Ohio 236 - Marcellus Drilling News

Correction: Exxon Buys 25K Acres of Utica Shale Leases in OH

January 11, 2012January 11, 2012

Two days ago MDN reported, based on copies of paperwork filed with Monroe County, Ohio, that Exxon Mobil via its subsidiary XTO Energy had acquired 13,200 acres of Utica Shale gas leases from Beck Energy (see this MDN story). It turns out there’s more to the story.

MDN received a copy of an additional purchase agreement between Beck and Exxon for another 7,627 acres, for a total deal between the two companies of 20,827 acres of leases in Monroe County. The new/second agreement appears to be property held by Beck with delayed rental payments—that is, property where there is currently no active drilling.

Exxon Buys 13,200 Acres of Utica Shale Leases in Ohio

January 9, 2012January 9, 2012

Exxon Mobil, through it’s subsidiary XTO Energy, recently acquired just over 13,200 acres of Utica Shale leases from Beck Energy Corp. in Monroe County, Ohio. A copy of the Bill of Sale, dated Dec. 20, 2011, is embedded below, containing a list of all the parcels in the transaction. Terms of the purchase are not disclosed in the document. Neither Exxon Mobil nor Beck Energy have disclosed the price and terms of the deal.

Youngstown Earthquake Update

January 3, 2012January 3, 2012

John Armbruster, a seismologist from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, NY is one of the researchers investigating a string of 11 earthquakes near Youngstown, OH, the most recent of which occurred on New Year’s Eve in the afternoon. Armbruster says a local injection well, which injects wastewater from shale gas drilling under high pressure deep into the ground, is “almost certainly” the cause of the earthquakes.

As MDN pointed out yesterday, injection wells are not fracked gas wells (see this MDN story). But some politicians keep trying to tie the two together. A spokesman for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Rob Nichols, does a great job in pointing out the difference:

Ohio Offers Shell Cracker Plant $1.4B in Tax Incentives

January 2, 2012January 2, 2012

moving mountains Competition to attract an ethane cracker plant is heating up. West Virginia has made no bones that they intend to be the winners of the investment that will be made to build an ethane cracker plant to be built by Shell. The plant will cost upward of $2 billion and will create thousands of jobs to build the plant, operate the plant, and just as importantly, in the industries that will locate near the plant once it’s operational. It’s an economic jackpot worth $5 billion or more, and those who are in the game to attract it are in it to win.

Youngstown Earthquake and Fracking: Is There a Connection?

January 2, 2012January 2, 2012

A 4.0 earthquake in the Youngstown, OH area on Saturday afternoon is thought to be connected to a local injection well. MDN has chronicled previous episodes of earthquakes thought to be connected with injection wells in Arkansas and Texas. Saturday’s earthquake was the 11th in the Youngstown area in recent months, and by far the strongest. The theory is that fluid, which is pumped nearly two miles underground under very high pressure, had migrated to a nearby fault and is causing the fault to shift.

Until it can be determined what, exactly, is happening, all further injection of fluid into the well has been stopped. In fact, fluid injection had stopped a day earlier, on Friday, before Saturday’s quake. But pressure in the well would remain high for a period of time, likely leading to the 4.0 quake.

Chesapeake Investing in New 70-Mile Ohio Pipeline

December 23, 2011December 23, 2011

Chesapeake Energy, American Electric Power and Spectra Energy are joining forces to build 70 miles of new pipeline in Ohio that will connect Utica and Marcellus gas wells in eastern Ohio to Spectra’s Texas Eastern pipeline system, which runs from Texas to New York. The new joint project is called the Ohio Pipeline Energy Network (OPEN). The estimated cost for the project is $500 million according to Spectra Energy.

Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

New Ohio Oil & Gas Drilling Rules Coming January 2012

December 21, 2011December 21, 2011

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is finalizing new state oversight rules on well construction for oil and natural gas that it says will be among the toughest in the U.S. (a copy of the proposed new rules is embedded below). According to ODNR officials, the new rules do not specifically address hydraulic fracturing, although the new rules will apply to horizontally drilled and fracked wells as well as conventional vertical wells. New fracking rules, according to the ODNR, “will be addressed later.”

More Marcellus & Utica Shale Jobs Coming to Youngstown, OH

December 21, 2011December 21, 2011

The good economic news keeps coming in for the Marcellus and Utica Shales. If approvals come (as expected) from the city of Youngstown, Ohio, Exterran Energy Solutions will build a new $13 million manufacturing facility in the city in 2012. Exterran manufactures parts used in compressors and compressor stations used in the production and transportation of natural gas from shale drilling. The new plant could provide as many as 200 new jobs in the next several years.

OH Gov Kasich’s Top Priority for 2012: Shale Gas

December 20, 2011December 20, 2011

In a year-end “media gathering” with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the governor recounted his administration’s accomplishments for his first 12 months in office, and then he turned his sights on 2012. At the top of his agenda for next year? Drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shales.

Chesapeake Real Estate Purchases in Ohio Signal Expansion

December 20, 2011December 20, 2011

Chesapeake Energy has just paid $630,000 for two pieces of real estate in Belmont County, Ohio—ground zero for Utica Shale drilling in eastern Ohio. Chesapeake will not officially comment on the purchases, but there’s little doubt they will build a new satellite office at one location for their Ohio drilling operations, and perhaps use the other parcel (land and warehouse) for storage and operations. It shows the serious commitment Chesapeake is making in Ohio and signals their further expansion in the area.

Halliburton Buys Land in OH for Utica Shale Operations Center

December 20, 2011December 20, 2011

Halliburton has just purchased 178 acres in the EastPointe Business Park in Washington Township near Zanesville, Ohio. The company plans to build an operations center at the location servicing companies drilling in the Utica Shale. The new operations center is expected to create 300 jobs within the next three years.

Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Shale Drilling Permits See Dramatic Increase in 2011

December 13, 2011December 13, 2011

The number of shale gas drilling permits in Ohio has rocketed from virtually none in 2009 and 2010, to 141 in 2011—the vast majority of that in the Utica Shale.

Belmont County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Utica Shale

OH Landowner Group Seeks Driller for 45K Utica Shale Acres

November 28, 2011November 28, 2011

The Smith-Goshen Landowners Group in Belmont County, OH currently has 600 members and 45,000 acres of Utica Shale land available for lease. But they’re taking it slow and looking for a lease that will guarantee the safety of their farms and water supplies, according to Larry Cain, chairman of the group. They’re also looking for an even better deal than other landowners in Belmont County recently got from XTO Energy (a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil).

Work on New Ethane Pipeline to Gulf Coast Now Underway in OH

November 28, 2011November 28, 2011

Survey work in central Ohio has already begun on a new ethane pipeline to be built by Enterprise Products Partners. The pipeline, which was recently announced (see this MDN story), will reach from the Marcellus and Utica Shale region in Washington County, PA all the way to Cape Girardeau, MO where it will connect with an existing pipeline to the Gulf Coast. Surveyors for the new pipeline have already turned up in Fairfield County, OH.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Medina County | Ohio | Regulation

Eastern OH Town Bans Fracking on Town-Owned Property

November 23, 2011November 23, 2011

On Monday, Hinckley, Ohio trustees voted to ban the use of hydraulic fracturing on township-owned property.

Belmont County | Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Ohio | XTO

Exxon Pays for After Hours Access to OH Property Records

November 21, 2011November 21, 2011

Interest from drilling companies in Eastern Ohio continues to be red hot with respect to the Marcellus and Utica Shales, as proven by how local county offices are overrun with researchers wanting access to property deed records. One such place is the Belmont County Recorder’s office in Belmont, Ohio. One company, Permian Oil (acting as an agent for XTO Energy, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil) has gone so far as to pay for after hours access.