The rapid ramp-up in Utica Shale drilling in Ohio, and Marcellus drilling in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, has meant a shortage of “infrastructure” like pipelines to carry all of the bountiful shale gas being mined. Infrastructure development–pipelines and processing plants–are not being built at a furious pace across both the Utica and Marcellus–but particularly in [...]
Ohio company Velocys, located in Plain City, just outside Columbus, has just opened for business and the impact for both the Utica and Marcellus Shale region could be huge. The company makes machines (based on 1920s technology from Germany) that convert natural gas into diesel fuel. Right now diesel is about 6 times more expensive [...]
The latest numbers from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) shows that Utica Shale permits have risen to a total of 627, out of which 310 of them have been (or are being) drilled. Here’s a summary of the latest numbers, along with a table showing all of the permits issued as of April [...]
On Monday, the head of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, James Zehringer, asked Ohio Senators to restore a number of non-budget-related oil and gas provisions to the budget bill scrapped by the House in the version they passed. The provisions could be brought back if the Senate includes them and the final version is [...]
In December, MDN told you the name of a newly formed joint venture between drilling company Hilcorp and midstream company NiSource would be Hickory Bend. The new joint venture will build a wet gas (natural gas liquids) pipeline and processing plant somewhere in the Youngstown, OH area (see Mahoning Utica Pipeline/Processing Plant “Moving Forward”). At [...]
Although no Utica Shale permits have been issued for drilling in southeastern Ohio Athens County so far, the potential does exist (see Athens County, OH Upgraded to “Good” on ODNR Utica Map). Along with drilling comes wastewater. Many drillers recycle it, but some dispose of it via deep injection wells throughout Ohio. Athens County commissioners [...]
An Ohio company close to the Pennsylvania border has been accused of illegally accepting and disposing of (burying) drilling wastewater and drill cuttings. Since the landfill where the material is buried sits close to the Mahoning River, there is a concern that some nasty substances may have or are leaking into the river. An alphabet [...]
The executive vice president of the Ohio Oil & Gas Association, Thomas Stewart, isn’t buying the Bloomberg News theory that Ohio’s Shale boom is over before it’s really even begun (see Bloomberg Says Ohio Utica Shale is Gassy, Not Oily). Stewart says the oil is there but may present some challenges in retrieving it–challenges that [...]
An extensive article on “unitization” (what MDN calls “forced pooling”) in Ohio appeared in the Sunday Youngstown Vindicator. The article gives a good overview of the history of unitization in Ohio, along with current requests pending with the ODNR. The article begins this way:
The Barnesville Exempted Village School District in Belmont County, OH has just signed a lease with Antero Resources for $5,700 per acre plus 20% royalties. Antero also kicked in an extra gift of $37,500 making the grand total for the lease bonus just over $400,000 for the school district. The school’s superintendent Randy Lucas said [...]
MDN first told you about a new natural gas processing and fractionation plant that may be coming to Tuscarawas County, OH back in early March (see Kinder Morgan to Build Processing & Fractionation Plants in OH?). Good news for Ohioans—Kinder Morgan has confirmed that the necessary EPA permits have been secured and once they have [...]
It looks like Ohio may finally move from reporting oil and gas production every 12 months to every three months. A provision in the state budget (passed by the Ohio House nearly two weeks ago) will require drillers in Ohio to provide production numbers every three months. According to the head of Ohio’s Oil and [...]
In New York, public opinion polling shows the state is largely split on the question of whether or not fracking for natural gas should be done. Over the past few years it’s been pretty close to a 50/50 split—which is what keeps Andy “Ditherer” Cuomo up at night agonizing over his presidential aspirations which have [...]
Yet another positive sign for the Ohio Utica Shale. The Youngstown-Warren (OH) Regional Airport is looking to add direct flights to and from Houston, TX. They’ll likely begin with a regular, chartered service and after that, add a permanent route…
The down sides of drilling, if you happen to live close to a drill site, are noise, flood lights for working at night, and truck traffic. Residents of the Westwood Lake Mobile Home Park in Trumbull County, OH can attest to that. The good news is, drilling only lasts a short time—typically a month or [...]
The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) recently issued two new “unitization” (or forced pooling) orders, bringing the total number of unitizations to four that they’ve issued in the Utica Shale. Both of the new orders were issued on behalf of BP and both were in Trumbull County. Here’s the details of the two orders, [...]
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