Ohio

Allegheny County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

List of Companies Nominated for 2017 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards
October 14, 2016October 14, 2016

The 2017 Northeast Oil & Gas Awards has received a boatload of nominations for the upcoming awards ceremony in Pittsburgh next March. LOTS of nominations. The folks at the Oil & Gas Awards will be contacting each nominee to see if they want to participate this year. Below is the entire list of nominees. Note: there is still time to nominate your company! The deadline is Dec. 14th. Below we have a list of everyone nominated so far, and the list of categories for which your company can be nominated…
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Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Litigation | Ohio | Pipelines | Wood County (OH)

Wood County, OH Judge Blocks Eminent Domain for UTOPIA Pipeline
October 13, 2016October 13, 2016

UTOPIA Pipeline Project map – click for larger version

On Tuesday MDN brought you the news that Kinder Morgan is scheduled to begin construction next month on their UTOPIA (Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access) pipeline, a 12-inch ethane pipeline that will run ~240 miles across the state of Ohio (see UTOPIA Pipeline Construction Begins, OSU to Study Hole-Digging). Although Kinder has struck deals with most landowners along the route, some are still resisting, which requires (in rare cases) filing an eminent domain case against them. When such cases have been challenged, Kinder has usually won. But they’ve just lost such a case in Wood County, where a county judge says Kinder Morgan can’t use eminent domain in his county with respect to UTOPIA. Is this a big, hairy deal for KM and the project? A slight delay? Or something in between?…
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Energy Services | Marathon Petroleum | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Statewide OH

Marathon’s Billion Dollar Bet on the Utica Shale
October 13, 2016October 13, 2016

Marathon Petroleum, which purchased midstream company MarkWest Energy last year, continues to grow and expand–because of the Utica Shale. Marathon operates a refinery in Canton, OH that processes crude oil. Question: Did you know that 25% of the crude oil being processed at the Marathon refinery comes from the Utica Shale? No, we didn’t know that either! Marathon has made some big bets on the Utica. In fact, over the past two years, they’ve bet more than $1 billion on the Utica…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

One More Look at Important OH Supreme Court DMA Decision
October 13, 2016October 13, 2016

In September the Ohio Supreme Court finally ruled on a series of cases involving the state’s Dormant Mineral Act, or DMA (see Important: OH Supreme Court Finally Rules on Dormant Mineral Act). The Supremes issued full rulings in three DMA cases and stated the other cases come under those three. The biggest of the three is Corban v. Chesapeake Energy, in which the justices said the 2006 law now trumps the 1989 law. We brought you initial legal insights on the decisions handed down in our previous post. However, we recently spotted yet another law firm’s “take” on the decisions–in particular in the Corban case. The law firm is Jones Day, a big international firm. The reason their take on the Corban decision is relevant and worth reading is because they were one of the firms that argued the case before the justices. We found their article interesting and think you will too–as the DMA decisions have a huge impact on both landowners and drillers…
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Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Analyst Predicts 6 Big Cracker Plants Coming to Marcellus/Utica!
October 12, 2016October 12, 2016

At last year’s Utica Summit III event held in Stark, OH, Tom Gellrich of consulting firm TopLine Analytics, a company that “closely follows ethane markets,” said he thinks the first ethane cracker to get built will be the Shell cracker plant in Beaver County, PA. He was right. Shell announced their official decision to move forward earlier this year. At that same event Gellrich said he thinks the Marcellus/Utica region will see three, possibly four, ethane crackers built (see Expert Tells Utica Conference NE Will See “3 or 4” Cracker Plants). The Utica Summit IV was just held, this time in North Canton, OH. Gellrich once again addressed the conferees and this year he’s upped the number. Now Gellrich believes it is “likely” that a “half-dozen multi-billion-dollar plants” will get built in PA, OH and WV…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | NGLs | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Cornerstone Pipe Now Flowing, “Backbone” of MPLX Utica Strategy
October 12, 2016October 12, 2016

Click for larger version

In September MDN reported that part of Marathon Petroleum’s Cornerstone Pipeline began to flow condensate (see Utica Condensate Begins Flowing Through Cornerstone Pipeline). The approximately 50-mile pipeline was built to flow natural gas liquids (NGLs) from the MarkWest cryogenic processing plant in Cadiz, OH northwest connecting to M3’s fractionator plant in Scio and M3’s cryogenic processing plant in Leesville before terminating at Marathon’s refinery in Canton, OH. In September condensate was flowing from Cadiz to East Sparta. Good news! The entire pipeline is now up and running. In a surprising statement announcing full operations for the pipeline, Marathon CEO Gary Heminger said, “Cornerstone is the backbone of our Utica shale strategy.” That shows the immense importance the company places on this new pipeline…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Ohio | Pipelines | Research | Statewide OH

