Posts Tagged ‘natural gas’

BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK (STAFF WRITER)
Published: July 29, 2010

A provision to require disclosure of all chemicals used in fracturing Marcellus Shale to extract natural gas could wind up as part of the scaled-down national energy bill the U.S. Senate might consider soon.

Sen. Bob Casey said he convinced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to fold disclosure provisions of his Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act into the energy bill.

“It’s a great breakthrough,” he said. “It’s a substantial step forward. … It gives people information they wouldn’t have otherwise about what’s happening underneath their property.”

Senate leaders are hoping to pass the bill before the summer recess Aug. 6, after realizing they did not have the votes to pass a more comprehensive energy bill. Even if the smaller energy bill gets through the Senate, the House would have to pass it before President Barack Obama can sign it. Neither is assured.

Industry groups said the fracturing chemicals are already well known to the public and state regulators, and further disclosure would harm the development of natural gas.

“We fundamentally believe that regulation of hydraulic fracturing is best addressed at the state level, and we have been unable to reach a consensus with congressional advocates on how this program would be overseen by the federal government,” America’s Natural Gas Alliance said in a statement.

Congress and the federal Environmental Protection Agency are studying whether the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing of shale contaminate drinking water.

Energy In Depth, an industry group, argues regulation should be left to states, which “have effectively regulated hydraulic fracturing for over 40 years with no confirmed incidents of groundwater contamination associated with (fracturing) activities.”

At public meetings on gas drilling, local residents regularly dispute the claim.

Though the industry argues the chemicals it uses are well known, a Times-Tribune investigation determined that DEP scientists who analyzed spilled fracturing chemicals at a Susquehanna County well site in September found 10 compounds never disclosed on the drilling contractor’s material safety data sheet.

None of the 10 was included in a state Department of Environmental Protection list of chemicals used in fracturing, a list developed by the industry. When DEP posted a new list earlier this month, none of the 10 was on it.

Mr. Casey dismissed the industry criticism.

“That’s why I called it a substantial step forward, if they’re attacking it,” he said. “If they’re feeling that this is giving information to people that they are reluctant to disclose, that’s why I think it’s an important change, and it’s progress on an issue that some would have thought would have taken years to get done.”

Mr. Casey’s legislation would amend the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, which requires employers to disclose what hazardous chemicals they use.

The amendments would require:

– Well-drilling operators to disclose to state regulators and the public a list of chemicals used in fracturing, commonly known as fracking. The requirement would cover chemical constituents but not chemical formulas whose manufacturers are allowed by law to keep the formulas secret, according to Mr. Casey’s office.

– Disclosure to be specific to each well.

– Disclosure of secret formulas or chemical constituents to doctors or nurses treating a contamination victim in an emergency.

– An end to thresholds for reporting chemicals normally required by law so all amounts of chemicals are reported.

In an analysis of the legislation, Energy In Depth said it would “chill” investment in innovations in fracturing and place “unrealistic burdens” on natural gas producers by requiring them to disclose secret chemical compounds whose composition they legally can know nothing about.

In an interview, DEP Secretary John Hanger said he welcomed the federal legislation, argued Pennsylvania already requires more disclosure than his bill and believes companies should disclose the volume and mix of chemicals they use in fracking.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

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Copyright:  The Scranton Times

• Marcellus production providing “a bright spot for Pennsylvania’s construction companies”

• “The region has benefited from the jobs created by the natural gas industry”

• Marcellus production “could bring hundreds of jobs to the area”

Marcellus development “a boon to local businesses”: “Activities around the Marcellus Shale have provided a bright spot for Pennsylvania’s construction companies in the midst of a recession that flatlined commercial and residential construction. In rural Lycoming County, construction crews are working around the clock to develop the infrastructure — usually in the form of improved gravel roads and large, stone drilling pads — to access the gas deposits deep under the ground. The building activities in the rural northern tier have been a boon to local businesses, as well as the region’s larger industrial contractors. … Outside of Waterville, Hawbaker’s crews are working night and day to keep pace with the gas exploration activities. “We’ve been able to provide a good wage to our truck drivers … and these guys are getting 50, 60 hours a week,” he said. Even more dollars are filtering into other companies that provide the storage containers and water for drilling. (Centre Daily Times, 7/26/10)

