Ohio

Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Bloomberg Says Ohio Utica Shale is Gassy, Not Oily
April 16, 2013April 16, 2013

Even though the 2012 production numbers for Ohio have still not been released, Bloomberg has declared Ohio’s dreams of producing large quantities of crude oil now dead and buried. Bloomberg says the Utica Shale play has turned out much more "gassy" than "oily". As their evidence, Bloomberg points to Ohio Utica asset sales now offered by some of the state’s biggest drillers, along with the opinions of a few analysts:

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Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | NGLs | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants

Good Progress on MarkWest’s Cadiz, OH Processing Plant
April 16, 2013April 16, 2013

MarkWest’s Cadiz, Ohio natural gas processing plant has been online since last year and currently separates handles 60 million cubic feet of gas per day (Mmcf/d), separating out gas liquids like ethane, propane, butane and pentane. MarkWest is busy building an expansion of the plant that, when done, will add an additional 125 Mmcf/d of capacity.

An update on MarkWest’s $1.8 billion infrastructure projects under way in Ohio this year:

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Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Ohio | Triad Hunter | Utica Shale | Washington County (OH)

Magnum Hunter Drills First OH Utica Shale Well
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

Although Friday for Magnum Hunter Resources was marred by the sad news of the flash fire in Tyler County, WV, the company (earlier in the day) issued a good news press release, one of importance: Magnum Hunter, through it’s subsidiary Triad Hunter, has just started drilling it’s first Utica Shale well in Ohio—northern Washington County.

The press release identifying where it’s being drilled:

Read More “Magnum Hunter Drills First OH Utica Shale Well”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Statewide OH

New OH Group Agrees with Gov. Kasich: Keep the Foreigners Out
April 12, 2013April 12, 2013

Echoing the same sentiment expressed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich that out-of-state workers are considered "foreigners" (see OH Gov. Kasich Continues Trash Talk Out-of-State Workers), a grassroots group in Ohio has formed to "protect" Ohio workers and lobby and "hold energy companies accountable" for hiring more Ohioans for Utica Shale oil and gas drilling jobs. The group, called Protecting Ohio Workers, Employing Residents (or POWER for short), issued the following press release on Wednesday:

Read More “New OH Group Agrees with Gov. Kasich: Keep the Foreigners Out”
Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles | Ohio | Summit County

Akron, OH Getting First Public Natural Gas Filling Station Soon
April 11, 2013April 11, 2013

On Monday, the Akron, OH City Council approved plans for a new natural gas filling station to be located at the corner of South Arlington Street and Palmetto Avenue. The bonus: It’s being built by a "home grown" Akron company…

Read More “Akron, OH Getting First Public Natural Gas Filling Station Soon”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Wastewater

Radioactive Frack Waste Regs Coming Out of the Ohio Budget Bill
April 11, 2013April 11, 2013

Three Ohio state agencies requested a change in the way the state regulates and disposes of drilling waste that contains naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically-enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM). So new provisions were added to, of all things, the Ohio budget bill. Will politicians never learn?

Looks like the radioactive waste regulations are coming out of the budget bill and will instead be combined into their own, standalone bill. But that won’t happen until sometime this fall…

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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Portage County | Stark County | Utica Shale

Chesapeake Puts 94K "Oily" Utica Shale Acres Up for Auction
April 10, 2013April 9, 2013

As this issue goes to press, the Wall Street Journal and Fox Business is reporting that Chesapeake Energy has put 94,205 Utica Shale acres on the auction block. That’s nearly 10% of their remaining 1 million Utica Shale acres. This is not unprecedented. Last June Chesapeake put 337,000 acres on the auction block (see Chesapeake Selling 337K Utica Shale Acres, Counties IDed). Although the company has not yet made a public statement about this sale, MDN went fishing and found the listing from the real estate site where it’s listed. We’ve embedded it below (shows a map of the acreage).

Here’s what we notice about the listing, including which counties are involved…

Read More “Chesapeake Puts 94K "Oily" Utica Shale Acres Up for Auction”
Accidents | Beaver County | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Wastewater

Beaver Falls, PA – Downriver from Youngstown Frackwater Dumping
April 10, 2013April 9, 2013

An article in the Youngstown Vindicator asks the question of whether or not the illegal dumping of frack wastewater in the Mahoning River by D&L Energy owner Ben Lupo (see Youngstown Wastewater Dumper Pleads Not Guilty in Federal Court) has contaminated water supplies down river—particularly in Beaver Falls, PA. Beaver Falls gets its water from the Beaver River, which in turn gets its water from the Mahoning River where the dumping took place.

According to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection, Beaver Falls noticed "some problems" but the incident probably had "just a minor effect." That’s not much comfort for residents in Beaver Falls who wonder whether or not they were drinking polluted water…

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

Frack Fight: Group Pushes Back on Proposed Youngstown Frack Ban
April 9, 2013April 9, 2013

MDN previously told you how Democrat city council members in Youngstown, OH have tried to steer the city into committing the equivalent of economic suicide by voting to ban fracking—a signal to drillers to stay away from doing business in the city (see Youngstown, OH to Commit Utica Suicide with Vote to Ban Drilling).

