Pipeline boring is the subject of the seventh guidance document issued by the Marcellus Shale Coalition.

Recommended Practices for Pipeline Boring, released May 22, offers best practices for the process used by pipeline companies to install pipelines under highways, railroads and bodies of water in instances where traditional trenching is not feasible.

“Building the required pipeline infrastructure to safely transport natural gas from the wellhead to the marketplace is a huge undertaking and one that requires much due diligence,” stated MSC CEO Kathryn Klaber.

“These Recommended Practices for Pipeline Boring provide operators with a road map to ensure that these projects are constructed with the highest degree of integrity, that operators plan appropriately prior to construction and that contingency plans are in place,” Klaber said.

While most pipeline construction is completed through trenching, boring often is used when crossing under a body of water, highway or railroad. An approved path is drilled beneath the surface feature.

In addition to obtaining all required permits, operators need to plan their projects by evaluating the site topography, subsurface conditions and the presence of other surface features such as above- and below-ground utilities, the guidance document recommends.

Operators also may conduct geotechnical investigations in or adjacent to planned bore areas, while also developing bore profiles and contingency plans. The guideline document also provide detailed information on contingency planning for an inadvertent return, a process when boring fluid comes to the surface through natural cracks in the subsurface that may not have been identified during the planning phase.

Operators use a drilling fluid that includes bentonite clay to aid in the drilling process.

“While bentonite is a non-hazardous compound that has many common applications, it’s important that the public has a good, fact-based understanding of this process, and that operators plan accordingly should they experience an inadvertent return during pipeline boring,” Klaber said. “MSC member companies are dedicated to operating transparently and in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.”

The MSC’s recommended practices documents may be found on the organization’s website.

NOTE: Click HERE to view this story online.

Prior to the boring process commencing, operators must obtain all required permits and, as recommended in the guidance document, properly plan the project by evaluating the site topography, subsurface conditions and the presence of other surface features such as existing above and below ground utilities. Operators may also conduct a geotechnical investigation in or adjacent to the planned bore area, while also developing a bore profile and contingency plan.

“Building the required pipeline infrastructure to safely transport natural gas from the wellhead to the marketplace is a huge undertaking and one that requires much due diligence,” stated MSC chief executive officer Kathryn Klaber. “These Recommended Practices for Pipeline Boring provide operators with a road map to ensure that these projects are constructed with the highest degree of integrity, that operators plan appropriately prior to construction, and that contingency plans are in place.”

While most pipeline construction is completed through the traditional trenching process, boring is often used when crossing under a body of water, highway or railroad. Boring is completed by drilling along a predetermined and approved path below the aforementioned areas. Operators use a clay-based, non-hazardous drilling fluid (bentonite) that is approximately 96 percent water and aids in the drilling process.

The MSC’s Recommended Practices for Pipeline Boring also provide detailed information on contingency planning for an inadvertent return, a process when boring fluid comes to the surface through natural cracks in the subsurface that may not have been identified during the planning phase.

Continued Klaber, “While bentonite is a non-hazardous compound that has many common applications, it’s important that the public has a good, fact-based understanding of this process, and that operators plan accordingly should they experience an inadvertent return during pipeline boring. MSC member companies are dedicated to operating transparently and in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.”

To view the MSC’s Recommended Practices, click HERE.

The report, entitled “Shale Gas, Competitiveness, and New U.S. Chemical Industry Investment – An Analysis of Announced Projects”, highlights and examines ways in which the affordable cost of natural gas from shale plays enhances American competitiveness, job creation and industry investments all while lowering our national trade deficit. ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley concludes, “The United States has become a magnet for chemical industry investment, a testament to the favorable environment created by America’s shale gas as well as a vote of confidence in a bright natural gas outlook for decades to come.”

