NY State Bans Hydrofracking

Mineralman, that couldn't be further from the truth.  Even as other service companies were able to pump hydrocarbon fluids, many chose not to.  Most companies will not pump diesel.  There were a few that after GFS showed the potential market for hydrocarbon fracturing in the US that got in to it.  Gasfrac still had some competitive advantages over these other companies technologically and some of our customers recognized this and continued to use Gasfrac even when others were pumping the same fluids (non LPG).  The biggest problem with this company was the "Gasfrac Experience."  Early on, Gasfrac operations were so terrible that many customers, regardless of the performance of the well, decided it was too much of a hassle and ancillary services too expensive to try it again.  It wasn't until the last year that the operations became proficient.  Notice I say proficient, and not efficient.  Even in the end the Gasfrac operations were not as efficient as they could be and that was due to management decisions and operational requirements.  Many people inside Gasfrac knew this also but there were a few (3 or 4) people within the company that held all the power, none based in the US, that didn't understand that their decisions were making current customers angry and turning potential customers away.  There are still GFS customers out there that want the technology and there are some people exploring the possibility of continuing it.  But the failure of this company, plain and simple, was management decisions and philosophies.  These people didn't know how to combine a superior technology with customer service and it bit them in the end.  If they could have compromised a little more and worked with their customers a little more instead of being so arrogant and rigid, this company would have been a major success.  I mean, hell, they fired to the guys that invented the technology.  What does that tell you?  

And just to set the record straight, most of the O&G industry weren't afraid of LPG.   

Oilfieldworker,

Thanks for you insite. I have heard this same story in the past from others. Coming from you gives the story a much more significant meaning. When you combine this type of inept management with the fact that there was serious competition for Gasfrac in their own space (waterless fracking) then it is not that hard to understand why they failed. You can find numerous articles on the internet about the use of diesel fuel in fracking by Halliburton and others. The EPA restricts the use of diesel in coalbed methane formations. That same restriction does not apply to other deeper formations. So, if you are in South Texas and you have a tight Wilcox formation that needs fracking but is extremely water sensitive, waterless options are still available.

Here's More:
(Photos are of people attending a press announcement)

Begin forwarded message:


www.stargazette.com/story/news/local/2015/07/08/fracking-propane-proposed-tioga-county-ny/29863383/

Fracking with propane proposed for Tioga County, NY
Andrew Casler, acasler@ithacajournal.com | @andrewcasler5:02 p.m. EDT July 8, 2015
20150708 BartonBuy Photo
(Photo: photos by KELLY GAMPEL / Staff Photo)
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BARTON – A proposal to frack for natural gas using gelled propane and sand was announced Wednesday morning at Barton Town Hall in Tioga County.

Snyder Farm Group spokesman Kevin "Cub" Frisbie said an application was filed Tuesday with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The move comes after Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration officially banned large-scale hydraulic fracturing on June 29. The state announcement ended a seven-year review process that drew hundreds of thousands of public comments and sharply divided the general public.

"We are outside of the state's ban," Tioga Energy Partners, LLC legal counsel Adam Schultz said. "The state banned high-volume hydraulic fracturing, but that's not what we're doing."

Tioga Energy Partners is the contracting company working with the Snyder Farm Group on the drilling application.

More than 60 people attended the press conference, which was held outside the Town of Barton municipal offices.

20150708 BartonBuy Photo
A large crowd gathered outside Barton town hall Wednesday morning to hear about Snyder Farm Group's proposal for a natural gas well beneath a Barton farm. (Photo: KELLY GAMPEL / Staff Photo)
The Snyder group is a collection of five Tioga County farm families who have leased land for natural gas development. The group is seeking to develop a 53-acre natural gas well in Halsey Valley, which is in the Town of Barton, Tioga County — about 25 miles south of Ithaca and 30 miles east of Elmira.

The well pad would occupy about 31/2 acres on Ernest "Bucky" Snyder's 150-acre hay and corn farm.

The group has applied for two drilling permits, Frisbie said.

The well would get drilled into the Utica Shale formation, about 9,500 feet underground, according to Frisbie. "Then we will do a horizontal turn and go into the Marcellus Shale at approximately 4,400 feet," he said.

Town of Barton Supervisor Leon "Stick" Cary said that fracking may mean "a happy time for the residents of the Town of Barton, as well as Tioga County." Cary said that he anticipates increased taxes for local government and new jobs.

"The Snyder Group ... have done a good job to harvest what is theirs," Cary said. "It's the gas under their lands, and they have picked a way that is safe ... it will make this area flourish, there's no doubt in my mind."

Tioga Energy Partners said it would use gelled propane and sand to hydraulically fracture Marcellus Shale and release natural gas.

"What the state studied, and eventually decided to ban, was the use of high volumes of water for fracturing purposes," Schultz said. "This process that we are proposing doesn't use any water, the fracturing takes place using liquified petroleum gas."

The groups are seeking to develop the well under a New York state Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program from 1992.

"(The application) will be subject to rigorous review, which we fully support, and that process will be completed when it was completed," Schultz added.

The state's fracking ban started a 120-day clock for fracking proponents to examine whether the ban has any legal holes; fracking opponents have lauded the ban. If a lawsuit isn't filed by Oct. 27, state law says the decision can no longer be challenged.

