Ohio

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    Yet Another Fracking-Causes-Earthquakes “Study” – This Time in Utica

    Yet another “fracking may cause earthquakes” study has been published in the so-called peer reviewed journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). Researchers from the University of Miami (in Ohio) admit the kind of earthquakes they talk about in their paper, potentially caused by Utica Shale drilling, are “rare.” But, they are also “concerning.” Yes, everyone should be concerned that in zero percent of Utica well drilling cases (statistically speaking) there have been NO earthquakes. Actually a couple of cases are thought to be related to fracking over a fault–but it’s still unproven. Statistically speaking, it’s 0%. But, there could be problems! Maybe. If the conditions are “just right.” Ya never know. We note the researchers didn’t address concerns over fans in football stadiums that, when they all stomp their feet at the same time, have caused “earthquakes” that are higher on the Richter scale than the ones they postulate “may, maybe, might” happen in Utica drilling. No mention of football fan earthquakes in this study. Below is the “news” about this latest, breathlessly urgent report that everyone should read…
    Read More “Yet Another Fracking-Causes-Earthquakes “Study” – This Time in Utica”

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    Green Antis Try to Reverse City’s $7.5M Deal to Allow NEXUS Pipe

    MDN told you last week that anti officials who lead the City of Green, OH (Summit County), had finally faced the reality that NEXUS Pipeline–a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada–will come through their vicinity (see Antis of Green, OH Finally Face Reality – Will Allow NEXUS Pipe). Green previously hired a high-priced Cleveland law firm to try and scuttle the NEXUS project (see Green, OH Paying Lawyers $100K to Fund Stop NEXUS Crusade). In the end, everyone has their price. For Green, the price is $7.5 million and 20 acres of land that sit next to an existing city park. While Green antis in city government hate the idea of the pipeline getting built at all (especially Green’s anti-pipeline mayor), the writing is on the wall. They will lose and they know it. To save face, the mayor negotiated a deal with NEXUS that city council voted to accept. However, the mayor and city council’s actions don’t sit well with some of the more radical elements in Green. The rads have since launched a campaign to force the city to accept a vote on whether or not to settle with NEXUS. The city says the signed settlement from last week is an administrative action, not subject to a popular vote. The rads say otherwise. It’s shaping up to be a legal battle royale in Green–antis against antis. Grab the popcorn!…
    Read More “Green Antis Try to Reverse City’s $7.5M Deal to Allow NEXUS Pipe”

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    Rover Pipeline’s SWPA Burgettstown Lateral Ready for Startup

    Click map for larger version

    On Tuesday, Rover Pipeline (Energy Transfer Partners) sent an official request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking for permission to begin service on one of the remaining legs of the pipeline not yet up and running as part of Phase 1 development. Rover wants to begin service on the Burgettstown Lateral by Feb. 26. The Burgettstown Lateral (see the map below) extends from Burgettstown (Washington County), PA through Hancock County, WV and into eastern Ohio, connecting to the main Rover Pipeline in Carroll County. The Burgettstown Lateral is 51.3 miles long and includes a compressor station in/near Burgettstown to push the gas along the entire length of the lateral. Rover still maintains they will have the entire Rover Pipeline network up and running by the end of March. There are still some areas in Ohio where they are working (drilling for a second pipeline under the Tuscarawas River), however, most of the work remaining to be done is in Michigan–Phase 2 of the project. When it’s all done, up and running, Rover will flow 3.25 billion cubic feet per day of Marcellus/Utica gas to the Midwest, Gulf Coast and Canada. Below is Rover’s request to “start me up” for the Burgettstown Lateral, along with a map of the lateral…
    Read More “Rover Pipeline’s SWPA Burgettstown Lateral Ready for Startup”

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    MarkWest Building New Fractionation Plant in Harrison County, OH

    Hopedale Fractionation Facility (click for larger version)

