Ohio

Ohio | Washington County (OH)

Overwhelming Support for Wayne Natl Forest Drilling @ BLM Mtg
November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

On Tuesday, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held a hearing on the possibility of allowing shale drilling in Wayne National Forest (WNF), the only national forest in Ohio with portions in Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Lawrence, Perry, Scioto, Vinton, and Washington counties. WNF is a “patchwork” of public land scattered among private land. Some 60% of the mineral rights below WNF are privately owned. Some 250 landowners turned up at a hearing in Marietta (Washington County), OH to show their support for drilling in WNF…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH | Supply Chain | Utica Shale

Important New CSU Study Reveals Shale Supply Chain Opportunities
November 19, 2015November 20, 2015

We are SUPER excited about a new study dated September 2015 but released just yesterday by economists and researchers at Cleveland State University (CSU). The study, broken into three parts, looks at economic development opportunities offered by Ohio’s Utica Shale. One of the three parts is titled, “Economics of Utica Shale in Ohio: Supply Chain Analysis.” We eagerly goggled it up and found that the authors use charts very similar to those developed by MDN and our own Supply Chain Tutorial (see Where Does YOUR Business Fit in the Marcellus/Utica Supply Chain? [FREE]). We have a copy of all three sections of the new CSU study (below). We *highly recommend* this study as worth your while to digest. Before we developed our own Supply Chain Tutorial we had not seen anyone mapping NAICS codes to each stage of the drilling and midstream process. The CSU study adopts MDN’s convention of mapping NAICS codes and goes well beyond our tutorial, which is why we’re so excited. If you work for a company that wants to see if there may be an opportunity to win business in the Marcellus/Utica industry, plan to spend some time with this study!…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Athens County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Trumbull County

OH ‘National Day of Action’ Against Fracking a Huge Flop
November 19, 2015November 19, 2015

Looks like Tuesday’s so-called National Day of Action against fracking was an even bigger bust than we thought it would be (see Here Comes Another “National Day of Action” Against Fracking). In Painesville (Lake County), OH we spot three protesters who put on a skit (creative folks, those radical environmentalist). In Weathersfield Township (Trumbull County), OH we spot five protesters. It was Athens County, OH however where the biggest concentration of nutters was to be found. Upward of 40 protesters gathered near a fracking site in the Torch/Coolville area. The Willis Family reunion had more people in attendance this past summer–but we didn’t spot any news cameras around to record the event. Perhaps if we had held anti-fracking signs we would have been featured on the evening news?…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Research | Statewide OH

Fall 2015 List of Shale-Related Infra Projects in OH – $33.7B!
November 17, 2015November 17, 2015

We’re excited to share with you an update to a report we LOVE. The sharp researchers at law firm Bricker & Eckler produce a twice yearly called “Shale Economic Development Overview.” It is a list of projects details, by county in Ohio, of those projects started or planned because of shale drilling. The Spring 2015 edition is embedded below. The first edition of this list was published in October 2013 and showed projects worth $12.2 billion. In October 2014 that number had risen to a staggering $21.5 billion. In the Spring 2015 edition, the total rose to $28 billion. This new edition for Fall 2015 shows a total investment in Ohio’s economy of a staggering $33.7 billion! The fact that investments in Ohio continue to increase is a testament to the fact that although drilling has greatly slowed, the midstream (pipelines and processing plants) have not…
Read More “Fall 2015 List of Shale-Related Infra Projects in OH – $33.7B!”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Here Comes Another “National Day of Action” Against Fracking
November 16, 2015November 16, 2015

Get ready. Here it comes! Throngs of anti-drillers rising up to show their opposition to clean-burning natural gas. Break out the tie dye psychedelic shirts and hippie beads. It’s time to protest, maaan. Dig it! It’s like, whoa, tomorrow is “Freedom From Toxic Fracking Waste and Earthquakes: A National Day of Action.” Here’s our prediction: There will be two or three protest locations with about dozen people each–most of them hippie has-beens. Nobody outside of Democrat media will even notice the so-called protests. Below is the call to protest, naming the nutter groups behind it (the usual suspects)…
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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

OH Supreme Court Sends Mixed Signal on “Home Rule” Issue
November 12, 2015November 12, 2015

