| NEW MARTINSVILLE, W.Va. -- An air quality permit issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Air Quality allows Chesapeake Energy to operate 18 compressors within a 3-mile area. The permit is being challenged by a group of Wetzel County landowners who are concerned about air pollution, and a hearing on the appeal is tentatively set for Jan. 5, 2011. |
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MARCELLUS AIR WV takes you over the Marcellus Shale into northern parts of West Virginia. This flight will give you an idea of what it is like to produce natural gas and its byproducts from the mountainous terrain in Barbour County, Marion County, Harrison County, Marshall County, Tyler County and Wetzel County, WV. Aerial photos of fracking, wastewater impoundments, compressor stations, pipelines and active drilling operations, as well as newly fracked drilling pads and completed Marcellus Shale wells. |
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INDEX
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Massive excavation work for leveling a
drilling pad on the 'Back 40' in Marshall County |
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Zig-zagging pipeline cuts through
West Virginia forests |
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Cut & Fill to establish a level pad for
fracking |
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Fort Beeler gas processing in Marshall
County |
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Doddridge County, WV |
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Extensive gas drilling activities in
one area of Doddridge County |
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Drilling rig in the middle of the
forest |
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New compressor station under
construction |
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Dual fracking impoundments and a
drilling pad cut from a ridgeline |
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Drilling Doddridge County |
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Above ground fluid container and
flared well site |
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Flared well site along a mountain
ridge in West Virginia |
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New compressor station in the valley |
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Harrison County, WV |
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Every size, shape and color of frac
pit |
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Two drilling sites close to each
other in Harrison County, WV |
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Stained production pit liner looks
white |
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Another black pit liner stained white
by drilling fluids |
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Frac tanks and sand kings around a
drilling pad |
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Wastewater tankers backed-up to an
impoundment |
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Drilling one, fracking another |
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Cut and fill excavation work to
create a level drilling pad |
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14 tractor trailers carry the pumps
tthat create frac pressure |
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Harrison County West Virginia oil and
gas drilling site |
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Compressor station and fracking near
a West Virginia house |
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Pipeline cuts between a drilling site
and 3 houses |
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Large compressor station to move the
gas through pipelines |
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New excavation for another drilling
pad |
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Drilling and pipeline work in S.W.
Harrison County |
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Marshall County, WV November 11, 2012 |
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Marcellus shale fracking next to a
former 'dream home' May 20, 2012 |
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What happens if there is a well
blowout or spill? |
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Hydraulic fracturing of these Marion
County oil and gas wells |
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Two impoundment dams and a fracking
site |
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Drilling close to home in Marion
County |
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Drilling setbacks? |
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NIMFY - Not in my front yard |
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Backyard drilling near Farmington, WV |
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Cut and fill for another Marion
County drill pad |
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Drilling pad near Monongah West
Virginia |
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Gas production activities close to
another home |
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Gas well pad and compressor station
west of Worthington, WV |
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Well pad south of Mannington WV in
Marion County |
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Drilling pad on the west side of town
along Interstate 79 |
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Drilling pad and impoundment |
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Marcellus drilling pad above a foggy
valley |
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Drilling near New Martinsville West
Virginia |
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In ground and above ground gas
drilling fluids |
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New compressor station NE of Lewis
Wetzel Park |
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Compressor station and condensate
tanks GPS: 39 42.229 -80 37.136 |
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12 Compressor Station GPS: 39 42.309 -80 36.824 |
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Ridgetop site leveled and drilled March 2, 2012 - Wetzel County GPS: 39 36.719 -80 38.048 |
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Cleared and leveled area for drilling GPS: 39 33.895 -80 36.584 |
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Gas site development and drilling March 2, 2012 - Wetzel County |
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Gas processing plant and gas line
cuts March 2, 2012 - Wetzel County GPS: 39 33.303 -80 36.886 |
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Another large timbered area along a ridgeline March 2, 2012 - Wetzel County GPS: 39 33.781 -80 33.867 |
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Well site in flood plain close to
homes March 2, 2012 - Wetzel County GPS: 39 34.044 -80 33.497 |
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Mountainside gas site March 2, 2012 - Wetzel County |
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Leveled drilling location March 2, 2012 - Wetzel County GPS: 39 36.580 -80 39.494 |