Area jobs ‘picture getting better’ thanks to the Marcellus: “The Pittsburgh region continued to show signs of economic recovery in June, with employers adding jobs for the third consecutive month and the unemployment rate falling by 0.3 percentage point, the state said. Moderate gains in jobs over the past three months “tells us that the picture is getting better,” said Robert Dye, vice president and senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Downtown. The region has benefited from the jobs created by the natural gas industry as it explores the Marcellus shale reserves, Dye said Monday. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 7/27/10)

Annual meeting spotlights benefits of gas industry: “A Penn State study, released May 26, updated a study on the industry that was completed last year. Some of its conclusions included that for every dollar the gas community spends in the state, nearly $2 in economic output is generated. Also, the study shows that natural gas production in the state could generate more than $8 billion in economic benefits this year alone and another $10 billion in 2011. In addition, it could add more than 88,000 jobs in the state next year, doubling the number created in 2009. … The influx of the gas industry couldn’t have come at a better time, with the major job losses the county experienced because of the recession, along with cutbacks in state funding for many of the grants the corporation has depended upon to cover its operating expenses, said board President David E. Cummings. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 7/27/10)

New Study Shows Positive Effects From Marcellus Shale Drilling: “A new study says natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale region — if developed — could create 280,000 new jobs and add $6 billion in new tax revenues to local, state and federal governments. … Natural gas production in the Marcellus grew considerably during 2009, adding 57,000 new jobs mostly in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. (WOWK-TV, 7/24/10)

Marcellus development creating real jobs now: “The opportunity for jobs and money and all the collateral growth that goes along with a booming industry is real and is happening now. (Washington Observer-Reporter Editorial, 7/27/10)

“Marcellus Multiplier” creating new jobs across the Pennsylvania’s supply chain: “A new joint venture in Hanover Township may yield up to 50 new jobs, with some related to the gas drilling industry. In what could be the first local sign of the natural gas industry’s economic impact, Plains Township-based Medico Industries Inc. is teaming up with Venezuelan company Equipetrol to expand to a manufacturing site in the Hanover Industrial Estates business park. … The two companies plan to introduce a new product to the Marcellus Shale region, a multi-port valve and production system that allows up to seven wells to be connected to the same system. (Citizens Voice, 7/27/10)

“Hydrofracking has safe record and spurs economy”: “Hydrofracking is an environmentally responsible way to stimulate the flow of energy from new and existing oil and gas wells. It is well-regulated and has been employed over 1 million times without a single incident of drinking water contamination. … Having the gas industry present is bringing in jobs, money and has improved many aspects of the local economies. President Barack Obama and New York Gov. David Paterson both fully support natural gas development as a means of reaching energy independence, while reducing the population’s carbon footprint. Drilling the Marcellus shale is an important aspect in reaching this goal. (Syracuse Post-Standard, IOGA-NY’s Michelle Blackley, 7/24/10)

“There are plenty of jobs available on drilling rigs across the border in Pa.”:”Drilling in the Marcellus shale for natural gas could bring hundreds of jobs to the area. That’s why Corning Community College’s Office of Workforce Development and Community Education has created a training program designed to help people get jobs in the field. “For the actual person who is going for the curriculum, they have an awareness of the job they’re going for to be getting in to. They have some basic knowledge about blueprint reading, safety, those types of things that they’re able to demonstrate as they’re interviewing,” said Brenda English, director of the center. (YNN-TV, 7/26/10)

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: July 26, 2010

HARVEYS LAKE – The natural gas company planning two exploratory natural gas wells in Noxen is steering clear of nearby Harveys Lake.

“Carrizo has no intention of drilling under Harveys Lake or anywhere near Harveys Lake,” Carrizo Marcellus LLC spokesman Phillip Corey said. “Our first well, the closest point to the lake as the crow flies, is almost 3 miles away.”

The company leased more than 3,000 acres of Sterling Farms, property belonging to the Sordoni family. While most of the property is in Noxen Township, some is in Harveys Lake Borough, he said. However, the company does not have rights to drill under Harveys Lake and doesn’t want to, anyway, Corey said.