Earlier this year the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a very important court case that the “city” (of 5,000 people) of Monroe Falls could not layer on its own oil and gas regulations over top of state regulations, effectively preventing Beck Energy from drilling on a site in the city already properly permitted (see OH Supreme Court Strikes Down Home Rule in Gas Drilling Case). It was assumed that case would provide precedence and settle the issue once and for all that towns can’t simply pass their own zoning regulations in an attempt to prevent oil and gas drilling. But it appears the mind of the Supremes is far from being settled. Beck Energy, following that case, pressed their advantage and asked the court for an order that directs Monroe Falls to not use zoning ordinances “to prohibit drilling for oil and gas in 99.06 percent of the city’s territory.” On Tuesday the Supreme Court dismissed the request without comment, leaving everyone to wonder what they really intend. It appears to not be a good sign for the drilling industry in Ohio…
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Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Rumor: Gulfport Energy Suspends Some (All?) Ohio Utica Drilling
November 9, 2015November 9, 2015

Last week Gulfport Energy released their third quarter 2015 financial and operations results (see today’s companion story). If you read the full update, you notice Gulfport is not taking delivery of a fifth Utica Shale drilling rig in early 2016 as previously planned–which connotes they will continue to operate the four rigs currently in operation now. But therein lies the rub. MDN received a tip last Thursday from a reader that said: “I received word last night that Gulfport Energy is going to suspend operations in Ohio until the END of 1Q 2016. This would also include their service provider company, Stingray, which just had approximately 150 layoffs already. This news should break today once they inform the employees of the ‘layoff’.” MDN has not seen nor heard anything in the news about Gulfport suspending all drilling operations. We did find mention from September that Stingray had filed a WARN notice they would be laying off 47 employees in Pennsylvania and Ohio. We’re not sure what to make of the rumor…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Regulation

Youngstown Frack Ban Measure Voted Down 5th Time in a Row
November 9, 2015November 9, 2015

Five times the anti-drilling zealots of Youngstown have garnered enough signatures from dead folks and others to get a so-called Community Bill of Rights (i.e. ban fracking) measure on the ballot for a citywide vote. FIVE TIMES. And you know what? As of last Tuesday, the ballot measure has been voted down–FIVE TIMES. In a row. And yet the crazies keep getting bringing it back. If they get a single vote more than the previous vote, they herald it as “movement” in their direction. The crazies enlisted a few quite a few more crazies this time around. The vote was a lot closer than one would like: 5,683 (48.53%) voted for it, and 6,028 (51.47%) voted against it. Following the results, the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce issued the following statement…
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Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH

Ohio Supreme Court Rules in Important Dormant Mineral Act Case
November 9, 2015November 9, 2015

For several years MDN has been telling you about a thorny legal issue in Ohio, bubbling in the background–the Dormant Mineral Act (DMA). In a nutshell, there are two DMAs in Ohio–one passed in 1989 that went into effect in 1992, and another in 2006 which added certain additional procedural requirements to the 1989 version. The DMA in its various versions provides for mineral rights that had previously been separated from surface rights to transfer to the surface owner under certain conditions. The problem for both drillers and for landowners in Ohio, is in knowing which set of DMA rules to use (1989 or 2006) in determining who owns the mineral rights. There are a dozen cases sitting before the Ohio Supreme Court dealing with the DMA. Last December we gave you a run-down on four of the most important DMA cases before the Supremes (see 4 Important Dormant Mineral Act Cases with OH Supreme Court). One of those cases, Chesapeake v. Buell, was decided last week. It has big implications for both drillers and mineral rights owners…
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Athens County | Industrywide Issues | Jackson County | Lawrence County (OH) | Monroe County | Morgan County | Noble County | Ohio | Perry County | Regulation | Washington County (OH)

9 Years Later Fracking Set to Begin in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest
November 5, 2015November 5, 2015

Wayne National Forest (WNF) is the only national forest in Ohio and portions of it are found in Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Lawrence, Perry, Scioto, Vinton, and Washington counties. WNF is a “patchwork” of public land scattered among private land. Some 60% of the mineral rights below WNF are privately owned. Back in 2012 MDN told you that the U.S Forest Service, after holding up drilling in WNF since 2006, had cleared the way to allow fracking to begin (see Fracking Coming to Wayne National Forest in SE OH). Then any potential fracking came to a screeching halt because it was delayed by yet another federal agency–the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Since 2012 the BLM has moved like a snail, but finally (finally!) the BLM has scheduled public scoping hearings for Nov. 17, 18 and 19. Things are moving once again. Once the hearings are done, there will no reason not to move forward with plans to drill (and frack!) in the WNF…
Read More “9 Years Later Fracking Set to Begin in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Meigs County | Ohio | Washington County (OH) | Wastewater

GreenHunter Sues 2 Former VPs + OH Competitor for Conspiracy
November 3, 2015August 4, 2017

8/4/17: There is an important update to this story. The lawsuit brought by GreenHunter was dismissed in June 2017. Please see this post for more details: GreenHunter Lawsuit Against Former Employees Dismissed.

