Ohio

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

“Faith” Group Lies About New Sustainable Shale Center, Fracking
April 3, 2013April 3, 2013

MDN finds it particularly repugnant and hypocritical for so-called “faith groups” to use religion to jusify their twisted anti-fossil fuel philosophies. Shame on them for misusing religion in such a way. It’s disgusting.

One such disgusting group, Faith Communities Together for Frack Awareness (FaCT), issued the following press release yesterday, questioning the creation of the Center for Sustainable Shale Development and in general denigrating the miracle of hydraulic fracturing:

Read More ““Faith” Group Lies About New Sustainable Shale Center, Fracking”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Chesapeake Innovates New Way to Move Utica Rigs Twice as Fast
April 3, 2013April 3, 2013

Chesapeake Energy publishes a quarterly newsletter (more like a magazine) called The Play. The latest issue, Winter 2013 (released earlier this year, full issue embedded below) contains two interesting and important stories that relate to the Utica Shale. The feature story starting on page 3, “Poised for Success,” focuses on Chesapeake’s Ohio Utica Shale program. The article says Chessy’s previously drilled Utica wells should be online starting in February since new pipelines to transport liquids for processing have recently been installed. The article also says Chessy expects they will eventually drill around 13,000 wells in the Ohio Utica on their 1.6 million leased acres.

Read More “Chesapeake Innovates New Way to Move Utica Rigs Twice as Fast”
Encore Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Encore Energy Shops Utica Shale Leases at NAPE East
April 3, 2013April 3, 2013

Encore Energy, Inc. specializes in “lease acquisition and development of the Utica Shale play and other oil and gas projects in Ohio.” Think of Encore as a real estate agent for leases. Encore issued a press release yesterday to get some attention on Utica Shale properties they are “shopping”–looking for drilling companies who want to buy the leases. Encore will shop their leases at the upcoming NAPE East event in Pittsburgh next week. (Note: MDN editor Jim Willis is attending NAPE East, hanging out at the Shale Daily booth, #205. Please stop by if you’re at the show and introduce yourself!)

The interesting part of the Encore press release, which is why we’re bringing it to your attention, is the per-acre asking price Encore lists for Utica Shale properties in Guernsey, Noble and Morgan counties (Ohio):
Read More “Encore Energy Shops Utica Shale Leases at NAPE East”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Chesapeake’s New Acting CEO Says Utica Shale is a Big Deal
April 2, 2013April 2, 2013

Yesterday morning the new acting CEO of Chesapeake Energy, Steve Dixon, delivered his first investors talk as CEO. One of the primary parts of that talk—indeed we would say the centerpiece—were remarks about the Utica Shale and its importance for Chesapeake as they move forward. According to Dixon, Chesapeake’s production in the Utica for 2012 will show lower numbers than otherwise possible because of lack of pipelines and processing plants. Dixon says that will soon change, and so too will their production numbers.

Dixon began his remarks with a 10-second “so long and thanks for all the fish” acknowledgment to the departed Aubrey McClendon:

Read More “Chesapeake’s New Acting CEO Says Utica Shale is a Big Deal”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Feds Want to Force PA (Others?) to File Monthly Production Reports
April 2, 2013April 2, 2013

Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia state governments watch out—the federal government is making noise about requiring you to provide monthly production reports for oil and gas production. The AP says the feds are working on a “proposal” to have Pennsylvania in particular move to a monthly reporting system. When was the last time the federal government ever “proposed” something that wasn’t actually “required”? But we digress… Apparently, the Marcellus Shale Coalition is on board with this “proposal” as well…

Read More “Feds Want to Force PA (Others?) to File Monthly Production Reports”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Ohio Sierra Club Looks for Water Snitches
April 2, 2013April 2, 2013

The Ohio Sierra Club is looking for volunteers to join their Water Sentinel Program—a program that uses volunteers to periodically test rivers and streams. So far they have about 150 “sentinels” to do the work, but more snitches volunteers are needed:

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Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Handy List of OH Utica Shale Permits, by County & Driller
April 1, 2013April 1, 2013

Our friends at Energy in Depth – Ohio have assembled an excellent report (below) for how many drilling permits have been issued in Ohio for Utica Shale drilling, both by county and then by driller, as of the end of March. This is the best list of its kind we’ve seen so far (and one we wish we had created!). Thanks EID!

If you’re a landowner or business interested in who’s drilling and whether or not there’s activity coming to your county, check out the list below. Permits are the single best indicator for where drilling will soon happen. (Shameless plug: For information like that below charted on high-quality maps making it easy to understand, check out MDN’s Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook.)
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Anadarko | Antero Resources | Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | BP | Chesapeake Energy | Chevron | Energy Companies | EnerVest | Gulfport Energy | Hess | Ohio | Shell | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Who’s Who in Leasing & Drilling the Utica Shale?
April 1, 2013April 1, 2013

Many people eagerly await Ohio’s annual production numbers, which will (hopefully) be out sometime later this week. Drillers had to file their production numbers no later than yesterday, Mar. 31. MDN has brought you some of the recent “idle” speculation that inevitably happens while waiting. The speculation lately has been along the lines of, “Is the Utica really all it’s cracked up to be?” (see More Angst Over OH Utica’s Oil Prospects). It is natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil that makes the Utica special. If it turns out Utica production is mostly dry gas (methane only), it will be a major disappointment.

