Processing Plants

Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Spectra Energy

Spectra Energy Makes $4B Investment in Marcellus/Utica Infrastructure
January 17, 2013January 17, 2013

Spectra Energy, a U.S. midstream (transmission and storage) company is excited about the possibilities of the Marcellus and Utica Shale and shipping shale gas from the northeast to the south and southwest U.S. They’re so excited, in fact, they’re hard at work and spending more than $4 billion on infrastructure projects in the northeast to do just that, according to Spectra president Bill Yardley…

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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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Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | Utica Shale | West Virginia | Williams

Dominion, Caiman in $1.5B Utica JV: Blue Racer Midstream
December 21, 2012December 21, 2012

Two large midstream (pipeline & processing plant) companies, Dominion and Caiman Energy II, announced a new $1.5 billion, 50/50 joint venture to form a new midstream services company to service the Utica Shale in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The name of the new company is Blue Racer Midstream. Sound familiar? It should. Yesterday MDN brought you the news that Williams is investing $380 million in Caiman Energy/Blue Racer (see this MDN story).Williams owns nearly half of Caiman Energy II (47.5%).

One of the core assets of the new Blue Racer Midstream company will be Dominion’s previously announced $500 million natural gas liquids processing plant in Natrium, WV (see this MDN story). The Natrium plant was scheduled to go online by Dec. 31—a deadline that won’t be met. However, work on the new NGL plant continues at a “furious pace” and the plant will be online in early 2013. Dominion’s extensive gathering pipeline system in eastern Ohio is also part of the deal.

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Caiman Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Williams

Williams Invests $380M in New Utica Shale Midstream Project
December 20, 2012December 20, 2012

Midstream behemoth Williams announced today it is investing $380 million in the new Blue Racer Midstream venture in the Utica Shale. The investment is part of Williams’ ongoing joint venture with Caiman Energy II (Willams owns 47.5%), which concentrates on developing midstream projects in the Utica Shale region.

Today’s Williams announcement:

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BP | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

BP: Trumbull County Needs More Pipelines, Processing Plants
December 18, 2012December 18, 2012

Yesterday at a press conference in Youngstown, OH, BP announced plans to move into a new office and warehouse space in the Youngstown Commerce Park (see this MDN story). At the same event, BP officials spoke about their concerns that pipeline and processing plant infrastructure in Trumbull and surrounding counties may be quickly overwhelmed once BP’s drilling program is in full swing.

What do BP’s public comments mean? More pipelines and processing plants are likely on the way in Trumbull County:

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Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EnerVest | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | NGLs | Ohio | Processing Plants

Columbiana County NGL Plant On Track for May Opening
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

An update on the excellent progress being made with the construction of a new $400 million natural gas liquids collection and processing plant being built in Hanoverton (Columbiana County), Ohio by M3 Midstream:

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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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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Wetzel County

MarkWest’s Mobley, WV Wet Gas Processing Plant Goes Online
December 13, 2012December 13, 2012

MarkWest Energy today announced the first of it’s three planned Mobley processing plants, located in Wetzel County, WV, is now online and producing. The plant is currently operating at 60% of capacity.

MarkWest’s announcement:

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Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Mahoning County | NiSource | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Mahoning Utica Pipeline/Processing Plant “Moving Forward”
December 13, 2012December 13, 2012

Back in July, MDN told you about a new joint venture between Hilcorp and NiSource to build a wet gas pipeline and processing plant in the Youngstown, Ohio area (see this MDN story). There is still no official location (yet) for the new project, which will cost between $300 and $500 million to build, but we now have a name for it: the Hickory Bend Pipeline System.

According to a NiSource spokesperson, Hickory Bend (the pipeline and the processing plant) is “moving forward.” What does that mean? It means the Mahoning Valley will soon see a big boost in jobs for construction workers and welders:

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Access Midstream Partners | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Williams

Chesapeake, Access & Williams in Complex 3-Way Midstream Deal
December 12, 2012December 12, 2012

Chesapeake Energy has sold off its remaining midstream operations (pipelines, compressors and processing plants) to Access Midstream Partners for $2.16 billion. The sale includes Chesapeake’s midstream assets in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, along with assets in the Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Niobrara shale plays.

