Ohio

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Regulation

Anti-Drillers to Throw a Big Party this Weekend in Youngstown, OH
August 21, 2013August 20, 2013

Calling all fossil-fuel haters–get your “frack” on–it’s time to paaarrrrrttttaaay! Anti-frackers will assemble in Youngstown, OH this weekend for a party in support of a truly stupid ballot measure that will be voted on (for a second time) this November. If passed, the new law would not only ban fracking in Youngstown–but also ban businesses involved with the shale oil and gas industry from operating in Youngstown. Such a measure would be a catastrophe for the economy of the just-starting-to-recover Youngstown, but this bunch will be so high they won’t notice…
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American Energy Partners | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH

He’s Baaaack! Aubrey McClendon is Back in OH Shale Country
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

After being unceremoniously tossed out of the door at Chesapeake Energy (the company he founded) by corporate raider Carl Icahn, Aubrey McClendon is, according to the Columbus Dispatch and Upstream magazine, back and active in the Utica Shale with his new company American Energy Partners.

There are four VERY interesting, juicy tidbits in the story about Aubrey’s return to the Utica…
Read More “He’s Baaaack! Aubrey McClendon is Back in OH Shale Country”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Taxation

Pipelines Lower Taxes in Some Ohio School Districts
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

New York is perhaps the most taxed state in the Union. When MDN editor Jim Willis tells people that his school and property taxes went down–because of a single shale pipeline and compressor plant recently built in the township where he lives–they look at him like he’s gone mad. Who ever heard of taxes going down anywhere in New York State? But it’s true!

School districts (and taxpayers) in Ohio are now learning about the benefits of pipelines. Because of revenue generated from taxes on pipelines, school taxes are heading down in some Ohio school districts. And that’s even without Gov. John Kasich’s “spread the wealth around” higher severance tax…
Read More “Pipelines Lower Taxes in Some Ohio School Districts”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Wastewater

OH Democrat Senator Wants Total Ban on Wastewater Injection Wells
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

Ohio Senator Michael J. Skindell (Democrat, District 23) has introduced a bill in the state legislature that will ban disposal of fracking wastewater via injection wells. Yet another elected anti-drilling Democrat who’s trying to shut down one of the safest forms of energy in the world–shale gas. If you shut down disposal of fracking fluid, you shut down drilling…
Read More “OH Democrat Senator Wants Total Ban on Wastewater Injection Wells”
Belmont County | Education | Energy Companies | Hess | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio

Hess Sets Up Scholarship Program at Belmont College
August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

Utica driller Hess Corporation and Belmont College (St. Clairsville, OH) announced last Friday that Hess has established a scholarship program that will make “multiple awards” of scholarships of up to $3,000 per student per year at Belmont. Students may be enrolled in either full- or part-time programs working on either an associates degree or a certificate.

The aim of the program is to help train non-traditional students–those out of work and downsized from a previous job. The awards are not just for those seeking energy-related jobs either…
Read More “Hess Sets Up Scholarship Program at Belmont College”
Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | NiSource | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH

More Progress for Hickory Bend Pipeline/Processing Plant in OH
August 16, 2013August 16, 2013

The Pennant Midstream “Hickory Bend” pipeline continues to make good progress. Pennant is a joint venture between NiSource and Hilcorp Energy, established to build a $300 million wet gas pipeline and processing plant in eastern Ohio (see the original announcement from July 2012: NiSource, Hilcorp Energy Joint Venture in Utica Shale).

Although the project has faced its challenges and minor delays, it has made excellent and steady progress. The cryogenic processing plant in Springfield Township is now being reported as “completed” (the first time we’ve heard that), and pipeline boring crews are working this week in Columbiana County. An update:
Read More “More Progress for Hickory Bend Pipeline/Processing Plant in OH”
Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

July Permits Issued in Utica/Marcellus for Tri-State Area
August 15, 2013August 15, 2013

An excellent permit “check-in”–a roundup of how many drilling permits were issued by county and driller, from Farm and Dairy, for the month of July in eastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia:
Read More “July Permits Issued in Utica/Marcellus for Tri-State Area”
Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Antero Resources Rolls Dice on 1/2 Billion Dollar Marcellus Pipe
August 14, 2013August 14, 2013

According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, Antero Resources will spend half a billion dollars to construct an 80-mile pipeline in the Marcellus/Utica Shale region. But this rather expensive pipeline will not carry natural gas, gas liquids or even oil. Instead, it’s a pipeline that will deliver water from the Ohio River to some of Antero’s most active drilling locations scattered in West Virginia and Ohio–to be used for fracking.