“You can’t just go out there to drop a hole wherever you please,” he said.

Harveys Lake resident Guy Giordano, who is vocal about keeping contaminants out of the lake, said it’s good news that Carrizo is not drilling in the borough – but it’s still a little too close for him.

“That still doesn’t give me a lot of comfort. Thirty miles, yeah, but 3 miles, I’m not so sure,” he said.

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called “fracking,” involves blasting millions of gallons of chemical-treated water thousands of feet underground to break up the shale and release the natural gas.

The fact that some of these chemicals are not disclosed bothers Giordano.

“Why can’t they use something non-toxic?” he asked. “I can’t believe the government would let anyone put anything in the ground that’s secret.”

State law allows natural gas companies to drill up to 100 feet away from a water source. State Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, wants to expand the buffer to 2,500 feet away from drinking water sources, as well as lakes and other bodies of water that are governed by boroughs or second-class townships. She also wants to prohibit drilling beneath them.

Boback has also signed on as a co-sponsor to state Rep. Phyllis Mundy’s bill calling for a one-year moratorium on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania.

Corey said Carrizo will test the drinking water of residents around the drilling site, as required in the lease, which also calls for staying at least 500 feet away from any structure or water source.

He said Carrizo has not decided which direction, if at all, to drill horizontally. The company might just stick with a vertical well to see what’s there, he said.

“We’re going to play this very conservatively,” Corey said.

Giordano stressed that he does not oppose natural gas drilling.

“I’m glad these people got the money for these drilling leases, God bless ‘em. They deserve it,” he said. “But I wish they didn’t have to drill. If it’s rural, it’s OK, the risk is not that great. But when you’re talking about a densely populated area, it’s not worth it. I don’t see how they can take the risk.”

Ceasetown connection

Giordano pulled his minivan to the side of the road to get a better look at the Ceasetown Dam, slightly misty in the summer rain and surrounded by lush green foliage.

This is one of the main reasons he worries about Harveys Lake becoming contaminated.

“A few years ago I had a sample of lake water tested at the Kirby Health Center,” Giordano confessed. “It passed as drinking water.”

Harveys Lake is the source of Harveys Creek. Pennsylvania American Water Co. spokesman Terry Maenza said the company uses Harveys Creek as a backup water supply for the Ceasetown Reservoir. It isn’t used often but it’s there for emergencies, he said.

The Ceasetown Reservoir in Lehman Township serves about 70,000 people in all or parts of Ashley, Courtdale, Conyngham Township, Edwardsville, Hanover Township, Hunlock Township, Larksville, Nanticoke, Newport Township, Plymouth, Plymouth Township, Pringle, Salem Township, Shickshinny, Wilkes-Barre and Wilkes-Barre Township.

“We have done some sampling from Harveys Creek to get some baseline data, so we have that information on file if and when any drilling does take place in the future,” Maenza said.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission, which regulates large water withdrawals from sources within the river basin, has not issued permits for any natural gas companies to take water from anywhere in Luzerne County, including the Ceasetown or Huntsville reservoirs.

Besides permits from the commission, “There are other permits they would have to get through us before they could start taking our water,” Maenza said.

Last week, there were water tankers at the Huntsville Reservoir, but they were removing sludge, Maenza said. When the filters at the water treatment centers are backwashed, the sludge goes into a lagoon, he explained. About 95 percent of it is recycled, including for agricultural use, he said.

When it comes to natural gas drilling, Maenza said Pennsylvania American Water officials are being vigilant, talking to the state Department of Environmental Protection about permits, keeping in constant touch with legislators including Boback, Mundy, and state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township.

Maenza said the company has also been in contact with Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc., which started site preparations for a second exploratory natural gas well on Zosh Road in Lake Township on Wednesday, the same day Encana began drilling its first well in Fairmount Township.

“Nobody’s more concerned than us,” Maenza said. “This is our business. Water quality is what we rely on. We don’t want anything to put our water supply in jeopardy.”

