Belmont County

Belmont County | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants

Statement from 2nd Company Working on Belmont, OH Ethane Cracker
September 9, 2015September 9, 2015

Last week the CEO of Thailand chemical giant PTT Global flew to Belmont County, OH to announce his company is spending $100 million over the next 9-12 months on preliminary work to build an ethane cracker plant in the county (see PTT Announces 2 Contractors Working on Belmont Cracker Plant). During the announcement, CEO Supattanapong Punmeechaow said his company had awarded contracts to two companies to work on designs for the plant: Fluor Corporation and Bechtel Enterprises. In last week’s article we ran the Fluor “hey, we’re one of the winners” press release. Below is Bechtel’s version of crowing about the project…
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Belmont County | Energy Services | Ethane | FirstEnergy | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | PTT Global

300 Acres Next to FirstEnergy Site Part of Belmont Cracker Plan
September 8, 2015September 8, 2015

A few more details about the proposed site for an ethane cracker plant in Belmont County (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). The proposed site is the existing 130-acre R.E. Burger Plant, a coal-fired electric generating plant owned and operated by Ohio utility company FirstEnergy (see FirstEnergy Says Talk of Selling Land for OH Cracker “Premature”). However, we now know that the $5.7 billion chemical complex, to be built by Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical, will require far more than 130 acres. The new ethane cracker facility will require something like 450-500 acres. So where will the other land surrounding the R.E. Burger Plant come from? The nextdoor neighbor…
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Belmont County | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | PTT Global

PTT Announces 2 Contractors Working on Belmont Cracker Plant
September 4, 2015September 4, 2015

As we told you yesterday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich horned in on a visit by Thailand-based PTT Global CEO Supattanapong Punmeechaow to Belmont County where Punmeechaow announced his company will spend $100 million over the next 9-12 months on a potential ethane cracker plant complex (see PTT CEO Arrives in OH to Announce First $100M for Cracker Plant). PTT has said all along a final decision about whether or not to build the plant won’t happen until 2016 or 2017. Gov. Kasich has a bit more cheery (Pollyanna?) perspective, saying in baseball terms the project is already rounding third base and heading toward home plate. We hope he’s right, but we’ve been led down the primrose path before when it comes to cracker projects (cough *Odebrecht* cough). We do know the name for two of the companies that will receive at least some of (perhaps most of) the $100 million PTT is spending over the next year…
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Belmont County | Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants

PTT CEO Arrives in OH to Announce First $100M for Cracker Plant
September 3, 2015September 4, 2015

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is having trouble getting anyone to notice he’s running for president (predictably, nobody cares when an establishment RINO runs), will swoop in at a press conference today at 3 pm in Belmont County, OH to announce that foreigners from Thailand-based PTT Global and Marubeni Corp. of Tokyo will drop $100 million on Ohio to conduct engineering and design work for a previously announced potential ethane cracker plant in the county (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). Kasich doesn’t like “foreigners” from exotic places like Texas and Oklahoma working in the oil and gas fields of Ohio (see Ohio Gov. John Kasich Jazzed About Chesapeake Striking Oil in the Utica Shale – Refers to Potential Out-of-State Workers as “Foreigners” and OH Gov. Kasich Continues Trash Talk Out-of-State Workers). But if you’re a foreigner from, you know, a foreign country? And you have a few billion dollars to drop in the state? That’s A.O.K. for the son of a postal worker turned Congressman turned career politician turned RINO turned governor. But let’s not get lost in the tortured politics of John Kasich. Let’s celebrate the fact that PTT Global CEO Supattanapong Punmeechaow, from Thailand, is flying over to attend today’s announcement. That’s a very positive sign indeed that this potential $5 billion project, which we’re now reading has been upgraded closer to $6 billion, is on track to become a reality…
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Belmont County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Supply Chain | Utica Shale

OH Oilfield Services Co Opens New Branch in Belmont County
August 31, 2015August 31, 2015

There is no disputing that Belmont County, Ohio is “the core of the core” when it comes to Utica Shale methane production, as evidenced by the latest quarterly production report issued last week by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (see OH Utica Production for 2Q15 Breaks Record – Highest in 100 Years!). An incredible 23 of the top 25 producing wells in Ohio during 2Q15 were located in Belmont County. So it’s no surprise that a specialty oilfield services company, Stonebridge Oilfield Services, with headquarters in Marietta, Ohio, is expanding by adding a new operation in Barnesville, Belmont County…
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Belmont County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Spectra Energy

New OPEN Compressor Station in Belmont County Under Construction
August 21, 2015August 21, 2015

A new compressor station is being built in Colerain Township (Belmont County), OH as part of the Ohio Pipeline Energy Network (OPEN) pipeline project. Last month we told you that the OPEN project, 76 miles of new pipeline running through Belmont, Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson and Monroe counties that will connect to the Texas Eastern Pipeline, and then reverses the flow on the Texas Eastern to carry Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from eastern Ohio to the Gulf Coast, is on track to be done this year (see Spectra’s OPEN Ohio Pipeline on Track to be Done by End of 2015). One of the remaining, important pieces of the puzzle is to build a large compressor station to help flow the gas. Here’s an update on that part of the project…
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Ascent Resources | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pipelines | Utica Shale

