Utica Shale

A recently released study by the FrackTracker Alliance shows that water use and wastewater generated from horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has dramatically increased in the Appalachian Basin since 2010, leading to a corresponding increase in the use of Class II underground injection wells, especially in Ohio.

The well count and rig count in the U.S. onshore both increased slightly during the second quarter of 2014. The former was boosted by strong gains in the Permian Basin, Marcellus Shale and Granite Wash formation, while the latter reflected a slight improvement in drilling efficiencies, Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) said Friday.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. agreed to purchase the remaining mineral rights of bankrupt aluminum producer Ormet Corp. in Monroe County, OH, and Wetzel County, WV, for $22.3 million, according to documents filed in a Delaware bankruptcy court last week.

In response to customer interest, TransCanada Corp.’s ANR Pipeline has proposed a project to connect its system with Utica/Marcellus shale gas, enabling it to access multiple markets downstream of the ANR system.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is considering examining the link between horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and seismic activity after Ohio recently tied a series of small earthquakes to stimulation operations at a well near the state border and issued new permitting requirements for wells near fault lines.

After four years of grabbing land, staking wells from north to south and fueling a rush of ongoing speculation, an annual production report released last week by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) demonstrates just how rapidly development in the Utica Shale has grown since it hit investor radar screens in 2010.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and former subsidiary Access Midstream Partners LP cheated Pennsylvania landowners of more than $5 billion in natural gas and oil royalties through inflated and unreasonable fees, a class action lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania is claiming.

Combined unconventional and conventional natural gas production in Ohio nearly doubled from 86 Bcf in 2012 to 171 Bcf last year, an increase driven mainly by high-volume horizontal fracturing (fracking) in the Utica Shale, according to data released Wednesday by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

GreenHunter Resources Inc.said Monday that it plans to construct 34 miles of transmission and gathering pipeline in the Appalachian Basin to transport freshwater, oilfield waste and hydrocarbons to one of its barge terminals on the Ohio River, where it will also construct a processing facility to split condensates.