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Cut through the forest for a new gas
pipeline March 2, 2012 - Wetzel County |
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More photos of West
Virginia drilling |
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December 15, 2012 Changing mountaintop (above) and valley (below) in southern Wetzel County |
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Vehicles and personnel
trailers along left side of pad |
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Mountaintop drilling location
creates some massive slopes |
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Another Marcellus drilling location in
the same vicinity. Yoho site. |
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Frac tanks are clustered in an area
on the right, with white condensate tanks grouped in the woods in between |
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Massive area of soil excavation along
this WV ridgeline by Rt 89. Floyd B. Johnson drilling pad (top) Larry G. Rine pad (bottom) |
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Close-up of drilling location at
northern end |
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Battery of white condensate
tanks and a white 'heater treater' to right center |
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Larry G. Rine drilling pad Three wells in center of pad and multiple square fluid tanks. |
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Another drilling location cut-out of
the woods |
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Two well heads in center of pad |
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Looks like a city on a hill, but it's
an active fracking location |
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Dust rising from mixer area (center
of photo) during fracking |
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Multiple truck mounted pumps create
the high pressure needed to fracture Marcellus Shale |
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Frac sand trucks and trailers on
left, frac pumps clustered around center |
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Seven well heads in a row in center
of photo with frac chemicals along lower corner of pad on the ground and on trucks |
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Drilling location lined with
personnel trailers |
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Closer look at West Virginia drilling
location |
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Drilling location with nearby fluid
impoundment |
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Restored Marcellus drilling location |
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Initial stages of drilling at another
WV location |
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Long access road cut along slope to
reach location |
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Restored drilling location |
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New drilling pad awaiting drilling
rig |
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Large Marcellus drilling rig drilling
horizontal Marcellus wells |
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BLAKE RIDGE AREA Impoundment 3 is right above Rte 89. 4 locations related to gas drilling can be seen in this part of northern West Virginia. Once infrastructure pipelines are in place, many states see an "in fill" with more drilling sites and wells added in between. |
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White 'bathtub ring' on fluid pit
indicates storage of recycled fluids |
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Mountainous terrain creates problems
when finding areas to build large fluid impoundment dams |
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This pit has some wastewater "bathtub
ring" around the edges |
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Impoundment appears to be built in a
flood plain or wetlands area |
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Drilling location and square
impoundment dam |
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Close-up of gas drilling location |
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Marcellus 'Baptismal Fount' c. 2010 |
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Piping the gas to market in other
states |
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Water crossings call for extra
protection in 'buffer areas' |
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Gas pipeline being laid in a low area
along a stream |
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More pipeline construction |
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Pipeline connecting West Virginia and
Pennsylvania processing facilities |
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Aerial view of pipeline excavation |
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Looks like a new impoundment dam
breastworks in this valley |
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Impoundment constructed along the
banks of a stream |
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Pleasant Ridge Compressor Station. Newly produced Marcellus Shale gas has to be moved to market using compressor stations to push it through pipelines |
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Construction of Pleasant Ridge 12-compressor
station and processing facility |
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It remains to be seen what will be
built on the upper plateau |
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The 12-unit Pleasant Ridge compressor station
(above) and the 6-unit Miller compressor station (below) are mentioned in the newspaper article below |
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Miller Compressor Station This 6-compressor station (plus 12-compressors in the photo above) in the news: |
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Fort Beeler cryogenic processing
facility in Marshall County next to a drilling location |
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Caiman Energy's Fort Beeler cryogenic processing
facility. Processing of 'wet' Marcellus gas by cryogenic facilities removes profitable liquids such as ethane, butane and propane leaving 'dry' methane gas |
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Caiman
Energy gas processing site |
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New motto: Almost Gasland, West
Virginia |
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Construction on the Caiman Energy
plant |
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Older
Majorsville gas compressor
station and underground storage owned by NiSource |
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Pipeline construction between West
Virginia and Pennsylvania |
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New gas pipe laid along ditch |
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Large excavators trenching the future
pipeline route |
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Excavation of gas pipeline
right-of-way |
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Drilling pad construction near Wheeling, WV February 2012
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