Ohio 239 - Marcellus Drilling News

Baker Hughes to Build $64M Facility in Ohio; Create 700 Jobs

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012

Baker Hughes is planning to build a $64 million facility in Massillon (Stark County), Ohio. The announcement comes just a month after Baker Hughes announced they are building a new $40 million facility in Harrison County, West Virginia (see this MDN story). The company plans to employ 700 people at the Massillon facility when it’s done (in three years), at an average hourly wage of $31.25. The economic impact in eastern Ohio will be profound.

Ohio Landowners Sue to Break Utica Lease Contract

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012

A group of landowners in Columbiana County, Ohio have filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve lease agreements they say were improperly transferred from Anschutz Exploration to Chesapeake.

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Mahoning County | Ohio

Youngstown, OH Scores Another 100 Jobs from Gas Drilling

February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

More jobs coming courtesy of shale gas drilling—this time in Youngstown, Ohio. Exterran Energy Solutions has just announced plans to build a new $13 million facility that when done, will provide 100+ new jobs earning an average $23 per hour.

Congressional Hearing: Shale Energy a “Game Changer” for Small Biz

February 28, 2012February 28, 2012

Dennis Heller is a small business owner—president and CEO of Stephenson Equipment in Harrisburg, PA. Stephenson Equipment employs 120 people selling and renting construction equipment and crane services, parts, and operator training at seven locations in Pennsylvania and New York. Heller recently testified at a U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Energy & Mineral Resources Subcommittee field hearing in Steubenville, Ohio, on the impact of shale energy development and what it means for small businesses (a copy of his testimony is embedded below).

ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Hits Potential Snag in Ohio

February 27, 2012February 27, 2012

Enterprise Products Partners recently announced a 1,230 mile ethane pipeline from Pennsylvania to the Gulf Coast (see this MDN story). Dubbed the ATEX Express (Appalachia to Texas), the proposed pipeline includes building 353 miles of new pipeline through Ohio. But the Ohio stretch of construction has hit a potential snag.

Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) officials say Enterprise must get their approval before building it, but Enterprise disputes the OPSB has the authority to oversee construction the ATEX Express in the state. The dispute hinges on whether the natural gas liquid ethane that will flow through the pipeline is a liquid or a gas. Ethane under pressure is a liquid, but when it hits the air, it turns into a gas.

Energy Companies | Hess | Jefferson County (OH) | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Hess to Lease OH City Landfill for Drilling – $5,400/Acre

February 23, 2012February 22, 2012

Steubenville, Ohio is about to close a lease deal on a former city landfill. Hess has agreed to pay $5,400 per acre for a signing bonus on the 110 acre site, and 19 percent royalties.

Steubenville Selling 700K Gallons of Water/Day to Chesapeake

February 23, 2012February 22, 2012

The city of Steubenville in Jefferson County, Ohio has struck a deal to sell Chesapeake Energy treated wastewater, untreated river water and potable water—700,000 gallons of it a day for five years.

Carroll County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Utica Shale

Carroll County – The Center of Ohio’s Utica Shale Boom

February 20, 2012February 20, 2012

Carroll County, OH is at the center of Ohio’s Utica Shale drilling boom. There have been 127 drilling permits issued in Ohio to tap both oil and gas in the Utica and Marcellus Shales. One-third of those permits are for sites in Carroll County.

Kinder Morgan Officially Cancels OH NGL Pipeline Project

February 20, 2012February 20, 2012

MDN speculated a few weeks ago that a proposed 240-mile pipeline Kinder Morgan planned to build from West Virginia to Toledo, OH was dead (see this MDN story). Kinder Morgan has now officially said just that:

Triad Hunter Buys Leases for 15.5K Acres in OH Utica Shale

February 17, 2012February 17, 2012

Magnum Hunter’s subsidiary company, Triad Hunter, has just closed on a lease deal to take possession of 15,558 gross (12,186 net) acres in Ohio’s Utica Shale. The deal is for $2,037 per acre, or $24.8 million total. The seller has not been identified and according to the press release the seller may have more acreage to sell to Triad Hunter if they can clear up problems with title to some of the additional property.

Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Wastewater

New Frack Wastewater Recycling Plant Coming to Eastern OH

February 17, 2012February 17, 2012

Officials in Mahoning County, Ohio are negotiating with an unnamed company to build a frack water recycling facility in the county. The new facility will treat wastewater, recycling it to be reused in fracking operations. As a bonus, the sewage treatment plant in Mahoning will sell treated water to the new plant, a new revenue stream for the county.

OH Drilling Rigs Expected to Increase 300% in Next 5 Years

February 16, 2012February 16, 2012

The executive director of the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Association, Rhonda Reda, predicts that oil and gas drilling rigs will increase 300% in the next five years, and those rigs will create new jobs to operate them:

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Chesapeake Selling Assets to Concentrate on OH/Wet Gas

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

for sale Under pressure from low commodity prices for natural gas causing a cash deficit for drilling, Chesapeake Energy is looking to sell off some of its oil and gas fields in Texas, Mexico and Oklahoma so it can continue to concentrate on drilling in eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale and other “wet gas” areas of the country.

Antero Pays Record Rates in Eastern Ohio Utica Lease Deal

February 13, 2012February 13, 2012

prices going higher The Utica Landowner Group of eastern Ohio has just cut a deal with Antero Resources for what is believed to be the highest amount paid yet for a lease deal: $5,900 per acre for a signing bonus, and 21 percent royalties. The deal covers land in Belmont, Monroe and Noble counties in Ohio.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Attorney General Wants Drillers Who Pollute to Pay More

February 9, 2012February 9, 2012

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (Republican) said yesterday he wants tougher penalties for Utica and Marcellus Shale drillers who “pollute.”

Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Gov. Kasich Heckled by Anti-Drillers During Speech

February 8, 2012February 8, 2012

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican in his first term in office, delivered the annual State of the State address yesterday. He chose to do it from the auditorium of a high-performing elementary school in Steubenville. During the 90-minute speech he was briefly interrupted by several hecklers until state troopers removed them from the room. Who were the bad actors? You guessed it—anti-drillers.