Governor Paterson Does The Right Thing

Congratulations to Governor David Paterson for vetoing the misguided anti-drilling legislation. It was clearly the right thing to do. By doing so, the Governor has saved the operations of over 300 companies who have been operating safely in New York for decades. Had the legislation been approved, 5000 existing jobs would have disappeared. This is the 'vision' that the down-staters and anti-drillers would bestow upon the working people of New York ... lose more jobs, reduce the tax rolls, and put even more people on unemployment! All because they want to subject the natural gas industry to standards that other industries don't have to adhere to. The anti-drilling crowd wants a 100% guarantee that there will never be any sort of pollution caused by the production of natural gas. Well, if you held other industries to the same standards, you would not have any industry at all.

Rep-elect Reed Seeks Marcellus Caucus

According to buffalonews.com, newly elected Representative Tom Reed, R-Corning, "plans to pull together like-minded members of Congress to push for fuller development of the natural gas reserves in the Marcellus Shale." Reed was quoted as saying, "I am a promoter of developing the Marcellus Shale. I believe we can do it responsibly. Now is the time to move forward."

NY State Politicians Show Their Ignorance

Both the state Senate and Assembly have now passed a temporary moratorium on natural gas drilling. We now wait on Governor David Paterson to decide if he'll sign the legislation. The backers of this legislation have shown through their actions that they are either a) ignorant to the facts involving gas drilling or b) just plain stupid. This bill affects not only future exploration that could add thousands of NEW jobs, but it will affect existing exploration & production that could kill hundreds of EXISTING jobs.

We're not excusing or condoning any action akin to natural gas production that contaminates our earth, air, and water. We simply want to move FORWARD safely (it can and is being done) and in a reasonable time frame. This issue has been 'on our doorstep' for almost THREE YEARS and these clowns are just now deciding to put things on hold so we can 'study' the situation. Why do we even have a Department of Environmental Conservation if politicians don't accept their input? Should we just fire all of the DEC employees? No, in this case 'study' means avoiding a vote that might upset some constituents. As with our state deficit and, in typical political fashion, they're just 'kicking it down the road'.

Chesapeake Opens Training Center in Athens, PA

Chesapeake Energy recently opened it's 7 million dollar Training and Housing Facility in Athens Township. It will provide a convenient housing option for drill rig workers as well as state-of-the-art training for local job seekers. A large number of local contractors benefitted from the construction of the 11 building complex.

Gas Demand Slowly Rising

While demand for natural gas dropped off in 2009, it's slowly making a comeback. This is good news. The EIA is projecting that US consumption will increase 4.5% in 2010 with industrial consumption estimated to be up 7.5%. A continually improving economy will create even more demand, thereby helping to 1) reduce the current glut 2) raise the price of gas and 3) get oil & gas companies moving again. Then, all we'll need are state government officials who understand that, when you're 10 billion dollars in debt, you shouldn't be shutting down a developing new industry that could add a billion dollars a year in tax receipts.

Fear Mongers at Work in Pennsylvania

Despite there never being a documented case of hydro-fracking ever contaminating a drinking water supply, a Pittsburgh politician is trying to swell the ranks of the uninformed anti-drilling community and attempting to ban shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania. Generating fear is a great tool of professional politicians and, if 'played' properly, can help get them elected into office or help them stay in office.

One can't help but wonder why these same politicians aren't outraged and demanding legislation to stop the transportation of all petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, heating oil, crude oil). The amount of fresh water contamination due to accidents involving these products absolutely dwarfs any contamination that has ocurred as a result of natural gas drilling. But then, that might mean they would have to ride a bicycle to their next fund raiser ... held in an unheated room.

Marcellus Is The Place To Be

Below is an excerpt from a recent article on Forbes.com written by Christopher Helman.


"Engineers at Range Resources discovered the Marcellus gas in 2004, giving Range a two-year head start in scooping up 1.3 million acres of leases. Marcellus' choice spots, 6,000 feet underground, hold 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 20 years of current U.S. demand. "Because the Marcellus is cheap to develop and so close to market, it will make other plays in the South and Midwest uneconomic," says Russell Braziel at gas market forecaster Bentek. "If you want to be in the gas business, you'll have to be in the Marcellus."

Increased Role For Natural Gas

According to the New York Times, a report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology states that natural gas will increasingly replace coal as a source of this country's energy over the next few decades. According to the report, natural gas will eventually make up 40% of the U.S. energy market, up from its current 20% share.

Some companies that make equipment for coal- and gas-fired generating stations say that the switch to gas from coal has already begun. One reason is that switching to gas will make it easier to meet air quality standards for conventional pollutants, like smog and mercury. Helping to facilitate the change are plentiful supplies of natural gas created by shale drilling.

