Ohio

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USGS Releases Official Estimate of Oil & Gas in Utica Shale
October 5, 2012October 5, 2012

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has just released their first official assessment (i.e. estimate) of how much recoverable natural gas, oil and gas liquids is located in the Utica Shale throughout Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Virginia (a full copy of the USGS assessment is embedded below).

The USGS estimates the Utica is #3 in size behind the Marcellus (#1) and Green River Basin (#2) for volume of recoverable natural gas in the U.S. Here are the numbers from the USGS, along with and a brief introduction to their first-ever assessment of the Utica:

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Anadarko | Devon Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Ohio’s Less Than Stellar Results from Oil Drilling
October 5, 2012October 5, 2012

The story line for development of the Marcellus and Utica Shale going back to the beginning of this year was, “Drillers are leaving the dry gas areas and going after wet gas,” meaning natural gas liquids. Why? Because the price for liquids is more favorable. That meant drilling activity was lessening in places like northeast Pennsylvania and (supposedly) moving to southwest PA, northern WV and eastern OH. To some degree that has happened.

However, the price for natural gas liquids has fallen due an abundance created by Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling. So the more recent story has been a move toward drilling for crude oil, especially in Ohio. But drilling for crude in Ohio isn’t working out so well—at least for some drillers.

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Greene County (OH) | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation

Ohio Village Flouts State Law, Passes Drilling Ban
October 4, 2012October 4, 2012

The so-called home rule issue is cropping up in Ohio. Home rule is when a local municipality believes it has the right to govern or ban oil and gas drilling within its borders, using local zoning laws, even though in most states (like Ohio) the right and responsibility to govern oil and gas drilling is vested in the state and not in municipalities.

Ohio now has it’s first municipality (located in Greene County) to flout state law by passing a drilling ban. It passed 3-2—a single vote stripped away property rights of residents to allow drilling on or under their land. Here’s the details:

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Columbiana County | Energy Services | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | U.S. Silica

US Silica Opens New Frack Sand Storage Facility in Ohio
October 4, 2012October 4, 2012

U.S. Silica, the country’s second largest domestic producer of commercial sand, announced yesterday they’ve partnered with S.H. Bell Company to open a new silica sand storage facility (railroad transload facility) in Columbiana County, Ohio to serve drillers in the rapidly expanding Utica and Marcellus Shale plays.

From the press release:

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Carroll County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Taxation

Carroll County’s Dim View on Higher Severance Taxes
October 4, 2012October 4, 2012

When the miracle of hydraulic fracturing shows up in a community, jobs, money and economic expansion show up too. Not far behind are politicians who want to stick their hands into the pockets of those doing the hard work (the energy companies) and those making it possible (the landowners) so they can “spread the wealth around” to those who don’t do the hard work and don’t make it possible (it’s called buying votes). It’s a powerful temptation that both Democrats and Republicans have a hard time resisting.

Case in point: Ohio.

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Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

New IHS Report Compares OH Utica Shale to TX Eagle Ford Shale
October 4, 2012October 4, 2012

IHS Cera, a global consulting and information service, recently published a new report on the Utica Shale and its potential. Although MDN has not seen the full report, the press release announcing the report contains a good bit of useful information about the IHS findings. IHS compares the Utica to the highly productive Eagle Ford Shale in Texas, saying there are many parallels, but cautioning it’s still very early in the game.

Here’s the full release with lots of juicy tidbits, including which well has produced the most oil in the Ohio Utica:

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Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | EV Energy Partners | Industrywide Issues | M3 Midstream | Ohio | Processing Plants

OH Shale Gas Processing Plant Work Gets Underway
October 2, 2012October 2, 2012

In May, MDN told you about a new $400 million shale gas collection and processing plant being built in Columbiana County, Ohio by a joint venture between Chesapeake Energy, M3 Midstream and EV Energy Partners (see this MDN story). The plant will be built on a 117-acre site over a 5-year span with the first part due to go online in 2013.

A quick update on the new plant:

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Ohio | Statewide OH

ODNR Announces Third Ohio State Geologist This Year
October 1, 2012October 1, 2012

Do we now have a conclusion to the unhappy tale of a state geologist for Ohio? You may recall MDN’s coverage of the firing of Ohio state geologist Larry Wickstrom earlier this year when he released a map showing revised boundaries for the Utica Shale formation, boundaries indicating where “the best places” to drill are located (see this MDN story). That map apparently ticked off Wickstrom’s bosses at ODNR. Wickstrom had been an employee of the ODNR Geological Survey division for 29 years but he was shown the door.

