It’s been some time since we’ve checked in on EnerVest, a private equity firm that owns a lot of acreage and wells (most of them conventional) in the Marcellus/Utica region. We spotted an update on the company’s holdings given by Steve Downey, EnerVest’s vice president of business development. Steve also happens to be president of the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA).
Read More “EnerVest Still Owns 7K Wells, 1.1 Million Acres in Ohio”
LS Power, which owns a number of competitive power generation projects including the 700 megawatt dual-fuel simple cycle Troy Generating Facility located in Luckey, OH, is threatening to pull a $500 million plan to expand the Troy facility if Ohio proceeds to pass a new law subsidizing the state’s two nuclear plants. The subsidies would create an uneven playing field for natural gas-fired electric plants like the Troy facility.
Read More “LS Power Threatens to Pull $500M OH Project if Nukes Get Subsidies”
Even though both the Rover Pipeline, built by Energy Transfer Partners, and NEXUS Pipeline, built by DTE Energy and Enbridge, have been in service for months (or years), lawsuits against the two projects continue to this day. Some of the lawsuits we understand–cases of landowner property being damaged by construction activities. Some of the lawsuits are politically motivated and funded by Big Green “environmental” groups. Ohio itself is in there too, with its own lawsuit. Ohio EPA’s Craig Bulter is still hunting his great white whale.
Read More “Ohio Lawsuits Continue re Long-Completed Rover & NEXUS Pipelines”
Several weeks ago MDN editor Jim Willis attended the 2019 Northeast Petrochemical Conference and Expo in Pittsburgh. A major reason for attending such events is to connect with others in the industry. On this trip, Jim had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Bryce Custer, business director for global commercial real estate company NAI’s Ohio River Corridor division. Bryce’s job is to find real estate for companies in places where maybe real estate isn’t (yet) for sale. Companies like manufacturers who want to locate near the Shell and (soon, hopefully) PTT ethane cracker facilities–looking to locate in the Ohio River Valley. Bryce helps them find suitable locations. Bryce recently spoke to the Steubenville Revitalization Group and had an interesting observation about Steubenville’s geography.
Read More “Steubenville, OH in the Catbird Seat – Between Two Crackers”
We’ve found one more bit of evidence that Ohio officials believe, rather strongly, that PTT Global Chemical will move forward with building a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker in Belmont County. JobsOhio, a private non-profit with a board appointed by the Ohio governor, gets most of its operating revenue from taxes on liquor sales in Ohio. JobsOhio previously spent $17 million in 2016 to clean up the site where PTT says they may/maybe/might build a cracker plant (see JobsOhio Picks Up the $17M Cost for Prepping OH Cracker Site). JobsOhio has just committed another $30 million for “site preparation work” for the cracker. One news source reports this is “the largest grant ever awarded in the Buckeye State” (by JobsOhio).
Read More “Ohio Pays Another $30M to Kickstart PTT Belmont Cracker Project”
Yesterday the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the court that handles challenges to regulatory agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), refused to toss out a case filed by the City of Oberlin, OH and a regional anti group (with the backing of Big Green lawyer$). The lawsuit challenges FERC’s approval of the NEXUS Pipeline project. Even though NEXUS is built and flowing, and even though Oberlin settled with NEXUS, meaning there is no longer a reason to sue, that doesn’t matter to antis. There’s a larger issue at play, and the D.C. Circuit played right into the hands of Big Green manipulators.
Read More “DC Court Allows NEXUS Case (to Emasculate FERC) to Proceed”
Nearly a month ago MDN told you the Long Ridge Energy Terminal in Monroe County, OH (transloading facility) has begun to build a 485-megawatt Utica gas-fired electric plant (see Work Begins on Gas-Fired Elec Plant in Monroe County, OH). The new Utica-fired plant will be up and running in “late 2021.” We now know at least one customer for that electricity: DP Facilities Inc.
Read More “Long Ridge Scores New OH Data Center for Utica-Fired Elec Plant”
We caught some news of interest coming from last week’s Hart Energy DUG East Conference about Equinor, formerly known as Statoil. According to reporters at the event, Nicole Baird, an asset manager with Equinor, said the company has increased its Utica production five-fold from 2016 to 2018 and now produces in the range of 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of Utica shale gas.