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com , 570-821-2072

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Copyright:  The Citizens Voice

Canonsburg, Pa. – Earlier today, an explosion at a shallow, non-Marcellus Shale oil well occurred in Indiana Twp., Allegheny County, claiming the lives of two workers, according to reports. Although the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) represents companies producing natural gas, the MSC issued the following statement expressing condolences, and reinforcing its commitment to operating in the safest and most environmentally sensitive manner possible:

“Our Coalition may not represent this particular company or these particular workers, but the events that took place today represent an absolute tragedy for everyone involved in producing energy here in Pennsylvania. Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the families who lost loves ones today.

“What happened in Indiana Twp. today reminds us all how critically important it is to value the health and safety of your workforce. That’s why our member companies and their contractors continue to work day-in and day-out to ensure those protections and safeguards are in place, and are constantly improved and strengthened, as new technology and insight becomes available. These are investments we will continue to make, part of an industry-wide effort to implement a series of best management practices aimed at ensuring that clean-burning energy resources from the Marcellus are developed the right way, and in a manner that protects our workers and the environment above all else.”

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org

Canonsburg, Pa. – Tonight, Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) president and executive director Kathryn Klaber will deliver the following remarks at a public EPA forum on hydraulic fracturing. Excerpts and full text — as prepared for delivery — of her remarks are below:

• “Fracturing is considered a safe and essential part of the responsible development of natural gas, which studies have shown has the potential to create nearly 212,000 new jobs throughout Pennsylvania over the next decade.”
• “Our industry is working tirelessly to ensure that fracturing is done effectively, prudently and in a way that continues to create thousands of good-paying jobs and stable supplies of homegrown energy for U.S. consumers.”

My name is Kathryn Klaber, and I have the tremendous privilege of serving as the Marcellus Shale Coalition’s first president. And on behalf of the MSC – the organizational body that represents the vast majority of shale gas producers and midstream companies operating in the Commonwealth – I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the significant role hydraulic fracturing continues to play in the responsible development of clean-burning, job-creating natural gas.

As the MSC said at the outset of this study in March, our industry is confident that an objective, science-driven, and peer-reviewed evaluation of fracturing will reach the same conclusions produced by a host of other studies, including most notably one issued by your agency in 2004.

In that report — the product of an intensive, four-year course of study first initiated under the Clinton administration — EPA found “no evidence” suggesting the fracturing of shallow coalbed methane reserves posed a threat to underground drinking water supplies. Certainly you’re aware that coalbed methane strata reside thousands of feet closer to the water table than shale formations, and that the technology used today to access clean-burning natural gas from these formations is much more advanced and sophisticated than what was available in the past.

Here in Pennsylvania, fracturing has been in use for more than 50 years, and has been tightly regulated by the state almost before we had a name for it. Today, as you know, fracturing is considered a safe and essential part of the responsible development of natural gas, which studies have shown has the potential to create nearly 212,000 new jobs throughout Pennsylvania over the next decade.

Because of tight regulations and laws in place, coupled with the commitment from industry to protect the environment, there’s never been a single case of groundwater contamination associated with fracturing, as noted by PA DEP, top EPA officials, other state regulators, and the Groundwater Protection Council.

As EPA’s study moves forward, it’s critical to consider what the top officials responsible for regulating fracturing in the Commonwealth have said. Scott Perry, director of DEP’s bureau of oil and gas management – with whom my members work closely with – said this in May:

• “We’ve never seen an impact to fresh groundwater directly from fracking.”
• “No one’s ever documented drinking water wells that have actually been shown to be impacted by fracking.”

Pittsburgh Congressman Mike Doyle has said that state officials have “done a great job in regulating” Marcellus Shale exploration.

Unfortunately, while perceptions remain that our industry continues to resist regulations, the truth is quite the opposite. In fact, my member companies met earlier today with top DEP officials about well-casing standards; the second of such productive meetings in just months.

Our industry is working tirelessly to ensure that fracturing is done effectively, prudently and in a way that continues to create thousands of good-paying jobs and stable supplies of homegrown energy for U.S. consumers.

Once again, thank for the opportunity to speak here tonight about the critical role that hydraulic fracturing continues to play in realizing the Marcellus’s promise.

NOTE: Click HERE to view these remarks on-line.