    MarkWest Energy, now a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum (MPLX unit) is THE premier shale gas processor in the Marcellus/Utica region. When natural gas comes out of the ground, a bunch of other hydrocarbons come out of the ground with it–namely NGLs (natural gas liquids). NGLs include compounds like ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), isobutane (also C4H10), and pentane (C5H12). MarkWest’s cryogenic processing plants separate out the methane from NGLs. A different process, called fractionation, further separates the NGLs into their component parts. MarkWest handles an estimated 60% of all fractionation in the M-U. MarkWest has standalone plants set up to separate out ethane–called C2 fractionation because ethane has two carbon atoms. Ethane fractionation plants are their own separate beast–removing ethane from the NGL stream. Finally, there are C3 fractionation plants, which tackle separating the other NGLs–propane, butane, isobutane and pentane (referred to as C3+ fractionation because each of those compounds has three or more carbon atoms). In the Hopedale fractionation operation (Jewett, Ohio), MarkWest already has three C3+ fractionation plants up and running–Hopedale I, II, and III. Each one processes 60,000 barrels of NGLs a day, for a cumulative 180,000 bbl/d capacity. Honeywell issued a press release yesterday to say they have been tapped to build a fourth Hopedale C3+ fractionation plant, expanding MarkWest’s capacity by another 60,000 bbl/d. Honeywell says it takes just 40 weeks from start to finish and they will have the Hopedale IV plant up and running, by the end of this year…
    Read More “MarkWest Building New Fractionation Plant in Harrison County, OH”

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    Columbia Gas Customers in OH Start Using M-U Gas in April

    We often write about pipeline projects in the Marcellus/Utica and their mission to move our prodigious natgas production to new markets where the gas will fetch a higher price. Last fall MDN provided a list of 15 active pipeline projects in our region, aimed at moving our gas to new markets (see List of 15 Active Marcellus/Utica Pipeline Projects Worth $23B). However, sometimes the “new” markets these pipelines serve are located–right here, in the M-U region! That’s right. Not all gas needs to go to the South, the Southwest, Midwest or get exported to Canada and beyond. Sometimes new market demand is hidden in plain sight. Such is the case for Columbia Gas (owned by NiSource) in Ohio. The company said it has “changed our portfolio around” to source locally extracted Marcellus/Utica gas for “at least 40%” and “likely much more” of the gas it sells to its customers. The change to using Marcellus/Utica gas will begin in April. Among the pipelines that will flow the M-U gas Columbia will buy is the recently completed Leach XPress (see Leach XPress Goes Online; FERC Approves Mountaineer & Gulf XPress). Here’s the good news that our own gas will serve those in our own region…
    Read More “Columbia Gas Customers in OH Start Using M-U Gas in April”

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    OH Fractivist Claims Obliterated with Cold, Hard Facts from NEPA

    MDN friend Chris Acker, standing in front of a rig about 200 yards from his house in NEPA

    In December MDN brought you the news that Cabot Oil & Gas is sniffing around Ashland County, OH, with plans to possibly drill in a rock layer even deeper than the Utica Shale (see Cabot O&G Considers Drilling in Ashland County, OH). Cabot’s activity in the area was met with resistance by anti-fossil fuelers. Nothing new about that. What is new, however, is that some of the antis (a handful) in the Ashland area formed a faux landowner coalition, trying to fool landowners into joining them (see Warning to Ohio Residents: Beware Fake Landowner Coalitions). The faux landowner coalition has been busy spreading lies about Cabot, making wild accusations about what will happen if Cabot is allowed to drill in the county. MDN friend (and right arm) Chris Acker, a northeast PA landowner signed with Cabot, has written a guest post/rebuttal that obliterates the lies being spread by Ashland antis. Buckle up, this one will be fun to read!…
    Read More “OH Fractivist Claims Obliterated with Cold, Hard Facts from NEPA”

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    Duke Energy’s 13-Mile Cincinnati NatGas Pipeline Proj Unpauses

    Duke Energy needs to replace an aging pipeline, built in the 1950s, near Cincinnati, OH–or some people in Cincy will have to go without natural gas. Duke has proposed a 13-mile, 20-inch pipeline along two potential routes. Both routes are opposed by antis, including a group calling themselves NOPE–Neighbors Opposing Pipeline Extension. We call them DOPEs–Dummies Opposing Pipeline Extensions. Will the DOPEs volunteer to shut off the natural gas to their homes and businesses if the pipeline doesn’t get built? Not on your life! The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) held two public hearings last April, to grant anti-pipeliners the opportunity to vent (see Hearings Scheduled for Proposed Duke Pipeline in Cincinnati). They didn’t disappoint. The DOPEs turned up in force. With just weeks before a final approval by the OPSB, Duke asked the state to push the pause button last August (see Duke Energy’s 13-Mile Cincinnati NatGas Pipeline Put on Hold). At the time, Duke said they had “potential concerns” about building the pipeline on a property close to a Superfund site in Reading. Apparently those concerns have now been addressed. Duke is about to unpause and refile an application for the pipeline. Let the fireworks begin!…
    Read More “Duke Energy’s 13-Mile Cincinnati NatGas Pipeline Proj Unpauses”

