The Charleston Gazette - Marcellus

EPA methane report further divides fracking camps

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:47:35 -0400

PITTSBURGH -- The Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically lowered its estimate of how much of a potent heat-trapping gas leaks during natural gas production, in a shift with major implications for a debate that has divided environmentalists...

WVU: Marcellus drill-site pits have problems

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:36:52 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A legislatively mandated study by West Virginia University has found consistent and potentially significant problems with the way oil and gas companies build drilling waste pits and with how state regulators inspect those impoundments....

Increased mud found downstream from Marcellus drilling

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:38:31 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Researchers have begun to identify ways that wastewater and runoff from the natural gas production boom in the Marcellus Shale region is making its way into area rivers and streams. A new study released this week documents increases...

Shale-gas supplies over-hyped, report says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The potential for natural gas from shale formations to fuel the nations energy future is greatly over-hyped by the industry and its political supporters, according to a recent report that says wells are playing out faster than has been...

Marcellus jobs: Whos working in the Mountain State.

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 19:31:37 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- During his State of the State address two weeks ago, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin praised the Marcellus Shale drilling boom, and said West Virginia is "making the most of the opportunities associated with our abundant natural gas.&qu...

Tomblin speech light on talk of energy issues

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:54:56 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Wednesday night promised to keep fighting tougher federal regulation of the coal industry, touted continued growth of the states natural gas business, and said he would spare West Virginias mine safety agen...

DEP behind schedule on gas drilling studies

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:33:52 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State regulators are behind schedule on the release of two key studies mandated as part of the legislation that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin touted as a "milestone" in addressing concerns about the boom in natural gas drilling in ...

EPA fracking study may dodge drinking water issue

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 21:08:36 -0500

PITTSBURGH -- An ongoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study on natural gas drilling and its potential for groundwater contamination has gotten tentative praise so far from both industry and environmental groups. Glenn Paulson, the EPAs sci...

Judge tosses EQTs lawsuit against Doddridge County

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:29:13 -0500

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A judge has thrown out a Pennsylvania gas companys lawsuit against the Doddridge County Commission, saying he has no jurisdiction to hear the fight over a flood plain ordinance that hes determined is partially unconstitutional. Pi...

Court suggests lawmakers revisit appeals of drilling permits

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:29:43 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Supreme Court is urging lawmakers to reconsider whether surface landowners in the state should have the right to appeal when oil and gas drilling permits are issued for their land. The suggestion was included a...

Court to hear key gas-drilling appeals case

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 19:06:05 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The state Supreme Court will hear arguments later this week in a significant case that could decide if surface landowners are able to appeal oil and gas drilling permits on their land. Citizen groups, industry lobbyists and the ...

Activists seek to halt Marcellus drilling permits

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:19:25 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia citizen and environmental groups on Tuesday urged Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin to temporarily stop issuing new permits to drill for natural gas in the states Marcellus Shale formation. The state chapter of the Sie...

Report spotlights abandoned state wells

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 22:05:07 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Abandoned oil and gas wells are increasingly marring the West Virginia landscape, as the Department of Environmental Protection office assigned to oversee them falls further behind with inspections a...

CO2 emissions in U.S. drop to 20-year low

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 20:54:39 -0400

PITTSBURGH -- In a surprising turnaround, the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years, and government officials say the biggest reason is that cheap and plentiful n...

DEP urged to toughen drilling rules

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:08:19 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Environmental and citizen groups on Tuesday evening urged the Tomblin administration to toughen its proposed rules to implement West Virginias new law on large-scale natural gas drilling. Representatives of several statewide organ...

Marion man wants high court to rule on drilling his land

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 10:51:22 -0400

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. -- A Marion County man wants the state Supreme Court to weigh in on a lawsuit aimed at stopping an ExxonMobil subsidiary from sinking as many as 18 wells on his land to reach his neighbors gas.Richard Cain, a 61-year-old farmer, filed...

