Chesapeake Talks About Pipelines for OH Processing Complex

| | | | | | | | |

Last week, Chesapeake Energy announced it was partnering with M3 Midstream and EV Energy Partners to build a new $900 million gas processing complex in Ohio’s Harrison and Columbiana counties by the middle of next year (see this MDN story). At an industry conference this week, Chesapeake and its partners spoke about the pipelines they will run to the plants and between the plants:

Chesapeake Energy and its partners will run a 12-inch diameter pipeline to connect the northern and southern portions of its $900 million natural gas processing complex in Harrison and Columbiana counties.

In total, the Oklahoma City-based company plans to lay 200 miles of pipelines across eastern Ohio in 2012, most of which will be located in Harrison, Jefferson, Columbiana and Carroll counties.

Mike Stice, president of Chesapeake Midstream Development, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy, spoke during the Marcellus Midstream Conference & Exhibition in Pittsburgh this week. He said the potential for collecting methane, ethane, butane, propane, pentane and even oil make the Utica and Marcellus shale formations very attractive to companies like his.

"The diversity of the opportunities is where the strength lies," he said. "We find ourselves on the cusp of a breakthrough for natural gas and oil."

Chesapeake is building the plant with M3 Midstream and EV Energy Partners. Frank Tsuru, president and chief executive officer of M3, also spoke at the conference, highlighting the 12-inch pipeline that will connect the Harrison and Columbiana portions of the major complex.

Tsuru said Chesapeake and EV, as a joint venture, own about 620,000 acres in the liquids-rich, "wet," portion of the Utica Shale is eastern Ohio.

"These shale plays are real game changers," he said, noting that because the pressure of some of the gas stream coming out of the ground is so strong, some of the existing pipeline infrastructure must be rebuilt to handle it.*

*The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register (Mar 22, 2012) – Pipeline To Link Pair Of Projects

One Comment