UTOPIA Pipeline Construction Begins, OSU to Study Hole-Digging
October 11, 2016October 11, 2016

Kinder Morgan’s UTOPIA (Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access) pipeline is a 12-inch ethane pipeline that will run ~240 miles and will only be built in Ohio–therefore the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) won’t be involved in permitting the project. In September we noted that Kinder Morgan is still facing opposition from some Ohio landowners (see UTOPIA Pipeline Still Battling OH Landowners with Eminent Domain). Aside from a few holdout landowners, Kinder Morgan will begin building UTOPIA next month, with plans to turn it on in 2018. When Kinder begins to dig trenches next month to lay the pipeline, researchers from Ohio State University will be watching–conducting “research” into “soil disturbances caused by pipelines and its impact on farmland.” Kinder Morgan is helping fund the 3-year project–kicking in $200,000. Forgive us for saying so, but the entire premise sounds kind of dumb. Farmers dig holes and trenches in their fields all the time and nobody “studies” it to see what kind of impacts it may have. You dig a hole (or a trench), you put something in it, you cover it back up with the same dirt you just dug up and then replant grass or crops over top of it. Not a lot of mystery. It’s been going on for millennia…
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Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Statewide OH

Gas Natural Sells Itself to First Reserve Energy Infrastructure
October 11, 2016October 11, 2016

Gas Natural Inc., a local distribution company (LDC), or “gas utility” company has operations in four different states, including Ohio. Gas Natural also owns pipelines and processing facilities. Gas Natural has just sold itself to energy investment firm First Reserve for $139 million…
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Baker Hughes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Baker Hughes Sept US Rig Count Up by 28, M-U Count Up 7
October 10, 2016October 10, 2016

The Baker Hughes rig count, watched closely by those in the industry (the benchmark used across the world) has been trending up in the U.S. since July. BH released their venerable count for September on Friday and once again the counts have gone up–very good news indeed. BH is reporting an average of 509 active rigs in the U.S., up 28 from August. MDN performs its own rig count for the Marcellus/Utica, using BH’s numbers for Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. The Marcellus/Utica rig count was up for the second month running. In September the M/U rig count jumped up by 7. The biggest gainer was Pennsylvania, up by 5. West Virginia was up by 2, and Ohio stayed even…
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Guernsey County | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Ohio

Ohio Startup Plans to Convert Utica Drill Cuttings into Clean Fill
October 4, 2016October 4, 2016

enerGREEN360, a young Ohio company that cleans up material heading to landfills so it can get re-used instead, has a plan to clean drill cuttings from Utica drilling to reuse those cuttings as clean fill on brownfield sites. The company has its sights set on an industrial park south of Cambridge, OH as its first location to dump the treated drill cuttings. Everyone wins in this instance–less material filling up local landfills, fill needed at the industrial park, the cuttings get treated before being used (minimizing any potential exposure risks). The only ones who lose are radical environmentalists, who will try their best to demagogue this plan, painting it as unsafe and harmful to locals who live and work in the area. The only problem for enerGREEN360 is that the Guernsey County Board of Supervisors is unanimously opposed to the plan (see Guernsey County, OH Opposes Facility to Treat/Store Drill Cuttings)…
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Mammoth Energy Services | Ohio | Statewide OH

Utica Oilfield Services Co. Mammoth Energy Floats ~$150M IPO
October 4, 2016October 4, 2016

Oilfield services company Mammoth Energy Services, headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, operates in both the Utica Shale and Permian Basin. Mammoth offers services like “completion and production services, natural sand proppant services, contract land and directional drilling services and remote accommodation services.” Mammoth is a baby company, formed in 2014, but already booking $243 million in revenue for the 12 months ended June 30th. Mammoth announced yesterday an initial public offering (IPO) of stock, which will trade under the ticker TUSK (keeping with the theme of a woolly mammoth–clever). The company plans to raise between $128-$169 million (call it $150M) by offering 7.75 million shares. What is noteworthy is that this is one of the very few new IPOs to be offered this year in the o&g sector…
Read More “Utica Oilfield Services Co. Mammoth Energy Floats ~$150M IPO”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | NGLs | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Trucking