Report: Drilling should proceed, to learn best practices for potential earthquakes

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:57:16 -0400

Read the report here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Government and industry need to conduct more research and come up with "best practices" to address the potential for earthquakes ...

Too good.: Marcellus doubts

( ) — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 23:45:00 -0400

The Marcellus boom is on, and the whole state hungrily rubs its palms. Drillers promise cheaper fuel, jobs and prosperity, all with little environmental impact. Who wouldnt want that payoff. West Virginias elected leaders, from the governor to the U.S....

Switch to natural-gas state vehicle fleet advances

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 11:22:25 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginias abundant natural gas supply has Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin ready to order a cost-benefit analysis of switching at least part of the states vehicle fleet from gasoline and diesel, according to administratio...

Lawsuit illustrates gas industrys dangers

(Staff, wire reports) — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:33:04 -0400

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The widow of a 26-year-old Nutter Fort man says two Colorado companies are responsible for the truck crash that killed her husband because they forced an exhausted work crew to drive from Ohio to West Virginia, creating...

Brooke OKs gas drilling under school property

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400

WELLSBURG, W.Va. -- Chesapeake Energy has won permission to drill horizontally for natural gas under property owned by the Brooke County school district. Administrators told WTOV-TV that all safety precautions will be taken, and most residents wont know w...

Drilling chemicals could move quickly to aquifers, study says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:26:38 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Chemicals injected into the ground by natural gas drillers could migrate toward drinking water supplies much more quickly than previously thought, according to a new study that raises questions about West Virginias ongoing Marcellu...

Drilling chemicals could move quickly to aquifers, study says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:29:52 -0400

EPA finalizes rules to cut gas-drilling air pollution

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:00:00 -0400

Read more: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obam...

Marcellus traffic invading W.Va., panel told

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:41:12 -0400

FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Communities in Northern West Virginia are facing "an invasion" of heavy truck traffic related to the boom on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling, a local sheriff told a U.S. Senate committee Wed...

Glenville gas firm dismissed from drilling suit

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:13:13 -0400

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A federal judge has dismissed Glenville-based Waco Oil and Gas from a lawsuit a Marion County man filed over plans to use his property for deep, horizontal wells that would drain natural gas from his neighbors reserves. Richard ...

Gas drilling needs to improve, Chesapeake official says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:26:22 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The natural gas industry needs to keep working to reduce the on-the-ground impacts of the Marcellus Shale drilling boom in West Virginias Northern Panhandle, a top official from Chesapeake Energy said Thursday. "With natu...

Cracker would face air permit challenges, DEP says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:00:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Lingering pollution problems in key parts of West Virginia could eventually pose problems for any company that decides it wants to build a natural gas "cracker" facility in the state, a government regulator and an ...

Ethane cracker plant might be built in Institute

ericeyre@wvgazette.com (Eric Eyre) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 23:56:14 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- South Charleston-based Aither Chemicals is expected to announce plans next week to build a $300 million ethane catalytic "cracker" plant that would employ up to 200 workers at the Institute Industrial Park by 2015, ac...

Shell to build ethane cracker plant in Pa., not W.Va.

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:42:30 -0400

Kanawha officials pin hopes on second cracker CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia officials today were trying to make the best of an announcement that ...

Kanawha officials pin hopes on second cracker

ericeyre@wvgazette.com (Eric Eyre) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:27:58 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Kanawha Valley was never on Shell Oil Co.s short list of potential sites for a multibillion-dollar ethane cracking facility, area economic development leaders said Thursday. So Shells announcement that the company plans to bui...

W.Va. tries to put good face on loss of Shell cracker

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:11:14 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia government officials and business boosters tried Thursday to put a good face on Shell Chemicals announcement that it had chosen a site in Pennsylvania as the potential location for a new natural gas "cracker"...

