid that spilled into an Ohio wetland during construction of its Rover natural gas pipeline, but opponents of the project disagreed with the sabotage theory.  U.S. energy regulators banned ETP from new horizontal directional drilling in May until the company explains how diesel, prohibited under its permit, got into 2 million gallons of drilling fluid that spilled into the Tuscarawas River wetland.  Environmental agencies are probing whether ETP's contractor may have used diesel to lubricate the drill to make it easier to cut through rock when crossing large obstacles like highways and rivers.  ETP said it did not believe the contractor used diesel.  "Rover theorizes that these diesel concentrations could have been caused by an inadvertent and unreported spill or leak from equipment operating during the clean-up, or it could have...

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New permits issued last week:   6   (Previous week:  24 )  -18 Total horizontal permits issued:  2572   (Previous week:  2566 )  +6 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2076   (Previous week:  2063 )  +13 Total horizontal wells producing:  1613   (Previous week:  1590 )  +23 Utica rig count:  21   (Previous week:  27 )   -6 Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog