Statewide OH

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Antis Use Fake Front Group to Issue PA-OH-WV Shale “Report Card”
June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

Last December MDN ripped the mask off a group of extremely partisan, virulently anti-drilling Democrats who call themselves the innocent-sounding Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative (see The Pretenders: Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative). One of the chief ringleaders of this enviro-cabal, made up of hard-left groups including the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, and Policy Matters Ohio, is Jan Jarrett–the former president and CEO of anti group PennFuture (see Jarrett Out, Jugovic In as President & CEO of PennFuture). The entire anti community is a case study in political incest. The Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative (i.e. anti-drilling zealots) have just released a pair of “reports” (propaganda pamphlets), one of them a so-called report card on shale drilling in PA, OH and WV. The media, of course, laps it up and goes along with the lie…
Read More “Antis Use Fake Front Group to Issue PA-OH-WV Shale “Report Card””
Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | NGLs | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

Kinder Morgan Gets a 50% Partner for Utopia Ethane Pipeline in OH
June 29, 2016June 29, 2016

Utopia map – click for larger version

In December 2013 Kinder Morgan announced they plan to build a new 12-inch ethane pipeline through Ohio, dubbed “Utopia” for Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access (see UTOPIA is Coming! The UTOPIA Pipeline, that is…). Utopia will run ~215 miles and will only be built in Ohio, before it connects to another pipeline that goes to Canada, therefore the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) won’t be involved in permitting the pipeline. Utopia has been less controversial than other pipeline projects in Ohio, like NEXUS (see Why is UTOPIA Pipeline Less “Controversial” than NEXUS in Ohio?). The 50,000 barrels per day of ethane flowing through it will go to NOVA Chemical’s Corunna cracker plant in Sarnia–a plant we wrote about just yesterday (see Canadian Cracker Eyes Utica Ethane, Adding $2B Polyethylene Plant). Kinder Morgan has announced they are taking on a joint venture partner in the Utopia project. Riverstone Investment Group will become a 50% owner in the project in return for putting up 50% of the cost–or $250 million out of the $500 million it will take to build it…
Read More “Kinder Morgan Gets a 50% Partner for Utopia Ethane Pipeline in OH”
Braskem | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | PTT Global | Shell | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Event Speakers Say More Crackers on the Way in the Northeast
June 28, 2016June 28, 2016

There was lots of cracker talk at the first Northeast U.S. & Canada Petrochemical Construction Conference & Exhibition in Pittsburgh yesterday. According to NGI’s ace reporter for Shale Daily, Jamison Cocklin, excitement over the Shell cracker announcement from a few weeks ago was “palpable” at yesterday’s event. There was plenty of talk about the Shell cracker–but the talk coming from the event that interests MDN is talk about both the PTT Global Chemical cracker planned for Ohio, AND the Braskem cracker planned for West Virginia. These other two world class cracker plants (similar in size and scope to Shell’s project) “remain on track.” Now that is news!…
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Columbia Pipeline Group | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Noble County | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide OH

FERC Tells Rover, Leach XPress Pipes to Redesign Routes in SE OH
June 27, 2016June 27, 2016

Two major pipeline projects have just received a big red light from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), pending changes to their plans. Energy Transfer’s Rover pipeline, 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, along with Columbia Pipeline’s Leach XPress, running from Marshall County, WV through Ohio to Leach, KY, got word from FERC that a small section where the pipelines cross must be reworked or it’s a “no go” for both projects…
Read More “FERC Tells Rover, Leach XPress Pipes to Redesign Routes in SE OH”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH

OOGA Reviews Ohio 1Q16 Utica Production – Finds a Cloud
June 23, 2016June 22, 2016

On Monday MDN brought you the latest quarterly production numbers for the Ohio Utica Shale, direct from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (see MDN Exclusive: Analysis of Ohio’s 1Q16 Shale Production). As we pointed out, year over year (comparing first quarter to first quarter 2015 and 2016) natural gas production from shale is up 80% year over year, and oil production is up 24%. However, that’s not the entire story. The Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) has done a deep dive into the numbers and finds that 1Q16 oil production in Ohio is the first time in the modern shale era that production has gone DOWN from the previous quarter by 12.3%. Here’s OOGA’s analysis of the numbers…
Read More “OOGA Reviews Ohio 1Q16 Utica Production – Finds a Cloud”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Research | Statewide OH

MDN Exclusive: Analysis of Ohio’s 1Q16 Shale Production
June 20, 2016September 2, 2016

The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) has just issued production numbers for the first quarter of 2016. Compared with first quarter 2015, production numbers in 1Q16 continue to impress. Natural gas production from shale is up 80% year over year, and oil production is up 24% y/y. Below we have the ODNR’s high level overview of the numbers, along with MDN’s own exclusive analysis showing: the top 25 producing gas wells, the top 25 producing oil wells, and then the top 25 gas and oil wells as ranked by average production per day. There is a difference! The longer an oil or gas well is online, the less it produces. Newer wells produce more. So we show you which wells are not just producing the most quantity overall, but which wells are producing at the fastest (most productive) rates–even if they haven’t yet been online a full three months. We also include a link to the complete list of 1,351 wells included in the 1Q16 ODNR report–in a more usable format than that provided by the ODNR…
Read More “MDN Exclusive: Analysis of Ohio’s 1Q16 Shale Production”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | NEXUS Pipeline | Ohio | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Statewide OH

