Ohio

Eclipse Resources | Energy Companies | Harrison County | Monroe County | Ohio | Utica Shale

Eclipse Resources: Production Results for 7 OH Utica Wells
September 4, 2014September 4, 2014

Eclipse Resources, a small but rapidly growing independent driller focused on the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, released the initial production results for their two most recent well pads in the Utica Shale–one pad in Monroe County, the other in Harrison County. Eclipse drilled seven wells across the two pads, and if you combine them, the seven wells are producing (initial production or IP) 52.6 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, and 1,800 barrels of condensate per day. Very respectable numbers. Here’s the full details, along with a copy of an investor presentation (lots of great maps and charts) just released…
Read More “Eclipse Resources: Production Results for 7 OH Utica Wells”
Energy Companies | EnerVest | EV Energy Partners | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Stark County

EnerVest’s Grand Experiment: Fracking Clinton Sandstone in Ohio
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

Long before the words “Marcellus” and “Utica” entered the public discourse and consciousness of Ohioans, there was the Clinton Sandstone. For years conventional drillers have been sinking wells in the Clinton, which is found 4,500 feet below the surface (the Marcellus and Utica Shale layers are deeper). The Clinton lies under 25 counties in eastern Ohio. Over the years, some 35,000 conventional (vertical) wells have tapped the Clinton Sandstone in Ohio. EnerVest, one of the largest acreage holders in the Utica Shale (and in the Clinton Sandstone), has embarked on a great experiment. What if you turned a Clinton Sandstone well horizontal, like a Utica or Marcellus well? Would it work? Could you get more gas out of the sandstone by fracking it like shale? EnerVest has drilled seven horizontal wells so far, with a permit to drill another and a request to drill a ninth. Here’s the details, along with the differences between a Clinton horizontal well and a Utica horizontal well…
Read More “EnerVest’s Grand Experiment: Fracking Clinton Sandstone in Ohio”
Appalachian Resins | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio | Processing Plants

Ohio to Get “Baby” Ethane Cracker Originally Slated for WV
September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

In February 2013 MDN told you about plans from Appalachian Resins (AR) to build a polyethelene (PE) manufacturing plant complete with a baby ethane cracker (see “Small” Ethane Cracker Plant Coming to Wheeling, WV). The company, at that point, said they would begin construction somewhere south of the Wheeling, WV area by the end of 2013. That didn’t happen. Now we know why. Last week, AR’s CEO Jim Cutler announced he had signed a letter of intent with the Monroe County (OH) Port Authority to build the plant in Monroe County instead. The location for the plant moved just across the Ohio River, from the WV side to the OH side of the river. The cost to build the new facility is a cool $1 billion. No doubt both sides of the border will benefit, but this is definitely a loss for WV and a big gain for OH…
Read More “Ohio to Get “Baby” Ethane Cracker Originally Slated for WV”
Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Processing Plants | Supply Chain | Utica Shale

Blue Racer to Build New Wet Gas Plant in Mahoning County, OH
August 28, 2014August 28, 2014

Listen up supply chain companies who want to get involved with a big new project coming in the Ohio Utica Shale. Blue Racer Midstream, the $1.5 billion joint venture between Caiman Energy II, LLC and Dominion formed in December of 2012, plans to build a new wet gas processing facility in Mahoning County by June 2016. The new facility, located near Petersburg in Springfield Township appears to be “back on track” according to an article in the Youngstown Business Journal…
Read More “Blue Racer to Build New Wet Gas Plant in Mahoning County, OH”
Belmont County | Energy Services | EnLink Midstream | Guernsey County | Industrywide Issues | Noble County | Ohio | Pipelines | Washington County (OH)

EnLink Midstream Announces New Condensate Pipeline in ORV
August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

Earlier this year, midstream company Crosstex Energy merged with the midstream division of shale driller Devon Energy and gave birth to a new company–EnLink Midstream (see Time to Congratulate Devon & Crosstex on the Birth of EnLink). EnLink has a small but growing presence in the northeast, including the Utica Shale. EnLink’s commitment to the Ohio River Valley (Utica Shale) has just doubled by adding another $250 million committed to a project that will build a new 45-mile condensate pipeline and add compressor stations in Noble, Belmont, and Guernsey counties…
Read More “EnLink Midstream Announces New Condensate Pipeline in ORV”
Education | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Stark County | Utica Shale

Stark State Launches Utica Well Site Training Center in Canton, OH
August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

