Statewide OH

Economic Impact | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Kinder Morgan | NGLs | Ohio | Pipelines | Research | Statewide OH

Kent State Study: UTOPIA Pipeline to Yield $237M for Ohio Economy
August 26, 2016August 26, 2016

Click for larger version

As MDN reported yesterday, Kent State University researchers have just issued a report evaluating the economic impact of the proposed Kinder Morgan UTOPIA (Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access) project on the State of Ohio. UTOPIA is a 12-inch ethane pipeline that will run 240 miles across Ohio, connecting with another pipeline that will shuttle Utica/Marcellus ethane all the way to a cracker plant in Sarnia, Ontario. The Kent State study estimates this tiny pipeline project will contribute a whopping $237.3 million to Ohio’s economy, creating 2,132 direct and indirect jobs in Ohio and generating $4.9 million in yearly tax revenues. Below is a press announcement from Kent State with a good overview of the study, followed by a full copy of the study, which is titled: “Economic Impact of Kinder Morgan Utopia Pipeline Project”…
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Economic Impact | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Kinder Morgan | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Half of UTOPIA Pipeline Jobs in OH May Go to “Foreigners”
August 25, 2016August 25, 2016

UTOPIA Pipeline map – click for larger version

Now that Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s grandiose delusion of becoming the next president of the U.S. has been shattered and he’s had time to lick his wounds, it’s time to drag old “foreigner hunter” out for a new round of tracking down out-of-state workers. We have a mission for him: UTOPIA. As in Kinder Morgan’s UTOPIA ethane pipeline, planned to run 240 miles across Ohio. As pipelines go, it’s pretty small at only 12 inches in diameter. But ethane (a natural gas liquid) doesn’t need a huge pipeline to cart it across the Buckeye State. UTOPIA (named for Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access) will cross the state and connect to another pipeline that will carry Utica/Marcellus ethane to Michigan and on from there to Canada to feed the NOVA ethane cracker in Sarnia (see UTOPIA is Coming! The UTOPIA Pipeline, that is…). Kinder has just released a new study conducted by Kent State University researchers that outlines the huge economic benefits for Ohio in building UTOPIA. One of the interesting factoids: The pipeline will create over 2,000 temporary jobs–900 of them in construction. The report estimates that half of those construction jobs will go to out-of-state workers. Since Gov. Kasich is a jingoist with a problem employing out-of-state workers from exotic places like Texas and Louisiana (he calls them “foreigners,” see OH Gov. Kasich Continues Trash Talk Out-of-State Workers), we expect he’ll be prowling around to see if he can “fix” the situation…
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Education | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Stark County | Statewide OH

Stark State College Receives $506K To Expand ShaleNET Training
August 19, 2016August 19, 2016

Stark State College, located in North Canton, OH, has just been awarded a half million dollar grant from OH Gov. John Kasich’s Education Innovation program to provide ShaleNET education and training to students at Stark State’s sister schools, Eastern Gateway Community College in Steubenville, OH and Hocking College in Nelsonville, OH. MDN first reported on Stark’s new Well Site Training Center back in 2014 (see Stark State Launches Utica Well Site Training Center in Canton, OH). ShaleNET was launched in 2010 with a $5 million Community Based Job Training grant awarded to Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, PA by the US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. Since that time, the program, which provides vocational and educational training to put people in shale jobs, has grown to multiple colleges across PA and OH. The new grant from OH will allow Stark State to expand its program–and prep more workers for the blossoming Utica Shale industry in the state…
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Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Shell | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Shell Working on 94-Mile Ethane Pipeline to Feed PA Cracker
August 16, 2016August 16, 2016

All the way back in February MDN brought you exclusive news that Shell had begun approaching landowners in Beaver County to get them to sign easements for two ethane pipelines to feed the mighty cracker plant they plan to build in the county (see Exclusive: Shell Leasing Land for 2 Pipelines to PA Cracker Plant). At that time Shell had still not fully committed to building the cracker–something they finally did in June (see Breaking: Shell Pulls the Trigger, PA Ethane Cracker is a Go!). NGI’s Shale Daily has broken a story that gives us new details. Shell is working on a 94-mile ethane “pipeline system” with two “legs” to feed the cracker, confirming the tip we received in February. The new ethane pipeline system has a name: the Falcon Ethane Pipeline System. Here’s brief details about the new ethane pipeline system…
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Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Who Will Soon Drill & Where in E OH & SW PA
August 15, 2016August 15, 2016