The DEC issued a 43-page "findings statement," which laid out the agency's rationale for implementing a statewide ban on fracking with more than 300,000 gallons of fluid. The document cites a number of uncertainties about the process' impact on human health and the environment while questioning whether it would be economically feasible in New York.

Economic gains sought

"Bucky" Snyder, the owner of the land where the well pad could be located, said that he thinks the push to develop gas in Tioga County is a positive step.

"It's going to create a lot of jobs, and it's going to create a lot of well-needed help for this area," Snyder said. "There's a lot of people who don't have jobs in this area."

20150708 BartonBuy Photo
Ernest “Bucky” Snyder discusses the positives of having a natural gas well underneath his Halsey Valley Road farmland in the Town of Barton, near Tyler Hollow Road. (Photo: KELLY GAMPEL / Staff Photo)
Sen. Tom Libous, R-Binghamton, sent spokesman Jim Thomas to the Wednesday press conference.

"We think that this will be a resource for the county after the Tioga Downs announcement (Tuesday)," Thomas said. "I think things are really starting to bounce back in Tioga and look forward to moving forward with this."

The Nichols racino is proposing a $195 million investment that would double its work force and lead to $32 million in new gaming tax revenues.

"I think we have a resource beneath our lands that we're not using, and other states are reaping an economic benefit from it, but we aren't," said Terri Tyson, of Halsey Valley. She owns 92 acres where she farms dairy cattle.

"If the opportunity arises, I wouldn't be afraid to have (fracking) on my property," she said.

Tyson added that she wants to see gas drilling developed safely, and she believes that the Snyder Farm Group will do just that.

"I have young children that want to take over the farm when I'm done with it, and it's very important to me that our land is protected, but also that we do have some benefits," she said.

Cecil Coons, who owns 68 acres in Halsey Valley, said his town needs industry and new tax revenue.

"We're going to get jobs, we're going to get lease money, and it's going to help everybody," he said.

Tioga County Farm Bureau president and member of the

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Erin Riddle
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Don't know. Will try to find out in a couple of days...obviously no rush ! I thought fracing with propane was our proprietary process...but guess not...or at least just wishful thinking...put it out there for discussion....we had the right idea...but perhaps the wrong mgmt.

Well, actually Calfrac is now the sole owner of the now reorganized Gasfrac, see news.sys-con.com/node/3359801 , and we will now see what happens.

With Calfrac now in possession, they are publicly traded while step isn't, of the technology, and most importantly the patents, we will once again see gell fracking.

Start buying some Caflrac.

From "Columbus Business First" a reporting service ??




OHIO ENERGY INC.
5 Things to Know in Energy: MarkWest/Marathon merger, GasFrac is back, Keystone opponents 'have blood on their hands'
Jul 13, 2015, 11:01am EDT
Tom Knox
Columbus Business First
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This week has started off with a bang, with two major oil and gas players saying they'll merge. As the industry continues to struggle amid low prices, there will likely be more mega mergers to come.
Here are Five Things to Know in Energy this week:

An arm of Findlay-based Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:MPC) will acquire MarkWest Energy Partners LP, the biggest natural gas processor and fractionator in the Utica and Marcellus region, in a $15.8 billion deal announced Monday morning. MarkWest (NYSE:MWE) is based in Denver but has a major presence in Appalachia. Last month MarkWest's top man in the Utica told me why the company is still ramping up its major processing facilities in eastern Ohio. MarkWest will now be a subsidiary of MPLX LP, a master limited partnership created by Marathon. MarkWest is the country's second-biggest natural gas processor. The latest master limited partnership (you can read more about why energy companies love them here) is the fourth-biggest in the U.S., with a market cap of $21 billion. Marathon is the second-largest Ohio company by revenue. "We're going to have lots of opportunities," MarkWest CEO Frank Semple told analysts on a conference call detailing the deal, echoing comments made by executives with both companies that the merger wasn't about the money.
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GasFrac is back. Well, the waterless fracking technology with which it made its name is, at least, and it's in New York, where high-volume fracking is banned. Calgary-based GasFrac Energy Services Inc. made waves late last year when companies drilling in eastern Ohio's Utica shale play tried using GasFrac's gelled liquid petroleum gas instead of water to frack. It didn't work, and GasFrac filed for bankruptcy protection. But a company in New York said drilling one well using gel instead of water skirts around New York's ban. An analyst who spoke to the AP is dubious about the economic viability of the plan.
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Ohio Oil and Gas Association President David Hill is tired of the verbal grenades often lobbed at his industry and is urging his influential group's 3,000-plus members to speak up. That includes rallying language in the group's monthly magazine that says "opponents of the Keystone Pipeline have blood on their hands." Read here to see why Hill made the comment and why he's not backing down from it.
NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) CEO Joe Hamrock told a luncheon that the company loves its growing presence in the Columbus area – but not to expect it to become the new headquarters. Northwest Indiana-based NiSource is the parent company of Columbia Gas of Ohio.
The CEO of Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN), which this year made a big jump into Ohio's energy market when it bought Duke Energy's (NYSE:DUK) power plants, highlighted Ohio and its natural-gas filled ground as a potential growth opportunity for the Texas company.