MarkWest to Build $1B OH Utica Dry Gas Gathering System for Ascent
August 13, 2015August 13, 2015

Although it seems there is no end of bad news in drilling company financials right now, here’s a spot of good news: MarkWest Energy, the premier midstream/pipeline company in the Marcellus/Utica (selling itself to Marathon Petroleum), has just announced they are investing $1 billion over the next three years to install a new gathering pipeline system in eastern Ohio–particularly in Belmont and Jefferson counties–mostly for Ascent Resources. Ascent, backed by major investor EMG, was once Aubrey McClendon’s subsidiary company called American Energy Appalachia Holdings that has since broken free of McClendon and American Energy Partners and is now its own 100% standalone company. The MarkWest/Ascent deal is to build a 250-mile pipeline system in the Utica dry gas region that will gather more than 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas not only from Ascent, but also from other producers in the area. Here’s the details from MarkWest…
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Belmont County | Housing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Supply Chain

Rural Belmont County, OH Gets Another New Hotel – in St Clairsville
July 29, 2015July 29, 2015

St. Clairsville with a population of just over 5,000 is the county seat for rural Belmont County, OH. Small villages like St. Clairsville typically have a handful of stores and other businesses. It’s highly unusual for a small town like St. Clairsville to score a major new hotel–but it just has, thanks to the Utica Shale. Belmont County is in the epicenter for the sweet spot in the Utica Shale. Even with drilling scaling back from low prices, there is still plenty of activity–especially in Belmont County. Commonwealth Hotels yesterday announced the opening of the newly constructed 92-room Candlewood Suites St Clairsville. Located at Mall Ring Road, the Candlewood Suites is the newest hotel in the region, conveniently located near I-70…
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Belmont County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Supply Chain

Supply Chain Success: Slinging Burgers & BBQ at Utica Drill Pads
July 20, 2015July 20, 2015

We love a good supply chain story. A story about a local businessperson who figures out how to sell his or her services to the Marcellus and Utica Shale industry. Here’s a tasty one for you: How about the story of a local food delivery service that slings burgers and barbecue for workers at drilling sites in the Ohio Valley? Meet Dean Barath, owner of Ideal Provisions, who makes a great living by serving the Utica Shale industry in his neck of the woods…
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Belmont County | Carroll County | Columbiana County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Litigation | Monroe County | Ohio | Pipelines | Spectra Energy

Spectra’s OPEN Ohio Pipeline on Track to be Done by End of 2015
July 17, 2015July 17, 2015

Spectra Energy announced a new natural gas pipeline in Ohio called the Ohio Pipeline Energy Network, or OPEN, way back in December 2011. OPEN is an interesting project because it will build 76 miles of new pipeline running through Belmont, Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson and Monroe counties that will connect to the Texas Eastern Pipeline, and then reverses the flow on the Texas Eastern to carry Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from eastern Ohio to the Gulf Coast. The Texas Eastern will become a bi-directional pipeline, sometimes bringing gas north from the Gulf, other times sending it to the south to the Gulf. Spectra filed their official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in February 2014 (see Spectra Energy Files Formal Request with FERC for OPEN Pipeline). FERC granted its blessing in December 2014 (see FERC Approves OPEN Pipeline in Eastern OH, Gas Goes to Gulf Coast). Since that time, a few Ohio Landowners filed a lawsuit asking an Ohio court to stop the OPEN pipeline from claiming eminent domain (see OH Landowners ask Court to Stop OPEN Pipeline Eminent Domain). Apparently nothing has come from that lawsuit because OPEN is getting built, right on schedule with plans to be completed by the end of this year…
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Belmont County | Housing | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio

RV Parks Pop Up in Ohio Valley for “Transient” Shale Workers
July 16, 2015July 16, 2015

Although drilling activity has slowed in many locations in the Marcellus/Utica Shale region, in some places it just keeps booming. Like Belmont and Monroe counties in Ohio. How do we know? Just take a look at the rise of “Oil City” located right next to the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville (Belmont County), OH. Oil City has 120 RVs and campers–all of them workers in the Utica and Marcellus gas fields. They are “transients” in the sense that new workers come in as other workers leave. Some are even from (gasp) “foreign” locations like Texas and Oklahoma (see OH Gov. Kasich Continues Trash Talk Out-of-State Workers). The words transient and foreigner are used by some as a pejorative to denigrate hard-working oilfield workers, blaming them for rowdiness and even for spreading STDs (see Is There a Link Between Fracking & STDs in Ohio?). How are oilfield transients perceived by the locals in the Ohio Valley area? A Monroe County official said this about the 350 transient oilfield workers living in RV parks in his county: “We’ve received little to no negative feedback. Most of them seem to work long hours, so they aren’t around all that much. They fit in pretty well.” So much for those who object to “foreigners” and “transients”…
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Belmont County | Energy Services | Ethane | FirstEnergy | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants

