New Jersey isn’t even a player in the shale game, but lawmakers there have decided to leave the stadium altogether.
Permits
Articles from Permits
West Virginia County, Cities to Discuss Fracking Ordinance
Elected officials from Monongalia County, WV, will meet their counterparts from the cities of Morgantown and Westover for a work session Wednesday to discuss Morgantown’s proposed ban on hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking).
Shell Targeting Marcellus Gas with Ethylene Cracker
Royal Dutch Shell said Monday it is planning to build a “world-scale” ethylene cracker with integrated derivative units in the Marcellus Shale in Appalachia. The cracker would process ethane from Marcellus natural gas to produce ethylene, one of the primary building blocks for petrochemicals.
Interior Mulls Remotely Monitoring Offshore Rigs
Remote monitoring of offshore oil and natural gas drilling projects is being considered by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM), Michael Bromwich said Monday.
Drilling Lease OK’d by Park Board in Suburban Pittsburgh
A suburban Pittsburgh regional park authority in Allegheny County, PA, voted Thursday to sign a five-year, non surface lease with a Pittsburgh land brokerage firm that could lead to Marcellus drilling under the one park the authority runs. The agreement still needs to be approved by four of the five communities that the authority represents.
Barnett Shale Town Institutes Drilling Ban
The Bartonville, TX, Town Council on March 30 instituted a 90-day moratorium on new permits related to natural gas drilling and production.
Industry Briefs
The Morgantown City Council is considering a resolution to request that West Virginia stop issuing drilling permits in its portion of the Marcellus Shale “until comprehensive legislation and inspection resources for horizontal well drilling are established to effectively protect public water resources, public health and public safety.” The resolution echoes the sentiments of a group of West Virginia House of Delegates members who have called on the state Department of Environmental Protection to institute a drilling ban until the legislature is called into special session and passes new Marcellus regulations (see Shale Daily, March 21). The legislature failed to pass proposed Marcellus regulations this year, and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has said he isn’t likely to give lawmakers a second chance by calling a special session (see Shale Daily, March 17; March 15). Recently Lewisburg, WV, the county seat of Greenbrier County, also called for a special session to address Marcellus issues. The Morgantown City Council could vote on the resolution Tuesday (April 5).
Questerre to Defer Utica Shale Projects
Questerre Energy Corp. said late Monday it is deferring two exploration projects in its primary development area, the Utica Shale in Quebec’s St. Lawrence Lowlands, and will decide whether to proceed after the provincial government’s environmental review panel issues a report on shale gas development in February.
Weak Gas Prices Fail to Slow Marcellus Producers, Says Williams
Activity in the Marcellus Shale hasn’t declined even in the face of weak natural gas prices, a Williams Cos. executive said Thursday.
Industry Briefs
The New York Senate overwhelmingly approved a temporary ban on drilling in the state’s portion of the Marcellus Shale by a 49-9 vote. The measure would prohibit new drilling permits until May 15, when further environmental studies by the Environmental Protection Agency are expected to be completed. The state’s General Assembly has not yet taken up the measure. The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York has fought the bills. “New York simply cannot afford to wait to tap this homegrown resource,” the association’s website says of the Marcellus Shale.