T.Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman, said that the study paid too much attention to the electricity sector and not enough to using natural gas as a fuel for transportation. “You’ve got plenty of gas to do both,” he said.

The study noted that the only natural gas car sold by a major car company in the United States, the Honda GX, costs an extra $5,500, while the VW Passat TSI Eco-fuel, sold only in Europe, costs only $3,700 extra. Converting a gasoline vehicle to natural gas is also much more expensive here than in Europe, the report said, and it suggests that the reasons be examined.

High-mileage fleet vehicles, like taxis, could be economically converted to natural gas, the study said. But the recent history of natural gas vehicles in the United States suggests that buses and small delivery vehicles are more likely candidates for conversion than the great mass of privately owned vehicles.

Natural gas vehicles emit about three-quarters as much carbon dioxide per mile as gasoline-powered ones. The switch would not have a large impact on carbon — only about a ton per vehicle per year for a typical American car, according to the report.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/business/energy-environment/25natgas.html

Wyoming Tightens Environmental Rules

According to the Houston Chronicle & The Associated Press (6/8): Energy companies operating in Wyoming will be required to disclose the chemicals they use in a number of drilling techniques, including hydraulic fracturing, under rules approved by the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. "They appear on the surface to be workable," Rick Robitaille, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming's vice president.

More Marcellus Activity

May 28, 2010 - (Wall Street Journal) Shell agrees to acquire East Resources for $4.7 billion. East Resources is one of the largest companies operating in the Marcellus Shale, and it owns 1.25 million acres across several states. The deal also gives Shell the mineral rights to areas in Texas' Eagle Ford Shale. Analysts say the deal shows a continued interest (by Shell) in producing gas from North American shale.


May 28, 2010 - (Reuters) Penn Virginia purchases 10,000 Marcellus acres for $19.5 million from two private oil and gas companies. The acquired acreage is primarily in the Potter, Somerset and Tioga counties in Pennsylvania. The deal increases Penn Virginia's ownership in the area to about 45,000 net acres, the company said.

S.O.S. GAS RALLY JUNE 9TH

We are sending out an S.O.S! It is time to SAVE OUR STATE!

This is the last chance before Albany's summer recess and fall ELECTIONS to show our leaders that NYers support gas! It is time to go to Albany again! Only this time landowners, trade Union members, and members of "Unshackle Upstate New York" (representing the business community) will be there in partnership to show leaders that all of NY supports developing natural gas now. But YOU need to be there in solidarity to make this a success!

Previous pro-gas events have been successful but now we need to show our leaders that NYers from all walks of life are united in supporting gas NOW! Every voice counts! Every landowner, worker, and business person is needed! ALL HANDS ON DECK! S.O.S!

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9TH 2010 Time arriving in Albany 10am- Departing for home at 2pm

To reserve your FREE bus ticket and more info on pick-up time and location contact:

Annette Gibson 760-3542 or longcreekgibson@yahoo.com

Alta To Sell Lease Holdings In The Marcellus (PA)

According to the Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires, Alta is reportedly about to sell approximately 42,000 acres in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale to Williams (WMB) for $501 million. Williams will also purchase a 5% overriding royalty interest on the acreage for $84 million, which will lower its royalty burden. The Pennsylvania acreage represents about 1.2 trillion cu. ft. in potential natural gas reserves. After the deal is complete, Williams will hold about 94,000 acres in the area. Williams said Tuesday, it plans to spend an additional $55 million for drilling and other activities in the region this year, growing to $100 million to $200 million by 2012 as operations expand.

Employment Opportunities In The Gas Drilling Industry

Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Two Sessions: 2:00-3:30 and 6:00-7:30PM
Hubbard Auditorium
56 Main St. Owego, N.Y.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County, and the Tioga Employment Center will present an informational session on employment opportunities in the gas drilling industry.
Information covered will include, companies hiring, the types of jobs available, and how to apply and contact employers.
To register call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County
at 687-4020 Space is Limited

Jobs and Economic Boost

The Perryman Group, an economic analysis firm based in Waco, estimated in a 2009 study that the Barnett Shale in North Texas will create about 108,000 jobs annually until 2015.

The same study found that in 2008 Barnett Shale activity was responsible for an estimated $13.7 billion in annual output and 132,497 jobs.

Partnerships and Pipelines

It started in 2008, when Chesapeake sold 32.5 % of its holdings in the Marcellus Shale to Statoil Hydro for $3.375 billion. Since then, there has been increasing interest in partnerships to develop the vast potential of the Marcellus, as the following datelines suggest. Of course, very little of this Marcellus activity is currently geared toward New York State, thanks to the governor’s drawn-out moratorium on horizontal drilling.

