Rumor: US Methanol Building 5 Methanol Plants in WV
Methanol plants convert natural gas into methanol, used as a chemical feedstock (or raw material) to create other things, like gasoline, antifreeze and more. More commonly you may call it a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant. Methanol plants have the capacity to create a big demand for natural gas and sop up some of the oversupply we have in the Marcellus/Utica. In May we told you about Primus Green Energy’s plan to build a 160 metric tons per day (MT/day) methanol plant for Tauber Oil somewhere in the Marcellus (see Customer Announced for Primus Green Energy’s GTL Methanol Plant). We have more exciting news. US Methanol, according to their website, is working on two Marcellus methanol plants, coming to West Virginia. One plant, called Liberty One, will produce 175,000 metrics tons per annum, or about 480 MT/day. Liberty Two will produce 150,000 MT/annum, or a about 410 MT/day. Here’s the really really exciting news. We’ve stumbled across a rumor that U.S. Methanol is actually planning to build five methanol plants total. According to the rumor, we know where the first two plants already announced (Liberty One and Two) will be built–AND we know which driller they’ve contracted with to supply the natgas for those plants…
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Guess who’s back with a case now before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court? Yep, the odious nutters from Big Green Groups PennFuture, THE (arrogant) Delaware Riverkeeper, and the Peters Township gang. You may recall we reported last September of the humiliating defeat suffered by these groups in the “Gorsline” case (see 
Last week MDN reported on National Fuel Gas Company’s quarterly recently-filed quarterly report (see
It’s not often we miss something that happens in the Marcellus. No, we’re certainly not omniscient. But not much (we hope) escapes our eye when it comes to drillers, midstreamers and other participants in the Marcellus/Utica region. Here’s one that did! Unit Corporation is a Tulsa-based, publicly held energy company engaged through its subsidiaries in oil and gas exploration, production, contract drilling, and gas gathering and processing. Pretty much the whole upstream and midstream pie. In January 2016 Unit completed 49 miles of gathering pipelines in Centre County, PA. That’s the part we missed. Below are a few excerpts from their recent second quarter 2016 update talking about what they call their Snow Shoe Gathering system, along with a couple of screen shots from the most recent company PowerPoint presentation…
Crestwood Equity Partners (nee Crestwood Midstream) issued its second quarter 2016 update last week. In April Crestwood announced that New York City utility giant Consolidated Edison Inc. has formed a 50/50 joint venture to purchase ownership of pipelines and storage facilities in the PA and NY Marcellus region (see
Last week U.S. Silica, one of the largest frac sand providers in the U.S., issued their second quarter 2016 update last week. Frac sand providers are a good barometer for when/if drilling is coming back. You don’t order sand unless you’re drilling wells. The company lost $12 million in 2Q16 versus losing $10 million in 2Q15. However, $1.1 million of that was due to “restructuring costs.” What about revenue? Revenue was $117 million in 2Q16 versus $147.5 million in 2Q15. So we can sum up 2Q16 as “so-so.” Not terrible, not good. With luck, 3Q16 will look better (with drilling beginning to pick up). However, in a sign that U.S. Silica believes the market will come back, they also announced last week they are buying out Sandbox Enterprises, “a leading provider of innovative logistics solutions and technology for the transportation of proppant used in hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry.” That’s a sure sign they think oil and gas is coming back…
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Climate change conspiracy; NY’s fracking hypocrisy; groups trying to kill SE pipeline; TVA building $975M natgas electric plant; Texas Independents sue EPA over drilling regs; feast or famine in US o&g fields; more asset sales coming for Chesapeake; dirty trickster Bill McKibben whines about dirty tricks; UK may pay landowners in shale areas; and more!