Processing Plants

Accidents | Blue Racer Midstream | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Explosion/Fire at Blue Racer’s Natrium, WV Processing Plant
September 23, 2013September 23, 2013

An explosion and fire was reported at Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium, WV natural gas processing plant early Saturday morning. Area residents, some of whom were evacuated for several hours, reported an explosion that rattled homes miles away and the night sky lit up with an orange hue.

Fortunately no one was injured in the blast and the fire, which was “isolated to a small area of the plant” burned itself out. No word yet on what caused the explosion and fire…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Dominion Will Spin Off Cove Point LNG Plant + Blue Racer as MLP
September 13, 2013September 13, 2013

Yesterday, the day after Dominion Resources learned of the approval from the Dept. of Energy for their proposed LNG export facility at Cove Point, MD, Dominion’s CEO Thomas Farrell announced that Dominion would spin off the new LNG facility along with their share in the Blue Racer Midstream joint venture in Ohio into a master limited partnership (MLP). An MLP is a special kind of company structure that issues “units” instead of shares of stock. MLPs are set up by the government specifically for the natural resources/mining industry–usually for oil and gas companies.

MLP units are traded on public securities exchanges combining the tax benefits of a limited partnership with the liquidity of publicly traded securities. Dominion’s MLP announcement caused its own shares of stock to reach a record high yesterday…
Read More “Dominion Will Spin Off Cove Point LNG Plant + Blue Racer as MLP”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Supply Chain | Washington County

MN Construction Company Puts Down Roots in PA Marcellus
September 10, 2013September 10, 2013

A Minnesota-based construction management company is expanding in Washington County, PA in order to plug into the Utica and Marcellus Shale drilling supply chain. Fagen, Inc. offers cranes, tools, storage and expertise with projects across the oil and gas field including pipeline gathering systems, storage and even construction of processing plants.

Fagen’s announcement about the new Houston, PA operation:
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Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Wood County

Wood County, WV “Still in the Running” for a Cracker Plant
August 30, 2013August 30, 2013

West Virginia continues to make noise about an ethane cracker plant for the state, even though Shell is looking to build one in Pennsylvania. Earlier this week WV Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin was once again talking up a cracker for WV (see WV Gov. Tomblin Beats the Ethane Cracker Drum Once Again).

Now, another WV voice has joined the cracker chorus. Wood County, WV says they have a site under serious consideration by an unnamed company as a possible location for a $3 billion ethane cracker plant. According to a Wood official, they’re “definitely still in the running”…
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Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Gov. Tomblin Beats the Ethane Cracker Drum Once Again
August 29, 2013August 29, 2013

At a business summit yesterday at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin once again voiced his opinion that WV will have an ethane cracker plant of its own in the near future and that such a plant is needed to keep jobs in WV. He went a bit further than we’ve heard before and said WV has the right to expect a partnership between drillers and manufacturers to process WV ethane and other natural gas liquids (NGLs) in WV. According to Tomblin, his administration is burning the midnight oil to make a WV ethane cracker a reality…
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Beaver County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Shell Announces “Open Season” for Potential PA Ethane Cracker
August 28, 2013August 28, 2013

Time for Shell to get serious about whether or not they plan to build a $2 billion ethane cracker plant in Monaca, PA. Shell announced yesterday they will have something akin to a pipeline open season, a period of time when drillers can bid on capacity to send the plant (should it be built) their locally-produced ethane supplies. The bidding period will run from August 27 through October 4 and will give Shell a good idea of just how much ethane will be available for them to “crack” at the plant.

