The Long Ridge Energy Terminal, host to a Utica shale gas-fired power plant that went online in November 2021, scheduled brief downtime for routine maintenance during the fourth quarter of 2022. But when the techs started to analyze the equipment, they discovered a problem, turning a couple of weeks of downtime into more than a month.
Read More “Utica Gas Power Plant on Ohio River Returns to Service After Outage”
The Marcellus/Utica region is becoming a booming real estate market and manufacturing destination in the U.S., with manufacturing investment currently estimated at over $100 billion, according to Bryce Custer from NAI Spring Commercial Realty. What’s drawing manufacturers to the M-U region? Geopolitical instability, supply chain disruption, the reshoring trend, and abundant raw materials, including cheap (and clean) M-U natural gas.
Read More “M-U Real Estate Market Booming – Manufacturers Invest $100+ Billion”
New shale permits issued for Jan. 9-15 in the Marcellus/Utica included 18 new permits in Pennsylvania, 5 new permits in Ohio, and 2 new permits in West Virginia. The top recipient of permits for last week was PennEnergy Resources, grabbing 6 permits to drill on a single pad in Butler County, PA. Right behind PennEnergy was Southwestern Energy with 5 permits total spread across all three states–3 in PA, and 1 each in OH and WV.
Read More “25 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 9-15”
Chip manufacturing giant Intel has committed to building two semiconductor factories in New Albany, Ohio, making a huge investment of over $20 billion. It is the largest economic development project in Ohio’s history. Amazing! The two plants will need natural gas, lots of it. So local utility company Columbia Gas of Ohio has proposed building a new 4.2-mile, 12-inch pipeline to the facility. The pipeline will be constructed within public road rights-of-way within Delaware County, Licking County, and Franklin County, as well as in the City of New Albany. Columbia is requesting expedited state approval (and is likely to get it).
Read More “Columbia Gas Asks Ohio for Expedited Approval of 4-Mile Pipeline”
Listen up, high school seniors (and their parents). Paying for college is a challenge–this you will learn soon enough. As your guidance counselor has no doubt told you, there are scholarships to be had. Every $500 or $1,000 you can shave off your college bill helps! String enough such scholarships together, and you can make a real dent in the cost of college. We have a scholarship opportunity for those who plan to pursue a career in the oil and gas industry living in Ohio. The Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) is accepting applications for its 2023 scholarship program. You have until March 1st to apply. Don’t wait!
Read More “OOGEEP Accepting Applications for 2023 Scholarship Program – $1K Ea”
PJM is the largest electric grid operator in the U.S. It serves 65 million people in 13 states plus the District of Columbia (including PA, OH, and WV). PJM is coming under criticism for an almost-blackout during the recent Christmas cold snap. If not for certain gas-fired peaker plants, like that in the Little Town of Bethlehem, the lights would have gone out during a brutal cold snap (see Bethlehem Marcellus-Fired Power Plant Kept PA Lights on During Xmas). Some 23% of the electricity supplied to PJM was not available during the cold snap due to equipment failures and lack of supply (including natural gas frozen off at well pads). So PJM is “investigating” and threatening to assess up to $2 billion in fines on power producers who failed to supply electricity according to their contracts.
Read More “PJM Threatens Gas-Fired Power Plants with $2B in Fines re Cold Snap”
Amanda Finn is Director of External Affairs at Ascent Resources, Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. Finn was just elected the 38th Chair of the Board for the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA). She is blazing a trail. In all of OOGA’s 75-year history, Finn is (1) the youngest individual to serve as Chair, (2) the first female to serve in that role, and (3) the first person representing a shale operator to serve in that role. That’s quite a list! Very impressive.
Read More “Amanda Finn Elected Chairperson of Ohio Oil & Gas Association”
New shale permits issued for Jan. 2-8 in the Marcellus/Utica included 14 new permits in Pennsylvania, 8 new permits in Ohio, and just 1 new permit in West Virginia. The top recipient of permits for last week was Apex Energy, grabbing 6 permits to drill on a single pad in Westmoreland County, PA. Right behind Apex was Coterra Energy with 5 permits to drill on a single pad in Susquehanna County, PA. Opposite sides of the state.
