The Daily Digger

From WTOV: Since the announcement of a new power plant to be built in Harrison County, Project Best is partnering with local elected officials to discuss continued economic growth. Dozens of community leaders gathered Tuesday at Capraro's Restaurant & Lounge in Hopedale to discuss the bright future that lies ahead for the county "Harrison County has remarkable growth over the past couple of years. We just want to help them and support them and continue to grow Harrison County," said Project BEST Co-Chair Ginny Favede.  Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog

From Vorys Energy & Environmental Law Blog: Yesterday, September 25, 2018, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued the decision of Dundics v. Eric Petroleum Corporation, 2018-Ohio-3826 , which could have broad implications for third-party landmen, land companies and oil and gas producers in Ohio. In that decision, the Court held that the Ohio Real Estate Brokers’ statute, R.C. Chapter 4735, applies to transactions involving oil and gas. Specifically, the Court held that an outside landman must be a licensed real estate broker in order to seek compensation for work performed in obtaining an oil and gas lease on behalf of a producer.  In Dundics, an outside landman sued a producer for breach of contract, claiming that the producer failed to make promised payments for work performed by the landman in obtaining oil and gas leases. The producer moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that because the landman was not a licensed real estate broker, the landman was not entitled to enforc...

by Dan Alfaro, Energy in Depth The taxpayers of Youngstown, Ohio, are once again being forced to foot the bill for a ballot measure that would ban fracking in the community, despite voting against the measure  seven times  previously . And the activists behind this movement have made it clear that they simply don’t care. Thomas Lindsey, the co-founder of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) – the out-of-state activist group that has repeatedly tried and failed to pass a ballot measure that would ban fracking and all fossil fuel-related activity in Youngstown – has  stated  that he doesn’t mind  bankrupting  communities as a means to an end in advancing CELDF’s agenda. “And if a town goes bankrupt trying to defend one of our ordinances, well, perhaps that’s exactly what is needed to trigger a national movement.” And apparently, one of the primary activists behind the  seven-times defeated  CELDF-backed “Community Bill o...

From The Press: State Senator Randy Gardner, R – Bowling Green, said last week he’s accepted an invitation by the Woodmore school board to discuss property tax revenues from the Nexus pipeline and he tentatively plans to attend the board’s October meeting.  “I told them I would be glad to meet with them and talk,” Gardner said. “The challenge is going to be there is not going to be any specific answer as to how much money will be available from any pipeline company and there is no definitive answer it will have on state funding. By the time this revenue would be available the next state budget would be in effect so the funding formula is likely to change.  “It also depends on other factors that happen to the district – valuations change, student population changes. One factor of state aid is the local property tax wealth of the school district. Arguably, if there is a pipeline that adds valuation to the school district, the total value of state aid could ...

by Nicole Jacobs, Energy in Depth In  Food & Water Watch’s  (FWW) ongoing pursuit to  ban   fracking   everywhere , the group recently released an  issue brief  that attacks the major petrochemical and plastics investments being made in the Appalachian Basin, calling the region “Another Petrochemical Sacrifice Zone.” Why? Because FWW believes that if it can squash the  estimated $36 billion potential petrochemical investments  for the region, the group can also achieve its long-term goal of banning fracking. From the report, “Without the petrochemical and plastics industries to sop up the excess gas supply, it does not make economic sense to maintain the fracking frenzy when gas prices are this low.” In fact, FWW’s top recommendations (resulting from the exaggerated risks in its report) clearly lay out the group’s “Keep It In the Ground” agenda: “Banning fracking everywhere” “Stopping fossil fuel exports and the construction o...

From the Pittsburgh Business Times: An expert in strategic communication for energy company expects the environment to get even more challenging for midstream companies as it deals with protests, recent challenges to construction and incidents like the Beaver County pipeline blast earlier this month.  Environmentalists with deep pockets are challenging the pipeline industry with strategies that are leading to long delays for pipeline projects, said Jackie Stewart, managing director of FTI Consulting. And that, coupled with regulatory delays, are skyrocketing costs.  "These things are not going to go away. They are going to get worse as we continue to go along, especially in light of the recent events," Stewart said.  The Appalachian Regional Conference brought together midstream personnel and was sponsored by GPA Midstream Appalachian Basin. It comes at a time of increased scrutiny for the pipeline industry, after high-profile regulatory challenges and delays for...