By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: July 21, 2010

HARVEYS LAKE – If the state Department of Environmental Protection can make borough officials do something about sewage pollution in the lake, why can’t it step in to prevent potential contamination from natural gas drilling?

That was the argument state Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, approached council with Tuesday. She asked borough officials to meet with DEP and the state fish commission to discuss a one-year moratorium on drilling near the lake.

Her suggestion was greeted with applause from the approximately 80 people who filled council chambers. Council members were open to the idea of contacting the state agencies.

“As far as I’m concerned, the precedent is set,” Boback said. “In my letter to (DEP Secretary John) Hanger, I put it was due to the infiltration problems during storm events. Our concern is the potential contamination with fracking fluids, and if that’s not a legitimate argument, I don’t know what is.”

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” involves blasting millions of gallons of chemical-treated water thousands of feet underground to break up the shale rock and release the natural gas.

Because of problems with raw sewage flowing into the lake during heavy rains, DEP cited the borough and ordered its officials to come up with a corrective action plan. As a result, the General Municipal Authority of Harveys Lake put a DEP-approved voluntary moratorium on new sewer connections in July 2003 until inflow and infiltration into the system was cut back. DEP allowed the authority to relax the moratorium in 2006.

“If they’re talking about infiltration, what about fracking water spewing all over the place?” Boback said, referring to a recent well blowout in Clearfield County.

Boback said she is writing legislation similar to what she introduced to protect drinking water sources, such as the Huntsville and Ceasetown reservoirs. DEP allows natural gas drilling up to 100 feet away from bodies of water. Boback wants that changed to 2,500 feet.

She also wants to prohibit drilling beneath drinking water sources and lakes, such as Harveys Lake, that are governed by a borough or second-class township.

Resident Michelle Boice urged council to take a “strong, proactive stance” with DEP on the issue.

“My concern is that we should be working closely with DEP as a government, and ask the tough questions as to why, when they have been a strong presence in this borough for more than 40 years, they are not doing something about controlling where these drilling permits are being issued,” she said. “Right over the hill, a half mile at Alderson, a drilling permit has been issued.”

Boice was referring to the Sordoni family’s Sterling Farms, where Carrizo Marcellus LLC plans to drill one of two exploratory wells in the Noxen area. She also noted so far 300 acres in Harveys Lake Borough have been leased to gas companies.

Councilman Ryan Doughton said gas companies can lease anywhere. However, zoning restricts where they can drill.

The only place where mineral extraction is allowed in the borough is in the small manufacturing zone on the northern side of the Old Lake Road, Doughton said. Natural gas companies seeking to drill in other parts of the borough would need a zoning hearing for a conditional use permit, he said.

According to resident Guy Giordano, the underground-spring-fed Harveys Lake is a source of the Ceasetown Reservoir, where thousands of people in the Wyoming Valley get their drinking water.

“Council needs to take a stronger position on this and ask the state for help, because this not only affects our wells around Harveys Lake, it affects the drinking water for the entire Wyoming Valley,” he said.

Councilman Rich Williams III said he has been studying the state Oil & Gas Act, trying to find out what council as a local government can do – state law supersedes local government.

“Please don’t think what you say is falling on deaf ears, because I practically use this thing for a pillow,” he told residents.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com , 570-821-2072

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Copyright:  The Citizen’s Voice

Agency convenes hearing in Canonsburg tomorrow to discuss scope of upcoming hydraulic fracturing study. But has EPA forgotten about its 2004 report?

Tomorrow night in Canonsburg, the EPA will convene its third public hearing on its upcoming study on hydraulic fracturing, a key technology that’s been used to produce energy in Pennsylvania for more than a half-century, but one that’s become especially important lately as efforts to convert the enormous potential of the Marcellus into jobs and revenues for Pennsylvanians move forward across the Commonwealth.

