After a long moratorium on Marcellus Shale drilling in New York, a variety of proposed regulations and local bans on drilling could render millions of leased acres as worthless.
Several major natural gas drillers have developed a set of standards for hydraulic fracturing in the Appalachian Basin. The standards recommend practices for drilling, well design, water use, equipment use and public outreach.
“The chances of rogue fractures due to shale gas fracking operations extending beyond 0.6 kilometres from the injection source is a fraction of one percent, according to new research led by Durham University. The analysis is based on data from thousands of fracking operations in the USA and natural rock fractures in Europe and Africa.” Quoted from the Durham University press release.
“In the wilds of New York City–or as wild as you can get that close to skyscrapers–scientists have found a new leopard frog species. [...] For a new species to go unrecognized in this area is amazing.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
Fracking the Marcellus Shale with propane instead of water may be allowed in New York and one company is exploring the possibility of using the method.
Jessica Ball has some photos of a recent fossil collecting trip along the shoreline of Lake Erie. They found some nice corals, trilobites and brachiopods.
“Spectra Energy has received conditional environmental approval from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff on its proposed New Jersey-New York Expansion project. [...] The system, which would be the first major natural gaspipeline to reach New York City in 40 years.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration.
An article titled “Marcellus Shale Parallel Universe” explores the impact of different approaches to natural gas development experienced in Pennsylvania and New York.
An article on the New York Times website explores the impact of sea level rise on the United States. Coastal flooding is expected to become much more common in the near future and millions of people could be displaced by rising waters. Florida, New York, Loisiana, California and the Chesapeake area are at particular risk.
“The U.S. Geological Survey deployed a temporary monitoring network of water-level sensors at 212 locations along the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Maine during August 2011 to record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of inland hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Irene. ” Quoted from the USGS publication release.
A New York Supreme Court ruled in favor of a municipal zoning regulation that banned natural gas drilling within a community. Previously jurisdiction on natural gas drilling has belonged to state governments.
The-Vug.com has an impressive listing of mineral clubs organized by state. You might be surprised at how many clubs are listed and there is probably one that meets within a short drive of your home.
An article on the Boston.com website explores possible developments related to the Marcellus Shale in 2012. A new lease environment, geographic shifts in activity, price directions and more.
An article in Crain’s New York Business titled “Natural-gas drilling is a great divider” explores why natural gas drilling has enormous support and enormous opposition in the state of New York.
Since 1972 the “Roadside Geology” series has provided introductory information on the geology of states and small regions of the United States. The books provide a combination of maps, travel logs, photos and commentary for the geology that can be seen along highways or visited at parks and public viewing areas. They are popular with geologists and others who are interested in the Earth.
This video shows how Raffi Stepanian finds gold and diamonds in the cracks of Manhattan sidewalks. I don’t know if he really making 300 bucks per day but his techniques are interesting!
It has been said that for all of the money in circulation today, four times that amount has been lost, hidden or buried.
The folks at MyTopo.com are now printing supersized topo maps – large enough make a huge 5′ x 8′ (or 8′ x 5′) map that will look fantastic on the wall of your office, conference room, lobby, cabin or den. These maps are custom-centered on any location that you pick using their online map-making tool. Lots of smaller sizes are also available.
We are affiliates of MyTopo.com and receive a commission on sales.
An article on the PittsburghLive.com website explains how regulations and costs of doing business in neighboring states can stimulate or deter the development of a resource such as natural gas. Not mentioned in the article is how a moratorium on Marcellus Shale drilling moved drilling out of New York and into Pennsylvania.
Raven Maps are beautiful examples of shaded-relief wall maps that display the elevation of a state in vibrant colors. These large maps look great in a classroom, den or office. Use one to mark the locations of your work or company.
Natural gas companies have drilled a number of highly successful wells into the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio. Now, drilling, permitting, and acquisition activity is starting to boom.
The Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Research has prepared: Taxation of Natural Gas: A Comparative Analysis. This publication reviews the many methods of taxing natural gas 19 different states. You might be surprised at how many ways natural gas is being taxed.
Thousands of people across the United States have signed leases that give energy companies the right to drill on their land. However, many of these properties have mortgages that prohibit the property owner from entering into a mineral lease.
State and local governments have either been collecting revenues from Marcellus Shale activities or wishing that they were collecting revenues. An article on Platts.com explores some of the ways that state and local governments are generating revenues.
An Associated Press article examines how people who favor and oppose Marcellus Shalenatural gas development have very different perceptions of problems and opportunities.