Stark State College has just launched their new Well Site Training Center in downtown Canton, OH. The new program, which marks the opening of a brand new $2.3 million state of the art facility, is directly aimed at producing workers for the oil and gas industry–especially for the Utica Shale industry. Stark State is part of a four-college consortium that includes Westmoreland County Community College (in PA), the Pennsylvania College of Technology (in PA), and Navarro College (in TX) that are being funded by a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Labor to develop the nation’s first-ever curriculum for shale oil and gas–a high honor indeed! Here’s the details about the new center at Stark, which is just Phase I…
Read More “Stark State Launches Utica Well Site Training Center in Canton, OH”
Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Ohio Utica Sails by 1K Wells Drilled, 495 Producing
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

The Ohio Utica Shale is having a big week. First, the shale play that Aubrey McClendon once famously said is “the biggest thing to hit Ohio since the plow” was added to the constellation of shale plays tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in their monthly Drilling Productivity Report (see Utica Shale Impressive Debut in EIA Drilling Productivity Report). Now we learn that the Utica has now passed the important milestone of 1,000 wells drilled. Below we take a deep dive into the numbers…
Read More “Ohio Utica Sails by 1K Wells Drilled, 495 Producing”
Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Columbia Gas: $1.75B for 2 Projects to Send Marcellus Gas to Gulf
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

Columbia Pipeline Group, a division of NiSource, announced yesterday they have decided to move forward with investing $1.75 billion dollars for two new projects. The first is a pipeline project that will begin in Marshall County, West Virginia, cross Ohio and end up in Leach, Kentucky. Hence, the new project is called the Leach Xpress. Yes, the marketers at Columbia could of/should of come up with a better name than “leach” for a pipeline, but we’ll just have to live with it (as we sigh and shake our heads). The 160-mile pipeline will pump abundant, cheap Marcellus and Utica Shale gas to various sales points along the pipeline (interconnecting with other pipelines). But perhaps most importantly, it will pump gas to Leach, and that’s the second major project. There is an existing pipeline from Leach all the way to the Louisiana Gulf Coast. That pipeline is called the Rayne, for Rayne, LA. The Rayne Xpress project will beef up the pipeline with new compressor stations to add an additional 1 billion cubic feet per day of capacity–Marcellus and Utica Shale gas capacity that will flow to the Gulf Coast…
Read More “Columbia Gas: $1.75B for 2 Projects to Send Marcellus Gas to Gulf”
Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Protege Energy | Utica Shale | Washington County (OH)

Marietta Tries 2nd Time to Lease City Land for Utica Drilling
August 13, 2014August 13, 2014

The City of Marietta, OH has several parcels of land they’re interested in leasing for Utica gas drilling: (1) Gunlock Park, behind the Walmart complex off Pike Streeet, (2) city-owned land along Goose Run Road in Marietta Township, (3) city garage property off Alderman Street, and (4) Buckeye Park off Acme and Greene Streets, and (5) the Kroger swap (i.e. “wetlands”) off Acme Street. All five locations total 95 acres. MDN reported that because city council snoozed, they lost out on an earlier opportunity to lease the Gunlock Park and Goose Run properties (35 acres) back in May (see Delay in Leasing City-Owned Land Costs Marietta, OH Big $). The city will run a second advertisement (legal requirement) to lease all parcels, and once again, they may have some interest. If they don’t botch it this time…
Read More “Marietta Tries 2nd Time to Lease City Land for Utica Drilling”
American Energy Partners | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Marshall County | Monroe County | Ohio | Pipelines | Regency Energy Partners | Utica Shale | West Virginia

McClendon Invests in New Utica Pipeline Project, JV with Regency
August 8, 2014August 8, 2014

It was only in June, less than two months ago, that MDN brought you the news that it sure seems like Aubrey McClendon is building a new company that looks a lot like the first company he built, Chesapeake Energy (see Aubrey McClendon Gets Back into the Midstream Business). McClendon is not only high on Utica and Marcellus drilling with his newly formed American Energy Partners company, he’s also high on building the pipelines needed to conduct the gas out of the borehole. His new midstream division was set up to work on such projects. And less than two months later, we have the first of those projects. Yesterday McClendon’s new midstream division and Regency Energy Partners announced a joint venture to build the Utica Ohio River Project for $500 million…
Read More “McClendon Invests in New Utica Pipeline Project, JV with Regency”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Summit Midstream | Utica Shale

Summit Midstream 2Q14: Marcellus Rockets to #2 Operation
August 8, 2014August 8, 2014

Summit Midstream is a Dallas, TX-based company with growing operations in the heart of the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Summit’s first foray into the Marcellus was when they purchased Mountaineer Midstream–a pipeline gathering system in Doddridge County, WV–from MarkWest back in June 2013 (see MarkWest Sells Doddridge County, WV Pipeline System to Raise Cash). Summit’s second foray, this time in the Utica, was last December when the company bought out Gulfstream’s interest in Ohio Gathering (see Summit Midstream Buys Gulfport’s Interest in Ohio Gathering). The revenue they’re generating from those purchases has helped improve Summit’s bottom line: earnings increased 30.5% over the same period last year…
Read More “Summit Midstream 2Q14: Marcellus Rockets to #2 Operation”
Crime | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Wastewater