Read More “Equinor (Statoil) Drilling Long Utica Laterals, Production Up 5X”
A group of antis at the University of Toledo thought they’d slip in a new “study” that attempts to tie the proximity of Utica Shale wells to radon. It’s a total sham. From the authors of the study: “The data in the study are from self-reported devices and not distributed equally throughout Ohio.” So first, they base their “study” on self-reported numbers without a even a random scientific sampling. Second, the “study” reports that Athens County, OH has the most Utica fracked wells–108 of them to be precise. One little problem: There are ZERO shale wells in Athens County. Translation: This is junk science. Or more properly, political science.
Read More “UToledo Utica Fracking Study Shining Example of Junk Science”
Last Thursday and Friday, MDN attended the Northeast Petrochemical Conference & Exhibition in Pittsburgh. There were a number of interesting stories coming from the event that we will chronicle this week. However, there was one bit of breaking news from the event: Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals Senior Project Manager of Pennsylvania Chemicals, Paul Marsden, made official what we previously shared as a rumor–that Bechtel has been selected as the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor to build the PTT cracker plant complex, when and if a positive final investment decision is made. According to a number of sources, that decision will get made this year.
Read More “Ohio Says PTT Cracker Will Get Built – Bechtel Confirms EPC Contract”
The legal beagles at Vorys represented Antero Resources in a recently-decided case with far-reaching implications for Ohio drillers and landowners. The Vorys team won the case. As with most lawsuits, this one is complicated and gets in the weeds. The short short version is that under an original lease signed years ago, a landowner and drilling company (at that time) removed a section of the lease that allows the landowner’s property to be pooled (called “unitized” in Ohio) with other properties.
Read More “Ohio Appeals Court Upholds Antero’s Right to Use Forced Pooling”
The hits keep coming from OOGEEP, the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program. In May we brought you OOGEEP’s top notch new resource to help workers discover new careers in the oil and gas industry (see 75+ Gas and Oil Related Careers in the Marcellus/Utica). Now comes word that OOGEEP has just parceled out 65 scholarships ($1,000 minimum award) to students pursuing careers in the oil and gas industry.
Read More “OOGEEP Hands Out Another 65 Oil & Gas Scholarships”
President Trump is pushing members of his administration to work with state regulators in Appalachia–Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania–to “build the country’s first natural gas and petrochemical hub” outside of the Gulf Coast. According to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, such a plan is in the the country’s national security interests. Members of the Trump team are also having discussions with leftists like NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to try and convince him to allow pipelines into and through the state. If states like NY won’t allow it, Perry holds out the hope/threat that the feds will invoke the Constitution’s interstate commerce clause to make them.
Read More “Pres. Trump Targets Marcellus/Utica to Bulk Up PetChem Industry”
In February MDN brought you the news that construction had begun on a relatively small pipeline project, the Risberg Line, a 60-mile pipeline with half of that an existing in-the-ground pipeline that runs from Crawford County, PA to Erie County, PA, and from there across the border into Ashtabula County, OH (see Construction Begins on “Massive” PA to OH Risberg Pipeline). Good news: Construction has just begun on the Ohio side of the border.
Read More “Ohio Portion of Risberg Pipeline Construction Begins”
The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) issued first quarter 2019 numbers for Utica shale oil and gas production last Friday. Both natural gas and oil production increased over last year’s 1Q. Natgas production was up 14.5% over the same period last year, to 609.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf). However, 1Q19 production is down from Ohio’s all-time high of 663.5 Bcf in 4Q18. Oil production was 5.1 million barrels, up 29% over last year’s 1Q, but down from 4Q18’s 5.8 million barrels. So, 1Q19 numbers are up from last year’s 1Q, but down from the previous quarter (4Q18). A mixed bag.
Read More “Ohio Utica O&G Production in 1Q19 a Mixed Bag – Top 25 Wells”
In March MDN brought readers a pair of posts about a new bill in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, HB 247, which would allow fully leased parcels that are part of one drilling “unit” to be combined with parcels in a different unit–“cross-unit drilling” if you will (see PA Floats Bill to Allow Shale Drilling to Span Multiple Units and Revisiting PA Bill to Allow Shale Drilling Across Multiple Units). The National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) at a recent meeting in WV warned landowners about HB 247 and its potential to come to both WV and OH if it passes in PA.
Read More “NARO Warns WV & OH About PA Cross-Unit Drilling Bill”