While the number of permits issued to drill new wells in Ohio and Pennsylvania was down in July 2016 compared with July 2015, permit activity has picked up from earlier in the year. Finally. The question is, where are the new permits being issued? You have to have a permit before you have drilling. Permits are the best indicator of where drilling (and economic) activity is about to pick up. Below is a rundown of which counties are likely to soon see drilling–and which drillers will be doing the drilling…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Spectra Energy | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

FERC Approves 3 Spectra Energy Pipe Projects in Marcellus/Utica
August 12, 2016August 12, 2016

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a favorable environmental assessment (EA) for three Spectra Energy projects: Access South, Adair Southwest and Lebanon Express. The three are part of an expansion of the Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) pipeline. The combined projects will transport an additional 662,000 dekatherms per day (or 662 million cubic feet) of Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from Pennsylvania to Ohio, Kentucky and Mississippi. This is great news indeed!…
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Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Experts Say New Marcellus/Utica Drilling “Imminent”
August 12, 2016August 12, 2016

We’d never heard this before, but apparently the Marcellus/Utica has been known for some time as the “Beast of the East.” Fitting! However, our region has gone from “Beast of the East” to “Beast on a Leash.” Very true. Low prices have suppressed new drilling projects. But according to experts on a recent webinar held by S&P Global Platts, new Marcellus/Utica drilling “is imminent.” Now that’s REALLY good news! Here’s some other things said on the webinar…
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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

OH Gov Kasich Issues Edict to Drillers on Emergency Notifications
August 11, 2016August 11, 2016

Ohio Gov. John “foreigner hunter” Kasich is finally getting back to work after it has sunk in he’s not going to be the Republican Party’s nominee for president. One of the first things up on the agenda for Kasich: Issue executive orders. On August 9th Kasich issued Executive Order (i.e. Edict) 2016-04K which forces companies in the oil and gas industry to immediately report o&g emergencies to the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management. The ODNR will then figure out who else needs to get notified and who should respond. Kasich’s Edict will expire in four months and is a band aid solution until the ODNR can adopt a formal, final rule…
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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Comprehensive List of Laws Coming at Marcellus/Utica in PA-OH-WV
August 2, 2016August 2, 2016

The legal beagles at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright have done us all a huge favor. Researchers have just issued a quarterly legislative action update for the second quarter of 2016 looking at previously laws acted upon, and new laws introduced, affecting the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. The “Quarterly legislative action update: Marcellus and Utica shale region” (full copy below) begins with a quick listing by state for existing or new laws introduced, with descriptions for each bill/law. This is, in one place, pretty much everything you need to know about what new laws (i.e. regulations) are coming down the pike that will affect the Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling industry…
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Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

NGL Exports Driving Pipeline Projects in OH & PA
August 2, 2016August 2, 2016

Mariner East 2 – click for larger version

NGLs (natural gas liquids, including ethane, propane and butane) are changing the midstream game in Ohio. We spotted a story in the Youngstown Business Journal that talks about shipping NGLs out of the Marcellus/Utica region–exporting them to other markets both domestic and international. A fascinating part of the article is an interview with Sunoco Logistics Partners about their Mariner East 1 and 2 projects and what Sunoco LP has planned…
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Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide OH

Big News: FERC Grants Final EIS for ET Rover Pipeline
August 1, 2016August 1, 2016

ET Rover Pipeline map – click for larger version

In June the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) handed Energy Transfer’s proposed Rover pipeline project, a $3.7 billion, 711-mile Marcellus/Utica natural gas pipeline that will run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and eventually into Canada, a big red light (see FERC Tells Rover, Leach XPress Pipes to Redesign Routes in SE OH). FERC told Rover and another pipeline project, Leach XPress, which will run from Marshall County, WV through Ohio to Leach, KY, that where their two projects meet something different would have to be worked out. Shortly thereafter the two projects being developed by different companies became best friends (see Rover, Leach XPress Pipelines Become BFFs to Fix FERC Objection). Apparently that fix helped clear the path and FERC, last Friday, issued a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) favorable to ET Rover. About the only left now is for a final approval to be issued by FERC for the project, which is now pretty much a foregone conclusion…
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Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Kentucky | NGLs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV, OH, PA, KY Should Cooperate on $10B NGL Storage Hub
July 22, 2016July 22, 2016