Here are key excerpts of the new study:

• Access to vast, new supplies of natural gas from previously untapped shale deposits is one of the most exciting domestic energy developments of the past 50 years. After years of high, volatile natural gas prices, the new economics of shale gas are creating a competitive advantage for US manufacturers, leading to greater investment, industry growth, and jobs.
• Growth in domestic shale gas production is helping to reduce US natural gas prices and create a more stable supply of natural gas and ethane.
• Chemical companies from around the world have announced plans for a significant number of new projects to build and expand their shale-­‐advantaged capacity in the United States. Through the end of March 2013, nearly 100 chemical industry investments valued at $71.7 billion had been announced. The majority are being made to expand production capacity for ethylene, ethylene derivatives (i.e., polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, etc.), ammonia, methanol, propylene, and chlorine. Much of the investment is geared toward export markets, which can help improve the US trade deficit.
• Roughly half of the announced investments to date are from firms based outside the U.S. The fact that such large numbers of foreign-­‐owned companies are choosing to source their chemistry in the United States is unprecedented in recent history, and a testament to the value and affordability of America’s shale gas and ethane supplies.
• The U.S. is poised to capture market share from the rest of the world, and no other country or continent has as bright an outlook when it comes to natural gas.
• Shale gas offers the United States an enormous opportunity to become more competitive internationally, grow our economy, and create jobs.
• A new competitive advantage has emerged for chemical manufacturing in the United States as vast new supplies of natural gas from largely untapped shale gas resources, including the Marcellus along the Appalachian mountain chain, are leading to massive capital investment and expansion of the US chemical industry. With the development of new shale gas resources, US industry is announcing expansions of capacity, reversing a decade of long decline and providing opportunities for new jobs at a time when the United States is facing persistent high unemployment.
• The US chemical industry is the largest industrial consumer of natural gas for fuel and power and also for feedstock. The economic impact of the additional production in the US chemical industry invigorated by improved competitiveness resulting from an increase in the availability of low cost natural gas is game changing.

• Based on actual project announcements through March 2013, the US chemical industry is expected to spend at least $71.7 billion in private capital investment on new plant and equipment by 2020, to capitalize on the renewed competitiveness brought about by the shale gas revolution. Further, we expect that additional unannounced investment in chemical capacity is likely to occur. As much as $82.4 billion may be invested in new chemical industry capacity by 2020.
• The availability of low priced natural gas improves US industry competitiveness. Lower natural gas prices mean lower input prices for major US manufacturing industries. Leading industries, including aluminum, chemicals, iron and steel, glass, and paper, are large consumers of natural gas and thus, benefit from shale gas developments.
• ACC found a tremendous opportunity for shale gas to strengthen US manufacturing, boost economic output and create jobs. One of the industries clearly benefiting is plastic and rubber products, and this industry will feature strong growth and absorb much of the incremental gains in chemical industry output arising from the shale gas-­‐induced renewed competitiveness.
• Because of shale gas, the US is among the low-­‐cost chemical producers worldwide. As a result, capacity utilization rates for the new investments are expected to remain high, and the new investments are expected to produce $66.8 billion in new chemical output. The additional $66.8 billion (2012 dollars) in US chemical industry output would directly generate roughly 46,000 high-­‐paying,desirable jobs in the chemical industry. … In addition, the increased competitiveness arising from shale gas and expanded output by the US chemical industry would generate purchases of raw materials, services, and other supplies throughout the supply chain. Thus, through indirect effects, another 264,000 supply chain jobs would be supported by the boost in the output of the chemical industry.

Click HERE for the press release, HERE for the full study, and HERE for the report fact sheet.

Also this week, the Bipartisan Policy Center released a report, “New Dynamics of the U.S. Natural Gas Market”, which found that exporting and an increased use of natural gas are both unlikely to generate domestic price increases.

Here are some of the key findings:

• The United States has ample domestic supplies to meet future demand for natural gas without significant price increases.

• Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are unlikely to have a large impact on domestic prices.

• The price of U.S. natural gas will influence LNG export levels far more than LNG exports will influence domestic prices.
• Increased natural gas consumption in the future will be primarily driven by overall economic growth and increased demand in the electric power and industrial sectors.

