Statewide OH

Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Forced Pooling in Ohio Utica Shale on the Rise, Sadly
January 13, 2014January 13, 2014

Drillers in Ohio’s Utica Shale are increasingly using the state’s “unitization” or forced pooling laws to force landowners who don’t want drilling to be included in drilling units where a majority of the neighboring land is leased. According to an article in the Akron Beacon Journal, 22 such requests have been filed in Ohio to date. Of those 22 filed, 6 were approved, 6 were resolved or dropped, and 10 are pending.

We know the arguments for and against forced pooling, and you know where we stand on the issue (we take a dim view of it), so we won’t belabor the point. Here’s the Beacon Journal’s update on some of the forced pooling cases in eastern Ohio, including which drillers are doing the forcing, and the results…
Read More “Forced Pooling in Ohio Utica Shale on the Rise, Sadly”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Gov. Kasich Goes After Out-of-State Engineers/Surveyors
January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

Ohio Gov. John “Foreigner Hunter” Kasich is on the prowl again–seeking to block “foreigners” (from exotic places like Texas and Oklahoma and Louisiana) from working in Ohio. It’s been more than a year since Kasich made it one of his missions as governor to block “foreigners” from working in Ohio’s flourishing Utica Shale industry (see OH Gov. Kasich Continues Trash Talk Out-of-State Workers).

The latest action taken by the Kasich administration, via the Ohio State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors, is to let professional engineers and surveyors know that if they come to Ohio to work for the Utica Shale industry, they will need to be registered, forms filled out in triplicate, and (steep) dues paid–or they’ll be bounced out of the state on their collective ear…
Read More “OH Gov. Kasich Goes After Out-of-State Engineers/Surveyors”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation | Utica Shale

Hearings Underway on OH Plan to Bribe Voters with Utica Shale Tax
January 9, 2014January 9, 2014

Some RINO elected Republicans in Ohio and some oil and gas industry folks have combined forces to endorse a horrible idea: raising the drilling tax on Utica Shale drilling. MDN previously outlined our objections to the plan (see Taking a Closer Look at Ohio’s “Piddly” Utica Shale Tax Increase). The Ohio House is now holding hearings on the plan–listening to testimony both for and (presumably) against.

Here’s the latest on the Ohio hearings to retard the growth of the Utica Shale by increasing taxes on it to bribe redistribute some of the money to people who don’t have a thing to do with producing it:
Read More “Hearings Underway on OH Plan to Bribe Voters with Utica Shale Tax”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Eureka Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Eureka Hunter Boasts 360% Yearly Increase in Marcellus/Utica Flow
January 8, 2014January 8, 2014

Eureka Hunter, the wholly-owned midstream (pipeline) subsidiary of driller Magnum Hunter, published their month by month flow numbers yesterday for how much gas they pumped through their pipelines in West Virginia and Ohio during 2013. It was an impressive year for Eureka Hunter. The average daily flow or “throughput” in 2012 was 23,291 million Btus (or MMBtus), which equates to 23.3 million cubic feet per day (or MMcf/d). If the “average” well is producing, say, 3 MMcf/d, that’s the equivalent of having 8 wells connected to the pipeline. The average daily flow in 2013 was 83,828 MMBtus, or 83.4 MMcf/d, or 28 wells hooked up and flowing. That’s a 360% year over year increase–nearly quadruple the volume!

What the average doesn’t tell you, however, is that by the end of the year, Eureka Hunter’s pipeline flowed nearly 160,000 MMBtus, or 160 MMcf/d, which is production from an average 53 wells. They predict in 2014 the daily flow rate will hit 206,500 MMBtus. Somewhere between 40-50% of the gas they flow is from Triad Hunter, another Magnum Hunter subsidiary (sister company to Eureka Hunter). Below is the press release with Eureka Hunter’s monthly flow numbers. With our explanation above, you now know how to view it!…
Read More “Eureka Hunter Boasts 360% Yearly Increase in Marcellus/Utica Flow”
Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Gulfport Energy Issues Utica Production Guidance for 2013, 1Q14
January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

Gulfport Energy, one of the most important (and increasingly prolific) drillers in the Utica Shale released a short update yesterday to crow about their production numbers for 2013, set production expectations for the first quarter of 2014, and to remind investors to invest early and invest often.