NEXUS Awards Contracts to Build Pipeline – Union & Non-Union Labor
June 16, 2016June 16, 2016

NEXUS map – click for larger version

Spectra Energy has awarded four contracts to three companies to build the NEXUS Pipeline–a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada. Two of the three companies will use union labor, the third will not–and that’s causing some pushback from labor groups in Ohio. A NEXUS rep said that 79% of the pipeline will be built by union labor. Labor unions would prefer that percentage be 100. Spectra/NEXUS guaranteed at least 50% of the labor would be union–so the contracts far exceed their promise. A dollar figure was not released for the work. Here’s who got the work to build NEXUS…
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Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Shell Cracker Plant Will Spur Real Estate Deals 150 Miles Away
June 10, 2016June 10, 2016

Gentlemen, start your engines! Your economic engines, that is. The news earlier this week that Shell has made the commitment to move ahead and build an ethane cracker plant in Monaca, PA has, as we knew it would, set the region buzzing (see Breaking: Shell Pulls the Trigger, PA Ethane Cracker is a Go! and Shell PA Cracker Plant Project a Lot Bigger Than First Thought). With the decision now made, those in the real estate community are salivating over how that decision will reverberate throughout the region. There is now an effort underway to lure manufacturers in Texas and along the Gulf Coast area to consider setting up in the western PA (and eastern OH and northern WV) area instead–to take advantage of being that much closer to the biggest market in the country–the East Coast. One real estate pro says commercial real estate for up to 150 miles away is likely to be impacted by the decision to build the cracker plant in Monaca…
Read More “Shell Cracker Plant Will Spur Real Estate Deals 150 Miles Away”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | NEXUS Pipeline | Ohio | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Statewide OH

CORNballs Claim Most OH Landowners Won’t Sign NEXUS Pipeline Lease
June 10, 2016June 10, 2016

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. A group of anti-fossil fuelers calling themselves the Coalition to Reroute Nexus, or CORN, is trying to stop the project (not reroute it). We affectionately call the nutters, “CORNballs” here at MDN. Earlier this year the CORNballs tried to incite trouble by telling landowners to call the police if NEXUS surveyors showed up on their doorstep to ask permission to survey (see CORNballs Tell OH Landowners to Call Police & AG to Stop Pipeline). The CORNballs are back, claiming that the vast majority of landowners along the proposed route for NEXUS have not, and will not, sign an easement to allow the pipeline…
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Ohio | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Group Promotes Mid-Ohio Valley for Petrochem: Shale Crescent USA
June 10, 2016June 10, 2016

A group of business and government leaders from Ohio and West Virginia in what is called the Mid-Ohio Valley have banded together to form an economic development group called Shale Crescent USA. The group has been some two years in the making and officially launched yesterday at a public event in Washington County, OH. The aim of the group is to attract manufacturers (particularly petrochemical manufacturers) to set up shop in the region. Leaders of the new organization point out the unique location, with the mighty Ohio River to barge materials and products in and out, and the location right on top of the most abundant supplies of cheap natural gas in the entire world. In addition to yesterday’s event, the group launched a website: ShaleCrescentUSA.com. Unfortunately, as of the time this article was posted, the site seems to be off the air (a public relations disaster the day after the big unveiling). Perhaps by the time you read this it will be working. (Working now!) We were able to locate a very slick video promo which we’ve embedded below…
Read More “Group Promotes Mid-Ohio Valley for Petrochem: Shale Crescent USA”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Marathon Petroleum | NEXUS Pipeline | Ohio | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Statewide OH

Updates on 3 Major OH Pipelines at Utica Midstream Seminar
June 9, 2016June 9, 2016

Some 160 people showed up for the Utica Midstream Seminar held yesterday at the National Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. The event, sponsored by the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and ShaleDirectories.com, provided updates on three major pipeline projects either under construction or soon to be under construction in the Buckeye State: Marathon Petroleum’s Cornerstone Pipeline, Spectra Energy’s NEXUS pipeline project, and Energy Transfer’s Rover pipeline project. Here’s what reps from each organization had to say about their respective projects…
Read More “Updates on 3 Major OH Pipelines at Utica Midstream Seminar”
Meetings | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

First Time Ever – Shale Insight Event to Involve OH & WV
June 7, 2016June 7, 2016