• The industrial sector could be a major source of new demand for natural gas if projected growth in the U.S. manufacturing base is realized.

• Natural gas vehicles stand to make significant gains in market share and vehicle miles traveled by 2035.

• In the electric power sector natural gas leads, but renewables also play a significant role.

• Analysis shows that the United States is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the economic, environmental, and energy security benefits of the country’s large natural gas resource base.

• Natural gas resources have the potential to create new market opportunities for expanded natural gas use in ways that will grow the economy and improve the environmental performance of the U.S. energy system.

Click HERE for the press release, and HERE for the full study.

Fact-based reports like these play a vital role in further understanding the broad-based benefits associated with the safe production of our domestic natural gas resources. Please visit LearnAboutShale.org for additional information on natural gas development in Pennsylvania and join the online conversation by using #LearnAboutShale on Twitter.

As safe, tightly regulated natural gas development continues to benefit every corner of Pennsylvania with low-cost energy and new opportunity, we were reminded this week of the far-reaching impacts of Act 13, the revenue generated by this bipartisan piece of legislation and how it is advancing clean transportation alternatives. Funded through impact fee revenue and administered by the Natural Gas Energy Development Program, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will award $20 million in grants over the next three years for natural gas vehicles conversions, acquisitions and infrastructure.

The first round of the grants announced this week totaled $6.7 million, with 18 companies and organizations from 15 counties receiving funding.

Here’s what newspapers and media outlets across the commonwealth are reporting in today’s papers:

• Blair County Benefiting from Act 13 NGV Grants. “As part of a legislative effort to develop shale gas infrastructure, energy independence and environmental responsibility, the state has awarded grants to help two Blair County companies each buy 12 natural gas vehicles. The Department of Environmental Protection has allocated $288,000 to Burgmeier’s Hauling for compressed natural gas trash trucks and $300,000 to Smith Transport for 12 liquefied natural gas vehicles. The local money is part of a $6.7 million allocation from impact fees from gas operations that will fund 18 projects statewide, according to a DEP news release. … Compressed natural gas is about 20 percent cheaper as a fuel than diesel… and is less volatile in price. It results in lower pollutant emissions…the trucks are also quieter.” (Altoona Mirror, 5/17/13)

• Waste Authority in Lancaster County to Purchase 14 New Trucks, Thanks to Act 13 Revenue. “Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority has received a $350,000 state grant to help fund switching its fleet to natural-gas power. The grant, announced Thursday, will help pay for 14 new trash-transfer trucks fueled by compressed natural gas… In a related move, LCSWMA also is installing a natural-gas fueling station at its transfer station complex on Harrisburg Pike. The station will be used by its fleet, the authority’s customers and select groups including businesses and government organizations. The total cost of the new vehicles and fueling station is estimated to be $4 million. The 14 new trucks will cost $1.5 million; the fueling station will cost $2.5 million, an authority spokeswoman said.” (Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, 5/16/13)

• Philadelphia, Delaware County Organizations Receive $1M in Act 13 Dollars for CNG Vehicles. “About $1 million in Marcellus Shale money will make its way to the Philadelphia area to subsidize the purchase of natural-gas-fueled school buses and trucks. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection awarded a total of $6.7 million in grants Thursday to 18 organizations selected from among 49 applicants. … The grants, which will support the purchase or conversion of 288 heavy vehicles across the state, are financed from the $206 million collected last year from the Marcellus Shale impact fee. …The $499,994 award to the Rose Tree Media schools will help reduce the $4.8 million cost for the district to covert 14 existing diesel buses to compressed natural gas (CNG), and to buy eight new CNG buses. … The CNG vehicles are expected to save at least $1 million over 20 years in lower fuel costs. “In addition to the savings,” said Superintendent James M. Wigo Sr., “we are committed to contributing to the clean-air efforts in Delaware County and the commonwealth.” (Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/17/13)

