Marcellus

Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) Kathleen Kane’s office appears to be pressing ahead with a far-reaching investigation into the royalty deductions by Chesapeake Energy Corp. from landowner’s checks, most recently issuing administrative subpoenas to multiple companies operating in the state.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has determined that WPX Energy Inc.’s Marcellus Shale operations contaminated the water sources of three families living in Westmoreland County, and DEP has issued an order to permanently replace each of their supplies.

As pipelines scurry to develop takeaway capacity from the oversupplied Marcellus/Utica shale region, a Morningstar Commodities Research analyst said the consequences of development will be both bullish and bearish for prices, depending upon where one’s gas lands.

Antero Resources Corp. inspired mixed reactions late Tuesday when it increased this year’s capital expenditure (capex) budget by nearly $1 billion and said production guidance would increase nominally, while electing to delay plans for a dry natural gas Utica test in West Virginia because of depressed prices.

Odebrecht Organization has taken another step in its plans to construct a multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker and three associated polyethylene plants in West Virginia, submitting a voluntary remediation program (VRP) application to the state.

MarkWest Energy Partners LP said Tuesday that it will once again expand processing and fractionation capacity at its Keystone complex in western Pennsylvania, primarily in support of Rex Energy Corp.’s growing operations there.

A new poll shows opposition to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has hit a new high among voters in New York State. Most poll respondents agreed that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been avoiding making a decision about the practice.

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP is pushing back against two administrative law judges (ALJ) who recommended in July that the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) not grant the company public utility status for its Mariner East pipeline.

Consol Energy Inc. and Noble Energy Inc. have filed paperwork with federal regulators for an initial public offering (IPO) in a master limited partnership (MLP) that will provide midstream services for the companies’ joint operations in the Marcellus Shale.