End in sight for Richwood-area gas well flare

rsteelhammer@wvgazette.com (Rick Steelhammer) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:49:21 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The state Department of Environmental Protection has set May 31 as the deadline for extinguishing a flare that has been burning gases from three Nicholas County Marcellus Shale exploration wells for more than six months, despi...

Head of EQT Corp. to speak at UC energy series Thursday

pjnyden@wvgazette.com (Paul J. Nyden) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The University of Charleston will host the third speaker in its five-part series -- "Energy: Whos Got the Power." -- on Thursday evening. David Porges, chairman, president and CEO of the EQT Corp. -- a Pittsburgh-based energy...

W.Va. citizens to benefit from development of shale deposits under 'Marcellus Principles'

pjnyden@wvgazette.com (Paul J. Nyden) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:07:29 -0500

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. -- The Moundsville City Council passed a resolution late last month endorsing the "Marcellus Principles" that support hiring local workers for jobs in the states growing Marcellus Shale natural gas industry. The "Marcellus...

Feds investigating Chesapeake over W.Va. drilling

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:56:19 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating possible environmental violations by Chesapeake Energy at three of its well sites in West Virginia. Chesapeake says in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that federal inve...

Dominion Resources playing responsible role in Marcellus drilling, company says

pjnyden@wvgazette.com (Paul J. Nyden) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:00:06 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dominion Resources Services, a company that has operated in West Virginia for more than a century, is facing criticism that they are not playing a responsible role in the development of Marcellus Shale natural gas wells in the Northern...

Mineral trust boosted budget, ex-Wyoming governor says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:45:31 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A long-term trust fund fueled by mineral taxes like that proposed for West Virginia has allowed Wyoming to weather the boom-bust cycle of extractive industries, a former Wyoming governor said Tuesday. "It has provided a...

AEP chief: Coals elimination just not going to happen

(Megan Workman) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:37:57 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Although the amount of energy produced by coal will decrease in the nation -- from 45 percent today to 39 percent by 2020 -- a top electric utility company CEO said there is definitely a future for coal. "Coal is naturally g...

Cracker tax break could cost locality $300 million

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:07:50 -0500

Read the report CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A tax break that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin rushed through the Legislature to try to lure a natural gas "cracker" plant to West Vir...

Tomblin rejects funding development plan with severance-tax hike

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:53:48 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Thursday he would not take up a proposal to increase West Virginias coal and natural gas severance taxes to pump money into a trust that would fund long-term economic development, education and infrastruc...

W.Va. urged to create extractive resources trust fund

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:57:02 -0500

Read the report CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia should begin setting aside a portion of coal and natural gas severance taxes to create a trust fund that could help pay ...

Are Marcellus Shale jobs booming.

(Megan Workman) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Danny Simms, a self-proclaimed oil and gas industry expert, recently joined a larger Charleston accounting firm because he said its time for him to "share the fun" of the industry. For nearly 30 years, Simms accounting...

No industry backing for the word fracking

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:16:53 -0500

NEW YORK -- A different kind of F-word is stirring a linguistic and political debate as controversial as what it defines. The word is "fracking" -- as in hydraulic fracturing, a technique long used by the oil and gas industry to free oil and...

State leaders to lobby in Houston for plant

(By Amanda Iacone and Lawrence Messina) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:07:34 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin will fly to Houston this week as part of West Virginias quest for a chemical plant that promises to deliver thousands of jobs, House Finance Chairman Ha...

Lawmakers seeks edge in cracker plant competition

lmessina@ap.org (Lawrence Messina) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:28:09 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Legislature aims to send a major signal this week as West Virginia courts at least two major employers and competes with neighboring Ohio and Pennsylvania for a chemical plant expected to create thousands of jobs. The Hous...

DOE slashes gas estimate for Marcellus Shale

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:00:00 -0500

Links at top: Read the report: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/CHARLESTON...

State still in mix for cracker

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:09:32 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia wont likely learn until mid- or late February where energy giant Shell will locate a huge new chemical plant tied to Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling, but the state remains in the running both for it and a sec...