• Cambria County Trucking Firm Receives Act 13 Funding for CNG Vehicles. “A Cambria County trucking company and a Blair County-based trash hauler with customers in Cambria and Somerset counties are big winners in money handed out by the state from the Marcellus Shale impact fees. … The grant program is significant because the more trucks running on compressed natural gas will result in refueling stations that will open the door for passenger vehicles, said state Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont. “This helps in a big way toward increasing demand for refueling stations,” Wozniak said Thursday… “We also have to promote new markets for natural gas, and Act 13 set aside money to accomplish it…” The Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry-based group formed to promote development of the unconventional gas industry, views the grants as proof of the benefits of Marcellus drilling. “These grants further demonstrate the far-reaching benefits of Marcellus Shale in communities across the commonwealth,” coalition spokesman Patrick Creighton said.” (The Tribune-Democrat, 5/16/13)

• Natural Gas Station Under Construction in Allegheny County. “Natural gas production continues to increase across Western Pennsylvania. As a result, more companies are looking at compressed natural gas as the vehicle fuel of the future. Part of Act 13 of 2012 provides millions of dollars in oil and gas generated funds for converting commercial vehicles to natural gas. Burgmeier’s Hauling is one of the local companies benefitting from the program. … work is under way on a new fueling station for large commercial trucks…The new fueling station is part of a vehicle conversion to compressed natural gas effort that will cut costs and benefit its customers. … Burgmeier’s will be using $300,000 to help with the purchase of twelve new compressed natural gas refuse trucks. In addition to being quieter and more efficient, the new trucks are expected to provide a significant environmental benefit.” (WTAJ-TV, 5/16/13)
• Delaware County School District Receives Natural Gas Grant for New CNG Buses. “State officials have awarded the Rose Tree Media School District a $499,994 Natural Gas Vehicle Development Program grant which will go toward an upgrade of the district’s school bus fleet. … Rose Tree Media School District Superintendent James Wigo Sr. said the district is thrilled it is the first district in Delaware County to move in this direction with its buses. Wigo said the district is excited about receiving the funds not only because of the dollar savings associated with it but also because it will help the environment. … “This allows us to make a significant impact and we believe very strongly in our civic responsibility to do all we can to clean up the environment,” Wigo said. The school district has plans to use the funds to upgrade the district’s school bus fleet to natural gas vehicles, convert 14 existing diesel buses to compressed natural gas and begin the process of purchasing eight new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) built buses. The fuel capacity will be supported by a new hybrid fueling station that will be owned and operated by the district, according to district officials.” (Delaware County Times, 5/20/13)

# # #

PITTSBURGH – For companies looking to break into the natural gas business here, a Marcellus Shale Coalition membership is key.

Four years ago, MSC was little more than an informal umbrella over a smattering of energy companies exploring the Marcellus Shale’s potential to yield natural gas. Today, the industry group is a 300-member, five-office powerhouse that has made itself a household name in the region that birthed the U.S. natural gas boom and brought new wealth and prosperity to drilling communities. It counts Marcellus drilling giants like Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. among its members.

Because of its unusual setup — MSC’s focus is on companies operating in a particular energy play, rather than in a certain state — the coalition has extended its reach to residents and industry in not only its home base of Pennsylvania, but also West Virginia, Ohio and New York.

Kathryn Klaber, MSC’s first CEO, is the driving force behind the coalition’s growth.

“From the beginning, we knew that outreach and education would be important,” MSC CEO Kathryn Klaber said.

Klaber, a native Pennsylvanian who answers to Katie, is the coalition’s first CEO. Unlike many of her peers at other energy industry groups, she didn’t come from the energy business.

Before joining MSC in 2010, Klaber was executive vice president for competitiveness at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, executive director of the Pennsylvania Economy League and an employee of consulting firm Environmental Resources Management Inc.

Klaber called those roles a “good prequel” to the work she’s doing with MSC because those jobs exposed her to the economic challenges Pennsylvanians face and the health, safety and environmental rules to which local businesses must adhere.