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    Pin Oak Energy Buys 70K Utica Acres in OH & PA + Pipeline Assets

    Pin Oak Energy Partners has just more than doubled the leased acreage it owns in the Marcellus/Utica, adding 70,000 Utica acres in both Ohio and Pennsylvania to its portfolio. MDN previously ran several stories about this relatively new entrant to our region (see our Pin Oak Energy stories here). While Pin Oak is a “new” company, the people running it have been around. CEO Chris Halvorson says Pin Oak is comprised of folks who were formerly with AB Resources. You may recall that AB Resources built a position in the southwestern “core” of the Marcellus and sold out to Chevron several years ago. Pin Oak is “what’s next” for for the former AB folks. Their target: the Appalachian basin. They buy both conventional and unconventional wells and acreage. Pin Oak announced yesterday that in a series of transactions with various sellers (all unnamed, amounts not disclosed), the company picked up a total of 70,000 acres in Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio, and Mercer County in Pennsylvania. They also bought gas processing facilities and “multiple taps” into interstate gas pipelines, including two taps into the mighty Tennessee Gas Pipeline. Here’s the details on the purchase, which includes 33 conventional wells that target the Knox formation in southern OH…
    Read More “Pin Oak Energy Buys 70K Utica Acres in OH & PA + Pipeline Assets”

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    FERC Gives Rover Pipe OK to Restart Drilling Under Tuscarawas River

    Looks like asking “Pretty please, with a cherry on top” (along with providing requested information) works! MDN previously told you that on Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asked Rover Pipeline for more information before FERC would allow the project to restart drilling under the Tuscarawas River (see Rover Again Asks FERC for OK to Restart Tuscarawas Drilling). FERC asked for a review of three different options, including drill in a different place under the river and forget about drilling for a second pipe at all. Rover didn’t like either of those options and lobbied, hard, to get FERC to allow them to restart drilling in the same place where they’ve now lost 200,000 gallons of drilling mud down hole. Rover responded (on Sunday) to FERC’s Friday request, providing the information FERC requested. Rover specifically asked FERC for permission to restart drilling by 3 pm Monday–at the original location. The Monday deadline came and went. However, something in Rover’s appeal must have convinced FERC, because the OK to restart drilling came a day later–on Tuesday. Work has now resumed at the site, much to the consternation of Ohio EPA’s Craig Butler, who continues to oppose the project…
    Read More “FERC Gives Rover Pipe OK to Restart Drilling Under Tuscarawas River”

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    Antis of Green, OH Finally Face Reality – Will Allow NEXUS Pipe

    In the end, it came to down to cold, hard cash. Last May, MDN told you about antis running the City of Green, Ohio who were/are hellbent on stopping the NEXUS Pipeline (see Green, OH Paying Lawyers $100K to Fund Stop NEXUS Crusade). Green City Council voted to use $100,000 of taxpayer money to hire a Cleveland law firm to file a lawsuit “aimed at stopping the pipeline from being built or stopping the project altogether.” NEXUS, a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada, was the first major pipeline project to get approved after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) once again had a quorum of three members (see New FERC Quorum Votes Final Approval for NEXUS Pipeline). Green’s high-priced lawyers filed their lawsuit in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, requesting an emergency stay blocking construction, which they got in November (see Fed Court Grants Green, OH Request to Stop NEXUS Pipe Construction). Everyone has their price. For the antis in Green, the price is $7.5 million and 20 acres of land that sit next to an existing city park. While the Green antis hate the idea of the pipeline getting built at all (especially Green’s anti-pipeline mayor), the writing is on the wall. They will lose and they know it–so to save face, the mayor negotiated a deal with NEXUS that City Council will vote on tonight to accept…

    2/8/18 Update: Green Council voted 4-3 to accept the NEXUS deal. More below.
    Read More “Antis of Green, OH Finally Face Reality – Will Allow NEXUS Pipe”