Shell reports they already have commitments from CONSOL Energy, Noble Energy, Seneca Resources and Hilcorp Energy should they decide to build the cracker. Shell is still about a year away from a final final final final decision (see our June 2012 story – Shell: Final Decision on Cracker Plant Still 18-24 Mo. Away). The next few months are likely to be crucial to that decision…
Read More “Shell Announces “Open Season” for Potential PA Ethane Cracker”
Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Washington County

Health “Study” of Whopping 27 People Blames Drilling for Symptoms
August 26, 2013August 26, 2013

A very small, statistically invalid and anecdotal set of 27 people in Washington County, PA who claim the ill health symptoms they have are caused by activities related to shale gas drilling is reason enough for the AP to trumpet a story that shale drilling causes negative health impacts. The symptoms include skin rashes, eye irritation, breathing problems and headaches–i.e., just an average day at the local walk-in clinic. But because there are shale wells, a gas processing plant and compressor stations nearby, the drilling industry is blamed for the symptoms.

Hmm, there’s roads nearby. Are the roads to blame? There’s railroads nearby–are they to blame? There’s a Girl Scout troupe nearby….you get the picture. Nope. Drilling is squarely to blame for this “array of symptoms” because these people claim they didn’t have the symptoms prior to drilling but they do now. We wonder, are any of them members of the Sierra Club?…
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Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Blue Racer Gets $1B Line of Credit for More Utica Projects
August 23, 2013August 23, 2013

Blue Racer Midstream, a 50/50 midstream joint venture between Dominion and Caiman Energy II, was formed last December (see Dominion, Caiman in $1.5B Utica JV: Blue Racer Midstream). One of the assets that belongs to the Blue Racer jv is the newly online Natrium, WV NGL plant (see Dominion Sells $500M Natrium NGL Plant to… Itself).

In order to expand and fulfill their vision of becoming the leading midstream company in the Utica Shale, Blue Racer needs money to build things. They now have it. Blue Racer announced yesterday they’ve secured an $800 million line of credit with a group of banks–a line of credit which can be (under certain conditions) expanded to a whopping $1 billion. That kind of money will easily build you another couple of Natrium NGL plants…
Read More “Blue Racer Gets $1B Line of Credit for More Utica Projects”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide OH

OH Still in the Running for an Ethane Cracker? Maybe
August 22, 2013August 22, 2013

Ohio’s dream to be the future host of an ethane cracker plant is still very much alive, according to U.S. Sen. Rob Portman from Ohio. Portman, along with Greg Sullivan, area manager for MarkWest Energy, spoke at the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association meeting yesterday. According to Sullivan, a source to ship the ethane produced by their plant to when it separates the ethane from the natural gas liquid stream is “our big challenge.” MarkWest’s only current option is to ship it to Canada via the Mariner West Sunoco pipeline (see Big News: Marcellus Ethane Now Exporting to Canada Cracker Plant). Starting next year and the year after, two more pipelines will come online to ship it to the Gulf Coast (the ATEX Express and the Bluegrass).

According to MarkWest, there is a “desperate need for a local ethane cracker.” Sen. Portman is hoping Ohio can supply that need, especially since Shell continues to “evaluate” its project to build a cracker plant in PA with no firm commitment or timeline to build it…
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Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH

More Progress for Hickory Bend Pipeline/Processing Plant in OH
August 16, 2013August 16, 2013

The Pennant Midstream “Hickory Bend” pipeline continues to make good progress. Pennant is a joint venture between NiSource and Hilcorp Energy, established to build a $300 million wet gas pipeline and processing plant in eastern Ohio (see the original announcement from July 2012: NiSource, Hilcorp Energy Joint Venture in Utica Shale).

Although the project has faced its challenges and minor delays, it has made excellent and steady progress. The cryogenic processing plant in Springfield Township is now being reported as “completed” (the first time we’ve heard that), and pipeline boring crews are working this week in Columbiana County. An update:
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Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Dominion Sells $500M Natrium NGL Plant to… Itself
August 13, 2013August 13, 2013

Dominion, a huge energy company that does everything from shale drilling to pipelines and processing plants to selling gas and electric as a utility, has just sold the newly built and operating $500 million NGL processing plant in Natrium, WV to…itself. The Natrium plant was due to go online late last year. Then it was forecast be online in the spring of this year. The plant, which separates natural gas liquids from methane in the Marcellus/Utica Shale, finally went online in late June (see Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium, WV NGL Plant Now Up & Running).