For Antero with some 100K acres of leased land in the Marcellus, committing to half a billion dollars (the company grossed $265 million last year) is a huge roll of the dice…
Read More “Antero Resources Rolls Dice on 1/2 Billion Dollar Marcellus Pipe”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

OH EPA Dings MarkWest Over Slurry Spills in OH Swamps
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

Once upon a time here in the good old U.S. of A. we used to call large areas of stagnant, smelly, mosquito-infested pools of water what they are: swamps. Then came the so-called environmentalist movement that renamed the word “swamp” to the pristine-sounding word “wetland.” Gotta love a good euphemism. We used to drain swamps. Now we make people get permits to walk across them, for fear of killing a mosquito (no doubt carrying West Nile Virus). Such is the enlightened age in which we live.

MarkWest Energy, arguably the largest midstream company (pipelines and processing plants) in the Marcellus and Utica Shale region, is having trouble in–or more properly under–some of Ohio’s swamps. In drilling under some Ohio “wetlands” to install pipelines, MarkWest has leaked a non-toxic clay-and-water slurry on a number of occasions. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has told MarkWest recent spills are “unacceptable.” Ohio anti-drillers see it as an opportunity to shut down fracking (no pipelines, no way to get the gas and liquids to market). Fortunately, the Ohio EPA is a bit more level-headed than that, saying they prefer to work with companies like MarkWest to help them do better, not just shut them down…
Read More “OH EPA Dings MarkWest Over Slurry Spills in OH Swamps”
Carroll County | Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Harrison County | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Chesapeake’s Current Thinking on their Utica Shale Program
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

At a meeting in Mahoning County, OH, a Chesapeake Energy representative tackled the question of how long Ohio residents will see drilling in their midst. The rep then spoke about the next phase after drilling–production and piping product to market. The answers given were not anything we haven’t heard before. Still, some of the Chesapeake rep’s comments did give us insight into the company’s current thinking about the Utica Shale and the counties where they intend to concentrate their efforts…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Muskingum Watershed District: $77M in Utica Lease Revenue, So Far
August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

There’s no doubt a change has happened at the board of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD). Last year they self-imposed a moratorium on selling water to Ohio Utica Shale drillers (Muskingum Watershed Reverses Decision to Sell Water to Drillers). This year, they can’t wait to lease MWCD land to Utica Shale drillers and sell them the water to frack it (MWCD to Sell 138M Gallons of Seneca Lake Water for Utica Drilling). Why the change?

An MWCD official talked about the change in thinking for the MWCD board at a meeting last week of the Guernsey (County) Energy Coalition…
Read More “Muskingum Watershed District: $77M in Utica Lease Revenue, So Far”
Energy Companies | EnerVest | EV Energy Partners | Guernsey County | Harrison County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Noble County | Ohio | Utica Shale

EVEP/EnerVest Cuts Deal to Sell 22.5K OH Utica Acres for $284M
August 9, 2013August 9, 2013

In September last year, EV Energy Partners/EnerVest put more than a half million acres of Ohio Utica Shale acreage on the market. Near the end of last year, a deal for 104,000 of those acres seemed to be almost done, but in April of this year, the deal fell apart (see EV Energy Partners Deal to Sell 104K Utica Acres Dead, What Now?). EVEP then changed gears and said instead of putting big blocks up for sale, they’ll look at selling off smaller chunks (see EV Energy: Changing from Big Deals to Small for Utica Land Sale). Looks like the change in strategy worked.