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    Warning to Ohio Residents: Beware Fake Landowner Coalitions

    “Keep It In the Ground” (KIITG) activists have launched a new, deceptive campaign in their holy mission to end the use of fossil fuels. The same people behind Food & Water Watch, Food and Water Action, the Sierra Club and other Big Green groups have/are launching fake landowner coalitions in Ohio. These fake coalitions (one of them being the Tri-County Landowners Coalition) have one aim and one aim only–to convince unsuspecting landowners to hate fossil fuels and anything (i.e. drilling, pipelines) to do with fossil fuels. It is a sleazy and disgusting tactic by the ultra-left, preying on honest, hardworking folks who join coalitions hoping to receive guidance on the best way to protect their land while at the same time profiting from it. Don’t fall for these fake coalitions! Our friends at Energy in Depth are sounding the alarm on this latest move by anti-fossil fuel radicals…
    Read More “Warning to Ohio Residents: Beware Fake Landowner Coalitions”

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    M-U Gathering Pipelines Blamed for Killing “Ancient” Salamanders

    The Eastern hellbender is the largest salamander in North America, reaching lengths of up to 24 inches. It’s also the official amphibian of Pennsylvania. Photo: Dave Herasimtschuk / Freshwaters Illustrated

    (Sigh.) Here we go again. An in-depth news story appearing on the PBS website Allegheny Front theorizes that the presence of natural gas gathering pipelines–run to individual shale wells–are causing a decrease in the population of hellbenders. The theory is that as more and more pipelines are installed under creeks and streams throughout the region (in western PA and easter OH), the construction process muddies the streams and kills aquatic life, including the hellbender. The hellbender is a giant salamander–growing to an average of 15 inches long. Ugly suckers–so ugly they’re cute! OK, so a pipeline gets installed and the water is muddy for a day or two and maybe it kills a hellbender or two, what’s the big deal? Are they an endangered species? No, they are not. They are, however, considered to be “near-threatened”–meaning any decade now they *may* get added to the “threatened” list (but still not endangered). The idea is, of course, to avoid killing enough of a species like the hellbender so that it ends up on a threatened or endangered list. So are pipelines having a negative impact on hellbender populations? The article wants you think so, but actually, there’s zero evidence of any kind of impact by pipelines on hellbender populations. Instead of scientific steak to show a connection between pipelines and hellbender populations, the article serves up anecdotal Cheetos of scary pictures of pipelines being installed. There is no connection between pipeline construction and hellbender populations–that’s the bottom line when you read the following story…
    Read More “M-U Gathering Pipelines Blamed for Killing “Ancient” Salamanders”

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    Rover Again Asks FERC for OK to Restart Tuscarawas Drilling

    On Jan. 24, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) sent a letter to Rover Pipeline stopping drilling at the Tuscarawas River site, which had only restarted in December (see FERC Stops Rover Drilling Near River After 200K Gal Mud Disappears). In a strongly worded letter dated Sunday, Jan. 28, Rover told FERC they are “frustrated by the inaccurate central premise underlying the letter received from” FERC shutting down drilling at that location (see Rover “Frustrated” with FERC Order to Stop Drilling at Tuscarawas). Some 99% of all construction work is now complete for Rover Pipeline. There’s only a little more to do to finish things up, including installation of a second Rover Pipeline (next to the first) underneath the Tuscarawas River. Rover has “lost” 200,000 gallons of drilling mud down the hole in drilling for the second pipe. However, the “lost” mud has not come back to the surface. Mud disappearing–and staying down the hole–when drilling for pipelines is not uncommon. Yet FERC will not lift the stop work order. On Friday, FERC sent a letter to Rover saying Rover must provide information on three different scenarios before work can resume: (1) how Rover plans to complete drilling at the current location without losing any more mud, (2) change locations and run the second pipe under another part of the Tuscarawas River, or (3) forget about drilling and installing a second pipe altogether, and stick with just a single pipe already in place now. FERC’s letter brought a swift response. On Sunday, Rover provided a mountain of evidence to say the current plan of drilling under the river at the existing location is the right plan. Rover went one step further, asking FERC to allow them to begin drilling again by yesterday (Monday) afternoon at 3pm. To the best of our knowledge, that did not happen…
    Read More “Rover Again Asks FERC for OK to Restart Tuscarawas Drilling”

