On Friday West Virginia awarded Gastar the lease to drill under the Ohio River.  This article says at the Marshall/Wetzel County line. 

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/615450.html

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If you are a mineral owner within the 2.5 mile radius and you are denied the right to have your land drilled.  Are you entitled to compensation for lost royalties in addition to mineral trespass awards?

Sounds like a great class action lawsuit.  There must be a bunch of landowners in that situation....on both sides of the river.

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Axiall did not get their injunction to stop Gastar from drilling in the PA court.

Last Friday Oct 31st  Axiall filed suit against Gastar in Marshall County, WV  Circuit Court.

Included in the article is a statement that it is believed that Axiall and Triad Hunter have already gone to arbitration over the fracking damage to Axiall.

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/616290/Axial...

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/616290.html

Axiall Suing to Prevent Gastar From Fracking Near Ohio River

Cites ‘near catastrophic event’ at Natrium facility

November 4, 2014
By CASEY JUNKINS The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

NATRIUM - Axiall Corp. officials believe natural gas fracking at a site across the Ohio River from the Natrium facility led to a "near catastrophic event" in damaging four of the chemical producer's brine wells.

Now the firm wants to stop Gastar Exploration from proceeding with a similar operation.

Gastar - which the West Virginia Department of Commerce recently acknowledged as the highest bidder to extract natural gas from 232 acres of state-owned minerals under the river just to the south of the Axiall plant - signed a lease agreement with PPG Industries when that firm still owned the Axiall facility in 2011. The PPG chemical business merged with Georgia Gulf to form Axiall in early 2013, but PPG retained the mineral interests.

Article Photos

Photo by Casey Junkins / Gastar Exploration Chief Operating Officer Mike McCown said his company plans to safely drill on land owned by the state 
of West Virginia under the Ohio River and at the nearby site on land leased from PPG Industries.

After a Pennsylvania court refused Axiall's preliminary injunction against Gastar's plans, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection agreed to grant Gastar permits to drill on the 3,300 acres of land in southern Marshall County. However, Axiall then filed another injunction Friday against Gastar in Marshall County Circuit Court, which Second Circuit Judge David W. Hummel granted.

"A short delay in Gastar's fracking schedule will do little harm to Gastar," Hummel wrote. "Should the fracking activities of Gastar go wrong, the public would be greatly harmed. The potential permeation of natural gas through plaintiff's brine wells into the atmosphere would cause great danger of explosion and harm."

However, Gastar Chief Operation Officer Mike McCown is confident the company will be able to move forward. A hearing on the injunction is set for 2 p.m. Nov. 12 in Hummel's court.

"Once the evidence is again provided in court, we are confident we will prevail and it will once more be recognized that Axiall is not entitled to injunctive relief," he said. "Gastar's operations have been and will continue to be safe and environmentally conscious. We support and care about the communities in which we live and work."

Terry Engelder, professor of geosciences at Penn State University, said he believes the state should exercise caution before allowing fracking in the vicinity of the Axiall plant.

"I think an additional amount of information should be gathered," Engelder said. "The Triad Hunter activity compromised the integrity of four Axiall brine wells. The DEP, Gastar or Axiall should be able to gain more information."

According to court documents filed by Axiall operating subsidiary "Eagle Natrium," the Axiall officials noticed an increase in pressure at four brine wells in August 2013. In September 2013, a valve on one of the wells failed, leading it to begin "spewing flammable natural gas."

Court records show Axiall eventually determined the pressure in their wells began increasing when Triad Hunter, subsidiary of Magnum Hunter, fracked a well on the Ormet property across the river from the chemical plant.

Magnum Hunter officials could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, Engelder said he believes the dispute between Axiall and Triad has gone to arbitration.

"We are confident we can fracture these wells without harming Axiall's operations. We have routinely drilled horizontal wells 400 to 600 feet apart to maximize the gas recovery from the Marcellus," McCown said. "Out of an abundance of caution, we have redesigned the hydraulic fracture stimulation treatment of these wells."

Gastar and the Department of Commerce agreed on financial terms of $3,500 per acre and 20 percent of production royalties for drilling under the Ohio River. However, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin spokesman Chris Stadelman emphasized the environmental aspects of the lease are not finished.

"Gov. Tomblin is aware of the situation and Axiall's concerns, and he received an update last week from the Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP is responsible for permitting issues and will continue to monitor activity related to that site," Stadelman said.

"No leases for drilling on state-owned property along the Ohio River have been awarded. If and when they are awarded, any proposed drilling plan would be required to go through the appropriate process at the DEP, which provides an opportunity for public comments related to any concerns about the permit," he added.

http://www.wtrf.com/story/27312903/gastar-drills-responsibly-in-mou...

Gastar drills responsibly in Mountain State

Posted: Nov 06, 2014 10:55 AM ESTUpdated: Nov 11, 2014 6:00 AM EST

I'm writing in response to recent stories regarding Gastar Exploration's ability to responsibly drill for natural gas in West Virginia.

I can say without hesitation my company has the experience and tools necessary to do so without harming the environment and surrounding communities.

Gastar is a public company headquartered in Houston. We have offices in Harrison, Ohio and Marshall counties. Our West Virginia employees live in the state, and I've lived and worked here over most of my 38-year career in the oil and gas industry. I live in Wood County, and I'm thrilled to see my home state has become an integral piece of the U.S. oil and gas industry. I'm proud my company is an important player in the industry's future — which brings us to the case at hand.