FirstEnergy Confirms Their Site is Future Home of OH Cracker
June 24, 2015June 24, 2015

More cracker plant talk. Yesterday we told you that Shell has received the air quality permit they need from the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (see Shell Receives Air Quality Permit from PA DEP for Cracker Plant), moving that ethane cracker plant project significantly closer to reality. We also told you that the president and CEO of Odebrecht, the Brazilian company planning to build a cracker plant in WV, has been arrested in a bribery scandal (see Odebrecht CEO Arrested; What Does it Mean for WV Cracker Plant?), making that ethane cracker project less likely, in our humble opinion. The third major ethane cracker in the Marcellus/Utica is planned for Belmont County, OH. PTT Global Chemical, Thailand’s largest integrated petrochemical and refining company, with financial backing from Marubeni Corporation, a Japan-based company conglomerate, plans to build a cracker plant complex in Ohio (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). It has been an “open secret” the site for the plant would be at FirstEnergy Corp’s R.E. Burger power plant site along the banks of the Ohio River. FirstEnergy has, until now, denied they are selling the site. But a FirstEnergy official in a round-about way has just confirmed that yes, IF the cracker plant project gets built, it likely will get built at the R.E. Burger site…
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Beaver County | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell

Are OH Officials Worried about Shell’s PA Ethane Cracker? Nope
June 22, 2015June 22, 2015

In April Ohio officials announced Belmont County, OH has been chosen as the site of a potential ethane cracker plant (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). Which led us to admit that since we’ve been teased with a cracker for over three years now–with NO ONE actually committing to such a plant–we’re experiencing “cracker fatigue.” But not long after Shell made some serious moves toward committing to build a cracker plant in western Pennsylvania, not far from Pittsburgh. The most recent positive sign is that Shell finally, after three years of faffing about, earlier this month purchased the property the plant would be built on (see Shell Buys Beaver County, PA Property for Future Cracker Plant). Does a Shell cracker reduce the likelihood of an cracker plant being built less than two hours away in Belmont County, OH? Not according to officials in Ohio. In fact, they’re not worried at all…
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American Energy Partners | Ascent Resources | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Jefferson County (OH) | Monroe County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Big McClendon News: Sells 35K Utica Acres, Creates New Company
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

We have major news coming from Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners (AEP). A lot of news. So buckle in. First we’ll tell you the news, then we’ll give you our take on that news–what it means. In brief, the news coming from AEP HQ in Oklahoma City is this: (1) AEP’s Marcellus/Utica AEP subsidiary, American Energy Appalachia Holdings, has been spun out into a 100% standalone company and has changed its name to Ascent Resources; (2) the CEO of Ascent is the same guy who was the CEO of American Energy Appalachia Holdings–trusted McClendon lieutenant Jeffrey A. Fisher; (3) Ascent has cut a deal with Gulfport Energy to sell 35,000 prime Utica Shale acres for $407 million; and (4) Ascent has just sold shares in the company and taken out new loans for $977 million, giving them $700 million in cash after they pay off certain other loans. Whew! Here’s the details, along with a little news of our own about AEP…
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American Energy Partners | Ascent Resources | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Jefferson County (OH) | Monroe County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Details on Gulfport’s Purchase of 35K AEP Utica Acres + New Stock
June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

As we report in our lead story today, Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners has decided to spin out it’s Marcellus/Utica operation into a brand new, 100% independent company. That new company, formerly called American Energy Appalachia Holdings, is now called Ascent Resources. Ascent has turned around and immediately sold 35,325 net acres in prime Utica Shale country–Monroe, Belmont and Jefferson counties in Ohio–to one of AEP’s chief competitors in the Utica, Gulfport Energy. In addition, Gulfport has just announced they are floating another 10 million shares of stock. If the new shares sell for anything close to today’s current share price, that will net the company another $440+ million. Below we have the details (from Gulfport) on the deal with AEP to purchase prime Utica acreage complete with four drilled wells and a pipeline gathering system, along with Gulfport’s announcement about the new stock offering…
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Belmont County | Guernsey County | Monroe County | Noble County | Ohio | Statewide OH

Top 6 Utica Natgas & Top 6 Utica Oil Wells by Production in 1Q15
June 2, 2015June 2, 2015

Yesterday the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) released their first quarter production numbers for both oil and natural gas (see our companion story today). Below are details for the top 6 natural gas producing wells, and the top 6 oil producing wells in the state. Rice Energy and Antero Resources split the top 6 natural gas wells with three apiece. Of note, Rice’s wells took the top 3 slots. Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy drilled the most top oil wells (4 of the top 6), followed by one apiece for Antero Resources and PDC Energy…
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