Energy Services

Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Washington County

Smoke at MarkWest Chartiers, PA Gas Processing Plant
July 16, 2013July 16, 2013

MarkWest operates a large natural gas processing plant in Chartiers Township (Washington County), PA. In the past few years they doubled the size of the plant. Apparently the installation of more new equipment due to go online yesterday didn’t go as planned. Characterizing it as “several events,” automated safety equipment kicked in and burned off (or flared) propane at the plant–resulting in smoke that could be seen for miles.

The (scant) known details of what happened yesterday at the Chariters processing plant:
Read More “Smoke at MarkWest Chartiers, PA Gas Processing Plant”
Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | NGLs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

MarkWest: $2.2B in Marcellus/Utica, Bring on the Cracker Plants!
July 15, 2013July 15, 2013

MarkWest Energy, a major Marcellus and Utica midstream company, is investing $2.2 billion in the Marcellus/Utica region in pipelines, processing and fractionation plants. According to MarkWest, they have enough work in the northeast to keep them expanding for the next five years. One of the main services offered by MarkWest is removing ethane from raw natural gas. Their plan is to ship the ethane to either Canada or the Gulf Coast via pipelines. However, they’d love it if the region had “several cracker plants.” Here we go again with more cracker talk!

A good overview of MarkWest’s several billion dollar investment in the northeast, and their belief that the region needs its own cracker plant:
Read More “MarkWest: $2.2B in Marcellus/Utica, Bring on the Cracker Plants!”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Wastewater | West Virginia

Wheeling Delays Vote Again on GreenHunter Wastewater Facility
July 15, 2013July 15, 2013

It looks like the Wheeling Water Warriors will live to fight for another month. The Wheeling (WV) Planning Commission was due to finally vote to allow GreenHunter Water to build a frack wastewater recycling plant at a facility along the Ohio River in Wheeling. After some initial bumps, it seemed as if things were going along fine and that the Commission would vote last week (see GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Plant Up for Vote July 8). However, the Commission has once again tabled the vote–this time until August 12th.

The latest machinations from Wheeling and what’s holding up the vote this time:
Read More “Wheeling Delays Vote Again on GreenHunter Wastewater Facility”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Eureka Midstream | Ohio | Washington County (OH) | West Virginia | Wetzel County

Magnum Hunter 2Q13: 1st Utica Well Drilled, WV Marcellus Continues
July 10, 2013July 9, 2013

Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation, both a driller and a midstream (pipeline) company with operations in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, released their company wide operational update yesterday for the second quarter of 2013. Among the highlights: Magnum Hunter has just completed drilling its first Utica Shale well (Washington County, OH) and the well will be fracked in late July; the company continues to actively drill Marcellus wells in Wetzel County, WV in a 50/50 joint venture with Stone Energy; and Eureka Hunter is active across both the Marcellus and Utica with new pipeline and compressor station construction projects.

Relevant portions of the update below…
Read More “Magnum Hunter 2Q13: 1st Utica Well Drilled, WV Marcellus Continues”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Processing Plants | Statewide MD

Enviro Groups Once Again Ask FERC to Refuse Cove Point LNG Plant
July 10, 2013July 9, 2013

A small group of individuals pretending to be large groups of many people yesterday sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking them to reject the Cove Point, Maryland LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility Dominion is planning to build because they, said groups, believe in scary climate change fairy tales (oceans rising, tornadoes swirling, hurricanes churning), and so, because they believe these fairy tales, FERC should refuse a permit to Dominion. Uh, right.

Bonus observation from the press release below from said so-called “environmental groups”: any time you see the word “Riverkeeper” in a group name, run the other way. Any time you see “Sierra Club” in the name, run the other way. They are radicals and frankly, off their collective rocker. Here’s the letter they sent yesterday:
Read More “Enviro Groups Once Again Ask FERC to Refuse Cove Point LNG Plant”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | NGLs | NiSource | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Utica Shale

Slight Delay for Hickory Bend Processing Plant, Permit Appealed
July 8, 2013July 8, 2013

A small and frankly inconsequential wrinkle has developed in the building of a new cryogenic gas processing plant–a joint venture planned between Hilcorp and NiSource called Hickory Bend (see Mahoning Utica Pipeline/Processing Plant “Moving Forward”).