4/12/2010 - Source: Reliance to spend $1.7B for Marcellus Shale joint project
3/29/2010 - Statoil pays $253M to purchase more Marcellus Shale assets
3/25/10 - Enbridge seeks to construct pipeline from Marcellus to Chicago
3/22/10 - Chesapeake chief eyes more joint ventures for shale-gas properties
3/16/10 - Penn Virginia Resource to invest in Marcellus Shale pipelines
3/11/10 - EXCO Resources considering venture partners in Marcellus Shale
2/16/10 - Anadarko announces joint venture with Mitsui in Marcellus Shale
12/14/09 - Exxon to buy XTO and Marcellus Shale holdings in $41 billion deal

Exco & IP To Recycle Waste Water

Many environmentalists worry about where the large amounts of water needed to drill and frac a well will come from. Exco Resources, Inc., an energy company currently drilling in Louisiana, has recently partnered with International Paper to help solve this problem.

International Paper, who has been treating and dumping (legally) an estimated 12 million gallons of treated process water per day into the nearby Red River, will now supply Exco with all the water it needs for the drilling and fracing process. Apparently, a trial run has been completed by Exco and the water proved suitable for it’s new use. An estimated 4.2 billion gallons will be available for Exco, enough to drill and complete 700 wells.

We think there are opportunities of this sort in our own area and ... did you ever notice the Susquehanna River during those spring rains?

Natural Gas In Water Wells

After some gas wells were drilled in Dimock, PA, natural gas was found in the water wells of a few nearby homes. As usual, the anti-drilling crowd made a major production of it, igniting the water coming out of the kitchen faucets and featuring the story and videos on their anti-drilling web sites. But according to professional WATER WELL drillers, this is nothing new and, in certain geographic locations, it happens even where drilling has NOT occurred.

We recently found an interesting article on the pagaslease.com web site that attributes the following quotes to an article in the Hancock Herald. Below are excerpts from the article.

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"Local Water Well Driller offers insight into Marcellus shale drilling Process"
2-10-2010 by Sally Zegers

"Francis Tully of Poyntelle, Pa., a well driller for most of his life, weighed in recently on drilling for natural gas in the area, based on what he calls the science of the drilling process. The Tully Drilling Company was started in 1928, by his father, Ben Tully."

" Tully Drilling was a major and well respected business in Wayne County for several decades, serving farmers and small business people across the area. Over the years, according to Francis Tully, the company drilled 10,000 wells across several counties and two states, and he still has the files to prove it."

"He says the phenomenon of "fracture zone seepage" is relatively common in Susquehanna and Wayne Counties and drillers often found natural gas while drilling for water. The internet features several videos of people "flaring" matches at water faucets in Susquehanna County, which is cited as evidence that gas drilling is damaging private water wells. However, drillers fifty years ago often found that they could flare matches at the faucets. According to Francis Tully, near Clifford, in Susquehanna County, "nearly every well in the area" has natural gas."

"According to Francis Tully, the photographs he’s seen of the (water) well that blew up in Dimock, Pa. on New Year’s Day 2009 lead him to believe that the (water) tank itself blew up. He believes the (pressure) switch froze in the on position, and it couldn’t switch off, allowing pressure to build and build until the tank blew apart. "Tanks do blow up," he says, noting that he’s seen it happen many times over the 60 plus years he was in the business. According to him, one tank came up through the floor of a living room, hit the ceiling and ended up on the divan. "

"He believes drilling for natural gas should be "perfectly safe" as long the drillers use three layers of pipe, using surface casing down to 1,000 feet, then drilling 7,600 feet to the Marcellus Shale. Then you case it again and grout it. The level at which water is found is relatively shallow. Drillers will bore through it with boreholes encased in steel and concrete, to protect the water supply, Tully points out. The Marcellus Shale is more than a mile underground. The different levels of rock and shale in the earth are like "pages in a book," he says. He points out that the layers of rock protect the water in the upper level. Fracturing, something water drillers have done for years with dynamite, only fractures the rock close to the well, not the thousands of feet above it.
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EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS

Landowner Coalitions: Emerging Opportunities for Grassroots
Organizing Around Natural Gas Leasing
Dryden Fire Hall North Street in Dryden
Saturday, March 13, 2010 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Featuring Nick Schoonover, Chair of the Tioga County Landowners Group. in conjunction with CCE-Tompins.
Come learn about:
What brought the Tioga landowners together initially
How they developed their organization
What services they offer their membership
Click here for the informational flyer

SUPPORT NATURAL GAS EXPLORATION IN NY!

This is an easy way to show your support for Safe and Responsible
Natural Gas Exploration and Development in NYS

Sign the online petition here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/YESngNY/petition.html