Belmont County

Belmont County | Energy Companies | Greene County (PA) | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Rice Energy | Washington County

Rice Energy 1Q15 Earnings Call: 100% Focused on 3 Counties
May 11, 2015May 11, 2015

Last Friday MDN brought you the Rice Energy first quarter 2015 update (see Rice Energy Doubles Production 1Q15; Utica Flows; Ekes Out a Profit). On Friday, Rice’s upper management held an earnings call with analysts and as always, quite a bit more comes out in the call than in the official press release. Below is Rice Energy CEO Dan Rice’s prepared remarks on that call with some interesting details on both their Marcellus and Utica operations. Among the interesting comments: Rice is 100% focused on just three counties in the Marcellus/Utica…
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American Energy Partners | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | XTO

Another Belmont County Landowner Threatened with Forced Pooling
May 11, 2015May 11, 2015

In April MDN told you about a landowner in Belmont County, OH who had questions and objections to phrasing in a proposed lease agreement from XTO Energy that talks about “nuisance oil” (see XTO Threatens Belmont County, OH Landowner with Forced Pooling). NEVER sign a lease without running it by a competent oil & gas attorney, and ALWAYS get the sometimes obscure terminology in a lease explained before you sign it. That’s our advice. We have another story along the same lines as the “nuisance oil” story–language that energy companies can’t or won’t explain to landowners. This one also comes from Belmont County, OH–perhaps the hottest of the hot places for drilling right now in the Utica Shale. A landowner from Martins Ferry, OH says XTO offered him an eye-popping $8,000 per acre signing bonus with 20% royalties, and Aubrey McClendon’s American Energy Partners offered $6,000 per acre with 20% royalties. Both have a “market enhancement clause” in the lease. The landowner didn’t like the clause, fearing it would reduce his royalties. The landowner was told by either XTO or AEP or both (we’re not sure), that they would force pool him if he didn’t sign. By force pooling him he would not get a signing bonus at all and only a 12.5% royalty. These kinds of strong-arm tactics give the industry a black eye in our opinion…
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Belmont County | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants

FirstEnergy Says Talk of Selling Land for OH Cracker “Premature”
May 4, 2015May 4, 2015

Two weeks ago MDN brought you the good news that two foreign companies–one from Thailand and the other from Japan–are teaming up with the aim of building a $5 billion ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, OH (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). A day later we shared with you Belmont County’s enthusiasm for the project, and our own “cracker fatigue” (see Belmont County Elated with Cracker Plant Announcement (Drip)). These projects take years and have more ups and downs than a roller coaster. It seems our words of advice to temper enthusiasm for this new project are already bearing out. Utility company FirstEnergy owns the land where the cracker plant would, theoretically, be built. FirstEnergy is saying wait a minute, we haven’t agreed to sell that land to anybody…
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Belmont County | Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Processing Plants

Belmont County Elated with Cracker Plant Announcement (Drip)
April 24, 2015April 24, 2015

We hate to rain on Belmont County, OH’s parade, but we have to point out their celebration over the announcement about a potential ethane cracker plant announced on Wednesday may be a bit premature (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). Yes, we’re super excited at the prospect of a cracker plant getting built somewhere in the northeast–and if it’s this one, to be built by Thailand and Japan, we’ll be as elated as the officials in Belmont County are (see below). However, we would like to point them to Beaver County, PA, about an hour’s drive across the border, where local officials there have been waiting for more than three years for Shell to get off the pot with a project to build a cracker plant there. Elation–when it comes to these cracker plant projects–sooner or later turns into concern, and eventually into dimmed and elusive hope. The one thing Belmont County CAN celebrate is that the company proposing to possibly build the cracker plant in the county will spend around $150 million to evaluate the site first–so at least the county will get a bit of an economic bump from that…
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Belmont County | Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Processing Plants

It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site
April 23, 2015April 23, 2015

As we told you Tuesday, Ohio is now squarely in the ethane cracker race (see Rumor: Ohio Cracker Plant Announcement Coming This Week). As predicted, yesterday Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Belmont County, OH officials announced a pair of companies from Thailand and Japan were partnering with the aim of building an ethane cracker plant in Belmont County (see the announcement below). It is a $5 billion project, according to media reports–larger than the price tag for both the possible Shell ethane cracker in Beaver County, PA and the Odebrect ethane cracker/petrochemical facility in Parkersburg, WV–which is now on pause (see Odebrect Pushes the Pause Button on WV Ethane Cracker). Speaking of which–you may now color us skeptical and jaded that any of these projects, including the one in Ohio, will ever get built…
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Belmont County | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants

Rumor: Ohio Cracker Plant Announcement Coming This Week
April 21, 2015April 21, 2015

