Processing Plants

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…
Read More “MarkWest Served Violation Notice for Chartiers Processing Plant”
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:
Read More ““Notable Increase” in WV/PA NatGas Production from New Pipelines”
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:
Read More “M3’s Kensington, OH NGL Plant Now Live & Processing”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | NGLs | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Range Resources Corp | Sunoco Logistics

Big News: Marcellus Ethane Now Exporting to Canada Cracker Plant
July 25, 2013July 25, 2013

Every now and again you come across a big, fat gold nugget of news in a press release. That happened for MDN today when we read yesterday’s press release from Range Resources, innocently announcing their second quarter 2013 results (see today’s story about Range). The gold nugget? Range reports that on July 21st their first deliveries of ethane via the Mariner West pipeline were made to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. This is the first time ethane has made it to a processing (cracker) plant.

The little nugget of gold from Range, the only Marcellus driller (so far) to sell ethane…
Read More “Big News: Marcellus Ethane Now Exporting to Canada Cracker Plant”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH

So Who’s Building All Those OH Pipelines Anyway?
July 17, 2013July 17, 2013

An MDN subscriber recently emailed us to ask for more details about that map showing, by region, the number of new natural gas gathering and transmission pipelines that will be built (see The Surprising Number of New NatGas Pipelines Coming in OH). The map we showed (embedded below) indicates that Ohio is in the midst of a major pipeline build-out with an astonishing 100+ new pipelines either currently under construction, or soon will be. The question from our reader: Who’s building all those pipelines?

We went looking and found an excellent article in Farm and Dairy that gives us the answer…
Read More “So Who’s Building All Those OH Pipelines Anyway?”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | NiSource | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH

OH Hickory Bend Pipeline/Plant Makes Excellent Progress
July 17, 2013July 17, 2013

An update on the Pennant Midstream “Hickory Bend” pipeline and cryogenic processing plant being built in eastern Ohio. The local labor union boss says excellent progress is being made as the project now enters its second phase, in spite of distractions from anti-drillers (see Slight Delay for Hickory Bend Processing Plant, Permit Appealed)…
Read More “OH Hickory Bend Pipeline/Plant Makes Excellent Progress”
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!”
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”
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””
Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Deep Dive: Compressors are the ‘Heart’ of Shale NatGas Production
July 3, 2013July 3, 2013

An excellent article on the Ohio Gas & Oil website takes a look at the critical role of compressors. In case you don’t know, compressors are needed at various points along natural gas pipelines to pressurize and keep the gas moving. The article uses the metaphor of compressors as the “heart” of natural gas production.

Let’s check out the old ticker for a better understanding of natural gas gathering and pipelining…
Read More “Deep Dive: Compressors are the ‘Heart’ of Shale NatGas Production”
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”
Beaver County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

Shell Delays Buying Site for PA Cracker for 2nd Six-Month Period
July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

You probably could have seen this one coming: Last Friday, Shell signed a second six-month extension with Horsehead Corp. on a 300-acre site in Beaver County, PA. Shell continues to evaluate the site’s suitability to build a $2 billion ethane cracker plant–a plant that will convert ethane recovered during shale gas drilling in “wet gas” areas into (among other things) ethylene–the raw material used to make plastics. The land deal was supposed to be signed, sealed and delivered by the end of 2012, but that changed when Shell and Horsehead signed their first six-month extension (see Gov Tom Corbett: Shell Cracker Plant in PA Not “Off the Rails”).

In April 2013, PA Gov. Tom Corbett, under “badgering” by the Pittsburgh Business Times (according to Corbett’s office), said he believed the deal would not be signed until 2014 (see Corbett Story Changes: Decision on PA Cracker Plant Delayed Again). It appears his prediction was accurate:
Read More “Shell Delays Buying Site for PA Cracker for 2nd Six-Month Period”
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”