12/15/17 Links of the Day: New Fracking Studies, New Court Decisions, and More
Stanford News: Small Quakes at Fracking Sites May Indicate Bigger Tremors to Come - "Stanford geoscientists have devised a way of detecting thousands of faint, previously missed earthquakes triggered by hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” The technique can be used to monitor seismic activities at fracking operations to help reduce the likelihood of bigger, potentially damaging earthquakes from occurring, according to..."
Associated Press: Gas Driller: Make Homeowner Pay for Disparaging Us - "A gas driller argued in court Monday that it's entitled to monetary damages from a Pennsylvania homeowner who continued bad-mouthing the company after settling his water-contamination lawsuit against it more than five years ago. Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. claims Dimock resident Ray Kemble and his former lawyers tried to extort the company..."
Oil and Gas Investor: Eclipse Acquires New Utica Core for "Cheap" $93.7 Million - "Eclipse Resources Corp. (NYSE: ECR) entered an agreement on Dec. 11 to acquire about 44,500 highly contiguous net acres in north-central Pennsylvania, which analysts said will add another core area to the company's Utica Shale portfolio for “cheap.” The State College, Pa.-based company and its subsidiary, Eclipse Resources-PA LP, agreed to acquire the Utica assets from EnCap-backed Travis Peak Resources LLC in an..."
Oil & Gas Journal: Moody's: Oil, Gas Industry to Continue Recovery in 2018 - "The oil and gas industry will continue its slow recovery as upstream companies increase production, helping the midstream and services businesses as well, according to Moody’s 2018 outlook. Excess supply will continue to dampen oil prices in the coming year. Natural gas prices, on the other hand, will benefit from higher demand, but price gains will still..."
Energy & Environmental Law Blog: Recent Ohio Oil and Gas Decisions - "Over the last several weeks, Ohio courts issued a few decisions involving oil and gas issues that we wanted to briefly mention: Schillo v. Chesapeake Exploration, LLC (Harrison Cty. C.P., Oct. 16, 2017) – Here, the dispute was whether the lessee properly extended an oil and gas lease through the tender of delay rental payments. The lessee tendered the rentals by..."
The Intelligencer: Ohio Valley Wonders if Ethane Cracker is Still in the Pipeline - "As 2017 nears its conclusion, Upper Ohio Valley residents continue waiting for a decision on the PTT Global Chemical ethane cracker — a potential $6 billion investment for which company officials in February said they anticipated a final decision by the end of this year. “I am, like everyone else, just waiting to find out,” Ohio Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire, said. “I am waiting and anxiously..."
Energy & Environmental Law Blog: Eclipse Res.-Ohio, LLC v. Madzia - "Last week, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Eclipse Res.—Ohio, LLC v. Madzia, concerning a dispute between a landowner and a lessee regarding the latter’s drilling rights. Among other things, the court found: The lease, which conveyed to the lessee a broad grant of rights to use the landowner’s property for drilling—including the right to..."
Bloomberg: OPEC Wakes Up to the Threat of U.S. Shale 2.0 - "OPEC predicted that global oil markets won’t rebalance until late next year after boosting forecasts for supplies from the U.S. and other rivals. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ monthly report raised its outlook for non-OPEC supply in 2018 by 300,000 barrels a day, as its projections for American output caught up with those of the U.S. government. As a result..."
U.S. News: Studies Find Dangerous Bacteria Near Texas Fracking Sites - "Two new studies from University of Texas at Arlington researchers show harmful bacteria levels in groundwater near hydraulically fractured gas drilling sites. The studies published in the peer-reviewed journal Science of the Total Environment show antibiotic-resistant bacteria exist in private water wells in the Barnett Shale and Eagle Ford Shale regions..."
Energy in Depth: UTA Research Finds No Definitive Link Between Fracking and Water Contamination - "Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington’s (UTA) Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation (CLEAR) recently released three new reports examining the diversity of bacteria found in water wells in the Eagle Ford and Barnett Shales. These reports claim that potential contamination from drilling activities impacted the bacteria found in the groundwater – bacteria that could..."
Star Beacon: Dozens Attend Open House to Learn About $86 Million Project - "A proposed $86 million pipeline proponents say will address a natural gas shortage in the northeast corner of Ashtabula County could be operational in one year, according to information shared at a project open house Tuesday night in North Kingsville. “We hope to get approval (for the project) by June 1, start construction in July and have the pipeline in by the end of next year,” Øivind Risberg, of RH energytrans, told more than 100 in attendance..."