Last October MDN told you about the rumor that a pair of companies from Thailand and Japan were partnering with the aim of building an ethane cracker plant in the Marcellus/Utica region (see Thailand & Japan Partner to Build 3rd Big Marcellus Ethane Cracker). It’s not just any pair of companies, either. The companies are Thailand’s largest chemical company, Bangkok-based PTT Global Chemical, and Japan’s fifth largest general trading company/conglomerates, Tokyo-based Marubeni Corp. These are serious players. They were reported to be considering three different locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Since that time we’ve not heard anything–until now. Yesterday, Columbus Business First reporter Tom Knox reported PTT is taking a “big step forward” in the process and has decided on a site in Belmont County, OH. The new rumor is that PTT/Ohio will make some sort of announcement this week…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Guest Post | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio

Opposing Viewpoint on Gulfport Water Lawsuit Against Barnesville
April 21, 2015April 21, 2015

MDN reader Eric Fenster, who lives in the Piedmont Lake area of Ohio, wrote to take issue with MDN’s “take” on the lawsuit brought by Gulfport Energy against Barnesville for breach of contract in selling them water for use in drilling and fracking (see Barnesville Officials “Didn’t Think” When Signing Gulfport Water Deal). Mr. Fenster believes MDN has it mostly wrong and that the Gulfport lawsuit is frivolous and should be dismissed. He outlines his thinking in the following guest post…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Jefferson County (OH) | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Utica Shale

Gulfport Energy Pays $12,500 per Acre for 24K OH Utica Acres
April 16, 2015September 14, 2015

Gulfport Energy announced yesterday they’ve picked up 24,000 dry gas acres in the “core” of the Utica play–in Belmont and Jefferson counties in Ohio. The lease seller is Paloma Partners III, a small energy & exploration company headquartered in Houston and backed by Encap Investments and Macquarie Americas. According to the Paloma website, they own(ed) 24,000 in the Utica and had planned on drilling “in late 2015.” We’re assuming they added a few thousand acres to that total since the web page was last updated and that they will now not drill at all–since they’ve just sold all of their Utica acreage to Gulfport. The purchase price was $300 million. Doing the math, Gulfport paid Paloma $12,500 per acre–which is perhaps the highest such deal price per acre we’ve seen to date. Here’s the full update from Gulfport on the Paloma acreage purchase, along with production numbers from 1Q15 which show a 161% increase from 1Q14…
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Belmont County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

OH Dem to Introduce Bill Controlling Fresh Water Withdrawals
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

Is more regulation on the way in Ohio to control how much water drillers take from local streams and rivers? MDN editor Jim Willis moderated two panels at the recent Oil & Gas Awards Industry Summit in Pittsburgh in March (see 2015 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards: A Quick Recap & List of Winners). Jim always learns something new when attending and participating in these events. Something he learned in March was a bit of an eye-opener. In Ohio, water withdrawals from streams and rivers is pretty much on the honor system. Drillers are supposed to report it, and they do–but they report after the fact. There is no oversight to ensure a streams or rivers are too low to withdraw water. By all accounts drillers have been good stewards and careful not to overdraw–but it is on the honor system and that’s beginning to bother some, like Ohio Democrat Jack Cera from Bellaire (Belmont County)…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Belmont County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Rex Energy

Belmont County, OH Landowners Spread the Wealth Around
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

One of the early slanders MDN heard against drilling is the typical class warfare argument. Some citizens (landowners and drillers) are winners of the “drilling lottery” and everyone else around them suffers with all of the negatives and none of the po$itive$. We call it the Beverley Hillbillies argument–rich, white, liberals who can’t stand the fact that flat-busted farmers have come into some money. They’re jealous. It’s a bigoted and repugnant argument we’ve heard made by people like a certain Cornell professor (see Everyone Wins – Not Just Landowners – When Marcellus Drilling Happens in a Community). The image they portray is that the people who make money from drilling–landowners and drillers–are money-grubbing misers. Ebeneezer Scrooge counting his piles of gold coins. The only problem with that image is, it’s not true. As you might expect, salt-of-the-earth farmers DON’T just hoard the money–they share it. Like a group of landowners (along with Rice Energy) in Belmont County who have donated, so far, $170,000 to a fund that benefits local community groups–like fire departments and food banks. Their goal is to see the fund swell to $10 million–all of it benefiting local groups and charities. Whoops! There goes another lie peddled by anti-drillers that’s been completely deflated…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio

Barnesville Officials “Didn’t Think” When Signing Gulfport Water Deal
April 8, 2015April 21, 2015