But for those keeping tally at home, this new study by EPA isn’t the first time the agency has looked into the safety and performance of fracturing technology. In a report released by EPA in June 2004, federal officials found the fracturing of coalbed methane formations “poses little or no threat” to underground sources of drinking water – despite that fact that coal seams generally reside close to formations carrying drinking water underground. In remarks set to be delivered at tomorrow’s hearing, MSC president and executive director Kathryn Klaber lays out some additional details (and context) associated with this landmark study:

In that report — the product of an intensive, four-year course of study first initiated under the Clinton administration — EPA found “no evidence” suggesting the fracturing of shallow coalbed methane reserves posed a threat to underground drinking water supplies. Certainly you’re aware that coalbed methane strata residethousands of feet closer to the water table than shale formations, and that the technology used today to access clean-burning natural gas from these formations is much more advanced and sophisticated than what was available in the past.

For their part, natural gas critics contend that EPA’s 2004 study on fracturing’s application to coalbed methane reserves somehow isn’t relevant to the current conversation about the Marcellus Shale. Come again? If the fracturing of shallow coalbeds near the water table was found to be safe by EPA, how is it that the fracturing of deep shale formations is any less so? After all, we’re talking about shale strata that reside thousands and thousands of feet below both the water table and the coal beds themselves.

Thursday’s forum in Canonsburg is expected to address some of these questions, and more generally lay out the direction that EPA will take in engaging in its second study on hydraulic fracturing in 70 months. And you know what? It’s an effort we support in full. With fracturing, we’re talking about a technology that’s been deployed more than 1.1 million times in the 60-plus years in which it’s been in commercial use. And in all that time, not a single government regulator – including the EPA – has made a single claim suggesting it’s a threat to groundwater. Assuming this new study is science-based and peer-reviewed, there’s no reason to believe its findings will diverge from what the agency has consistently found in the past.

So what will the latest installment of EPA’s hydraulic fracturing study series look like when it hits the shelves sometime in the next two or three years? Tough to say for sure, but if it ends up drawing on the testimony of regulators in the states, experts in the field, and everyday Americans whose lives are being made better and more prosperous thanks to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of shale gas in America – it should be quite a page-turner indeed.

In the meantime, folks interested in coming out to tell EPA what they think of responsible shale gas development in Pennsylvania have a few outstanding tasks to complete before they arrive tomorrow night. First order of business: Register for the meeting, which is easily accomplished by navigating to this page. Second: Make sure to stock up on all the facts. MSC fact sheets have been developed on a range of topics likely to be addressed in some form – from the full disclosure of materials involved in the fracturing process, to the many ways in which natural gas can be used as a workhorse in PA to deliver a clean, secure and affordable energy future. The full arsenal can be accessed here.

So that should just about do it. Pre-registration for the event starts at 5:00 p.m. sharp, and the address for the Hilton Garden Inn is 1000 Corporate Drive in Canonsburg. Hope to see you out there.

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org

Canonsburg, Pa. – Earlier today, the Pittsburgh City Council passed a resolution calling for a statewide ban on clean-burning natural gas from the Marcellus Shale for an entire year, including the development of those resources on privately-owned land. Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), issued this statement in response to Council’s resolution, which carries no legal authority:

“Today’s action by the Pittsburgh City Council is unfortunate, unnecessary, and frankly, ill-advised. Most troubling, it comes at a time when the responsible development of clean-burning natural gas from the Marcellus is creating tens of thousands of jobs for residents all across the Commonwealth, breathing new life into our economy at a time and place when it’s perhaps never been needed more.

“Unfortunately, Council appears to have bought wholesale into the argument that Marcellus exploration represents a threat to our water and surrounding environment, notwithstanding a mountain of evidence from EPA, DEP and a just about every environmental regulator across the country that says precisely the opposite. Council has instead decided to take a position that’s unsupported by science, an affront to the rights of landowners, and very much at odds with a budget picture that could be significantly improved under a scenario of safe development and enormous revenue generation within the boundaries of the Council’s jurisdiction.

“Producing more energy here at home creates good-paying jobs, and helps drive down our nation’s dependence on unstable and unfriendly regions of world for the energy we need to fuel our economy. Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly understand this. Job-creators and small business owners understand this, too. It’s unfortunate that Pittsburgh City Council does not.”

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org

By Patrick Sweet (Staff Writer)
Published: July 18, 2010

Harry Traver and Doug Brody glanced at each other, stood up and followed their neighbor’s lead.