130 Tanker Trucks/Day in Ohio End as Cornerstone Pipe Begins
October 3, 2016October 3, 2016

Click for larger version

Last week MDN shared the good news that Utica Shale condensate (very light oil) had begun flowing through the new Marathon Petroleum Cornerstone Pipeline (see Utica Condensate Begins Flowing Through Cornerstone Pipeline). The Cleveland Plain Dealer published an interesting story about the pipeline on Saturday, explaining in depth what condensate is and how/why Marathon upgraded its refinery in Canton to handle it. However, it was another point made in the story that caught our attention. The MarkWest Energy (now a part of Marathon) processing plant in Cadiz, Ohio cleans and separates out condensate from other natural gas liquids (like ethane and propane) before sending the condensate to the Canton refinery. Until the Cornerstone went online, it took 130 tanker trunk trips PER DAY, operating around the clock, to cart the condensate from Cadiz some 60 miles to Canton (and then back for another pickup). While the trucks are still operating, for now, once the pipeline is fully operational and pumping at full capacity, it will end those truck trips…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | NGLs | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Utica Condensate Begins Flowing Through Cornerstone Pipeline
September 30, 2016October 3, 2016

Cornerstone Pipeline Route Map – click for larger version

In December 2013 MDN first reported a new $250 million pipeline on the way in the Utica Shale from Marathon Petroleum Corporation, the largest refiner in the Utica Shale region (see Marathon Petroleum’s Newly Announced “Cornerstone” Utica Pipeline). The Cornerstone pipeline will stretch nearly 50 miles from the MarkWest cryogenic processing plant in Cadiz, OH northwest connecting to M3’s fractionator plant in Scio and M3’s cryogenic processing plant in Leesville along the way as it terminates and connects to Marathon’s refinery in Canton, OH. The pipeline will carry, at various times, crude oil, condensate and natural gasoline. From Canton, Marathon plans to move condensate and NGLs to Midwest refining centers and into Canada. In July the company said Cornerstone would be online by the end of this year (see MPLX Cornerstone NGL Pipe Done by End 2016, New Projects Coming). Yesterday the pipeline went online–at least part of it did–when Cornerstone flowed condensate from Cadiz to East Sparta…
Read More “Utica Condensate Begins Flowing Through Cornerstone Pipeline”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio | Pipelines | West Virginia | Wetzel County

FERC Tells Ohio Valley Connector Project to Open the Valves
September 30, 2016October 5, 2016

OVC Project – click for larger version

10/4/16 UPDATE: EQT Confirms the gas began flowing on Oct 1, the day after this post. See EQT’s statement below.

The Ohio Valley Connector (OVC) project is a proposed natural gas pipeline system approximately 37 miles long running from northwestern West Virginia into southeastern Ohio. Equitrans, a subsidiary of EQT Midstream which is itself a subsidiary of EQT the driller, is building the pipeline. We reported in July 2014 that the project was green lighted. At that time, EQT CEO David Porges said the pipeline will interconnect with both the Rockies Express Pipeline and the Texas Eastern Pipeline and will provide about 1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of capacity (see EQT Midstream: 2 Major Pipeline Projects Advance, 1 Doesn’t). In July 2015 we ran a story disclosing that the main customer for the new pipeline is one of EQT’s biggest competitors, Range Resources (see EQT Midstream Building $250 Million Pipeline – for Range Resources!). Fast forward to today. The pipeline’s project cost has gone up, to $415 million. But the really good news is that the pipeline is now built, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just given EQT permission to turn it on…
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Columbiana County | Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | Trucking

OH Transload Facility Sits in Catbird Seat Between the Crackers
September 28, 2016September 27, 2016

Wellsville Intermodal Facility – click for larger version

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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Ohio | Statewide OH

Ohio’s Likely Next Gov Loves Utica/Marcellus
September 28, 2016September 27, 2016

At last week’s Shale Insight conference, MDN editor Jim Willis had the opportunity to listen to three top legislators, one each from PA, WV and OH. We reported on their panel discussion, titled “Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia Legislative Leaders: The Future of the Industry” (see Highlights from 2016 Shale Insight, Day Two – Trump!). The subsection in that post where we talk about the panel is called “3 Future Governors (?)” The person representing WV was William Cole, President of the WV Senate and the Republican candidate for governor in WV. The person representing PA was House Speaker Mike Turzai. While we haven’t heard that he’s considering a run for governor, it would not surprise us in the least. Finally, the person representing OH was Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor. While we had not heard that she may be interested in seeking the governor’s chair, since that talk she has confirmed that yes, she is interested. The good news? She’s very pro-shale and knows that too many regulations (and taxes) can stifle this important industry…
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