Blue Racer Midstream officially took title to the Natrium plant as of August 9th. Blue Racer is a joint venture between Dominion and Caiman Energy II. Dominion essentially owns Blue Racer, ergo Dominion sold the plant to itself. These things happen on paper–no doubt for more favorable tax and accounting purposes for investors. Dominion’s announcement from yesterday:
Read More “Dominion Sells $500M Natrium NGL Plant to… Itself”
Economic Impact | EMG | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Tuscarawas County

2 New OH Projects: Cryo Processing Plant & NGL Pipeline to Gulf
August 8, 2013August 8, 2013

Looks like the Williams/Boardwalk Bluegrass NGL pipeline is about to get some competition. Yesterday, Kinder Morgan, MarkWest and The Energy and Minerals Group (EMG) announced a new joint venture on two projects aimed at the Marcellus/Utica Shale region. The first project is a 400 Mmcf/d cryogenic processing plant in Tuscarawas County, OH to separate raw natural gas into methane and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The second project is a new NGL pipeline that will, like the Bluegrass, run from Ohio all the way to the Gulf Coast. There’s no mention of how much the partners will invest in the two projects, but we believe it could easily approach $1 billion of new investment in the northeast.

This announcement is great economic news for Ohio (Tuscarawas County in particular), and great economic news for Marcellus/Utica drillers who need extra takeaway capacity for the NGLs they’re currently producing. The press release from Kinder Morgan with details about the two new projects:
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Research | Washington County

DEP Marcellus Air Study in SW PA Extended Extra Half Year
August 2, 2013August 2, 2013

In July 2012 MDN told you about a one-year study of air quality in and around Chartiers Township in Washington County, PA being conducted by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (see PA DEP Announces 1 Year Study on Air Quality in Marcellus). The aim of the study is to determine whether or not Marcellus drilling, pipelines and the MarkWest natural gas processing plant in the Chartiers area causes an unhealthy increase in various air pollutants for residents.

What has the research found? The DEP says testing so far shows “no levels of any pollutant that would violate federal ambient air quality standards.” However, they’ve decided to extend the study until the end of this year. The one-year study has turned into a one-and-a-half year study. The DEP now expects to file a final report in “Spring 2014″…
Read More “DEP Marcellus Air Study in SW PA Extended Extra Half Year”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Washington County

MarkWest Served Violation Notice for Chartiers Processing Plant
August 1, 2013August 1, 2013

Two weeks ago a MarkWest Energy natural gas processing plant in Chartiers Township (Washington County), PA started belching out black smoke. According to MarkWest, “several events” happened as workers were attempting to bring online some new equipment (see Smoke at MarkWest Chartiers, PA Gas Processing Plant). On Monday, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) slapped MarkWest with a notice of violation.

The DEP continues to investigate whether or not the Chartiers plant is still malfunctioning…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

“Notable Increase” in WV/PA NatGas Production from New Pipelines
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published a brief article in their online “Today in Energy” publication that points out natural gas production for both dry gas and wet gas has gone up in West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania because of new infrastructure–pipelines and processing plants.

Here is the EIA article, complete with nifty chart showing the rather dramatic increase in daily production:
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Access Midstream Partners | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EV Energy Partners | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | NGLs | Ohio | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

M3’s Kensington, OH NGL Plant Now Live & Processing
July 30, 2013July 30, 2013

A new $400 million natural gas liquids (NGL) processing plant in Kensington (near Hanoverton, OH) has went online Sunday. The Utica East Ohio Midstream (UEO) plant, a joint venture owned by M3 Midstream, Access Midstream (formerly Chesapeake Energy) and EV Energy Partners, was originally supposed to be online in May. That date slipped. In June, MDN picked up on a bit of news that indicated the plant would go live “by the end of July” (see M3 Midstream’s Kensington, OH NGL Plant Launch Date Slips). The July rumored date proved correct.

Yesterday, M3 issued the following press release announcing that the UEO plant is now operating and processing NGLs. It is the first plant of its kind to go online in the Utica Shale:
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