Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s board of directors Thursday said it was working with CEO Aubrey McClendon to end the Founder Well Participation Program (FWPP) in which the CEO has the contractual right to participate and invest up to a 2.5% working interest in every new well the company drills.
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Industry Brief
A regional approach to siting drilling infrastructure in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale is needed to help minimize development in core forest and productive agricultural lands and to decrease potential risk to waterways, according to researchers at Pennsylvania State University. A study conducted by the university’s College of Agricultural Sciences found that shale gas development is causing rapid landscape change. “The development of new roads to support drilling could affect forest ecosystem integrity via increased fragmentation,” said Patrick Drohan, assistant professor of pedology. Drohan estimated that slightly more than half of the well pads in Pennsylvania are on agricultural land and most of the rest are on forestland. The study found that drilling is competing with food production for space on the landscape.
Coal Mine Water Said Feasible for Shale Drilling
Abandoned coal mines in Pennsylvania may be a technically viable source of water for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations, but economics and regulations ultimately could decide whether operators find the solution feasible, according to a recent report by the Rand Corp.
ExxonMobil Calls Chesapeake Purchase ‘Strategic’
Chesapeake Energy Corp. last week clinched a trio of natural gas and oil transactions in unconventional U.S. fields that together would give the company total proceeds of $2.6 billion in cash. Among them was the sale to ExxonMobil Corp. of 58,400 acres in the Texoma Woodford Shale for $590 million in cash.
$2B Worth of Pipeline Projects Target Marcellus Gas
If there were any more proof needed that there’s too much gas in the Marcellus Shale region and it needs to get out, the industry got it last week with the announcement of two pipeline projects — estimated to cost about $1 billion each — that would carry Marcellus supplies to greener markets.
Study: Marcellus Boom Not Driving Up Crime Rates
The Marcellus Shale boom does not appear to be driving up crime rates in Pennsylvania, but more research is needed to gauge the actual impact, according to a Pennsylvania State University report.
Northwest Gas Infrastructure Still Needed, NW Natural CEO Says
Despite 10-year low natural gas prices dampening the short-term economics, more gas pipeline and storage infrastructure ultimately is needed in the Pacific Northwest, according to Gregg Kantor, CEO of Portland, OR-based NW Natural Corp. Kantor made the remarks in reporting decreased profits on a conference call with financial analysts Tuesday.
North America Lifts Oilfield Specialty Chemicals Market
Driven mostly by North America, the world market for oilfield specialty chemicals climbed to almost $16 billion in 2010, with the United States and Canada accounting for more than half (52%), according to a global market study by IHS Chemical.
Obama Administration Denies Keystone Pipeline Permit
The Obama administration on Wednesday denied the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline proposal on the recommendation of the U.S. State Department, saying at this time it is not in the U.S. national interest to build the 1,700-mile link from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).
Transportation Notes
Saying it needed to protect system integrity and due to excessive hourly takes exceeding scheduled quantities, Tennessee issued meter-specific Balancing Alert OFOs Monday affecting two LMSMA contracts (71054 and 943030). They are required to maintain an actual daily flow rate not exceeding 2% or 500 Dth, whichever is greater, of scheduled quantities.