Gas Shale News for the Keystone State, 9/6 edition

Because of the delay last week, I've decided to move the update from Fridays to Mondays. Here is the round-up of Marcellus Play news for 8/31 through 9/6:

On the business end, Rex Energy has entered into a joint venture agreement with Summit Discovery Resources II, a subsidiary of a large Japanese investment firm.

Chief Oil & Gas has  voluntarily disclosed the additives it uses to hydrofrak in the Marcellus Shale, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Pennsylvania to plans increase roadside inspections of waste haulers, reports Truckinginfo. It has been suggested that much of the reported contamination may not be a direct result of well operation, but instead may be from illegal dumping or improper transport.  The state is also investigating a spill of gas well drill cuttings near a stream in Stueben County NY, on the PA line. Environmental groups claim that the cuttings are radioactive. A more realistic problem from disposal of such cuttings would be pyrite in the shale producing an acid drainage problem. Guess this is what we get for increasing geological ignorance.

Democratic gubenatorial candidate Dan Onorato attacked challenger Tom Corbett over the latter's opposition to a severance tax on Marcellus drilling. Corbett claims the tax would drive the industry out of the state. Yeah right, they're not going to walk away from money and the tax would be chump change for them. John Felmy on GoErie.com tried the same line of BS. Of course, he is the chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, so what should we expect? This is the same organization to orchestrated a "rally" to oppose plans to get rid of industry tax breaks and impose unlimited liability for oil spills.

Interestingly, it is the GOP in the Penn Senate that is writing the tax bill.

The federal EPA has found water contamination near fracking ops (story is on a subscription site for Oil and Gas Insight journal).

Anderson Cooper yaps about the whole fraking issue on his blog. Is it frak or frack?

The Pennsylvania Cable Network this week will air call-in Q&A and a "town meeting" on the Marcellus shale natural gas issue. This will be Tuesday, Weds, and Thursday. If you're like me and do not get cable you'll miss out. I'll try to find out what, if anything, happens.

More claims about jobs from the gas boom, but details remain vague.