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    Utica Pipeline Explosion in Noble County, OH Affects Natl Output

    Seneca Lateral pipeline fire – Noble County, OH

    On Wednesday around 2:30 am in the morning, a section of 24-inch pipeline that runs from the MarkWest Energy natural gas processing plant in Noble County, OH and the Rockies Express (REX) pipeline (also in Noble County) exploded and caught fire. The Noble County Emergency Management Office says it happened about three miles north of Summerfield, Ohio, near Ohio State Routes 513 and 379. Fortunately, no one was injured. Neighbors heard the explosion and saw a glowing night sky. The only damage was to some nearby trees. That short segment of pipeline is known as the Seneca Lateral, owned by Tallgrass (owner of REX Pipeline). Tallgrass is investigating the cause of the accident. Believe it or not, that one pipeline and the gas it flows from the MarkWest plant to REX, carrying it to the Midwest, has caused the entire national output of natural gas to decrease by an estimated 2%, according to Reuters. A single small pipeline can actually move the needle on output! Right away the Sierra Club jumped into the story with a wild claim that the pipeline was not properly reviewed before regulators signed off on it. Typical headline-grabbing propaganda from the Clubbers. Here are the details we could find about the explosion/fire…
    Read More “Utica Pipeline Explosion in Noble County, OH Affects Natl Output”

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    PTT’s “Big Announcement” – Gets a New Partner for Belmont Cracker

    PTT Global Chemical, based in Thailand, has snagged a major/important new partner in its project to build a $6 billion ethane cracker complex in Belmont County, Ohio. That partner is Daelim Chemical, a subsidiary of Daelim Industrial, which is one of Asia’s top engineering/construction firms (and one of the largest companies in South Korea). The addition of Daelim is yet another positive sign that PTT will, at some point this year, pull the trigger and make a “final investment decision” (FID) to move forward with the project. PTT disappointed when they didn’t follow through with an FID in 2017, as they had promised. To be fair, these projects are big and a misstep can bankrupt a company. The Belmont cracker will be the largest single investment made by PTT since becoming a company–so we understand their reticence. Still, when you promise, you promise. Just last month, in December 2017, PTT delivered the disappointing news that there would be no FID announcement in 2017, but that there would be a big announcement “in early 2018” (see PTT Global Chemical Officially Delays Cracker Decision Until 2018). We figure the announcement about Daelim must be that announcement. It certainly qualifies as big, and it’s still early in 2018. In football terms (in honor of this weekend’s Superbowl), on Tuesday PTT achieved another first down, retaining possession of the ball (control of the Belmont cracker project), moving it further down the field toward the goal. But they haven’t yet made a touchdown (an FID). Perhaps not learning from past mistakes, PTT set a new expectation that the FID will be made “by the end of 2018″…
    Read More “PTT’s “Big Announcement” – Gets a New Partner for Belmont Cracker”

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    Blue Ridge Mountain Res. Forms JV to Raise $92M for Drilling in OH

    In December 2015 Marcellus/Utica driller Magnum Hunter Resources filed for bankruptcy (see Sad Day: Magnum Hunter Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). Five short months later, in May 2016, Magnum Hunter emerged from bankruptcy–without CEO Gary Evans (see Magnum Hunter Emerges from Bankruptcy with CEO Gary Evans Gone). Apparently the new owners of the company (the former debt holders converted into equity holders) didn’t want Evans running the company. So Evans departed to start a new drilling company not focused on the M-U. In January 2017, just one year ago, Magnum Hunter changed its name to Blue Ridge Mountain Resources (see Magnum Hunter Changes Its Name, Leaves the Bankrupt Past Behind). Since that time the only news we’ve heard about the former Magnum Hunter is that they sold their interest in Eureka Midstream (see Eureka Midstream Confirms MDN Article on New Ownership). That is, until now. Earlier this week, Blue Ridge announced it sold a “non-operating interest” in 21,000 undeveloped Marcellus/Utica acres to an undisclosed investor for $56 million, AND got the undisclosed investor to pony up another $36 million (total deal of $92 million) which Blue Ridge will use to fund an ongoing 2-rig drilling program in southeastern Ohio…
    Read More “Blue Ridge Mountain Res. Forms JV to Raise $92M for Drilling in OH”