Crain's Cleveland Business: Fairmount Santrol Shareholders to Receive $170 Million as Company Agrees to Merge with Unimin Corp. - "Frack sand miner Fairmount Santrol (NYSE: FMSA) of Chesterland announced Tuesday morning, Dec. 12, that it plans to merge with Unimin Corp., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Belgium's SCR-Sibelco NV, in a deal that will create an industrial mineral company with about $2 billion in annual revenue. Directors of both companies have approved a definitive agreement under which Fairmount Santrol and Unimin will combine in a tax-free, cash and stock..."
Business Journal Daily: Public Comment Open on Proposed Brookfield Wells - "Residents interested in providing public comment related to the development of three new injection wells planned for the township have until Christmas Day to do so. Highland Field Services LLC, based in Pittsburgh, started informing the public through legal notices in area newspapers last week. Under Ohio law, the public has 15 days to comment after the final notice is published, which was Sunday. The deadline to submit comments is..."
Washington Post: Fracking Sites May Raise the Risks of Underweight Babies, New Study Says - "Living within half a mile of a hydraulic fracturing site carries a serious risk for pregnant women, a new study has found. The drilling technique, also known as fracking, injects high-pressure water laced with chemicals into underground rock to release natural gas. Women who lived within that distance to fracking operations in Pennsylvania were 25 percent more likely to give birth to low-weight infants than..."
Energy in Depth: Six Flaws in a New Report Trying to Link Fracking to Infant Health Issues - "Earlier today, EID highlighted six facts to know about a new study claiming to show “evidence” that fracking is responsible for greater incidences of low birth weights, most of which call the study’s topline finding into question. Fact No. 8 emerged soon after our blog post went live, and it reveals a probable motive for the researchers arriving at that inflammatory topline finding despite numerous limitations and contradictory data. Turns out..."
Energy in Depth: Wayne National Forest Auctions Rake in Over $8 Million in Sales - "The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) competitive online auctions of federal minerals in the Wayne National Forest have resulted in mineral sales of just over $8 million. To date, there have been four sales, the most recent occurring today, which yielded approximately $944,000, based on closing bid results. The first two sales generated $1,515,110 for 12 Appalachian counties in Ohio, according to federal officials, who recently presented..."
Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!
Follow @EnergyNewsBlog
Associated Press: Gas Driller: Make Homeowner Pay for Disparaging Us - "A gas driller argued in court Monday that it's entitled to monetary damages from a Pennsylvania homeowner who continued bad-mouthing the company after settling his water-contamination lawsuit against it more than five years ago. Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. claims Dimock resident Ray Kemble and his former lawyers tried to extort the company..."
Oil and Gas Investor: Eclipse Acquires New Utica Core for "Cheap" $93.7 Million - "Eclipse Resources Corp. (NYSE: ECR) entered an agreement on Dec. 11 to acquire about 44,500 highly contiguous net acres in north-central Pennsylvania, which analysts said will add another core area to the company's Utica Shale portfolio for “cheap.” The State College, Pa.-based company and its subsidiary, Eclipse Resources-PA LP, agreed to acquire the Utica assets from EnCap-backed Travis Peak Resources LLC in an..."
Oil & Gas Journal: Moody's: Oil, Gas Industry to Continue Recovery in 2018 - "The oil and gas industry will continue its slow recovery as upstream companies increase production, helping the midstream and services businesses as well, according to Moody’s 2018 outlook. Excess supply will continue to dampen oil prices in the coming year. Natural gas prices, on the other hand, will benefit from higher demand, but price gains will still..."
Energy & Environmental Law Blog: Recent Ohio Oil and Gas Decisions - "Over the last several weeks, Ohio courts issued a few decisions involving oil and gas issues that we wanted to briefly mention: Schillo v. Chesapeake Exploration, LLC (Harrison Cty. C.P., Oct. 16, 2017) – Here, the dispute was whether the lessee properly extended an oil and gas lease through the tender of delay rental payments. The lessee tendered the rentals by..."
The Intelligencer: Ohio Valley Wonders if Ethane Cracker is Still in the Pipeline - "As 2017 nears its conclusion, Upper Ohio Valley residents continue waiting for a decision on the PTT Global Chemical ethane cracker — a potential $6 billion investment for which company officials in February said they anticipated a final decision by the end of this year. “I am, like everyone else, just waiting to find out,” Ohio Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire, said. “I am waiting and anxiously..."