For the first time ever the Marcellus Shale Coalition is cooperating with two other major statewide oil and gas groups to host its signature event called Shale Insight. MDN editor Jim Willis has attended Shale Insight for the last four of its five years–and Jim has always noticed it’s a largely Pennsylvania-focused event. This year that all changes. Shale Insight 2016, to be hosted in Pittsburgh, will also be co-sponsored and co-hosted by the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) and the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association (WVONGA). This moves Shale Insight from a Marcellus-focused event to a Marcellus/Utica/Northeast-focused event. Very exciting! Here’s the good news…
Read More “First Time Ever – Shale Insight Event to Involve OH & WV”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Trucking

SemGroup Buying Units of its MLP Subsidiary Rose Rock Midstream
June 3, 2016June 3, 2016

We often debate whether or not a bit of news is actually interesting for the MDN audience. Will this bit of news help either a landowner, driller, midstreamer, supply chain company or investor if they knew about it? The following story comes down right on the line for us. We could go either way, but we elected to include it. We don’t know when, exactly, but at least two years ago SemGroup Corporation, a publicly traded (shares of stock) midstream company that moves mostly oil from the wellhead to market, started up a master limited partnership (MLP) subsidiary called Rose Rock Midstream. An MLP issues “units” instead of shares of stock. MLPs have certain tax advantages for investors. We ran a story in June 2014 about Rose Rock buying some of Chesapeake Energy’s assets, including a trucking operation that services the Utica Shale in Ohio (see Chesapeake Dumps More Assets: Crude Truck Fleet & 200 Employees). SemGroup, the parent company, has just announced they are buying out the MLP units in Rose Rock and folding it into the stock-issuing parent company. From a practical standpoint, day to day operations at Rose Rock will not change. However, if you’re an investor in Rose Rock, your units will be forcibly purchased from you and you are about to enjoy a stiff tax bill…
Read More “SemGroup Buying Units of its MLP Subsidiary Rose Rock Midstream”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

Radical Enviro Groups Demand BLM Stop Leasing in OH Wayne NF
June 2, 2016June 2, 2016

Wayne National Forest – click for larger version

Yet another mindless, useless and scientifically wrong letter has been sent to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) by a group of radical environmental organizations to ask (demand, really) that the BLM halt its plans to allow fracking to take place in the Wayne National Forest (WNF). Nowhere in the letter sent by the Sierra Clubbers, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Ohio Environmental Council and Friends of the Earth does it mention that 60% of the land in WNF is PRIVATELY OWNED. And that the BLM has, for nearly 10 years now, blocked those private rights owners from profiting from their land. Recently the BLM took another baby step on the way to allowing fracking in WNF, which is what has set off the crazies and precipitated this latest factually incorrect letter…
Read More “Radical Enviro Groups Demand BLM Stop Leasing in OH Wayne NF”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation

OH Dem House Member Proposes OH Version of PA Impact Fee
May 31, 2016May 31, 2016

OH Rep. Jack Cera

Every now and again an elected Democrat surprises us. Such is the case with Ohio State Rep. Jack Cera, Democrat from Bellaire (Belmont County), OH. In December of last year, Rep. Jack Cera was peddling the party line that Ohio needs to raise its severance tax, and we took him to task for it (see Don’t Know Jack: Politician Lobbies for High OH Severance Tax). However, Jack has seen the light. Don’t get us wrong, he’d still vote for a high severance tax in a heartbeat (zebras can’t change their stripes). But Jack has wised up, just a bit. Instead of working for a high severance tax that isn’t going to happen any time soon, Jack is now proposing to reallocate the existing severance tax under a different formula. In House Bill 540 (full copy below), Jack wants to funnel more money to those communities–in his district, of course–that are actually affected by shale drilling. Makes sense that communities with trucks lumbering over their roads, and more emergency services being used, and more strain on the local county clerk’s office, should see more of the tax revenue come to them to offset those impacts. In other words, Jack is proposing a system pretty much like what former PA Gov. Tom Corbett (a Republican) set in place in the Keystone State: an impact fee. See–Democrats can learn!…
Read More “OH Dem House Member Proposes OH Version of PA Impact Fee”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

OH Fractivists Want BLM to Extend Comment Period for Wayne NF
May 24, 2016May 24, 2016

Wayne National Forest – 60% of the mineral rights are privately owned

The anti-drilling loons of Athens County, OH are at it again. ACFAN (The Athens County Fracking Action Network) along with other radicals like the Ohio Sierra Club, want the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to extend a comment period on drilling operations that are due to begin in Wayne National Forest (WNF). We’ve previously written plenty about WNF, including the fact that 60% of the forest is privately owned and that the federal government has blocked those private citizens from accessing the oil and gas under their land going on 10 years now (see our WNF stories here). ACFAN also wants another freak show, er, a, public hearing–so they can parade themselves before the cameras one more time. Thing is, the BLM has already held public hearings. The BLM has accepted public comments–for YEARS. It’s time to end this nonsense and to allow fracking to begin on PEOPLE’S PRIVATE PROPERTY. Enough of these delay tactics by groups like ACFAN…
Read More “OH Fractivists Want BLM to Extend Comment Period for Wayne NF”