OH Transload Facility Sits in Catbird Seat Between the Crackers
November 2012 was the first time we wrote about the transloading facility in Wellsville (Columbiana County) Ohio (see Drilling Mud Manufacturer Opens Plant in Wellsville, OH). A transloading facility is a place where things like pipes and grain and oil and gas and whatever comes in on one form of transportation, say a train or a barge–and gets unloaded and then is sent out via a different form of transportation, typically a truck. The Wellsville Intermodal Facility is one such transloading facility smack in the middle of Utica Shale country. The second time we wrote about the facility was January 2013 (see Columbiana Port Authority Close to Final Deal with Marathon). The third time we wrote about it was October 2013 (see Progress for Arrowhead NGL Transload Facility in Wellsville, OH). Today is the fourth time. Pier 48 Stevedoring operates a crane at the facility to load and unload barges. Pier 48 has been operating a 60-ton bridge crane used to move cargo containers (think truck trailers). However, Pier 48 just cut the ribbon on a brand new bucket crane, which can grab loose materials–even liquids–and hold it without leaking, to move whatever it is from a hold in a barge into a tank on land (or the reverse). The comment made during the ceremony that caught our eye is that this new crane has come at “an incredibly opportune time” because of the Shell ethane cracker plant being built 25 miles away, and a second potential cracker that may get built not far down the river in Belmont County. This new crane, and the transloading facility, sit in the catbird seat. With the coming cracker plants, manufacturers will locate in the region and need bulk shipping services for the materials they handle and the products they make…
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Natural gas-fired electric plants are a really big deal throughout the Marcellus/Utica region. Each time one of these plants gets built, it injects upward of $1 billion (or more) into the local and regional economy, creates 500 or more temporary jobs and 25-30 permanent jobs. And the gas it uses…oy vey! They are an important new customer for the abundant supplies of natural gas we have. So it’s a big deal when a new plant gets announced, and then, when that plant gets officially approved. Last October (nearly a year ago now) Advanced Power Services announced they want to build a second mega-electric generating plant that taps into and uses Ohio’s Utica Shale. The new plant will generate a whopping 1,100 megawatts of electricity and be located in Columbiana County, OH (see 
Mainstream media and the crazies who blat about ending the use of fossil fuels (stupid gits) have so demonized shale drilling the average citizen might assume shale drilling and all of those businesses that support it are from Satan himself. We spotted a story about an Ohio city (Columbiana) that has taken the unusual action of annexing an extra 94 acres of land next to an existing company located in the city so it can legally extend services like water, sewer and electric lines so the business can expand. That’s not unheard of. What is unheard of is that the business in question is Buckeye Transfer–a company that stores water, sand, chemicals and other materials used in (gasp) fracking of Utica Shale wells. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Columbiana is aiding and abetting a fracking company. It’s such an unusual story, we just had to highlight it…
A group of Ohio landowners is doing what others have previously done in Pennsylvania, Texas and elsewhere–they’ve filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy claiming Chessy has screwed them and about 1,000 other Ohio landowners out of a collective $30 million in royalty payments. The lawsuit was filed last Monday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court (copy embedded below) by an Akron, OH woman and the owners of two Columbiana County farms. In addition to Chesapeake, French company Total E&P USA, Pelican Energy LLC and Jamestown Resources LLC were also named in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs claim the only allowed deduction from royalties, according to signed leases, is for taxes–not for drilling expenses, not for post-production costs, etc. The lawyers filing the lawsuit figure there are at least 1,000 landowners with 40,000 acres who have been negatively affected by Chesapeake’s royalty shenanigans…
Although Chesapeake Energy under Doug “the ax” Lawler has sold off everything but the kitchen sink (see 
Floridian Jeb Bush is running for President as a Republican–necessary to state the obvious because many are likely not aware of Jeb’s candidacy since his poll numbers are in the single digits. Jeb was a guest at Rice Energy near Pittsburgh in September to unveil his energy policy plan (see 
Advanced Power Services announced yesterday they will build a second mega-electric generating plant that taps into and uses Ohio’s Utica Shale. This new plant will generate a whopping 1,100 megawatts of electricity and be located in Columbiana County, OH. Advanced just broke ground in July on a 700-megawatt plant in Carroll County (see 
A truck driver hauling coiled tubing (pipe) used for fracking had an unfortunate run-in with a railroad overpass in Columbiana County, OH. The railroad bridge running over State Route 558 in Fairfield Township is just 13 feet high. The coiled tubing on the back of the truck was higher, and the driver didn’t realize it. So when he went under the overpass, it literally pulled it off and dumped it across the highway. Oops…
Traffic along an extended stretch of two Ohio highways in Columbiana County, OH was closed for nearly five hours on April 23 because a drilling rig that was moved leaked “a mineral-based synthetic, a non-hazardous drilling oil compound” for 27 miles as it was moved. Ouch. Somebody’s head will roll. The rig was being moved by a contractor for Chesapeake Energy. You might think somebody would notice something leaking over the course of 27 bloody miles! But apparently not. Fortunately the fluid/oil was not toxic or dangerous in any way, other than perhaps slipping on it…
Earlier this week we had some fun telling you about Hilcorp’s request to drill under a quarter of an acre of a cemetery in Columbiana County, OH (see