Today, EVEP announced they’ve made a new deal to sell 22,535 acres in Guernsey, Harrison and Noble counties in Ohio for $284.3 million to an unnamed buyer. According to EVEP, the deal works out to be a very high $12,900 per acre. We ran the math and came up with $12,616 per acre. Either way, EVEP is getting a LOT of money for unloading Utica Shale acreage they don’t want. This deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter–the next few months. Let’s see if this one actually happens.

The announcement from EVEP/EnerVest (with a map of the acreage sold):
Read More “EVEP/EnerVest Cuts Deal to Sell 22.5K OH Utica Acres for $284M”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Ohio’s Abandoned Railroad Lines Become Hot Commodity
August 9, 2013August 9, 2013

Yes, we’re suckers for a good railroad story–always have been, always will be. Especially railroad stories tied to shale drilling.

Here’s a railroad/drilling story with a twist: In Ohio, abandoned right-of-ways from railroads long gone are suddenly a hot commodity. Why? Midstream (pipeline and processing plant) companies are snapping them up to run pipelines along them…
Read More “Ohio’s Abandoned Railroad Lines Become Hot Commodity”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | NiSource | Ohio | Roads

NiSource Wins Friends in Mahoning County with Road Repair Project
August 9, 2013August 9, 2013

Pennant Midstream, an entity created by NiSource and Hilcorp Energy, is developing a $300 million natural gas gathering and processing network in northeastern Ohio that extends from Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania, through Mahoning County, and into Columbiana County. The project, called Hickory Bend, will gather natural gas produced from Hilcorp wells exploring the Utica shale and transport the gas to a $150 million cryogenic processing plant under construction in Springfield Township. By all accounts the project is on track to be completed by the end of this year (see OH Hickory Bend Pipeline/Plant Makes Excellent Progress).

NiSource is making new friends with their latest initiative. As part of the Hickory Bend project, NiSource (i.e. Pennant Midstream) will spend $1.5 million to rebuild roads in Mahoning County, OH likely to be damaged from heavy trucks working on the project. According to county officials, the amount of roadways that will be rebuilt, and the way NiSource is doing it (not just repaving but rebuilding from base layers) goes “well above and beyond the minimum that was required”…
Read More “NiSource Wins Friends in Mahoning County with Road Repair Project”
Economic Impact | EMG | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Tuscarawas County

2 New OH Projects: Cryo Processing Plant & NGL Pipeline to Gulf
August 8, 2013August 8, 2013

Looks like the Williams/Boardwalk Bluegrass NGL pipeline is about to get some competition. Yesterday, Kinder Morgan, MarkWest and The Energy and Minerals Group (EMG) announced a new joint venture on two projects aimed at the Marcellus/Utica Shale region. The first project is a 400 Mmcf/d cryogenic processing plant in Tuscarawas County, OH to separate raw natural gas into methane and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The second project is a new NGL pipeline that will, like the Bluegrass, run from Ohio all the way to the Gulf Coast. There’s no mention of how much the partners will invest in the two projects, but we believe it could easily approach $1 billion of new investment in the northeast.

This announcement is great economic news for Ohio (Tuscarawas County in particular), and great economic news for Marcellus/Utica drillers who need extra takeaway capacity for the NGLs they’re currently producing. The press release from Kinder Morgan with details about the two new projects:
Read More “2 New OH Projects: Cryo Processing Plant & NGL Pipeline to Gulf”
Dominion Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Gulfport Signs Pipeline Deal to Sell Utica Gas to Midwest Market
August 8, 2013August 8, 2013

Straight off a conference call yesterday comes the news that Gulfport Energy has just signed a 10-year contract with Dominion Transmission to transport the natural gas Gulfport produces in the Ohio Utica Shale to the Midwest–using Dominion’s pipelines. The agreement is to ship 100 million cubic feet per day of gas (100 Mmcf/d), ramping up to 150 Mmcf/d by late 2014. Gulfport’s CEO James Palm made the announcement yesterday.

Palm also said on the conference call that Gulfport continues to lease acreage in Ohio and plans to drill “at least” 70 new wells next year in the Utica. More from yesterday’s call:
Read More “Gulfport Signs Pipeline Deal to Sell Utica Gas to Midwest Market”