Read More “23 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 2-8”
Yesterday we told you that the Pennsylvania-blessed effort by Shell and Equinor to build (at taxpayers’ expense) a so-called hydrogen hub in PA has received the Dept. of Energy’s blessing (“encouragement”) to submit a full application (see PA-Backed Blue Hydrogen Hub Effort Passes First Hurdle with DOE). We were kind of nervous that we had not heard whether or not another project, led by West Virginia but endorsed by Ohio, Kentucky, and over 200 organizations, had also received DOE’s blessing to submit a full application. Whew. They did.
Read More “WV-Led Hydrogen Hub Proposal Green-Lighted for Next Round”
In 2015, MDN told you about five injection wells in Trumbull County, OH, that had been shut down by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) following a finding that some of the frack wastewater intended for the wells had been found in a local wetland and nearby pond (see ODNR Shuts Down 5 Injection Wells in Vienna, OH After Spill). As it turned out, the injection wells themselves were not to blame, but a salvage yard located at the same facility was the source (see Trumbull Injection Wells NOT the Source of Wetland Contamination). Fast forward seven years, and it appears the wells (or well, not sure if it’s just one well or multiple wells) are now operating again. Finally.
Read More “Trumbull County Injection Wells Resume Operation After 2015 Shutdown”
We love this story because it’s driving the left NUTS! In December, we told you about Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 (subsequently passed), a bill that expands drilling in Ohio state parks AND officially designates natural gas as a “green” form of energy (see Ohio Senate Bill Would Expand Shale Drilling on State-Owned Land). Last week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a so-so (RINO) Republican, actually signed HB 507 into law. Which is sending the enviro-nuts into orbit. Love it!
Read More “OH Gov. Signs Bill Expanding Drilling in State Parks, NatGas “Green””
We’re catching up the permit report for the past two weeks (since we were off all of last week). Permits issued for Dec. 19 through Jan. 1 in the Marcellus/Utica included 19 new permits in Pennsylvania, 7 new permits in Ohio, and 12 new permits in West Virginia.
Read More “38 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 19-Jan 1”
It’s rare these days to come across information about the terms of a lease deal. Back in the day, when leasing was still going strong and there were a number of landowner coalitions, we would learn of lease terms and share them here on MDN. When we hear of lease terms nowadays, it’s almost always a deal between a municipality or governmental entity and a driller, forcing the information to be made public. We have one such deal to share today. Earlier this week, the East Guernsey Local School District Board of Education (in Lore City, Guernsey County, Ohio) voted to approve an oil/gas lease with Encino Energy.
Read More “Ohio School District Signs Lease w/Encino, $4K/Acre +18% Royalty”
Last week (Dec. 12-18), the number of permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica bumped up nicely to 32, up from the prior week’s 20. Both Pennsylvania and Ohio issued 16 new shale permits each. West Virginia got skunked and issued none.
Read More “32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 12-18”
JobsOhio, a private nonprofit largely funded by liquor sales that the state allows the nonprofit to collect (in essence, it collects sales tax on liquor sales), pays Cleveland State University to research and issue a report every six months on Utica Shale investment. The latest semi-annual report (full copy below) covers shale investment in the Ohio Utica from July 2021 through December 2021. Here’s an astonishing statistic: With this latest report, total Utica Shale investment in the state of Ohio since 2011 is nearly $100 billion!
Read More “Shale O&G has Invested Nearly $100 Billion in Ohio Since 2011”
Last week (Dec. 5-11), the number of permits issued to drill new shale wells in the Marcellus/Utica dropped by one to 20 from the prior week’s 21. Pennsylvania came back to life with 14 new permits. Ohio and West Virginia both issued just three new shale permits.
Read More “20 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 5-11”