Ohio

Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wood County

More Details Leak About Proposed WV Ethane Cracker Plant
December 9, 2013December 9, 2013

A few weeks ago WV and Brazilian-based Odebrecht announced plans to build an ethane cracker plant near Parkersburg, WV (see WV Announces Brazilian Company to Build Ethane Cracker Complex). Wayne Dunn, the president of the commission that governs Wood County, WV where the cracker would be built, recently said some very interesting things about the cracker. One comment: he’s known about the Odebrecht cracker for more two years! Congratulations to a politician that can keep a secret that long.

Dunn also said he pegs the chances that the Odebrecht cracker will be built at somewhere between 60-80%. He says it’s far from a done deal, but the odds are better that it will be built than not. Here’s a few more interesting “insider” insights into the proposed cracker plant coming to Parkersburg, WV:
Read More “More Details Leak About Proposed WV Ethane Cracker Plant”
Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Ohio Passes 1,000 Utica Shale Permits Issued, No End in Sight
December 6, 2013December 6, 2013

Three cheers for Ohio! Hip hip, hooray! Ohio has just flown past 1,000 Utica Shale permits issued. The number, as of last Saturday, is 1,006 to be exact. Of that number 617 wells either are or have been drilled (two-thirds!). Perhaps most fitting is that Aubrey McClendon’s new company, American Energy Utica, received it’s first five permits to drill in this latest batch issued by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR). McClendon was the first to recognize the potential of the Utica Shale and moved his then-company, Chesapeake Energy, into purchasing 1 million acres of leases in the Ohio Utica.

What is truly mind-blowing is that it took only three years for Ohio to go from zero permits to 1,000+ permits for Utica wells, establishing the Utica as one of the country’s hottest shale plays. Here’s a rundown on the latest numbers from Ohio’s Utica Shale:
Read More “Ohio Passes 1,000 Utica Shale Permits Issued, No End in Sight”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Marathon Petroleum’s Newly Announced “Cornerstone” Utica Pipeline
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

Another new pipeline is on the way in the Utica Shale. This one will be built by Marathon Petroleum Corporation, the largest refiner in the Utica Shale region. The Cornerstone pipeline, as they’re calling it, 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 (see map below). The pipeline will carry, at various times, crude oil, condensate and natural gasoline.

The Cornerstone pipeline is slated to be built and in operation in 2016, according to Marathon officials. Here’s what Garry Peiffer, President of Marathon’s Master Limited Partnership MPLX GP said about the Cornerstone project on an analyst call yesterday:
Read More “Marathon Petroleum’s Newly Announced “Cornerstone” Utica Pipeline”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation

OOGA Caves, Endorses New Higher Tax on OH Utica Shale
December 5, 2013December 5, 2013

It looks like taxes on the Utica Shale in Ohio will go up. Yesterday OH Rep. Matt Huffman and Speaker William Batchelder (both Republicans) introduced House Bill 375 which would raise taxes on Utica Shale drilling. Efforts have been under way for the past two years by OH Gov. John “foreigner-hunter” Kasich. He’s into socialism these days–raise taxes on one set of people and give it to another. He’s had some assistance from his fellow Republicans in this regard–but the efforts have (thankfully) gone nowhere.

But now it’s different. This time the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA), long opposed to raising the Utica Shale tax, has endorsed the latest proposal, which means it’s probably not as much as Kasich wanted, but it’s certainly more that what it is now. Sadly, OOGA has also (for political expediency) endorsed the concept of giving “the extra money” raised by new taxes to voters (i.e. vote buying) in the form of a state income tax cut…
Read More “OOGA Caves, Endorses New Higher Tax on OH Utica Shale”
Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Utica Shale Status Report – Red Hot & Growing
December 3, 2013December 2, 2013

The Utica Shale is being developed faster than other shale plays–it is perhaps the fastest ramp-up in the short history of U.S. shale plays: 0 to almost 1,000 shale wells permitted (609 of them drilled) in the last 3 years. Some of the lessons being learned in the Utica are being carried to other, more “mature” plays like the Marcellus and the Bakken. So what’s going on in the red hot Utica?

A status report on the Utica Shale, courtesy the Youngstown Business Journal and the recent DUG East conference in Pittsburgh…
Read More “OH Utica Shale Status Report – Red Hot & Growing”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

List of U.S. Shale Plays Ranked by Profitability (IRR)
December 3, 2013December 2, 2013

Thanks to our ever-helpful second set of eyes, Chris Acker, MDN was alerted to a Seeking Alpha article with a table showing the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for commercially developed U.S. shale plays. It is a way of ranking shale plays (specific regions within plays) that shows the profitability of the plays. The higher the IRR percentage, the better/more profitable that play is. A dollar of investment goes further with a higher IRR.

