Proximity of drilling, fracking, seismic surveys of concern

From an Article by Dillon Carr, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, October 13, 2017

Monroeville council has approved an ordinance that limits Marcellus shale drilling to heavy industrial zones.

The ordinance was spurred by residents’ concerns that seismic testing planned by a Monroeville oil and gas exploration company would lead to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the area.

Resident and founder of the anti-fracking Sustainable Monroeville advocacy group, Elisa Beck, called the vote a step in the right direction. “We’re all paying attention to make sure we’re protected to maintain fresh and clean water,” she said.

Huntley and Huntley, the company having seismic testing done throughout the region, has said it has no plans for gas wells in Monroeville.

But resident David Mintz, who has expressed support for the zoning amendment, remains uneasy about the possibility of fracking in the municipality. “There’s a lot of residents who live near the industrial area,” he said during a recent council meeting.

Mintz also asked whether the municipality could ban fracking. “We have to allow that activity take place somewhere,” Solicitor Robert Wratcher said. “The trick is in trying to minimize it … we can’t just have a blanket prohibition.”

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Fracking Surveyor Hauls Obstinate Town to Court

From an Article by Lana Morelli, Courthouse News, October 13, 2017

PITTSBURGH (CN) – Saying the small city of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, is hurting its business with strict regulations, fracking surveyor Geokinetics asked a federal judge to intervene.

Just east of Pittsburgh, Monroeville became the area’s third community to regulate seismic testing with a unanimous vote last month by the city council.

In its October 11th complaint filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Geokinetics scoffs at the notion that lawmakers had a valid reason for their interference.

“Upon information and belief, Monroeville’s intransigence is not motivated by any legitimate concerns for the health and safety of its citizens but rather by its council’s concerns about November elections,” the complaint states, filed by Steptoe & Johnson attorney Kevin Gormly.

Otherwise known as hydraulic fracturing, the process of injecting high-pressure mixtures of chemicals into the earth to extract oil and gas from rock was once widely embraced by communities on the gas-rich Marcellus Shale. In recent years, however, pressure from environmental groups and science connecting fracking to earthquakes has shifted the tides.

Monroeville has not returned a request for comment on the complaint, which paints Geokinetics as an innocent victim caught in political crossfire.

“At issue is solely Geokinetics’ need to collect data using Monroeville roads and rights-of-way through use of vibroseis vehicles, which PennDOT has determined to be safe, and temporary placement of receivers,” the complaint states. “No opening of the surface of the roads is necessary. Geokinetics is willing to post a bond and hold Monroeville harmless against any claims.”

Geokinetics is one of the world’s largest independent land and seafloor geophysical companies, specializing in acquiring and processing seismic data. It set its sights on Monroeville this year as part of a 191-square-mile project with the oil company Huntley & Huntley Exploration involving Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

While seismic testing can require the “drilling of shot holes on parcels of land,” according to the complaint, it principally involves the use of sound waves to map rock layers underground.

Geokinetics emphasizes that the minor shock waves caused by its Pennsylvania Department of Transportation-approved vibroseis trucks “virtually preclud[e] damage to the highways,” the complaint states.

Monroeville had no ordinance in place regarding seismic testing, Geokinetics notes, when it first requested permission to use the city’s roads for its survey. Aiming to complete its survey by February 2018, Geokinetics says it has no option but to get an injunction.

Seismic Survey of Northcentral PA

CGG Wraps-Up Multi-Client Marcellus Seismic Survey in NorthCentral Pennsylvania

From an Press Release by CGG,  January 23, 2014

CGG has just announced  that it has extended its data library of shale acreage in the United States by completing a vast three-year multi-client 3D land seismic program targeting the Marcellus Shale Fairway. The Marcellus Shale is considered to be a leading shale play for future natural gas exploration and production in the United States.

CGG conducted the 1,566-square-mile program in six phases in Lycoming, Tioga, Clinton, Centre and Clearfield Counties in Central Pennsylvania. 

It is believed to be the largest combined onshore seismic survey ever acquired in the continental United States.

As the terrain in Central Pennsylvania gradually became more rugged and mountainous, CGG switched from deploying the Sercel 428XL cable acquisition system to using the Sercel UNITE(R) wireless acquisition system to acquire the complex seismic program.

By the end of 2014 all six phases will be merged together to offer a seamless data set processed with state-of-the-art interpolation and migration techniques over the entire program. Currently this data set is available over the Lycoming II and Brookside portions of the survey.

Jean-Georges Malcor, CGG CEO, said: “Our three-year Marcellus Fairway survey has been the cornerstone of our strategy to develop a robust multi-client data library of shale acreage in North America.

Representing over 118,000 shots and millions of receiver locations, we have completed one of the most difficult and challenging programs in the history of U.S. onshore seismic. We are confident that the merged survey will produce the best image and reservoir attributes possible of the Marcellus Shale to help our clients decide which leaseholds to develop first and how to optimize their drilling and completion programs to avoid hazards and maximize production.”

Article from the Charleston Gazette, January 15, 2013

FAIRVIEW, WV — Federal regulators said Tuesday the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has jurisdiction over a fatal accident involving a gas-drilling rig at a coal mine prep plant.

An unidentified worker died Monday night when the rig overturned and crushed him at CONSOL Energy’s Loveridge Mine preparation plant in Fairview, said Mine Safety and Health Administration spokesman Jesse Lawder.

The rig was doing exploratory work on Marcellus Shale gas deposits, he said, drilling 30-foot holes and setting off explosives for seismic testing.

The state Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training said it had turned the case over to OSHA because the accident didn’t occur on bonded mine land.

CONSOL had given Seitel Inc. access to its property, and the Texas-based company had obtained the necessary permits, said spokeswoman Lynn Seay. “The independent testing was not associated with CONSOL Energy’s active coal mining or gas operations,” she said.

Seitel officials referred questions about the accident to Omni Energy Services Corp. of Louisiana. Vice President Mark Stipe acknowledged the accident involved one of his employees but declined to identify him.

“The accident investigation is ongoing at this point, and we are cooperating fully with government officials,” he said in an email. “We mourn the loss of our employee, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”