Here’s this week’s most important shale gas stories:

( 1 ) Man Pleads Guilty to Dumping Drilling Wastes

If you’re not familiar with the story of D&L energy being charged with illegally dumping fracking waste water down a storm drain that emptied into the Mahoning River, you can catch up on all the details here. 

Last week, 34-year-old Michael Guesman of Cortland, Ohio, admitted to dumping brine water into a storm drain 24 times on the orders of his boss, Ben Lupo, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.

Guesman pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Cleveland to a charge that he violated the federal Clean Water Act.

» Via: The Akron Beacon Journal › Ohio man pleads guilty to dumping Youngstown drilling wastes

( 2 ) Well May Bring $300,000 Daily

According to The Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register, a Monroe County Utica well, drilled by Antero Resources, could produce as much as $300,000 in revenue per day. That’s a sign that Utica wells may be worth the investment.

The estimate was calculated by Tim Carr, Professor of Energy at West Virginia University. He said that though well production will decline over time, the well should make roughly $2 million in gross revenues per week.

» Via: The Intelligencer › Well Worth The Effort

( 3 ) Chesapeake To Pay $7.5 Million in Lawsuit

Chesapeake Energy, the nation’s largest natural gas producer, is paying $7.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit that alleges the company improperly charged thousands of Pennsylvanians post-production fees, according to The Daily Review.

Read it:

“According to the suit, Chesapeake deducted post-production fees from royalties paid the leaseholders, despite terms in the leases that preclude them from doing so. The suit further alleged the fees that were charged were in excess of the actual and reasonable costs the company incurred, and that the firm improperly based royalties on the market value of the gas before it had been refined, which was lower than the value once it was in marketable condition.”

» Via: The Daily Review › Chesapeake to pay 47.5 million to settle post-production cost suit

( 4 ) Examining the Safety of Railway Cars with Crude

Rail cars carrying fracked oil from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale are being inspected for safety by the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

The reasoning behind the inspections stems from the explosion of a train that derailed in Quebec earlier this year, killing 47 people.

The crude on railcars in North Dakota is similar to the crude that is being hauled to a refinery complex in Philadelphia from the Marcellus Shale.

» Via: State Impact › Surprise Inspections Examine Safety Of Shipping Brakken Crude By Rail