Investor websites are famous for analyzing this stuff to death before any hard data is available. We say: Let’s see what the numbers actually say! In the meantime, yet another “idle speculation” article on one of our favorite sites, The Motley Fool, once again talks about the potential for the Utica. However, a big part of the article interests us. It’s a handy, condensed roundup of the major energy companies that are active in the Utica Shale:
Read More “Who’s Who in Leasing & Drilling the Utica Shale?”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Phelim McAleer Storms Across PA with FrackNation Screenings
April 1, 2013April 1, 2013

Phelim McAleer, the creator, director and producer of the phenomenal documentary FrackNation, is storming across Pennsylvania starting later this week with personal appearances at a number of PA screenings for his film. MDN has each screening listed on our Calendar page (check for times and locations). FrackNation is also being shown across Ohio during the month of April, although Phelim is not appearing at those screenings.

Here’s the complete list of upcoming cities where Phelim will attend a screening to answering questions from the audience:
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH State Police Put Extreme Enviro Groups Under Surveillance
March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

Saying that “so far” Ohio has not seen any violence from extremist anti-drilling environmentalist groups—but that they do expect violence—the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s (OSHP) Central Intelligence Unit is now monitoring groups like Earth First! and Appalachian Resist. The OSHP says: “…some of these groups are considered domestic terrorists or vandals.”

At a monthly meeting of first responders in Harrison County, OH who gather to discuss and plan for health and safety emergencies related to shale drilling, Sgt. Greg McCutcheon of the OSHP said the following:

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BP | Energy Companies | Ohio | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

Better Late than Never: BP Gets First Permit for OH Utica
March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

From MDN’s bedtime stories…Once upon a time (in April 2012), a huge international oil and gas company (BP) leased 84,000 acres all at once with landowners in Trumbull County, OH (see BP’s Big Utica Shale Deal, Leases 84K Acres in Ohio). They later tossed out some of the deals (see BP Cancels Deal for 7% of ALOV Leases in Trumbull County, OH). The end.

Whoops! Not much of story—but that’s been the entire story for a year now. After leasing all of that land in Trumbull County, BP has done no Utica Shale drilling. Zip, zero, nada. Earlier this year BP said, in essence, they’re taking their sweet time, but they do intend to drill a few initial wells this year, perhaps starting in April (see BP in OH Utica Shale: The Prospectivity of Producibility). Looks like the wait may be over…

Read More “Better Late than Never: BP Gets First Permit for OH Utica”
Ohio | Statewide OH

More Angst Over OH Utica’s Oil Prospects
March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

Just a few days ago MDN highlighted a story by Reuters that raises the question of the Ohio Utica Shale’s oil producing potential (see Will OH Utica Turn Out to be Steak, or Just Sizzle? Eye on April). A writer on The Motley Fool website picks up on that theme and makes these observations about the Utica’s oil prospects:

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Belmont County | Economic Impact | Housing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Supply Chain

OH Company Says Housing Construction is Booming from Shale
March 27, 2013March 27, 2013

A Belmont County, OH construction company that builds homes and commercial buildings reports business is brisk, and the way they do business has now changed—all because of shale drilling:

Read More “OH Company Says Housing Construction is Booming from Shale”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH EPA Director Says New Fracking Technology a “Game Changer”
March 26, 2013March 26, 2013

On Monday in Youngstown, Ohio at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast, the director of the Ohio EPA, Scott Nally, expressed his hope and optimism that fracking technology would quickly evolve and use less water:

Read More “OH EPA Director Says New Fracking Technology a “Game Changer””
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Supply Chain | Wayne County (OH)

Supply Chain: OH Company Offered Tax Credit to Create 120 New Jobs
March 26, 2013March 26, 2013

More happy news from the Marcellus and Utica supply chain: Wooster Tool & Dye, a company that manufactures gas and oil separation tanks used by shale drilling companies, has been offered a seven-year tax credit to add 120 new full-time jobs to their existing workforce of 110. The new jobs will average $21 an hour. If the company accepts the deal (not yet a done deal, but it looks promising), they will agree to maintain operations in Wooster, OH for at least the next 10 years:

Read More “Supply Chain: OH Company Offered Tax Credit to Create 120 New Jobs”
Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Ohio | Statewide OH

Will OH Utica Turn Out to be Steak, or Just Sizzle? Eye on April
March 25, 2013March 25, 2013

Ohio will soon compile and release annual production numbers for Utica Shale wells drilled and in production during 2012. Ohio is one of the “least transparent states” when it comes to reporting energy output with annual filings. Drillers are required to provide production numbers for 2012 by March 31. Last year the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) posted production numbers in just a few days—on April 2nd. However, last year’s reporting (from 2011) was for 5 wells—all from Chesapeake. This year the reporting will be from multiple drillers for 50-60 wells. Everyone is waiting, with baited breath. There’s a lot riding on the numbers reported this year.

Will the Utica numbers turn out to be like the Eagle Ford—a play prolific in profitable oil and natural gas liquids? Or will it be more of a less-profitable, methane-only play? A Reuters article takes a look at that question. The article also highlights some interesting information for just how far production numbers have fallen from initial peak rates for a pair of Gulfport wells…

Read More “Will OH Utica Turn Out to be Steak, or Just Sizzle? Eye on April”