Although the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has issued an air pollution permit for the plant, an avowed anti-driller has appealed the permit, which will delay things just a bit while the appeal is considered (and subsequently dismissed)…
Read More “Slight Delay for Hickory Bend Processing Plant, Permit Appealed”
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Williams

Bluegrass NGL Pipeline Recap, Builders Eye LNG Exports Too
July 8, 2013July 8, 2013

An update on the proposed new natural gas liquids (NGL) Bluegrass Pipeline, a joint venture between Williams Partners and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners. As MDN previously reported, the Bluegrass will run from Ohio/Pennsylvania all the way to the Gulf Coast (see Williams, Boardwalk Announce Marcellus-to-Gulf Coast NGL Pipeline).

The update below, courtesy of the Akron Beacon Journal, does a good job of recapping what we do and don’t know about the pipeline project and where it will be built. The update also includes new information: In addition to gas liquids going to the Gulf, Williams and Boardwalk are eyeing LNG export terminals along the Gulf Coast as a market for the methane portion of what they’ll pipeline from the Utica/Marcellus…
Read More “Bluegrass NGL Pipeline Recap, Builders Eye LNG Exports Too”
Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | NGLs | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium, WV NGL Plant Now Up & Running
July 5, 2013

Blue Racer Midstream, a joint venture between Dominion and Caiman Energy, was supposed to have a new $500 million wet gas (natural gas liquids) processing plant online in Natrium, WV last December (see Dominion $500M NGL Processing Plant in WV to Open in December). The date was then changed to “late spring” (see Natrium, WV NGL Plant Behind Schedule, Will Open “Late Spring”). Blue Racer finally stopped predicting when the plant would open, but MDN told you in late May the signs were there for an “imminent” opening (see Natrium, WV NGL Processing Plant Start-up Close).

Strike up the band! Even though Blue Racer has decided not to make a public announcement, the Akron Beacon Journal is reporting the plant has been up and “quietly” operating for the past several weeks…
Read More “Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium, WV NGL Plant Now Up & Running”
Access Midstream Partners | Carroll County | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EV Energy Partners | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | Ohio | Processing Plants | Statewide OH

M3 to Build Heliports at OH Processing Plants “Just in Case”
July 3, 2013July 3, 2013

Utica East Ohio Midstream–a joint venture between M3 Midstream, Access Midstream and EV Energy Partners–is in the process of building three natural gas processing plants in eastern Ohio. Two of the plants–Leesville (in Carroll County) and Kensington (in Columbiana County) will be cryogenic plants used to separate natural gas liquids from methane. MDN recently told you about delays in building the Kensignton plant (see M3 Midstream’s Kensington, OH NGL Plant Launch Date Slips). The third facility, located in Scio (Harrison County), will be a fractionation plant used to further separate NGLs from Kensington and Leesville into their constituent compounds, like ethane, propane and butane. Both Kensington and Scio are scheduled to go online sometime “this summer” (see Scio fractionation plant scheduled to go online this summer).

This story, however, is not about schedules for the launch of Utica East Ohio’s plants. It is about M3’s plans to build heliports at the Kensington and Scio plants…
Read More “M3 to Build Heliports at OH Processing Plants “Just in Case””
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Eureka Midstream | Monroe County | Ohio | Triad Hunter

Magnum Hunter Drills 2nd OH Location – Plans 18 Wells on 1 Pad!
July 2, 2013July 2, 2013

Magnum Hunter Resources announced today they have begun shale drilling at a second Ohio location–this one in Monroe County, OH. While the fact that Magnum is now ramping up their Utica drilling program is interesting–that’s not the “new news” in the announcement. The new news is this:

The Monroe County wells are the first wells Magnum Hunter will drill using their new robotic drilling rig, a Schramm T500XD. Furthermore, they plan to drill an astonishing 18 wells at this one location–10 of them Marcellus wells, and 8 of them Utica wells. In addition, Magnum is keeping it “all in the family,” by using subsidiary Triad Hunter to operate the wells and subsidiary Eureka Hunter to pipeline the gas from the wells…
Read More “Magnum Hunter Drills 2nd OH Location – Plans 18 Wells on 1 Pad!”
Buckeye Partners | Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Spectra Energy | Summit Midstream

Top 4 of Top 10 Midstream Companies Operate in Marcellus/Utica
July 2, 2013July 2, 2013

We’re now at the halfway mark of 2013 (wow is this year going fast!), so The Motley Fool investor’s website performed an analysis of the “top 10” midstream (pipelines and processing plants) companies and their stock prices–to see which companies are providing the best returns. The thing that caught MDN’s eye about the Motley Fool list is that 4 of the 10–in fact the top 4–are major operators in the Marcellus/Utica Shale region.