However, a diverse group of leaders from the ranks of both Republicans and Democrats, labor unions and industry have joined together to push back against the ballot measure which will be voted on May 7. The Mahoning Valley Coalition for Job Growth and Investment "came out firing" last Friday. Perhaps it’s not time just yet to write Youngstown’s fracking epitaph…

Read More “Frack Fight: Group Pushes Back on Proposed Youngstown Frack Ban”
Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

The Latest Ohio Utica Shale Permits & Wells Drilled Numbers
April 9, 2013April 9, 2013

The number of Utica Shale well permits, and wells drilled, continues it’s rapid ascent. Through March 30 there have been 588 Utica permits issued, and 282 wells drilled. Here’s where the latest permits were issued:

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Columbiana County | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio

Roustabout: Long Hours, Hard Manual Work, But Good Pay + Benefits
April 9, 2013April 9, 2013

Roustabouts are the "do it all" manual laborers that work in drilling operations—typically on and around a drilling rig. They pick up the garbage, repair things, carry things…anything that needs doing of a manual natural. It’s hard, long, dirty work—typically 12-hour (or more) shifts for two weeks straight. However, if you’re young, in good health and in good shape, getting work as a roustabout can pay well—very well. Just ask Brian Rose who works as a roustabout on a rig in Lisbon, OH:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Baker Hughes Rig Counts Hit New Low, But There’s More to Story…
April 8, 2013April 8, 2013

Energy analyst and Seeking Alpha blogger Richard Zeits has authored a new “required reading” article titled, “Natural Gas: Sharp Recent Drop In Baker Hughes Gas Rig Count Explained.” In his new article, Zeits says that although the Baker Hughes rig count (number of active drilling rigs in the U.S.) has reached a new low as of last Friday—only 375 active rigs—the rig count itself does not tell the whole story. With a series of stunning charts, Zeits explores the big change from rigs drilling for natural gas to rigs drilling for oil…

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Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Perry County

Driller Offers 10X Less for Vertical Leases than Horizontal in OH
April 8, 2013April 8, 2013

In Ohio, oil and gas drilling has been going on for decades, long before Chesapeake Energy “discovered” oil in the Utica Shale a few years ago (see Major Discovery – Chesapeake Energy Strikes Oil (and Gas) in Ohio’s Utica Shale). An article from an Ohio newspaper mentions the amount landowners in Perry County are being offered in the way of signing bonuses for traditional, vertical (or “conventional”) drilling leases. It’s a tiny fraction of what landowners receive for leasing Utica Shale acreage:

Read More “Driller Offers 10X Less for Vertical Leases than Horizontal in OH”
Crime | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Wastewater

Youngstown Frackwater Dumper’s New Strategy to Reopen Business
April 5, 2013April 5, 2013

We have the next chapter in the ongoing, very sad story of Ben Lupo, the Youngstown, OH man who ordered an employee to dump fracking wastewater down a sewer drain—wastewater that ended up in the Mahoning River (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater). The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources promptly closed down both of the companies he owns and controls, D&L Energy and Hardrock Excavating (see OH Company Dumping Frack Wastewater in Drain May Appeal Shut-Down). Lupo and his lawyers have been desperately trying to get the “death sentence” for his companies lifted—at least for D&L Energy, a sizable operation with dozens of employees.

Lupo is now trying a new strategy in his attempt to reopen D&L Energy: He’s resigned from both D&L and Hardrock and has turned over ownership and control of the companies to his wife. D&L has officially “severed all ties” with Lupo. Question is, will it work?

Read More “Youngstown Frackwater Dumper’s New Strategy to Reopen Business”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Wastewater

Obama “Inches” Toward Approving Barge Shipments of Frack Water
April 5, 2013April 5, 2013

GreenHunter Water (and others) anxiously await approval from the Coast Guard to allow shipment of fracking wastewater by barge. GreenHunter has a lot riding on the Coast Guard’s decision (see GreenHunter’s Plans to Move Wastewater by Barge Delayed). Anti-drillers are attempting to prevent barge shipments of frack water as a tactic to discourage drilling. They ignore the glaring fact that substances far more toxic than frack water are shipped on river barges each and every day of the week, all done with a sterling safety record.

Reuters is now reporting that the Coast Guard has recommended barge shipments be allowed and has supplied the Obama administration with a draft rule to do it. Reuters also reports the administration is “inching ahead” with plans to approve the rule:

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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OOGA Report on Ohio Utica Drilling for 2012 – Charts & Maps
April 3, 2013April 3, 2013

At the recent winter meeting of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, OOGA presented the DeBrosse Memorial Report: 2012 Oil and Gas Activity in Ohio. Chock-full of interesting charts and maps showing who drilled wells in Ohio, where they drilled them and how far (distance) the wells were drilled, the report (full copy embedded below) is a must-read if you have an interest in the Utica Shale.

A few highlights:

Read More “OOGA Report on Ohio Utica Drilling for 2012 – Charts & Maps”