Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County
June 14, 2011
By JOHN M. BRODER (NYT)
The postponement is a tacit admission that efforts to control pollution will take an economic toll; environmental activists see in it a surrender to industry pressure.
May 31, 2011
https://acrobat.com/#d=RF- gWpS33h7fE1A5ic0iwg.
March 30, 2011 1 Comment
An educational seminar on natural gas exploration is scheduled for
Monday April 11th, from 7pm to 9pm at the New York State Grange Headquarters in Cortland, NY.
The seminar will focus on the issues associated with natural gas production in shale formations and lessons learned by our neighbors in northern Pennsylvania (PA).
With over 400 wells, Bradford County, PA is considered to be at the forefront of development in the Marcellus shale “natural gas play”. When the race for natural gas development in shale formations came to PA, the State and Bradford County were not as prepared as they would like to have been. The PA Department of Environmental Protection was quick to issue permits for extracting gas through the use of horizontal hydrofracturing. Horizontal hydrofracturing brought a wide range of opportunities and impacts to the local communities.
With the current moratorium on horizontal hydrofracturing in New York State, local communities have an opportunity to hear firsthand what is happening in northern PA in order to be better prepared for natural gas development, should it come here. With over 30 years of experience at the Bradford County Conservation District, Manager Mike Lovegreen knows every nook and cranny of his county and has seen firsthand the impact this industry can have on small rural communities. Mike will be discussing his experiences relating to the natural gas industry and what the Conservation District and local municipalities roles are regarding issues such as water quality monitoring, roads, economic development, etc. He will discuss the importance of maintaining a good working relationship between local government, the gas industry and the community. All landowners, local officials and community members are invited to attend this informational seminar focusing on Bradford County’s experiences with the natural gas boom of recent years.
This seminar is sponsored by the Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and is free and open to the public. If you have any questions about the seminar or any of the services or programs provided by the SWCD please call 607-756-5991 or visit the SWCD website at http://www.cortlandswcd.org.
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Mike Lovegreen, Bradford County Conservation District Manager, spoke at the Otsego County Water Quality Coordinating Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 22 on first-hand experiences there. He had a lot of interesting things to say — some expected, some not. The boom town information is worth a look. Please see the article in the current issue of OCCA’s newsletter, “The Lookout.” A video is available, and there is a link to his PowerPoint presentation on the OCCA website homepage.
Comment:
James Northrup
February 23, 2011
BINGHAMTON — Sen. Thomas W. Libous has seen the region’s economic future: Drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale.
The era when Broome County could lure significant economic development to the region from other states is over, the senator told members of the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce on Thursday during a chamber-sponsored legislative dialogue with state elected officials.
“This is an opportunity,” Libous said of drilling in the Marcellus Shale, a portion of which lies beneath Broome County. “Let’s not blow it.”
Libous, along with Assemblywoman Donna A. Lupardo, D-Endwell, and Assemblyman Clifford Crouch, R-Guilford, were quizzed Thursday on a variety of topics, including a state-proposed 2 percent property tax cap, pension reform and a proposal from Gov. Andrew Cuomo to create statewide Economic Development Councils.
Libous, a Binghamton Republican who is also deputy majority leader in the Senate, said about 88,000 jobs connected with gas drilling have been created so far in Pennsylvania. Libous said he recently spoke to a trucker from Texas who he met by chance at Greater Binghamton Airport.
February 15, 2011
http://www.cooperstownchamber.org/pdfs/hydrofracking.pdf
Hydrofracking for Shale Gas in Otsego County
Feb 11, 2011 Statement by Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce
1. WHEREAS…The gas industry has secured broad exemptions from Federal regulation under the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2005 (the “Halliburton exemption”). Under New York State law, horizontal drilling is now stalled pending completion of a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS), which could be finalized at any time. In the interim, drilling of vertical wells with hydrofracking is proceeding in our County under an outdated 1992 Generic Environmental Impact Statement. Thus, gas companies are now drilling and fracking in our County without substantive local review and both state and federal regulatory investigations into the risks of the process are mired in political delays.
2. WHEREAS…Land-lease development in the region has already reached a high level without any meaningful regulatory control and with limited public awareness of the issues. Over 60,000 acres have already been leased by gas-drilling companies or their land agents and active drilling projects have started in Otsego County (principally by Gastem, a Canadian lease/exploration company).
3. WHEREAS…The relative contribution of natural gas from hydrofracking to either the economy or the energy needs of the region is minimal and development does not materially contribute to a sustainable national or regional energy policy.
4. WHEREAS…The number of documented spills, blowouts, leaking wells and other environmental accidents is significant and the environmental and human consequences have been serious in a number of states, including TX, PA, WY, and WV.
5. WHEREAS…The withdrawal of huge quantities of fresh water estimated at 2-5 million gallons of water per frack cycle and the heavy impact of thousands of truck trips per well hauling water and chemicals to and from the drill pads on loca infrastructure cannot be sustained in Otsego County. Effective technologies for the treatment of the millions of gallons of polluted processing waste do not exist and there are no locations for waste disposal in New York capable of supporting the proposed scale of drilling.
6. WHEREAS…The most critical threat to the local area is contamination of the aquifers and surface water resources found directly above the Marcellus shale. Current plans for drilling present a strategic risk to the entire Otsego County water supply and the Susquehanna watershed. The New York City watershed has already been protected, which represents the clearest evidence that NY State already understands a potential risk.