Here’s who made the top 10 midstream list, and surprisingly, who didn’t…
Read More “Top 4 of Top 10 Midstream Companies Operate in Marcellus/Utica”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Schneider National | Statewide PA | Trucking

Schneider National Hiring 60 New Marcellus Truck Drivers in NE PA
July 2, 2013July 2, 2013

Attention truck drivers who want an excellent job making short runs in the Marcellus Shale industry, and who want to make $60,000 per year (no, this is not an infomercial). Schneider National, an oilfield trucking company based in Wisconsin, is looking to hire 60 new drivers to work out of one of two northeast PA locations: Mansfield or Wilkes-Barre. In addition to a well-paying job, Schneider is offering a $5,000 signing bonus and money for relocation.

Here’s the Schneider National press release with details on how to apply:
Read More “Schneider National Hiring 60 New Marcellus Truck Drivers in NE PA”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Washington County (OH) | Wastewater

GreenHunter Frack Wastewater Plant Opens in Washington County, OH
July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

Seems like GreenHunter Water is on fire in the Marcellus/Utica. Perhaps that’s a poor choice of metaphor! Here’s what we mean: GreenHunter is building fracking wastewater facilities at a prodigious rate in the northeast. Just a few weeks ago GreenHunter cut the ribbon on a new frack wastewater injection well in Meigs County, Ohio (see GreenHunter Opens Brine Injection Well in Meigs County, OH). Next week the Wheeling City Council will vote on whether or not to allow GreenHunter to build and operate a wastewater recycling facility on the Ohio River in the city (see GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Plant Up for Vote July 8).

In the meantime, another GreenHunter frack wastewater recycling plant started operations last week–in Washington County, OH:
Read More “GreenHunter Frack Wastewater Plant Opens in Washington County, OH”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Mahoning County | Ohio | Supply Chain | Valerus

Another 30 Jobs in Fracking Supply Chain Coming to Youngstown, OH
June 28, 2013June 28, 2013

Last November, MDN told you about another 30 jobs on the way in Youngstown, OH thanks to fracking and shale drilling in the Utica/Marcellus Shale (see New Gas Equipment Plant Coming to Youngstown, OH). On Wednesday, Valerus and Brilex Industries held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate their joint venture in expanding the Brilex manufacturing facility in Youngstown. Valerus manufactures and sells equipment for the midstream. Brilex is a local Youngstown machine shop/manufacturer.

The partnership invested $1.5 million to expand the Brilex facility to manufacture equipment for Valerus. At the ceremony on Wednesday, Brilex president Brian Benyo said 10 jobs have already been created and another 20 are on the way–in fabrication, pipe fitting, welding and mechanical assembly.
Read More “Another 30 Jobs in Fracking Supply Chain Coming to Youngstown, OH”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Wastewater | West Virginia

GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Plant Up for Vote July 8
June 28, 2013June 28, 2013

As MDN told you in early June, the Wheeling (WV) City Council delayed a vote to allow GreenHunter Water to begin construction of a new fracking wastewater recycling facility at a site in the Warwood section of Wheeling–along the Ohio River (see Wheeling Delays Vote on GreenHunter’s Frack Wastewater Plant). After an initial misstep by GreenHunter in not pre-briefing City Council members and the resulting bumpy relationship with some of them, it seems GreenHunter worked hard to address their concerns (see Wheeling Councilwoman Softens Stand Against Frack Wastewater Plant).

The Warwood wastewater recycling facility will once again be on City Council’s docket for a vote at their July 8 meeting:
Read More “GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Plant Up for Vote July 8”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Marshall County | NGLs | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Williams

Williams Invests $4.5B on Midstream Plants in a Single WV County
June 27, 2013

Williams Partners–one of the largest midstream companies operating in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale–is investing a massive $4.5 billion on three processing facilities in Marshall County, WV. A single county! Pennsylvania is still hoping Shell will proceed with building an ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA and they’re gaga over the prospect of a $2 billion investment to build that plant. But right across the border in Marshall County, Williams is right now spending $4.5 billion ($2.2B of it on upgrades and new construction).

The three facilities are the Fort Beeler processing plant, the Oak Grove processing plant, and the Moundsville fractionation plant. Here is an update on those three plants and Williams’ massive investment:
Read More “Williams Invests $4.5B on Midstream Plants in a Single WV County”