From a JobsOhio press release : Ohio has emerged as a national leader in  energy , largely due to the state’s shale industry, which has served as the biggest driver of energy growth in the country and has contributed to the attraction of over $70 billion in new private sector energy investments in Ohio alone. When factoring in the rest of the Ohio Valley region, this number is significantly larger. These investments from the U.S. and abroad, combined with continued job growth, additional tax revenue and an abundance of low-cost, clean shale energy and electricity have resulted in a positive ripple effect on Ohio’s communities, businesses and consumers.   Much of this growth can be attributed to Ohio’s proximity to the Utica and Marcellus shale formations in eastern Ohio, offering an abundance of low-cost natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oils, and accounting for more than 85 percent of U.S. shale gas production growth since 2011. Additionally, the formations have...

by Dan Alfaro, Energy in Depth In what’s become a predictable fall tradition, two more  Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF)  anti-fracking “Bill of Rights” initiatives met their rightful ends at the hands of Ohio’s Supreme Court, as the high court recently issued decisions to uphold the rulings of the Franklin County and Lucas County boards of election to keep the measures off the November ballot. Earlier this month, the Franklin County Board of Elections (BOE) rejected the certification of the “ Community Bill of Rights for Water, Soil and Air Protection ” after correctly determining the scope of the measure would exceed local authority to implement. CELDF and its cohorts requested the court allow for the initiative to remain on the ballot, but by a  6-1 majority  the Supreme Court justices agreed with the BOE: “… We deny the writ and hold that the board members did not abuse their discretion in finding that the proposed ballot measure is beyo...

by Dan Alfaro, Energy in Depth Gasland director Josh Fox has taken his new one-man-play  “The Truth Has Changed”  on the road. Fox made recent stops in Youngstown and Columbus, Ohio, and EID was on hand at both “shows” to capture Mr. Fox’s latest thoughts… Given the  thorough  rebuke of his previous anti-fracking works by the  scientific  and  regulatory  communities, one might think the title of his act implies Fox will finally come clean on what he’d previously presented as truth about oil and gas development, and on the practices and processes involved in the industry. But, alas, the three-hour (yes,  three hours ) solo-performance is but a stream-of-conscious of Fox’s take on “deep state” theories. He does, however, reveal one “truth” – how he really feels about his vast number of detractors. Through vivid dream sequences, reminiscing about the life as a delegate for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and presenting Steve Bannon as the...

From The Daily Jeffersonian: Representatives of Ascent Resources and the Ohio Oil and Gas Association hosted U.S. Congressman Bill Johnson on a tour of a Utica shale drilling rig in Guernsey County. Ascent Resources is located in Cambridge, with headquarters in Oklahoma.  After proceeding through security and watching a safety video, the tour commenced with a walk around the well pad to see the various pieces of equipment on site and how the pad is laid out to ensure safety and efficiency. Next the group checked in with the crew in what is known in the industry as the “doghouse” for a visit. It was there that the Congressman first commented on the impressive technology in place to protect Ohio’s precious water resources. Here, the driller showed the congressman how they take the pipe downhole, what precautions they use during the process and how intricate the equipment used really is.  While everyone was watching and listening to the crew explain what was happening the...

From The Columbus Dispatch: Matt Hammond, the new leader of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association knows the organization is heading in the right direction. He just wants to make sure members and others in the industry know that, also. In a visit to Cambridge recently, Hammond used the term “demand opportunities” several times. That’s because, despite his recent time in his role as the group’s executive vice president, he’s not a newcomer to the industry and knows that’s the next step for the region. “We need a message more about the oil and gas product,” Hammond said. “We all have to understand how the ripple effect is playing out in Ohio. In Dayton, Cincinnati, they don’t make the connection about how the cost of living has dropped because of the gas and oil industry. Even in those areas, there are construction jobs being created and other industry jobs being created.” “This increase in natural gas creates jobs, whether it’s construction in the initial phase or later in the development ...

New permits issued last week:   4   (Previous week:  6 )  -2 Total horizontal permits issued:  2889  (Previous week:  2890 )  -1 Total horizontal wells drilled:  2421  (Previous week:  2414 )  +7 Total horizontal wells producing:  2025  (Previous week:  2022 )  +3 Utica rig count:  18  (Previous week:  18 )  +-0 Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter! Follow @EnergyNewsBlog