Final Chapter for Youngstown Illegal Wastewater Dumper: Prison & Fine
August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

The long, sad and maddening saga of Ben Lupo is now just about complete. Lupo, previous owner of D&L Energy and its associated company Hardrock Excavating, directed employees to dump frack wastwater hauled by Hardrock into a drain that emptied into a stream that emptied into the Mahoning River near Youngstown, OH (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater). It was later discovered that from September 2012 to end of January 2013, Lupo was responsible for dumping at least 30 loads of frack wastewater literally down the drain and into the river. It was a breathtaking environmental crime, of that there is no doubt. After a long investigation and criminal charges, Lupo finally plead guilty and earlier this week he was sentenced–to 23 months in prison and a $25,000 fine (although it cost over $3 million to clean it all up)…
Read More “Final Chapter for Youngstown Illegal Wastewater Dumper: Prison & Fine”
Columbiana County | Education | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Utica Shale

Utica Shale Academy Gets Enough Students to Open, Help from TX Co
August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

Good news for the Utica Shale Academy. The Academy is slated to open its doors on August 19–just two weeks away. At last check (in June) they only had 10 students signed up (see Utica Shale Academy Having Tough Time Finding Students). They need 25 to begin operating. As of last Friday they’re up to 24–so looks like it’s a go. Further good news: The Houston, TX-based company Express Energy Services, an oilfield services company with operations in the Utica Shale, is supporting the school and will be one of the businesses featured in a special lecture series for students…
Read More “Utica Shale Academy Gets Enough Students to Open, Help from TX Co”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Regulation

Fourth Time the Charm for Youngstown Frack Ban Measure?
August 5, 2014August 5, 2014

You’ve got to hand it to those anti-drillers in Youngstown. When anti-fracking insanity takes hold–it goes deep. Anti-drillers have successfully gotten enough signatures to put a ballot measure before voters three times now. The measure would enact a ban on fracking in Youngstown. Not that anyone actually wants to drill in the City of Youngstown. However, passing such a ban would a) force some employers to relocate out of town (not an empty threat, they’ve said it many times), and b) send a signal loud and clear that Youngstown wants to drop out of the flourishing Utica Shale bonanza taking place in the state. Makes no difference to the fracking insane that they will royally screw the city with such a ban–they’ve just collected enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot a fourth time…
Read More “Fourth Time the Charm for Youngstown Frack Ban Measure?”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio | Sand/Proppant | Trucking | Wastewater

New Ormet Aluminum Plant Owner Shops Barge Facility to Shalers
August 4, 2014August 4, 2014

Three weeks ago MDN highlighted news from NGI’s Shale Daily that Magnum Hunter Resources had purchased the mineral rights for two former Ormet properties in Ohio and West Virginia (see Magnum Hunter Buys Ormet Property in OH/WV, More Wells Coming?). Ormet, you may recall, had a big aluminum plant in Hannibal (Monroe County), OH that sits on the Ohio River (complete with a big barge facility) that was bankrupted because they couldn’t get Ohio to lower the electricity bills long enough for them to convert their own coal-burning electric generation plant into using natural gas mined from under the property (see Final Chapter of Ormet Plant Closing – Utica Could have Saved It). It was a big fail on the part of Gov. John “foreigner hunter” Kasich’s administration and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Magnum now owns the mineral rights, and Niagara Worldwide LLC now owns the real estate and plant itself in OH. Niagara issued a press release today advertising that they’re looking to re-open the Hannibal site for business. The announcement has a big tie-in with the shale drilling industry…
Read More “New Ormet Aluminum Plant Owner Shops Barge Facility to Shalers”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Ohio | Pipelines | Rice Energy | Utica Shale

Gulfport Cuts Deal with Competitor Rice Energy to Build Pipeline
August 1, 2014August 1, 2014

An interesting announcement from Gulfport Energy earlier this week. The company issued a “midstream update” and a production numbers for 2Q14 going back one year. What’s interesting is that Gulfport has cut midstream (i.e. pipeline) deals to get its production out of the Utica Shale basin in eastern Ohio. One deal is with Rice Energy, a competitor who also drills in the Utica. Rice will construct and operate gathering pipelines for Gulfport in several townships in Belmont County, OH. (Interesting that Rice is becoming a midstream company as well as a driller.) The second deal is with midstreamer MarkWest Energy to construct pipelines to Gulfport wells in other parts of Belmont County, and in parts of Monroe County, OH…
Read More “Gulfport Cuts Deal with Competitor Rice Energy to Build Pipeline”