At the same time (keep your eye on the bouncing ball here), midstream giant Williams paid $2.4 billion to buy a 50% stake in Access Midstream. That is, the two deals are connected—Chesapeake to Access, Access to Williams. On paper, Chesapeake sold its midstream properties to Access, but it practice it seems the sale was actually to Williams via Access Midstream. In addition, Williams announced that Chesapeake is “supporting” their effort to build a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from the Marcellus/Utica area to the Gulf Coast.

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

$10 Billion+ in Utica Shale Infrastructure Coming to Ohio
December 10, 2012December 10, 2012

The Akron Beacon Journal ran an excellent round-up article on Sunday looking at the mammoth infrastructure investments (pipelines, processing facilities, etc.) being made in Ohio’s Utica and Marcellus Shale region—like in excess of $10 billion of investments already under way or planned for the near future.

Here’s a quick overview:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants

Northeast Oil Refineries, Powered by…
December 4, 2012December 4, 2012

PBF Energy, headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, purchased three northeast oil refineries over the past two years—two of them belonged to Valero (Paulsboro, NJ and Delaware City, DE), and the other was Sunoco’s Toledo, OH refinery. PBF paid a combined $1 billion for all three (and hundreds of millions to update them).

Last year the three refineries were profitable, brining in revenue of $16 billion—and this year they’ve already brought in $15 billion. PBF recently leased 2,500 rail cars to bring in Bakken Shale crude oil to help expand the operation. But the really interesting thing (to MDN) is how the three plants are powered:

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Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | Utica East Ohio Midstream | Utica Shale

Ohio RR Company Signs Deal with Utica East to Ship NGLs
December 3, 2012December 3, 2012

Utica East Ohio Midstream’s new $900 million natural gas liquids (NGL) processing plant in Scio, Ohio is about to become connected—but not by pipelines alone. Genesee & Wyoming announced today that their subsidiary, Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road Company has signed a long-term agreement with Utica East to ship some 10,000 carloads of NGLs annually. The new NGL processing plant is due to go online in May 2013.

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Economic Impact | Hancock County | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | West Virginia

WV Refinery Expanding with Marcellus/Utica Crude Oil
November 30, 2012November 30, 2012

Ergon, Inc., a crude oil processor headquartered in Jackson, MS but with operations in other states, including West Virginia, announced Wednesday there’s enough crude oil flowing from the Marcellus and Utica Shale region that they are investing $78 million to add more refining capacity to their plant in Newell, WV.

From the Ergon press announcement:

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Aither Chemicals | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Aither Chemicals Still Wants to Build a Cracker Plant in WV
November 19, 2012November 19, 2012

Still more talk about an ethane cracker plant for West Virginia—this time from perennial ethane promoter Aither Chemicals. At last week’s Developing Unconventional Gas (DUG) East conference in Pittsburgh, Aither’s CFO said his company could build a new ethane cracker for a fraction of the cost Shell is proposing for their cracker in Monaca, PA. Another speaker expressed doubts that Shell will actually build their announced cracker plant in Monaca:

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Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Wood County

Wood County, WV in the Running for Ethane Cracker
November 15, 2012November 15, 2012

According to Kevin DiGregoria, executive director of the Chemical Alliance Zone West Virginia, Wood County, WV is one of the prime locations in the state being considered for a new ethane cracker plant. DiGregorio also said the Marcellus Shale will be around for at least 30 years and is “an economic grand slam” for the state.

DiGregoria was joined by WV Commerce Sec. Keith Burdette at a roundtable discussion in Wood County. Burdette, who has been in the hunt for a cracker plant for the state for nearly two years now, said he’s in regular contact with interested companies:

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