Ethane

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Do More Wet Gas Pipelines to Gulf Coast = No NE Cracker Plants?
June 17, 2013June 17, 2013

With new wet gas pipelines being built from the Marcellus/Utica to the Gulf Coast, and with new cracker plants being built along the Gulf Coast, will any ethane cracker plants ever get built in the Marcellus/Utica? It’s a serious question that more and more people are asking.

Aside from West Virginia Secretary of Commerce Keith Burdette’s eternal optimism that WV will get a commitment for an ethane cracker plant any day now (see WV “Very Much in the Game” to Get a Cracker Plant), and aside from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s changing timeline on when Shell will make a final final final final final decision on building a cracker in Pennsylvania, MDN made the following observation more than a month ago:
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Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wood County

WV “Very Much in the Game” to Get a Cracker Plant
June 11, 2013June 11, 2013

Signs of spring: Cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. Blossoms on the scrub apple tree in my back yard. Persnickety dandelions–everywhere!

Another sign of spring: West Virginia Secretary of Commerce Keith Burdette talking about his state getting an ethane cracker plant. Hope springs eternal for Mr. Burdette…
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Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Gov Tomblin Comments on WV Prospects for a Cracker Plant
May 30, 2013May 30, 2013

At a ceremony to launch the new Appalachian Petroleum Technology Training Center yesterday in Fairmont, WV, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin was asked the perennial question by reporters: Hey, what about an ethane cracker plant? To which he responded, “I am confident we will eventually get one.” His response seems to indicate, disappointingly, a cracker plant in WV won’t happen any time soon. Of course even if an agreement were announced today, it would take several years to build even a small cracker plant.

A quick update on the status (or rather non-status) of a cracker plant in West Virginia:
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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Did PBT “Badger” PA Gov Corbett on Shell Cracker Plant Date?
April 30, 2013April 30, 2013

Yesterday MDN told you about comments from PA Gov. Tom Corbett that seemed to indicate he’s changed his story about when a final final final decision may come from Shell about whether or not they will move forward with building an ethane cracker plant in Monaca, PA (see Corbett Story Changes: Decision on PA Cracker Plant Delayed Again). However, Corbett’s may not be the only story that got changed. According to a spokesman for the governor, the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Business Times “badgered” Corbett into forecasting the 2014 date when a decision may be made, and then shaded their coverage to make it seem as though Corbett has changed his story…

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Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Says Deal for Ethane Cracker Coming This Year
April 30, 2013April 30, 2013

The race to secure an ethane cracker between Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia continues. Last week, WV’s Secretary of Commerce, Keith Burdette, said he is “100% certain” that WV will have a deal for an ethane cracker plant signed sometime this year. Bluster or quiet confidence? We’d bet the later if we were betting…

MDN friends from the excellent Gas Business Briefing attended a conference last week in WV and filed this report:
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Beaver County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Corbett Story Changes: Decision on PA Cracker Plant Delayed Again
April 29, 2013April 29, 2013

In what looks to be like more backpedaling, PA Gov. Tom Corbett told the Pittsburgh Business Times on Friday he now doesn’t expect a final decision on whether Shell will build a new $2 billion ethane cracker plant in Monaca, PA until 2014. Last December he said Shell needed another six months (until the end of June) for lawyers “dotting I’s and crossing T’s” (see Gov Tom Corbett: Shell Cracker Plant in PA Not “Off the Rails”). Now the story is, “I’ve always thought it would be early next year,” meaning 2014. Hmmm. Then why didn’t he say that last December?

From the Pittsburgh Business Times:

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Appalachian Resins | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Cracker Talk: WV Says Small/Regional Ethane Cracker on the Way
March 18, 2013March 18, 2013

The Marcellus 2 Manufacturing (or M2M) Conference convenes this week in Charleston, WV (see this MDN calendar announcement). One of the main topics of conversation for the event? You guessed it—West Virginia will soon get its own ethane cracker plant. The talk now is that WV will get a “baby cracker” online long before Shell builds a full-sized cracker in Monaca, PA.

Joe Eddy, chairman of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association (chief sponsor of the M2M conference), is president and CEO of Eagle Manufacturing in Wellsburg, WV. Here’s what he said about a small/regional ethane cracker recently announced for WV:

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Access Midstream Partners | Blue Racer Midstream | Commodity Price | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH

Live from Columbus, OH… Utica Shale Confab – Day 1
February 27, 2013February 27, 2013

MDN editor Jim Willis is in Columbus, Ohio attending the 2nd Utica Shale Development & Growth Forum. Jim is moderating a panel today (Wednesday) called “Utica from the Media’s Perspective.” On the panel with me are Bob Downing, staff writer with the Akron Beacon Journal, Rick Stouffer, editor of Platts Gas Business Briefing, and Peter Behr, reporter with EnergyWire. All top notch writers from premier publications. I feel honored to sit on a panel with them!