After Wickstrom we had an interim state geologist, Mac Swinford, who announced a new Utica Shale boundary map due out in September (see this MDN story). No idea if Swinford’s map announcement had anything to do with the latest ODNR announcement or not, but as of Friday, we now have a new, officially anointed, full-time, non-interim state geologist: Thomas J. Serenko.

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CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Trumbull County

CONSOL Stops Work on Trumbull County’s First Utica Well
September 28, 2012September 28, 2012

CONSOL Energy has decided to stop working on the first-ever Utica Shale well in Trumbull County, Ohio saying they are “re-prioritizing” their activity in the county. Does that mean CONSOL is leaving the county?

Here’s what we know:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Ohio: $17.5B in Economic Activity from Drilling 2011-2014
September 27, 2012September 27, 2012

Linda Woggon, executive vice president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Ohio Shale Coalition, said at a meeting yesterday that shale drilling in Ohio is on track to pump a total of $17.5 billion into the Ohio economy from 2011 to 2014 and generate 65,000 jobs. It will also bring in an additional $795 million in taxes over the same time period—with no increases on taxpayers.

Here’s a few of the highlights from her talk at a breakfast hosted by the Salem Area Chamber Area of Commerce on Wednesday:

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Carroll County | Energy Companies | Ohio | Rex Energy

Rex Energy Reports Results from First Utica Shale Well
September 27, 2012September 27, 2012

Rex Energy announced initial production results from their first Utica Shale well—the Brace #1H well drilled in Carroll County, Ohio. Rex’s CEO, Tom Stabley, says the initial results are among the best in the county to date (see the numbers below). The company plans to drill an additional nine wells in 2013.

From the Rex announcement:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Washington County (OH)

Ohio Pipe Company Desperately Needs $30/Hr Welders
September 26, 2012September 26, 2012

A pipeline fabrication and installation company located in Marietta, Ohio can’t find enough new welders and because of it turned away more than $20 million of business just last month, so the company—the Pioneer Group of companies, including Pioneer Pipe—has started their own program to train new welders to meet the demand. Why the sudden uptick in demand, and where is all that new business coming from they’ve had to turn away? The shale drilling industry, of course.

Once students going through the training, are certified and become union members, they’ll immediately start making $30 per hour. Not bad wages for 16 weeks of training. Pioneer is looking to hire 100 new welders.

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CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Mahoning County | Monroe County | Mountaineer Keystone | Ohio | Portage County

ODNR Issues New Permits in Mahoning, Other OH Counties
September 26, 2012September 26, 2012

The latest permits issued in Mahoning, Harrison, Portage and Monroe counties in Ohio:

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Belmont County | Harrison County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio

Muskingum Watershed Moves Forward with Water Sales to Drillers
September 25, 2012September 25, 2012

There’s been a change in position at the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD), a large watershed located in Ohio. MDN reported earlier this year that the MWCD was making moves to sell water from some of it’s vast supply to Utica Shale drillers who have a number of active drilling rigs in the area. Almost as soon as the news was announced, however, the board of the MWCD issued a press release saying they would not sell any more water (other than a deal already done) until a comprehensive study was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey “later this year” on how such water sales might impact the watershed (see this MDN story for background).

The MWCD has reversed its decision (again). The USGS survey is not yet done, but the MWCD is now going to sell water to drillers—but only for a limited time. Here’s the details:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Michigan | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide MI | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

NRDC Launches Lawyers to Oppose Fracking in 5 States
September 25, 2012September 25, 2012

You have to say one thing about the increasingly shrill Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)—they don’t let an issue they can demagogue for money go to waste. For the NRDC, there’s money to be made in opposing fracking. Warning to the drilling industry: The NRDC is well-funded and is gunning for you. Their latest offensive? They’ve created something called the Community Fracking Defense Project whereby they’ll launch lawyers out into any township across New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and North Carolina to assist that town in opposing fracking. (Sorry West Virginia, you aren’t important enough for the NRDC to spend time and money on.)

The fight over fracking is about to go very local, and get very nasty, with the NRDC pumping millions into the effort to make mischief.

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Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Columbiana Port Authority Votes to Lease Land to Chesapeake
September 25, 2012September 25, 2012

The Columbiana County Port Authority (Ohio) voted last night to lease some Port Authority land to Chesapeake for shale gas drilling. Here’s the terms of the deal:

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