Here’s yesterday’s Gulfport update…
Read More “Gulfport Energy Issues Utica Production Guidance for 2013, 1Q14”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

ODNR’s Proposed New Water Handling Rules for 2014
January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

Here’s a look at proposed new rules and regulations coming to drillers in Ohio’s Utica Shale–this year:
Read More “ODNR’s Proposed New Water Handling Rules for 2014”
Antero Resources | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Surprise Move: ODNR Releases 3Q13 Utica Shale Production Report
January 6, 2014January 6, 2014

Just as MDN went into hiatus for a few days for the holidays, on New Year’s Eve the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) issued a major announcement: they published their first-ever quarterly production report for the Utica Shale. As MDN previously reported, the Ohio legislature passed a law that requires quarterly reporting (see Ohio Moves One Step Closer to Quarterly O&G Production Reports). However, last word we had was that the reporting would not be required by drillers until “starting” January 2014 (see Ohio Moves to Quarterly Production Reports Starting Jan 2014). Obviously our (and everyone else’s) understanding was wrong. The ODNR has been quietly requiring drillers to start reporting quarterly in 2013, not 2014, and the first such report–for the third quarter of 2013–was released on New Year’s Eve.

We’re certainly not complaining! Just surprised. What does the report show? It shows that the OH Utica produced 33.6 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas in just 3Q13. For context, the OH Utica produced just 12.8 Bcf of natural gas for all of 2012. It means that 2013 will shape up to be an extraordinary production year in the Utica Shale, proving the naysayers wrong and validating the Utica Shale as one of the most important shale plays in the country. We provide the ODNR announcement below, which crowns two Gulfport wells as most productive (one for oil and one for gas) for 3Q13. We also include analysis of the numbers by our friends at the Akron Beacon Journal. Finally, below is a full copy of the report, in handy PDF format (7 pages long) for you to download or print for your own use.
Read More “Surprise Move: ODNR Releases 3Q13 Utica Shale Production Report”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

ODNR Chief Says Utica Shale is “Real Deal” & Feds Should Stay Out
January 6, 2014

James Zehringer, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) recently said that the Utica Shale “is the real deal.” By which he meant the Utica is here to stay and a serious shale play, getting a lot of attention (and development). It was only 15 months ago that there was plenty of angst about the Utica because it wasn’t as “oily” as some had hoped. In fact, at the time, Reuters pronounced the Utica a bust (see Reuters Says Utica Shale Boom is Really a Secret Bust). My oh my how wrong they were!

Just in case there’s any lingering doubt (for people like Reuters reporters), Zehringer set out to dispel the naysayers. In his recent remarks, Zehringer also said the feds should mind their own business and leave oil and gas regulation to the states, where it belongs…
Read More “ODNR Chief Says Utica Shale is “Real Deal” & Feds Should Stay Out”
Columbiana County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation | Utica Shale

OH County Engineer Speaks Truth to (Utica Taxation) Power
January 6, 2014January 6, 2014

It takes a “lowly” county engineer in an Ohio Utica Shale county–Columbiana–to have the guts to stand up and say if Republican politicians are going to cave and raise taxes on Utica Shale drilling, they ought to at least allocate some of the new-found money to the places that are actually impacted by drilling, instead of giving all the money away to people who had nothing to do with it! So we pin a medal on Columbiana County Engineer Bert Dawson for having the guts to stand up and say (in essence) “the Kasich emperor has no clothes” when it comes to this insane tax increase he keeps pushing…
Read More “OH County Engineer Speaks Truth to (Utica Taxation) Power”
Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Amish Flip Royalty Rights for Tax-Free Lump Sum Payment
December 24, 2013December 24, 2013

We may have just found a good reason to become Amish. The Columbus Dispatch has an article today about how some (many?) in Ohio’s Amish community are “flipping” their royalty rights–selling future potential royalty payments for a lump sum now–and leaving Ohio for greener pastures in PA or NY–in areas where shale gas drilling is either nonexistent or far less active than it is in the white hot eastern OH area.

The reason to become Amish before you flip your royalty payments? Apparently there’s an arcane section in our beloved tax code that allows the Amish to sell their royalty rights TAX FREE (if they relocate). The Amish get to keep 100% of the proceeds. To which we say: Pass the shoo-fly pie–we’re goin’ Amish!…
Read More “OH Amish Flip Royalty Rights for Tax-Free Lump Sum Payment”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Ohio Gathering | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Summit Midstream Buys Gulfport’s Interest in Ohio Gathering
December 24, 2013December 24, 2013

Summit Midstream, until recently, has had midstream operations (pipelines, processing plants) in other major North American shale plays–but they are actively moving into the Marcellus and Utica Shale. In June MDN reported that Summit Midstream had purchased the Mountaineer Midstream gathering system from MarkWest Energy for $210 million in WV (see MarkWest Sells Doddridge County, WV Pipeline System to Raise Cash). On Friday, Summit purchased a significant joint venture share in the Ohio (Utica Shale) Gathering system for an undisclosed sum (although NGI’s Shale Daily is reporting the deal is worth $190 million). We have the Summit press release below, but it’s heavy and dense with joint venture this and partnership within partnership that.