A lawsuit filed by GreenHunter Resources against two former vice presidents of the company is just coming to light. On October 15 GreenHunter filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Ohio against John Jack, former vice president of Appalachia operations for GreenHunter, and against Rick Zickefoose, former vice president and operations manager at GreenHunter. The lawsuit also names Dean Grose, CEO of Comtech Industries and a principle with Water Energy Services–both competitors of GreenHunter. The lawsuit alleges that Jack and Zickefoose shared company secrets with a competitor and then left to work for that competitor, damaging GreenHunter in the process. Some of those secrets–a key part of it–dealt with GreenHunter’s talks with the U.S. Coast Guard over barging brine down the Ohio River…
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Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Landowners File Royalty Class Action Lawsuit Against Chesapeake
November 2, 2015November 2, 2015

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…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Taxation

OH Pipeline Projects in 2016: $8B of Investment, $360M in Taxes!
November 2, 2015November 2, 2015

In a somewhat related story posted today, MDN tackles the thorny issue of taxing pipelines in Pennsylvania. As serendipity would have it, last week Energy in Depth posted an excellent article on the financial impact pipelines are having in Ohio. Would you believe it if we told you that not only will an astounding $8 billion be spent to build new pipelines in the Buckeye State in 2016, but also an estimated $360 million in ad valorem property taxes (taxes on pipelines) will roll in to local municipal coffers. Next year. And every year thereafter! Here’s the numbers broken down by who is doing the spending and paying the taxes, and which pipelines will generate the most economic activity in Ohio next year…
Read More “OH Pipeline Projects in 2016: $8B of Investment, $360M in Taxes!”
Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Statewide OH

Gateway Royalty’s Latest Appeal to Buy Eastern OH Royalty Rights
October 30, 2015October 30, 2015

In March 2014 MDN alerted you to a pitch being made by Gateway Royalty to purchase royalty rights from landowners in eastern Ohio (see Company Targets OH Landowners – Buy Future Royalties for Cash Now). Gateway pays landowners a lump sum now in return for the right to receive that landowner’s future royalty payments for years to come. You (the landowner) get your money now, they (Gateway) get the money you would have gotten dribbled out over time. Of course the money you receive now is discounted and in all likelihood far less than you would have gotten if you had waited just a few years (the bulk of royalty payments come in the first four years). It’s a bit of a gamble by both parties because no one really knows how much a well will produce–nor what price the gas/oil will be sold for. Gateway is back with another appeal. We received the following email notice from an MDN subscriber, alerting us to Gateway’s renewed offer…
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Belmont County | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | PTT Global

French Co. Gets Contract for Key Components in Belmont Cracker
October 30, 2015October 30, 2015

Another piece of the puzzle slides into place with respect to the $5.7 billion ethane cracker project in Belmont County, OH planned by Thailand-based PTT Chemical and financial partner Marubeni Corp. from Japan (see It’s Official: Belmont County Chosen as POSSIBLE Cracker Plant Site). The quickly got serious when PTT’s CEO Supattanapong Punmeechaow visited the proposed site last month to announce they are spending the first $100 million on engineering work for the cracker plant over the next 9-12 months with two companies–Bechtel Enterprises and Fluor Corporation (see PTT Announces 2 Contractors Working on Belmont Cracker Plant). The project is truly taking on an international flavor. A third company has stepped forward to say they’ve now been contracted to design and build the furnaces and other key components of the cracker. That company is the Paris, France-based Technip. Below is their announcement with details about what, exactly, they will provide for the project…
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Energy Companies | Hess | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Hess 3Q15: Utica is Now Just an Afterthought for Hess
October 29, 2015October 29, 2015

It’s obvious that Hess has pretty much given up on its Utica Shale drilling program. Just last week we told you that Hess is shopping the rest of its remaining Utica acreage (see Hess Quietly Shops the Rest of Their Ohio Utica Acreage). In releasing their third quarter 2015 financial and operating update yesterday, we were interested to see what Hess was saying, on the record, about the Utica. We found four references in their extensive update, which we’ve extracted out below…
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