Three years ago, Gastar leased about 3,300 acres from PPG, the previous owner of a chemical plant in Proctor. Two years ago, Axiall, an Atlanta-based company, formed Eagle Natrium and purchased the plant after Gastar had, without incident, drilled and fractured several wells in close proximity to Eagle Natrium's facility.

Last year, another operator on the Ohio side of the Ohio River caused natural gas and condensate to flow out of three of Axiall's water injection wells. Gastar — and our contractors — expended time, energy and hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist; actions we didn't hesitate to take because it was simply the right thing to do. As a result of Gastar's actions, the situation was controlled with no injury to any personnel and no threat to public safety.

In other words, we know what we're doing. Axiall has stated publically that Gastar's assistance was critical to resolving the situation.

Now the same company that came to us for assistance is claiming we aren't qualified to determine what constitutes safe and prudent oilfield operations. It doesn't make sense.

Last year Axiall requested that Gastar not proceed with fracturing near Eagle Natrium's facility until those wells affected by the previous incident were properly repaired. Even though Gastar was under no obligation to do so, we agreed because it was also the right thing to do. Now those wells are back in operation.

We met many times with Axiall officials to discuss the technical aspects of drilling and to reassure them hydraulic fracturing of our wells — which are located more than 1,400 feet from Axiall's active wells — would not impact their facility.

Still, in April, Axiall filed suit in Pennsylvania for an injunction to prevent Gastar's hydraulic fracturing activities, even though the lease was signed and the State of West Virginia had approved the permits.

Earlier this month, the court denied Axiall's motion and recognized Gastar's operations posed no threat to Axiall's operations. The hundreds of pages of evidence support Gastar's position and operating plans.

It's time to move forward. We're cooperating completely with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, and we're erring on the side of caution and safety.

Axiall also has attempted to tie this situation to Gastar's proposal to horizontally drill beneath the Ohio River. The projects are unrelated, but in either case, Gastar is committed to preventing negative environmental impact while boosting West Virginia's natural gas industry.

Drilling beneath the river would generate tax revenue, royalties and bonus payments for West Virginia while safely extracting the cleanest fossil fuel in existence.

Gastar's operations have been and will continue to be safe and environmentally conscious. We support and care about the communities in which we live and work.

Gastar has a strong track record, and West Virginia is a strong state. Moving forward and working together, our futures are bright.

Mike McCown is senior vice president and chief operating officer for Gastar Exploration Inc.

Philip,

Interesting in the letter that you posted the writer never refers to the fact that another hearing on an injunction is set for today, November 12 at 2 p m in Marshall County, WV.

The writer is Mike McCown, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Gastar Exploration Inc.

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/618803/More-...

WHEELING - Even as the West Virginia Department of Commerce finalizes the contract with Gastar Exploration for drilling Marcellus and Utica shale beneath the Ohio River, officials are seeking bids for additional underwater state-owned mineral tracts.

On Tuesday, Gastar Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mike McCown said officials in his company's Houston, Texas office are negotiating the details of the driller's plans to extract natural gas from 232 acres of state-owned minerals under the river, near the Bayer Corp. plant in Marshall County. He said the financial terms of $3,500 per acre and 20 percent of production royalties are set, but matters of well location and other logistics need to be finalized. The company hopes to begin work soon.

"We are bidding on some additional tracts, next to our operations in Wetzel County," McCown said. "This is something we are very interested in."

Article Photos

Photo by Casey Junkins / Vehicles cross the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge carrying Interstate 470 across the Ohio River. The West Virginia Department of Commerce is seeking more bids for oil and natural gas drilling under the river.

The Department of Commerce is a branch of West Virginia government under the auspices of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, which includes the Division of Natural Resources. In addition to the minerals which Gastar agreed to extract, the commerce department's website shows the agency wants to lease the following tracts:

These proposed fracking zones are also in addition to the $6.2 million bid Denver-based Antero Resources recently made for drilling on 518 acres at the Conaway Run Wildlife Management Area in Tyler County.

McCown said his company plans to ultimately drill more than 200 Marcellus wells and 100 Utica wells in Marshall and Wetzel counties.

He said producers can drill separate Marcellus and Utica wells on the same pads, but they cannot extract gas from both formations through the same well.

"We drill under streams, valleys and houses routinely," McCown said when asked about environmental concerns associated with the project. "This is a great opportunity for us and for the state."

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Oil and Gas issues permits for drilling throughout the state. Oil and Gas Chief James Martin, West Virginia University Geology professor Tim Carr and several other industry officials have said they do not believe fracking under the river would be any different that doing it anywhere else because the action takes place so deep within the earth.

Any company signing a lease with the state could drill more than one mile deep before turning the bit horizontally to reach the oil and natural gas beneath the river.

The driller could then establish its drilling pad more than one mile away from the target because of the length of the horizontal wells.

Gastar prevails in its court challenge from Axiall Corp.   Judge says in agreement with Gastar that Axiall already had ruling in PA and can't have a second ruling.

Interesting in this release is a statement about Gastar fracking with segregating  and using different pressures within the wellbore.     Anyone know if this is a new technique or do other companies use it in their fracking process?

http://seekingalpha.com/pr/12095455-gastar-exploration-inc-announce...

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