Yesterday (Tuesday) was the first day of the main program and speakers tackled the Utica Shale from their unique perspectives. We heard from the relatively new Access Midstream (formerly Chesapeake Midstream); a geologist; Blue Racer Midstream; and an economist who is head of the Ohio State University’s Sub Surface Energy Resource Center (“Utica Shale Center” for short). Since most MDN readers couldn’t be here, I took good notes to pass along. Below are highlights and interesting tidbits from Day One…

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Appalachian Resins | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Coming to WV: The Little Ethane Cracker that Could
February 14, 2013February 14, 2013

On Monday, MDN reported the outlines of a deal from Appalachian Resins Inc. to bring a “small” ethane cracker plant to a location “south of Wheeling,” in West Virginia (see “Small” Ethane Cracker Plant Coming to Wheeling, WV). Although we don’t know the exact location yet, we do have a few more details on the rapidly-progressing deal, which looks more promising each day:

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Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Ethane Cracker Plant Question Prompts Smile from WV Gov. Tomblin
February 13, 2013February 13, 2013

MDN has been reporting about West Virginia’s prospects to get an ethane cracker plant, like, forever. Every few months we hear a rumor of “we’re talking with companies about a cracker plant.” But a deal to actually build a cracker plant in WV never seems to materialize. Two days ago we reported on the first really solid, possible cracker deal we’ve heard of in some time (see “Small” Ethane Cracker Plant Coming to Wheeling, WV). As we stated in the article, we’re cautiously optimistic, but still a tad skeptical.

However, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and his big smile may know something we don’t:

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Appalachian Resins | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio County | Processing Plants | West Virginia

“Small” Ethane Cracker Plant Coming to Wheeling, WV
February 11, 2013February 11, 2013

A new polyethelene (PE) manufacturing plant complete with a “small” ethane cracker is coming to West Virginia, somewhere “south of Wheeling.” Appalachian Resins Inc. is the company that will build the new plant with a capacity to produce 500 million pounds of PE per year. They aim to take advantage of Marcellus and Utica Shale gas and its byproduct ethane which is so abundant throughout the region.

Construction on the new plant will begin later this year. Here are the details that we have so far:

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Beaver County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Gov Tom Corbett: Shell Cracker Plant in PA Not “Off the Rails”
February 1, 2013February 1, 2013

Shell was supposed to purchase land in Monaca (Beaver County), PA to build a new $2 billion ethane cracker plant (a multi-year project) by Dec. 31, 2012, but instead Shell and the owner of the site signed a six-month extension to (according to a Shell spokesperson) give Shell more time to assess the site’s suitability and time to crunch the numbers to provide Shell “confirmation that the project is economically robust and competitive” (see Shell Ethane Cracker in PA Still Not a Done Deal).

The six-month delay has led to rumors that the deal for Monaca may be in doubt. Wednesday after a speech at the Marcellus Midstream Conference in Pittsburgh, PA Gov. Tom Corbett said contrary to those pesky rumors, Shell is not checking out other states to build the ethane cracker plant and that the delay in purchasing the land is due to lawyers “dotting I’s and crossing T’s.” Here’s how it played out:

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Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

Philly Refinery Strikes Deal to Export SW PA Marcellus Ethane
January 25, 2013January 25, 2013

Marcellus Shale ethane, a valuable hydrocarbon recovered from natural gas wells in areas of southwestern Pennsylvania, will be exported to Norway from the recently reopened Sunoco Logistics terminal in Marcus Hook (near Philadelphia). Ethane and propane exports from the terminal are expected to ramp up in about two years once the new Mariner East pipeline from southwest PA is completed.

So who’s buying the ethane, and who’s selling it?…

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Economic Impact | Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Ethane | Fairfield County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines

OH Airport Receives $450K Check to Allow Ethane Pipeline
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

In early December, MDN told you about a deal the Fairfield County (Ohio) Airport was contemplating to allow the ATEX Express ethane pipeline to be built under airport property (see ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Will Pay OH Airport $450K). Fairfield County commissioners signed the deal yesterday and received a check for $450,000.

What do the commissioners plan to spend the money on, and when will construction on the pipeline under airport property begin?…

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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Shell Ethane Cracker in PA Still Not a Done Deal
December 27, 2012December 27, 2012

As MDN has cautioned in previous stories, and as Shell themselves have said, the $2 billion ethane cracker plant planned for Monaca (Beaver County), PA is still not a done deal. Yes it’s looking good, yes PA passed the necessary tax incentives, but Shell is still studying the site for the proposed plant. Although Shell was supposed to purchase the land by the end of 2012, that now will not happen.

Like any real estate deal—until the money is in the bank and the deed in your hand, anything can happen…

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Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV’s Burdette Still in Hunt for Ethane Cracker Plant
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

West Virginia’s Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette, who has been in the hunt for an ethane cracker plant for several years now, is still upbeat on both Marcellus/Utica Shale drilling in the state, and on upbeat on the state’s chances to land an ethane cracker:

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