And what did we spot in scanning the chart? The top spot–the most profitable shale play in America–is the “Marcellus Super Rich” area located in southwest PA and the northern panhandle of WV. The second most profitable play, virtually tied with the Marcellus? The “Utica Liquids Rich” region in eastern OH. It’s a fascinating table. Have a look…
Read More “List of U.S. Shale Plays Ranked by Profitability (IRR)”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

The Real Employment Numbers in Ohio’s Utica Shale
December 3, 2013December 2, 2013

There’s a lot of trash talking about how many jobs shale drilling “actually” creates–by those desperate to stop drilling. In classic disinformation style they throw out wildly inflated numbers, say those of us on the pro-drilling side made those claims, and then knock down the “straw man” they created when employment numbers don’t measure up. “See! The drilling industry lied to you about how many jobs they would create.” That’s the tact they use to try and discredit this jobs-creating industry.

The truth is, shale drilling has created thousands of new, direct jobs in the oil and gas industry–in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. It’s also created thousands more jobs in related industries, like environmental consulting, trucking, etc. So let’s, for a change, talk about real numbers, shall we? The Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services, official tallying agency for employment numbers in Ohio, says Ohio’s natural gas and shale employment numbers have gone up 30% over the past two years…
Read More “The Real Employment Numbers in Ohio’s Utica Shale”
Carroll County | Economic Impact | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Meet Ohio’s New Utica Millionaires – Hundreds of Them
December 2, 2013December 2, 2013

As part of a story about the Morgan County (OH) Landowner Group, or MCLG (see our companion story today), near the end of the story we get this short mention which, although an “off-hand” comment, comes as a startling thunderclap to MDN about the sheer number of millionaires created by the Utica Shale (i.e. “shaleonaires”):
Read More “Meet Ohio’s New Utica Millionaires – Hundreds of Them”
Energy Companies | Landowner Coalition News | Morgan County | Ohio | PDC Energy | Utica Shale

Morgan County, OH Looks to Join the Utica Shale Well Club
December 2, 2013December 2, 2013

So far Morgan County, OH (south of Muskingum County, west of Noble County) has been quiet with respect to Utica Shale drilling. We’ve heard nothing. However, in November, Petroleum Development Corporation (PDC) obtained three Utica Shale permits in Center Township, Morgan County. Depending on the results of those three wells, more may be on the way.

In addition to the first three Utica wells to be drilled in Morgan by PDC, another surprise (to MDN): There’s a landowner group in Morgan County we were not aware of–the Morgan County Landowner Group (MCLG)–which incorporated as a non-profit in 2012 and already has 60,000+ acres…
Read More “Morgan County, OH Looks to Join the Utica Shale Well Club”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Patriot Water Treatment | Regulation | Trumbull County | Wastewater

OH Court Tells ODNR: Turn Over Emails in Patriot Water Lawsuit
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

Patriot Water Treatment of Warren, OH has had a long-running feud with the Ohio EPA and Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR)–a feud that goes all the way back to 2011 (see MDN’s string of Patriot Water stories here). Patriot processes frack wastewater at it’s Warren plant and then disposes of the wastewater by using the local Warren municipal sewage treatment plant. That is, Patriot strips out all of the really nasty stuff, and then the sewage plant finishes off the process and the water is then released into the Mahoning River, near Youngstown.

The OH EPA and ODNR pulled Patriot’s permits to operate for a four-month period in 2012, but Patriot sued and won the right to continue operating (and sending their wastewater to the sewage plant). In relation to the shut-down, Patriot is suing for damages and the ODNR has not been altogether forthcoming with emails and paperwork requested by Patriot as part of the lawsuit. So the OH District Court of Appeals told the ODNR yesterday to comply, or else…
Read More “OH Court Tells ODNR: Turn Over Emails in Patriot Water Lawsuit”
Belmont County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Monroe County | Noble County | Ohio | Utica Shale

OH’s Largest School District Gets $1M+ from Lease Bonuses
November 27, 2013November 27, 2013

Ohio’s largest school district (geographically speaking), the Switzerland of Ohio Local Schools in eastern Ohio, has raked in over $1 million so far from Marcellus/Utica Shale drilling deals. It’s located in some of the best drilling spots in the Ohio Utica (Monroe/Belmont/Noble counties). Even so, the school is headed for “devastating cuts” according to the school treasurer, due to a collapse in enrollment over the last 20 years.