A few weeks ago MDN told you about a legal battle shaping up in Belmont County. Gulfport Energy has sued the town of Barnesville over a contract dispute (see Gulfport Energy Sues Barnesville, OH for Access to Water in Reservoir). Barnesville signed a contract with Gulfport to sell them water for drilling and fracking from the Slope Creek Reservoir–for 1 penny per gallon. Then Barnesville signed a contract with Antero Resources to lease land, and of course Antero needs water too (and apparently went to the head of the water line). Barnesville now says the reservoir has been drawn down too low to sell water to Gulfport (other drillers dipping in the reservoir?) so Barnesville wants to renege on the contract and now finds themselves in federal court. Now the 4,100 residents of Barnesville will pay out the nose for outside legal council to defend the town because of their leaders “didn’t think”…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | XTO

XTO Threatens Belmont County, OH Landowner with Forced Pooling
April 6, 2015April 5, 2015

Belmont County landowner Curtis Wallner doesn’t know what the term “nuisance oil” means in the contract XTO Energy is offering him to lease his 26 acres. The contract says Wallner will receive an eye-popping $8,000 per acre in signing bonus money, plus 20% royalties, MINUS revenue for “non-commercial nuisance oil.” Because XTO can’t or won’t explain it or remove it from the contract, Wallner won’t sign (can’t say that we blame him). So XTO is threatening him that they’ll take his gas anyway via forced pooling… Read More “XTO Threatens Belmont County, OH Landowner with Forced Pooling”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Rice Energy

Belmont County Loves Rice Energy
March 30, 2015March 30, 2015

Belmont County, OH loves Rice Energy, which is a good thing because Rice has nearly 16% of all the land in the county now under lease for Utica Shale drilling. So far the company has pumped “hundreds of millions” of dollars into the Belmont County economy, and there’s no end in sight. No wonder they love Rice! Rice currently has some 55,000 acres under lease in Belmont. How much are they paying for leases? Last April Rice leased 406 acres from Belmont County and paid a signing bonus of $7,500 per acre with a 20% royalty (see Belmont County Shopping New Deal to Lease Additional 426 Acres). Rice came back in June and leased an additional 426 acres from the county, paying an eye-popping $8,200 per acre with a 20% royalty (see Rice Energy Does 2nd Deal with Belmont County, $8,200/Acre!). County officials say Rice has become part of the community and supports area schools…
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Antero Resources | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio

Gulfport Energy Sues Barnesville, OH for Access to Water in Reservoir
March 20, 2015March 20, 2015

A legal battle is shaping up in Belmont County, OH–in and around Barnesville. Way back in 2012, Gulfport Energy signed a contract with Barnesville to buy water from the Slope Creek Reservoir for 1 penny per gallon. Not long after, the Village of Barnesville (which controls the reservoir) signed a lease with Antero Resources for a sizable sum (see Barnesville, OH Signs Lease with Antero, Receives $6M). Antero also snapped up more acreage in the area (see Antero Offers Barnesville, OH Residents $5,700/Acre 20% Royalties). Gulfport and Antero reached a “mutual development agreement” in June and now Gulfport wants to start drilling in the area–but Barnesville is saying the reservoir is too low because other drillers (Antero?) have drawn it down. So Barnesville won’t let Gulfport, which has its own contract, to access water in the reservoir. Gulfport has just sued the Village to gain access…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Rice Energy | Utica Shale

Rice Energy Pays St Clairsville, OH $8,700/Acre Signing Bonus
March 16, 2015March 16, 2015

In March 2014, St. Clairsville (Belmont County), OH put out a request for bids on 195 acres of city-owned land. The request for proposal (RFP) came and went with no bids (see St Clairsville RFP to Lease 195 Utica Acres Comes & Goes, No Bids). But don’t let that fool you. Drillers were keenly interested in leasing the property. The initial RFP served a legal purpose. After the period for bids closed, the real negotiations began. St. Clairsville was looking for $7,300 per acre signing bonus and 20% royalties. They got an even better deal. In January, Rice Energy handed St. Clairsville with a check for $1,479,251.84 to lease 170 out of the 195 acres–or $8,700 per acre as a signing bonus…
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Belmont County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Greene County (PA) | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Rice Energy | Rice Midstream | Washington County

Rice Energy Turns Profitable in 2014; Strong 2015 in View
March 13, 2015March 13, 2015

Rice Energy, a “pure play” energy company focused on drilling in the Utica and Marcellus, issued their full year and fourth quarter 2014 update yesterday. Wow, what an update! Rice had a big year in 2014. The parent company, focused on drilling, went public. They also launched an IPO for their midstream (pipelines) subsidiary. Compared to 2013 which saw a loss on the books, 2014 reversed it. In 2014, Rice’s profit was $218.5 million (out of $390.9 million). That’s an increase over a 2013 loss of $35.8 million (out of $88.7 million in revenue). In 2014, Rice produced 97.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas, up from 23 Bcf in 2013. Aside from the company growing and hitting its stride, what was different about 2014? Last year Rice concentrated on the Utica Shale…
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