As MSC CEO, Klaber, 47, works closely with the organization’s executive board, listening to members and attempting to execute their priorities. Over the organization’s four-year existence, that has become an increasingly onerous task as the group’s membership has grown from about 40 to 300 companies, running the gamut from oil and gas producers to local businesses that are providing support services for Marcellus Shale development.

“This is not your grandfather’s trade association,” said MSC spokesman Travis Windle.

The supply chain integration model is one that is increasingly popular among energy industry groups, including MSC’s sister organization, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.

COGA President Tisha Schuller, who came into her post around the same time Klaber joined MSC, said she’s been impressed with the coalition’s reach.

“In just a couple years, it’s like they’ve been around for decades,” she said.

Schuller added that Klaber’s role in the coalition has been critical to its success.

“Katie Klaber is a really dynamic and strong leader, and I’m really impressed by her,” Schuller said. “She has quite a unique skill set and is positively a force to be reckoned with.”

‘Connectors’

Because MSC’s 15 staff members are spread across five offices and spend a lot of time in the field, coalition headquarters, located on a winding road in a business park near Pittsburgh International Airport, is far from bustling.

But its phone lines are busy.

For the people who call in to ask questions such as “Where’s my royalty check?” or “How can my son get a job?” Klaber said MSC’s staff members see themselves as “connectors” who can provide critical information.

Windle offered one example of a call that came into the office in late March.

Meetings at MSC’s Pittsburgh headquarters provide key networking opportunities for energy companies and support service providers.

“I spent probably 45 minutes on the phone with a nice older woman from the Youngstown [Ohio] area, and she had questions about seismic, and she was calling the ‘Marcellus Shale.’ People might say, ‘I hear Marcellus Shale, I read about it in the newspaper; I’m going to Google that,” he said. “Who comes up? We do.”

In the case of community members worried about the health, safety and environmental impacts of drilling and hydraulic fracturing, the technology used to extract gas from shale, MSC often arranges rig tours.

“Those tours are the best way to really have a more productive conversation because you see how this works,” Klaber said. “You see how complex it is.”

She said she only wishes she could get all 12.7 million Pennsylvanians on a tour.

While public questions aren’t MSC’s focus, part of its role is to engage and educate the wider community to help the industry operate more efficiently, Klaber said.

How does the coalition do it?

“Just like the energy strategy: all of the above,” said Steve Forde, MSC’s vice president of policy and communications.

Using YouTube videos, speakers series, an online Ask About Shale forum and other techniques, the coalition has attempted to reach every corner of the region affected by Marcellus activity.

Forde said he was surprised by the success of a recent 11-minute YouTube video explaining methane migration.

“To register as a YouTube hit, you’ve got to watch it the whole way through, and even I didn’t make it through the first couple of times. But in the first week, we had like 1,100 full views on something that’s very, very technical,” Forde said.

Klaber added that the video’s popularity demonstrated a hunger for information about drilling.

“We thought, ‘Wow, people really do want to learn,’” she said.

Environmental debate

To some in the environmental community, though, MSC’s methane video and other educational materials are a form of industry propaganda.

Jeff Schmidt, director of the Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania chapter, was critical of MSC’s support of a part of Act 13, the 2012 Marcellus Shale drilling law that says state regulations supercede local authority to control gas operations. The coalition and other industry groups say they oppose local regulation because of its fragmented nature. Businesses need consistency to operate effectively, they say.

“The coalition’s goal is to change the subject from the problems and simply focus on economic benefits,” Schmidt said.

Klaber said the coalition has worked to take a proactive role in Marcellus Shale issues and tried to withhold from fighting tooth and nail against new rules and regulations.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Kevin Sunday said MSC has been instrumental in industry communications. When Gov. Tom Corbett (R) two years ago called on the oil and gas industry to stop sending its waste to facilities discharging into waterways, DEP reached out to the coalition.

“We called on the industry and particularly the MSC,” Sunday said. They “complied overnight.”