“We didn’t drive all the way out here to make changes,” neighbor Joel Field responded when Carrizo Oil & Gas proposed amendments to the multimillion-dollar deal the three came to finalize.

Before the men made it very far, the company reeled them back to the bargaining table at its Pittsburgh office and hammered out a natural gas deal that includes the mineral rights to roughly 8,500 acres.

Willing to walk away from a deal worth more than $4 million – with the potential to become much more than $40 million – the three men exemplify the roughly 135 families they represent.

“Ninety-five percent of the people that signed live here,” Mr. Brody said. “I mean, this is our home … It’s been our group’s home for years and generations in some cases. We took our time and I think we did it right.”

Noxen is a community that came together and protested the closing of its post office on a bitter December morning. They embrace the camaraderie of a community that answered the call when its historic train station was threatened with demolition and raised money to protect it.

So, when gas company land agents approached residents in rural Noxen Twp., they demonstrated perhaps their greatest skill: their ability to unite.

Strength in numbers

Residents gathered under the pavilion behind Noxen United Methodist Church to formulate their plan of action. Across the street from his Whistle Pig Pumpkin Patch, Mr. Field found himself responsible for preserving the hopes of his family, friends and neighbors for a lucrative gas lease. The Noxen Area Gas Group was born.

“I kind of stood up and said, ‘Well, we ought to try this and we ought to try that,’ and everybody said, ‘OK. Great. Go do that,’” the 47-year-old farmer said.

“The responsibility was awesome.”

Over a 2½-year span, those responsibilities included innumerable hours of courthouse research, days studying the natural gas industry and negotiating deals that never succeeded. He even traveled to Houston to market the land that their farms, orchards and businesses have rested on for generations.

“We didn’t sign in the end, but for quite a long time we were dancing with Chief,” Mr. Field said. “The only reason we danced with Chief Oil and Gas was because we did courthouse research that revealed they had a couple thousand acres right contiguous to our block.”

Mr. Field didn’t realize exactly what he was getting himself into that day. He never thought he would have to hunt down the estranged brother of a neighboring family to gain his signature on their lease.

“It actually took a couple months to find the brother in California,” Mr. Field said. “They actually tracked him down through his union.”

Just as much, Mr. Traver and Mr. Brody – whom Mr. Field called upon to help organize the group – didn’t think they would be studying geology or helping to cover a several thousand dollar attorney bill.

Two days after the group signed the lease on July 10, Mr. Field, Mr. Traver and Mr. Brody sat down with Times Shamrock Newspapers for an exclusive interview about the experience. It was a complete about-face for the tight-lipped trio who refused to jeopardize any part of the deal before it was done.

Sitting at the wooden picnic table behind Mr. Field’s house, not far from the barn where the group held some of its meetings, the three men smiled as they shared stories.

“Getting up to speed on (natural gas) and keeping the people together was always, I guess, our biggest concern,” said Mr. Field.

“But the people stayed together and that’s what made it happen,” Mr. Traver added.

“Some of our principles in the very beginning, when we first started out, was to stick together as a family, as a community,” Mr. Field continued.

A boomtown again?

It’s not difficult to imagine why the community would unite so well. The tiny farming community has struggled to strengthen its economy ever since Mosser Tanning Co. left town in 1961.

The tannery employed enough people to force the construction of a second hotel and a row of houses nearby. It brought unprecedented life to Noxen’s economy that was once based on just more than a dozen farms and a handful of small businesses.

“When the tannery left, everything left with it,” Noxen resident Pearl Race said. “This was a booming town at one time.”

So, when a gas company comes and injects millions of dollars into a community that has seen half a century pass by since its industrial backbone collapsed, residents are more than excited.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing,” Ms. Race said. “It’s got to help financially; much more taxes, much more money.

“We’re going to finish paying our mortgage off.”

Carrizo paid each lessor $500 per acre up front with an additional $4,500 and 20 percent royalty if the company finds a decent supply of gas.

On the day of the signing, Mr. Traver said, an elderly woman who was having trouble getting by stepped up to the table, leased her roughly 1-acre property and took her check. Mr. Traver’s wife, Dawn, offered to take her to the bank.