In May MDN brought you the news that a researcher at West Virginia University believes an natural gas liquids (NGL) storage hub is what the Marcellus/Utica region really needs (see WVU Researcher Says Marcellus/Utica Needs an Ethane Storage Hub). According to Brian Anderson, director of WVU’s Energy Institute, without ethane storage (and pipelines) the Marcellus/Utica region risks seeing its abundant ethane leave the area, mostly heading to the Gulf Coast. We need that ethane here, in our area. Kevin DiGregorio, executive director of the Chemical Alliance Zone, is also taking up the cause. Writing an opinion article in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, DiGregorio says West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky need to band together to build such a project. Set aside their competitive natures and cooperate? Yes. Why? Such a project will cost an estimated $10 billion–far more than a single ethane cracker project. No one state can do it on its own. It will take all our states cooperating to pull it off. Below is DiGregorio’s op-ed along with more details about the proposed NGL storage hub…
Read More “WV, OH, PA, KY Should Cooperate on $10B NGL Storage Hub”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NEXUS Pipeline | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Spectra Energy | Statewide OH

FERC’s Glowing Draft Review of NEXUS Pipeline; Antis Respond
July 13, 2016July 13, 2016

NEXUS map – click for larger version

On Monday MDN brought you the great news that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has given the $2 billion, 255-mile interstate NEXUS pipeline a glowing draft environmental impact statement (see Spectra’s NEXUS Pipeline Gets Favorable Draft EIS from FERC). NEXUS is a critically needed pipeline to move Utica and Marcellus Shale gas from an over-saturated market in the northeast to markets in the Midwest and Canada, via a pipeline that traverses the state of Ohio. We have now what we didn’t have on Monday–a copy of the FERC draft EIS (see a full copy below). You can’t read it and not see the meticulous detail and work that has gone into researching such a project. To falsely claim, as do anti-fossil fuel nutters, that FERC is simply a “rubber stamp” for Big Oil & Gas is not supported by documents like this one. Although the review is glowing, there is one teeny, tiny criticism/suggestion from FERC recommending an alternative route near Green, Ohio. The anti-drilling group CORNballs (our name for CORN, or COalition to Reroute Nexus), is glomming on to that tiny crack of the door and plans to drive a Mack truck through it…
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Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH

Co-Author of Retracted OH Air Study Admits Results were Wrong
July 13, 2016July 13, 2016

Last week MDN reported that a previously trumpeted so-called research study of air quality near fracking sites in Ohio had been retracted (see Ohio Air “Study” Near Frack Sites Retracted for Basic Math Error). At the time the study was released in 2015, one of the authors of the study implied elevated toxins in the air near fracking sites may lead to cancer. We now know it was fully loaded horse manure. The numbers used to draw conclusions were erroneous. Simple spreadsheet formulas used to calculate the numbers were wrong. The researchers should be ashamed of themselves. And now, one of the authors of that report is on the record admitting the data, when corrected, shows air quality risks near those fracking sites are “below EPA levels” for such risks. Here’s an update…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | NEXUS Pipeline | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide OH

Spectra’s NEXUS Pipeline Gets Favorable Draft EIS from FERC
July 11, 2016July 11, 2016

Nexus Pipeline Route – click for larger version

The NEXUS Pipeline is a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada (see Spectra Energy Files Formal FERC Application for NEXUS Pipeline). It is a critically needed pipeline to move Utica and Marcellus Shale gas from an over-saturated market in the northeast to markets in the Midwest and Canada. One of the first and key parts of getting a pipeline approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is to submit the project for an environmental impact statement (EIS), performed by FERC. Good news. NEXUS received word late last week that FERC has granted the project a favorable draft EIS. That means FERC is of the opinion that the project will not unduly harm the local environment where it is to get built. A favorable EIS is an indication that FERC will grant its full approval for the project (in due time)…
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Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH

Ohio Air “Study” Near Frack Sites Retracted for Basic Math Error
July 8, 2016July 8, 2016

In May 2015 MDN brought you news of a then-newly released “study” from “scientists” at Oregon State University and the University of Cincinnati that reportedly found people living near fracking sites in Ohio were being exposed to “deadly” air pollution (see Sham Air Study: “Unsafe Exposure” for Those Near OH Frack Sites). The so-called study used the dreaded “c” word–cancer–implying those who live close to fracking operations “may have” an increased chance of getting cancer. The published paper was titled “Impact of Natural Gas Extraction on PAH Levels in Ambient Air” and published in the peer reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology. At the time, left-leaning mainstream media had a hay day, trumpeting the study as yet more proof that fracking is not only evil–it kills ya. We pointed out all of the problems with this so-called scientific research: a very small number of air samples, taken from “non-random” (i.e. cherry-picked) locations, with untrained homeowner “volunteers” collecting the samples and shipping them to Oregon for study. In news that no mainstream outlets are reporting, the authors of the study have retracted it because (a) they used a wrong value for a gas constant, and (b) they screwed up an Excel spreadsheet link/formula. That threw off the entire outcome. In other words, the air near fracking sites is just fine–nothing to see here folks–just move along and ignore our previous 5-alarm study…
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