Through its committee structure and monthly meetings, MSC gives its board members — producers and midstream companies — and its associate members — the legal experts, environmental consultants, road repair professionals and others who facilitate the drilling process — the chance to collaborate on best practices for oil and gas extraction in the Marcellus.

Associate member Accutest Laboratories, an engineering consulting firm, was involved in recent recommendations for companies to conduct pre-drilling groundwater sampling near wells to provide a base line for comparison in the event of later pollution allegations.

“[MSC takes] a proactive role in what I’ve seen in determining any issues or addressing any part of it,” said Accutest Technical Director Kesavalu Bagawandoss. “They want to make sure the right things are done in a responsible manner.”

The coalition’s best practices are the heartbeat of the organization’s efforts to push member companies and even energy firms outside its membership to go above and beyond state drilling regulations.

“This is a challenge across lots of businesses, but ours in particular, that we have allowed ourselves as a business community to come across as not environmentally sensitive where it’s the exact opposite,” Klaber said. “There’s more protection of the environment happening from within the varied industries that design and build and operate these processes. You look through our membership roster, and there are more engineering degrees and civil and environmental and chemical — all the technical aspects that make sure we do this in a protective manner.”

But the best practices supported by MSC and other oil and gas industry groups don’t hold operators accountable, allowing them to pick and choose to what extent they would like to protect the air and groundwater, said PennEnvironment spokeswoman Erika Staaf.

“From what I see, the main point that they try to drive home is related to economy and jobs because they see that it’s a strong argument they can make,” she said. “It seems to me they might minimize the environmental dangers.”

Staaf added that greater support from the coalition on environmental regulations could “raise the basement rather than just the ceiling” for the industry.

MSC’s future

With the environmental debates and price issues — natural gas recently began a slow price recovery after overproduction forced rates to 10-year lows — surrounding Marcellus Shale development, Klaber said she sees the industry as one that is very much in flux.

Although MSC plans to keep its play-specific name, the staff there sees a role for itself in guiding development in Ohio’s Utica Shale and other emerging energy fields in the region. Still, Klaber said she wants to keep the coalition’s focus on the Marcellus, where she believes there will be work to do for years to come.

“If we keep chasing the next shale play, that’s all we’ll be doing,” she said.

Despite some safety and environmental concerns, the public is still largely interested in how it can stake its claim in shale prosperity, Klaber said.

“As that awareness of that opportunity has grown, different agencies see a role for their own missions in it,” she said.

Fostering that interest is part of MSC’s future.

“We realize that as people go along that education curve, the support level goes up. But Pennsylvania is 12.7 million people, and it takes 45 minutes to talk to one woman about seismic in Ohio,” Klaber said, hearkening back to Windle’s call.

“It’s not going to happen overnight.”

NOTE: Click HERE to view this story online.

“The responsible development of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our entire region. To fully realize these shared environmental, economic and security benefits demands broad-based engagement with policymakers, elected leaders and regulators,” said Kathryn Klaber, chief executive officer of the MSC. “Jim’s more than two decades of experience working collaboratively with public officials on complex issues will serve our members well by advancing common sense solutions aimed at protecting our environment, generating jobs and revenue, and long-term energy security and affordability for the Commonwealth.”

Prior to joining the MSC, Mr. Welty served as a government relations professional at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney and K&L Gates, where he represented a diverse set of clients in Harrisburg. Mr. Welty, who resides in Cumberland County, also served as vice president of legislative and corporate affairs at the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the commonwealth’s largest business advocacy organization and was the Pennsylvania state director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB).

“Jim is a respected professional who has deep experience working with both Democrats and Republicans to advance meaningful, impactful outcomes,” continued Klaber. “We look forward to his leadership in advocating on behalf of our approximately 300 member companies to ensure that we continue to get this historic opportunity right.”

Welty joins the Coalition’s management team, led by Klaber, working alongside Andrew Paterson, vice president, technical and regulatory; Steve Forde, vice president, policy and communications; and Robert Petrilli, vice president, finance and administration; and will work closely in Harrisburg with Amber Benzon, director, government affairs.