Energy & Environmental Law Blog: Eclipse Res.-Ohio, LLC v. Madzia - "Last week, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Eclipse Res.—Ohio, LLC v. Madzia, concerning a dispute between a landowner and a lessee regarding the latter’s drilling rights. Among other things, the court found: The lease, which conveyed to the lessee a broad grant of rights to use the landowner’s property for drilling—including the right to..."
Bloomberg: OPEC Wakes Up to the Threat of U.S. Shale 2.0 - "OPEC predicted that global oil markets won’t rebalance until late next year after boosting forecasts for supplies from the U.S. and other rivals. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ monthly report raised its outlook for non-OPEC supply in 2018 by 300,000 barrels a day, as its projections for American output caught up with those of the U.S. government. As a result..."
U.S. News: Studies Find Dangerous Bacteria Near Texas Fracking Sites - "Two new studies from University of Texas at Arlington researchers show harmful bacteria levels in groundwater near hydraulically fractured gas drilling sites. The studies published in the peer-reviewed journal Science of the Total Environment show antibiotic-resistant bacteria exist in private water wells in the Barnett Shale and Eagle Ford Shale regions..."
Energy in Depth: UTA Research Finds No Definitive Link Between Fracking and Water Contamination - "Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington’s (UTA) Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation (CLEAR) recently released three new reports examining the diversity of bacteria found in water wells in the Eagle Ford and Barnett Shales. These reports claim that potential contamination from drilling activities impacted the bacteria found in the groundwater – bacteria that could..."
Star Beacon: Dozens Attend Open House to Learn About $86 Million Project - "A proposed $86 million pipeline proponents say will address a natural gas shortage in the northeast corner of Ashtabula County could be operational in one year, according to information shared at a project open house Tuesday night in North Kingsville. “We hope to get approval (for the project) by June 1, start construction in July and have the pipeline in by the end of next year,” Øivind Risberg, of RH energytrans, told more than 100 in attendance..."
Crain's Cleveland Business: Fairmount Santrol Shareholders to Receive $170 Million as Company Agrees to Merge with Unimin Corp. - "Frack sand miner Fairmount Santrol (NYSE: FMSA) of Chesterland announced Tuesday morning, Dec. 12, that it plans to merge with Unimin Corp., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Belgium's SCR-Sibelco NV, in a deal that will create an industrial mineral company with about $2 billion in annual revenue. Directors of both companies have approved a definitive agreement under which Fairmount Santrol and Unimin will combine in a tax-free, cash and stock..."
Business Journal Daily: Public Comment Open on Proposed Brookfield Wells - "Residents interested in providing public comment related to the development of three new injection wells planned for the township have until Christmas Day to do so. Highland Field Services LLC, based in Pittsburgh, started informing the public through legal notices in area newspapers last week. Under Ohio law, the public has 15 days to comment after the final notice is published, which was Sunday. The deadline to submit comments is..."
Washington Post: Fracking Sites May Raise the Risks of Underweight Babies, New Study Says - "Living within half a mile of a hydraulic fracturing site carries a serious risk for pregnant women, a new study has found. The drilling technique, also known as fracking, injects high-pressure water laced with chemicals into underground rock to release natural gas. Women who lived within that distance to fracking operations in Pennsylvania were 25 percent more likely to give birth to low-weight infants than..."
Energy in Depth: Six Flaws in a New Report Trying to Link Fracking to Infant Health Issues - "Earlier today, EID highlighted six facts to know about a new study claiming to show “evidence” that fracking is responsible for greater incidences of low birth weights, most of which call the study’s topline finding into question. Fact No. 8 emerged soon after our blog post went live, and it reveals a probable motive for the researchers arriving at that inflammatory topline finding despite numerous limitations and contradictory data. Turns out..."
Energy in Depth: Wayne National Forest Auctions Rake in Over $8 Million in Sales - "The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) competitive online auctions of federal minerals in the Wayne National Forest have resulted in mineral sales of just over $8 million. To date, there have been four sales, the most recent occurring today, which yielded approximately $944,000, based on closing bid results. The first two sales generated $1,515,110 for 12 Appalachian counties in Ohio, according to federal officials, who recently presented..."
Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!
Follow @EnergyNewsBlog