Here’s the MDN simplified view of the deal…
Read More “Summit Midstream Buys Gulfport’s Interest in Ohio Gathering”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation | Utica Shale

Taking a Closer Look at Ohio’s “Piddly” Utica Shale Tax Increase
December 23, 2013December 23, 2013

Now that the drilling industry is heavily invested in Ohio, Democrat (and yes, even Republican) lawmakers in Ohio think they have the industry by the short hairs and they can safely raise taxes on the industry–dramatically. The thinking goes, as expressed by an Ohio Democrat lawmaker, that because of the big-time investment by industry in the state they won’t leave the state if lawmakers now raise taxes on them. It’s a pretty big gamble to take.

As MDN has written, even the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) is now backing the Utica Shale tax increase, although the Ohio Petroleum Council (OPC) has not yet signed on for higher Utica Shale taxes (see The Secret Back Room Deal to Raise OH’s Utica Shale Tax). What, exactly, is being proposed? Let’s analyze this tax and our objections to it…
Read More “Taking a Closer Look at Ohio’s “Piddly” Utica Shale Tax Increase”
Energy Services | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Utica Condensate Processing on the Way from MarkWest/EMG
December 20, 2013December 20, 2013

MarkWest Energy Partners and the Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) announced yesterday they have formed a joint venture to build a network of condensate processing facilities in eastern Ohio. The new venture will be called Ohio Condensate Company, LLC and it already has its first customer–Gulfport Energy. According to the announcement the jv is working on signing up more customers. The first project for the jv will be a new condensate stabilization facility with “associated logistics and storage terminal capabilities” to be constructed in Harrison County, OH. That facility is due to be in service by 3Q14.

The details as revealed by MarkWest & EMG yesterday:
Read More “OH Utica Condensate Processing on the Way from MarkWest/EMG”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Eureka Midstream | Ohio | Statewide OH | Statewide WV | Triad Hunter | West Virginia

Magnum Hunter Production #s for Recent Wells Drilled in OH & WV
December 20, 2013December 20, 2013

This morning Magnum Hunter issued an operational update for wells recently drilled in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale–in Ohio and West Virginia. In addition to production stats for the new wells (see below), MH reports they continue to snap up acreage in both the Marcellus and Utica. They now own 89,000 acres in the Marcellus and 105,000 acres in the Utica. Some of that acreage overlaps and they plan to drill both Marcellus and Utica wells on the same pad in some cases.

Here’s the update, including well results from wells drilled in Monroe and Washington counties in OH, and Tyler County in WV:
Read More “Magnum Hunter Production #s for Recent Wells Drilled in OH & WV”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation | Utica Shale

OH House Republicans Take Up “Kill Utica Drilling” Tax
December 19, 2013December 19, 2013

Here we go. The Ohio House has taken up and is now considering raising the severance tax on Utica Shale drilling much higher than it has been–which threatens to stall drilling in the state. Some RINO Republicans have signed on to the bill, following the lead of flaky Gov. John Kasich (also a Republican, increasingly looking like a RINO himself).

Here’s the latest on the “kill Utica drilling” tax:
Read More “OH House Republicans Take Up “Kill Utica Drilling” Tax”
Energy Services | Ethane | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | NGLs | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH

UTOPIA is Coming! The UTOPIA Pipeline, that is…
December 17, 2013December 17, 2013

Kinder Morgan announced yesterday a plan to build a new 210-mile natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline that will connect multiple fractionation facilities in Harrison County, OH, to Riga, MI. From Riga, the NGLs will hitch a ride via the KM Cochin Pipeline east to Windsor, Ontario, Canada where they will be delivered to NOVA Chemicals. The new $300 million, 10-inch pipeline from OH to MI has been cleverly named Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access (UTOPIA). The NGLs that will flow through the pipeline will already be refined (“fractionated” or separated) and will include ethane and propane.

Here’s Kinder Morgan’s good news announcement that UTOPIA is coming:
Read More “UTOPIA is Coming! The UTOPIA Pipeline, that is…”