The money received so far from shale deals is from lease payments, not royalties. Will the school district go on over the fiscal cliff? Or will shale royalties come along in time to save the day? School officials are not sure…
Read More “OH’s Largest School District Gets $1M+ from Lease Bonuses”
Carroll County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Wastewater

New Frack Wastewater Recycling Plant Opens in Carroll County, OH
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

A new frack wastewater recycling facility is about to open in Sherrodsville (Carroll County), Ohio. The new plant was built by Rettew Flowback (of North Canton, OH) and is owned and will be operated by Iron Eagle, a Youngstown-based company that rents equipment to oil and gas drillers. The new plant will employ 50 people and is set to open it’s doors “by Dec. 1” according to an Iron Eagle spokesperson. It will have the capacity to process up to 588,000 gallons of water per day.

We have to confess, this one flew under the MDN radar. Here’s the few details we know, courtesy Crain’s Cleveland Business:
Read More “New Frack Wastewater Recycling Plant Opens in Carroll County, OH”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Trumbull County | Wastewater

2 Anti-Drillers Arrested at Youngstown Injection Well
November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

Two anti-drilling protesters were arrested Sunday for blocking trucks trying to enter an injection well facility in Niles (Trumbull County), Ohio–near Youngstown. Film at eleven.

Oh! You want more details? There isn’t much in the way of information, but here’s what we know about who was arrested, and why:
Read More “2 Anti-Drillers Arrested at Youngstown Injection Well”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Deloitte & EIA: 90,000 Marcellus Wells Drilled in Next 20 Years
November 25, 2013November 25, 2013

A new report published by consulting powerhouse Deloitte references (and affirms) U.S. Energy Information Administration’s predictions that it will take at least $5 trillion of investment in the oil and gas sector between now and 2035 to main current levels of oil and natural gas production and meet future demand as it rises. The report is titled “The challenge of renaissance: Managing an unprecedented wave of oil and gas investment.” Unfortunately we couldn’t locate a copy–but reportedly it’s full of interesting facts–like the $5 trillion number.

Another eye-popping number from the report: Current estimates are that 90,000 Marcellus Shale wells will be drilled over the next 20 years. That kind of activity will spur an unfathomable economic revival in the northeast like we haven’t seen in since, well, forever! The study says while “trillions” will be spent on upstream (drilling), “hundreds of billions” will need to be spent on midstream (pipelines & processing plants) in order to keep up with the production. More from the Deloitte study…
Read More “Deloitte & EIA: 90,000 Marcellus Wells Drilled in Next 20 Years”
Crime | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Mahoning County | Ohio

Denver Co Buys OH Wastewater Polluter D&L Energy for $20.7M
November 21, 2013

MDN has long chronicled the bad actions of Ben Lupo, the guy who directed one of his employees to dump thousands of gallons of frack wastewater down a drain that eventually ended up in the Mahoning River near Youngstown, OH (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater). The business that did the dumping was Hardrock Excavating, but because Lupo owns several businesses and because they’re all so intertwined together, another of his businesses, D&L Energy, got caught in the mess and ended up in bankruptcy (see OH Wastewater Dumper D&L Energy Gets Business Death Sentence).

For a time, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources would not let D&L sell off it’s assets (see D&L Wants to Sell Remaining Assets at Auction, ODNR Says No). However, they finally agreed to a plan for D&L to auction its assets and that happened last week. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of Ohio approved the auction yesterday. Who bought D&L? And what does it mean for landowners who signed with D&L (the company owned over 30,000 acres of shale drilling leases)? Read on…
Read More “Denver Co Buys OH Wastewater Polluter D&L Energy for $20.7M”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Marcellus/Utica States Slip in Global Petroleum Survey
November 21, 2013November 21, 2013

Each year, the Canadian-based Fraser Institute surveys petroleum industry executives and managers (864 of them for 2013) asking them their opinions on the barriers to investing in exploration and production in various geographies across the globe. That is, what makes them more likely or less likely to spend money drilling in a particular location? It’s vitally important to understand what drives investors because without money, drilling doesn’t happen.

The Global Petroleum Survey, as it’s called, tallies the survey responses and ranks each geography from most desirable place to invest, to least desirable. MDN reported the rankings last year (see Energy Execs Rank Drilling Locations Including WV, OH, PA, NY). A copy of this year’s full report/rankings is embedded below. How did Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and (yes) New York fare this year, compared to last?…
Read More “Marcellus/Utica States Slip in Global Petroleum Survey”