7. WHEREAS…On Jan 1, 2011, NY State Governor Andrew Cuomo continued 2010 Executive order 41 (issued by past Governor David Paterson) directing the NY DEC to publish a revised draft SGEIS, accept public comment on the revisions, and schedule public hearings on the revisions. The order says no horizontal hydrofracking permits may be issued prior to the completion of a final SGEIS. This is in effect a moratorium on any new horizontal hydrofracking drilling, but does not stop vertical hydrofracking drilling, nor does it stop further land leasing, seismic testing, or other actions that may lead to future drilling.
WE CONCLUDE THEREFORE, THAT:
The plans for drilling pose a direct and material threat to the interests of the Chamber membership. Industrial-scale hydrofracking in the upstate region will irreparably damage the essential qualities that make the Cooperstown area an excellent place to live, raise families, farm and work. It puts at risk much of the local economy, ranging from hotel and tourism to restaurant and retail businesses, most of which are driven by the hundreds of thousands of tourists who choose to visit the region every year.
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February 9, 2011
Research & Policy Brief Series. ISSUE NUMBER 39/JANUARY 2011
How much do residents feel they know about the potential impacts?
Department of Development Sociology
Cornell University
February 1, 2011
Cnooc Pays $570 Million for Chesapeake Shale Stake – Businessweek.
January 31, 2011, 4:12 PM EST
By Jim Polson and John Duce
(Updates share price in eighth paragraph.)
Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) — Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore energy producer, agreed to pay $570 million in cash for a one- third stake in Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s Niobrara shale project, adding to its U.S. holdings in crude oil production.
The Chinese explorer also agreed to pay as much as $697 million, up to two-thirds of Chesapeake’s costs to drill and complete wells in the area, the companies said in a statement yesterday.
The deal follows Chinese President Hu Jintao’s first state visit to the U.S. this month to expand economic ties and would be Cnooc’s second U.S. energy asset purchase from Chesapeake, five years after political opposition derailed its $18.5 billion bid for Unocal Corp. The company will pay about $2,140 an acre for its stake in Niobrara and has the right to a one-third share in future acquisitions in the shale formation.
“If you look at President Hu’s recent trip to Washington, there seems to be a greater willingness in the U.S. to encourage Chinese investment,” said Wang Aochao, head of China energy research at UOB-Kay Hian Ltd. in Shanghai. “We don’t have all the details at hand, but it appears to be a fair price for these assets. The Chinese oil majors still think valuations generally for oil and gas assets are reasonable.”
Niobrara covers 8,400 square miles (21,756 square kilometers) in Colorado and Wyoming and may contain 103.6 million barrels of oil, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated in 2006 before Chesapeake, EOG Resources Inc. and other producers began drilling the formation.
‘Seems Rich’
Cnooc, which is listed in Hong Kong, has risen 54 percent in the past 12 months, outpacing the 16 percent gain in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. The shares fell 0.7 percent to HK$17.20 today. The Hang Seng also declined 0.7 percent.
Chesapeake rose $2.20, or 8.1 percent, to $29.53 at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, its largest gain in five weeks. Other U.S. oil and gas producers with Niobrara leases also rose, including Petroleum Development Corp. and Andarko Petroleum Corp.
“This price seems rich,” Eric Hagen, an analyst for New York-based Lazard Capital Markets, said in a note today to clients affirming a hold rating on Chesapeake shares. “Cnooc is seeking access to technology more than U.S. assets.”
The Chinese energy explorer forecast a 12 percent increase in oil and gas production in 2011 after spending about $8.4 billion in the past year acquiring assets in the U.S., Africa and Argentina. By contrast, output rose 44 percent in 2010.
Prior Shale Purchase
Cnooc, based in Beijing, completed its $1.08 billion purchase of a one-third interest in Chesapeake’s 600,000 acres in the Eagle Ford project in South Texas in November. The Niobrara deal may be completed in the first quarter of this year, according to yesterday’s statement.
“The win-win deal valuation is fair based on our estimates and Cnooc’s strategy to further expand into the oil-rich shale deposits in the U.S.,” said Gordon Kwan, head of regional energy search at Mirae Asset Securities in Hong Kong. “The total investment of $1.27 billion in the deal through 2014 is manageable and equates to about 14 percent of Cnooc’s budgeted $9 billion for 2011.”
The Niobrara deal will lead to a reduction in U.S. oil imports over time and the creation of thousands of jobs, Aubrey McClendon chief executive officer of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake, said in the statement.
“This transaction will provide the capital necessary to accelerate drilling of this large domestic oil and natural gas resource,” McClendon added.
Doubling Rigs
Chesapeake expects to double its drilling rigs in Wyoming’s Powder River and Colorado’s Denver-Julesburg basins to 10 by the end of the year. It plans to have 20 rigs working by end-2012.
Chesapeake, the most active U.S. gas and oil driller, has 16 wells producing in those basins with initial output of as much as 1,000 barrels of oil and 3 million cubic feet of natural gas a day, according to the company.
The companies plan to eventually produce the equivalent of as much as 5 billion barrels of oil from the basins.
–Editors: Tina Davis, Jessica Resnick-Ault
To contact the reporters on this story: Jim Polson in New York at jpolson@bloomberg.net; John Duce in Hong Kong at jduce1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net
January 28, 2011
Cheniere Energy, In Reversal, Wants to Export Natural Gas – NYTimes.com. Jan. 28, 2011
The central assumption behind the export strategy is simple: American gas prices are destined to be cheaper than European and Asian prices for years to come. At today’s prices, companies would be able to buy American gas at $4.35 per million British thermal units, and then sell the same gas in Europe or Asia for roughly double that price, since long-term contracts globally are still largely tied to high benchmark oil prices.
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