The woman, Mr. Traver said, declined the offer.

“I want to keep it for a couple days just to look at it,” she said.

The possibility of a check more than 10 times the amount they just received, it seems, has most folks embracing the words of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: “Drill, baby, drill.”

“We want production,” Mr. Field said. “We’re not just out there to get the bonus money. The value in this arrangement is in the royalty.”

Is the gas there?

The problem is companies aren’t quite sure the gas is there. Carrizo bought 2-D seismic data, senior landman Phillip Corey said, to get an idea of what they’d find.

“Based on what we see, it looks OK,” Mr. Corey said. “You’re trying to extrapolate a picture with three data points, though, when what you really need is a hundred.”

The uncertainty is why Carrizo didn’t pay the full $5,000 per acre up front. The company will drill two exploratory wells to test the area’s potential before cutting any more checks.

The Noxen group is split into southern and northern areas. Carrizo will drill one well in each area. If gas production is strong in the north but not the south, Carrizo will only have to pay northern landowners and vice versa.

Wooden stakes with neon flags tied to the tops mark the location of the northern well in Mr. Field’s pumpkin patch. The Sordoni family’s huge Sterling Farms property will host to the southern well.

The Sordoni property is one of a few properties directly abutting Harveys Lake. A provision in the lease prevents Carrizo from drilling within 500 feet of any structure or water source.

Still, some folks are concerned with what might unfold.

Noxen resident Viola Robbins, 72, has family in Dimock Twp., the poster-child community for environmental disasters caused by natural gas drilling. Thousands of gallons of potentially carcinogenic drilling fluid spilled just outside the town.

“They can’t do nothing,” Ms. Robbins said. “(The gas company) brought them water for drinking and cooking.”

Toxic water forced Ms. Robbins’ great-niece Andrea Ely and her family to move back in with her parents.

“I’m against it,” Ms. Robbins said. “Maybe it’s me. It might be a different story if I had lots of land for them to drill on.”

Still, many others have faith that Carrizo won’t make the same mistakes as Cabot Oil and Gas did in Dimock Twp.

“We all own farms down through here,” Mr. Traver said. “When these people say that they are worried about the water, they aren’t as worried as these guys, because that’s how they make their living.”

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Copyright: The Scranton Times

Callahan brings more than a decade of energy experience to the job, lauded by MSC chairman and president as a “key collaborator” in engaging elected officials and partners

CANONSBURG, Pa. – As Marcellus Shale employers continue to work with policymakers on a comprehensive framework for taking full advantage of the myriad opportunities that natural gas exploration make possible, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) today announced the addition of a key member to its staff who will be among those serving on the frontlines of that critical and ongoing effort.

Starting this week, David Callahan will serve as MSC’s vice president, a position dually based in Harrisburg and Canonsburg, Pa., but one that will take Mr. Callahan all across the multistate Marcellus region. A native Pennsylvanian, Mr. Callahan has 20 years of experience in the field of government relations, a majority spent representing a number of energy interests, including the Pennsylvania Gas Association (now the Energy Association of Pennsylvania) and the Associated Petroleum Industries of Pennsylvania.

“The safe and steady development of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for shared prosperity across the entire Marcellus,” said Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the MSC. “But that vision of the future that will only be realized through engagement and cooperation with policymakers and elected leaders in the region. David’s experience working collaboratively with legislators and regulators alike will serve our members well, and ultimately benefit everyone by advancing a strategy that generates jobs and revenues in the short-term, and the promise of long-term energy security and affordability beyond that.”

“The industry continues to create tens of thousands of jobs each and every year all across the multistate Marcellus region, our membership has continued to expand as well – and so has our strength and expertise,” said Ray Walker, Jr., chairman of the MSC and a senior vice-president for Range Resources. “The addition of David to the growing MSC staff represents a key step forward for this Coalition, and an important resource in our campaign to educate the public about the historic opportunities of the Marcellus, while educating policymakers on the imperative of keeping the Marcellus ahead of the competition curve in the ongoing and aggressive race for talent, equipment and investment.”

Mr. Callahan, currently a resident of Mechanicsburg, Pa., earned his undergraduate degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and his master’s from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org