A sequence of rocks above the Marcellus Shale, known as the “Upper Devonian Shales” might hold significant amounts of recoverable natural gas and natural gas liquids. From top to bottom the Upper Devonian Shales, Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale are the “stacked plays of the Appalachians”.
A Quinnipiac University poll of over 1000 New York residents released today shows who supports Marcellus Shale drilling and perceptions of how drilling will impact the state. Results are tallied by gender, political affiliation, location of residence and more.
Communities in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have passed bans on hydraulic fracturing within their political boundaries. In some instances these bans have been overturned because the power to regulate of oil and gas drilling belongs to State governments. Now a company in New York has sued a town that passed a ban on drilling.
Many oil and gas companies that use hydraulic fracturing methods recycle the waste water produced during drilling. As a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in New York is lifted the Niagara Falls Water Board is ready to accept hydraulic fracturing wastewater from companies that are unable to recycle.
The Susquehanna River has been rising in response to very heavy rain. People living along the Susquehanna have been ordered to evacuate in New York and Pennsylvania.
“Rivers and streams are reaching record levels as a result of Hurricane Irene’s rainfall, with more than 80 U.S. Geological Survey streamgages measuring record peaks.” Quoted from the USGS news release.
A major hurricane hit the coast of New York and surrounding areas on September 21, 1952, causing extensive damage. This historic video reviews some of the impact.
You can get some of the most up-to-date and authoritative forecasts for Hurricane Irene at NOAA’s National Hurricane Center. Their forecast on Friday evening at 9:00 PM EST:
“THE CORE OF THE HURRICANE WILL APPROACH THE COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA TONIGHT AND PASS NEAR OR OVER THE NORTH CAROLINA COAST ON SATURDAY. THE HURRICANE IS FORECAST TO MOVE NEAR OR OVER THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST SATURDAY NIGHT AND MOVE OVER SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND ON SUNDAY.”
As Hurricane Irene approaches, about 250,000 people who live in low-lying areas of New York City have been ordered to evacuate and move to higher ground.
The New York Times has a Google Map that shows the evacuation areas by category.
Governors in New York, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina have all declared a state of emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Irene. These advance declarations are partially financial maneuvers to make funds ready for emergency use, but they are also signs of respect for the dangers of a hurricane.
“The Marcellus Shale contains about 84 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas and 3.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas liquids according to a new assessment by the U. S. Geological Survey.” Quoted from the USGS news release.
Earthquake waves travel very efficiently in the crust of the eastern United States. As a result the Magnitude 5.9 earthquake that occurred today in Virginia was felt in at least 22 states plus the District of Colombia. Ground shaking has been reported to the USGS and by news accounts in: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Indiana, Georgia, Florida and Washington, DC.
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurred about 40 miles northwest of Richmond, Virginia at 1:51 PM local time. No injuries or severe damage has been reported in early news reports, however, the shaking was felt strongly enough in Washington, DC that some offices were evacuated.
During four years of testing it was found that one-fifth of 2000 water samples taken from the Hudson River between Albany and New York City indicated the the river was unsuitable for recreational activities and swimming.
About three billion cubic feet of natural gas is being produced every day from the Marcellus Shale, an amount that is expected to grow significantly as more wells are drilled. Moving that gas to market will require thousands of miles of new pipelines, ranging from small-diameter gathering lines that serve individual wells to main lines that can be three-feet or more in diameter.
A New York public opinion poll revealed that more people in that state support natural gas drilling than oppose it. Seventy-five percent believe that it will bring more jobs to the state.
Chesapeake Energy and the state of New York entered into natural gas lease agreements for the Marcellus Shale under state lands in 2006. Those leases are set to expire on November 15th, 2011. Chesapeake believes that the leases should be extended without cost because the state blocked their ability to drill.
Chesapeake Energy announced a major new natural gas liquids play in the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio based upon results from six horizontal and nine vertical wells. The company holds 1.25 million net leasehold acres in the Utica Shale and believes that they could be worth $15 – $20 billion in increased value to the company.
In 2008 and earlier lots of landowners above the Marcellus Shale signed natural gas lease agreements for the historical “going rate” of a few dollars per acre. Then as the potential of the rock unit became known the signing bonuses paid on leases skyrocketed to thousands of dollars per acre. Now these leases are expiring and legal battles between landowners and gas companies are beginning.
New York may be on the edge of drilling new wells in the Marcellus Shale as Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to resume drilling gains support. It is estimated that drilling just 300 wells per year would produce an estimated 37,000 jobs.
Andrew Kozlowski of the New York State Museum has studied the large landslide at Little Porter Mountain, New York. Some of his findings are reported in an article in the Press Republican.
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