An article from the Warren (OH) Tribune Chronicle tackles the thorny question of whether or not oil and gas drilling in Ohio is now passé…an also-ran…washed up…kaput.
It begins this way…
Read More “Utica Angst Continues – A Close Look at the Utica Tea Leaves”
Although technically not in the purview of MDN’s coverage, we want to alert you that MDN partner ShaleNavigator—the top-notch online mapping service that brings you those marvelous maps in the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook—is expanding. ShaleNavigator founder Ed Camp has added the Collingwood and Antrim Shale plays in Michigan to his coverage.
Here’s Ed’s press release announcing the expansion of his excellent service:
Read More “ShaleNavigator Expands Again: Adds New Areas to Online Mapping App”
Chesapeake Energy has just opened a new field office in Belmont County, OH at the Fox Commerce Park, just west of St. Clairsville:
Read More “Chesapeake Opens New Regional Office in Belmont County, OH”
The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) oversees the largest watershed area in Ohio, spanning some 8,000 square miles. After some initial delays a few years ago, MWCD decided they want in on the Utica drilling bonanza happening all around them. In 2011 they leased 2,800 acres of watershed land to Gulfport Energy for $15.6 million. In 2012, they leased 3,700 acres to Chesapeake for $21.5 million. In February of this year, they signed a contract with Antero Resources to lease 6,500 acres for $40.3 million plus 20% royalties (see Muskingum Watershed District Signs with Antero for $40.3M Bonus).
All that drilling will need water. MWCD will oblige…
Read More “Muskingum Watershed Votes to Sell 209M Gals of Water for Fracking”
A handful of Youngstown, OH anti-drillers who are, frankly, quite ignorant of how fracking works (they apparently don’t know it’s heavily regulated), have foolishly spent their money on two billboards in the city to try and convince unsuspecting neighbors to pass a May 7 resolution to ban fracking in Youngstown—a loud and clear signal that Youngstown doesn’t want to participate in the economic miracle Utica Shale drilling is bringing to the state.
A Youngstown attorney says anyone reading the language of this bill (if it does pass) will think the city is populated with idiots. He’s right…
Read More “Will 2 Billboards Convince Youngstown Residents Ban Fracking?”
The lawyers at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP write an excellent blog on oil and gas drilling in Ohio called the Oil and Gas Law Report. They’ve compiled a number of those articles into a handy PDF ebook (embedded below), covering regulations and environmental issues impacting Ohio’s oil and gas drilling industry. This little ebook (28 pages) is useful for lawyers, drillers and landowners alike…
Read More “Ohio Oil & Gas Regulatory & Environmental Matters eBook”
The most recent weekly report from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) shows that Ohio has now issued 605 Utica Shale permits to drill. Of those, 297 wells have been/are being drilled, and 89 wells are now producing. Although recent talk from Bloomberg and others has attempted to throw cold water on the Utica Shale, there’s no denying it’s still white hot.
Here are the the numbers from the latest report, and the grand tallies for where all those permits have been issued—by county, and by driller:
Read More “Ohio Passes “Magic 600” Utica Shale Permits Issued”
Yesterday, MDN told you about EV Energy Partners/EnverVest’s (EVEP) mission to sell at least some of the 539,000 acres of Utica Shale leases they hold in Ohio (see EV Energy Partners Deal to Sell 104K Utica Acres Dead, What Now?). As part of the investor update call with EVEP on Tuesday, company chairman John Walker went on a PR offensive by saying drillers are watching how much oil will be produced by a well in Tuscarawas County (where EVEP is trying to unload acreage), and by saying the cost to drill a Utica well has come down, by up to 50%, from what it was when drillers first started in the Utica just a few years ago.
Walker’s comments from Tuesday:
Read More “EVEP’s Utica PR Offensive: Good Oil Pressure, Low Drilling Costs”
EV Energy Partners/EnerVest Executive Chairman John Walker admitted yesterday that a deal to sell the company’s interest in 104,000 Utica Shale acres has fallen apart. MDN has chronicled the journey thus far in a number of articles. In September 2013, EVEP announced they had put 539,000 Utica acres on the auction block and were confident they would sell it by year’s end and receive in the neighborhood of $6 billion (see EnerVest Puts 539,000 Utica Shale Acres on Auction Block). That didn’t happen.
Earlier this year, EVEP seemed to pull back from the original offer and instead push 104,000 acres concentrated in Stark, Tuscarawas and surrounding counties (see EnerVest Strategy: Sell Utica, Drill Vertical, Expand Midstream). That smaller deal has now also “failed” according to yesterday’s call. Apparently the price was right, but the terms were not. So what happens now?
Read More “EV Energy Partners Deal to Sell 104K Utica Acres Dead, What Now?”
It looks to be an ignominious end for D&L Energy, the company previously owned by Youngstown fracking wastewater dumper Ben Lupo (see Youngstown Business Dumped >200K Gal of Untreated Wastewater). Yesterday, D&L filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. District Court. The paperwork for the filing notes that although Lupo recently resigned as an officer and director at D&L, he retained 80% of the stock. The rest of the stock is owned by his wife and one other person. The paperwork also indicates the three D&L owners may have “improperly diverted funds of the debtors to other peripheral business entities owned or operated by one or more of these individuals for little or no consideration.” So it appears some hiding of assets/money may have gone on.
Here’s the low-down on the bankruptcy filing and who’s owed how much from D&L:
Read More “Youngstown Illegal Dumper’s Former Company Files for Bankruptcy”
Ohio is just a few permits short of 600 Utica Shale permits for drilling, and just a few wells short of having drilled 300 Utica Shale wells. And no signs of letting up.
Here’s the latest numbers provided by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, updated through April 6:
Read More “Utica Whisker Away from 600 Utica Permits, 300 Wells Drilled”
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:
Read More “Bloomberg Says Ohio Utica Shale is Gassy, Not Oily”
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:
Read More “Good Progress on MarkWest’s Cadiz, OH Processing Plant”
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:
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”
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”