Trumbull County

American Water Management | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Trumbull County | Wastewater

Decision on Restarting Trumbull County, OH Injection Well Coming Soon
March 20, 2015March 20, 2015

How long does it take the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources to investigate whether or not an injection well is causing low-level earthquakes? Apparently a long time–6 months at least. Last September two wastewater injection wells were ordered to suspend operations in Trumbull County, OH following an earthquake on August 31st that was so minor nobody felt it (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake). Even though nobody felt it, the seismographs at the U.S. Geological Survey picked it up–and that was enough for ODNR. It only took about two weeks for ODNR to clear one of the two wells, the shallower well (see ODNR Clears Trumbull Co. Injection Well in August Quake). ODNR let American Water Management Services (AWMS) restart their AWMS #1 injection well. But so far ODNR won’t let them restart AWMS #2. AWMS is losing big money every day the well is closed, so they filed an appeal with the Ohio Oil & Gas Commission in October. The hearing was (finally) held on March 11…
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Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Hilcorp Energy | Lawrence County | Mahoning County | Mercer County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

Full Speed Ahead for Hilcorp in the Northern Utica in 2015
February 10, 2015February 10, 2015

In 2014 Hilcorp spent some $400 million on drilling in the *northern* Utica Shale play–an area that virtually everyone else has abandoned for the more alluring wet gas to be found in the southeaster portion of the play. According to Hilcorp, they are enjoying success in the northern Utica and that’s where they will continue to focus their efforts…
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Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Trumbull County

Lordstown Gas-Powered Electric Plant Moves Up Construction Timeline
January 15, 2015January 15, 2015

In April 2014, MDN told you about a proposal from Clean Energy Future to build an $800 million electric generation plant in Lordstown (Trumbull County), OH. The plant will be fired by natural gas from the Utica and Marcellus (see Clean Energy Plans NatGas Electric Generation Plant in Lordstown). At that time, the plan was to begin construction in December 2015 and complete the plant by the end of 2018. There was initial opposition to the plant because the site on Salt Springs Road would need to be re-zoned from residential to industrial. That didn’t go down well with the neighbors. Clean Energy Future has changed the plan to a different location. Those who once opposed the plant now embrace it and want it as a jobs-creator for the area. This is a happy story of industry and residents working together for a positive solution. It illustrates what happens when adults behave like adults…
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American Water Management | Earthquakes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Trumbull County

ODNR Clears Trumbull Co. Injection Well in August Quake
September 22, 2014September 22, 2014

An earthquake nobody felt on August 31 caused the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) to shut two frack wastewater injection wells in Weathersfield (Trumbull County), OH operated by American Water Management Services (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake). ODNR has been hard at work trying to determine whether or not either of the wells may have caused the low-level (nobody could feel) quake. Last Thursday they gave the shallower of the two wells, the AWMS #1, the all-clear sign. American Water can restart that well at any time (and likely already has). However, they’re not quite ready to restart the deeper AWMS #2…
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American Water Management | Earthquakes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Trumbull County | Wastewater

ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake
September 8, 2014September 8, 2014

On Sunday, August 31 at 5:45 pm, there was an earthquake in the vicinity of Weathersfield (Trumbull County), OH. However, no one felt it. The only way anyone knew there was a quake was because of monitoring by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) is investigating whether or not two wastewater injection wells, operated by American Water Management Services (AWMS), was the cause of that low-level quake that no one felt. According to the ODNR, from an “abundance of caution” they asked AWMS to shut down operations at those two wells while they investigate, which has now been done…
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Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Trumbull County

Girard City Council Approves Pipeline Easement for Halcon
May 30, 2014May 30, 2014

Girard City (Trumbull County), OH Council members made a smart move. Earlier this month the Girard City Council voted to approve a right-of-way agreement that allows a natural gas transmission line to run through part of the Girard Lakes property. The 14-mile pipeline will service and run from Hilcorp Utica wells near Vienna to a fuel depot near Lordstown. Why was it a smart move?…
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BP | Energy Companies | Ohio | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

BP Pullout from Trumbull County has Real Costs for Locals
May 28, 2014May 28, 2014

A month ago MDN brought you the sad news that BP is pulling out of the Utica Shale and their leases in Trumbull County, OH (see BP Calls it Quits in the Utica Shale – Total Write-off). BP’s departure from Trumbull County means more than just lost potential royalties. It affects employment at local businesses, and grants for local schools…
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BP | Energy Companies | Ohio | Trumbull County

Some Utica Shale Drillers are Winners, and Some are Losers
May 5, 2014May 5, 2014

Interesting to note that Crain’s Cleveland Business comes to the same conclusion that MDN espoused a week ago: BP rolled the dice in the Utica Shale–and they bet wrong (see BP Calls it Quits in the Utica Shale – Total Write-off).

The Crain’s piece makes a valid observation: Although shale drilling is far less risky than other types of oil and gas exploration and production–it’s still a risk. With any risk, some will win and some will lose (contrary to the pap taught today in schools that everyone can be a winner). Shale drilling is high stakes in some respects, a lesson that BP learned the hard way…
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About MDN | BP | Energy Companies | Ohio | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

MDN Quoted on WKSU Radio News Re BP Leaving the Utica
May 2, 2014May 2, 2014

Every now and again when MDN editor Jim Willis answers the phone, it’s a reporter on the other end of the line. Earlier this week he spoke to a reporter from Kent State University’s PBS affiliate WKSU. The topic was BP pulling out of the Utica Shale in Trumbull County (see BP Calls it Quits in the Utica Shale – Total Write-off). Jim told the nice reporter essentially what he said in that article: All is not lost for future drilling in Trumbull County–but it may take a few more years for things to pick up there. In the meantime, there’s plenty of ways for people in Trumbull to benefit from the shale drilling that’s happening south of them.

Here’s a transcript of the interview:
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BP | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

BP Calls it Quits in the Utica Shale – Total Write-off
April 29, 2014April 29, 2014

A sad day for landowners in Trumbull County, OH. Flashback: In March 2012 BP leased 84,000 acres in Trumbull County, OH from the Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley (see BP’s Big Utica Shale Deal, Leases 84K Acres in Ohio). Just two years later and what started out with great fanfare is all down the toilet. BP announced today they are pulling out of the Utica Shale and writing it all off. In a very brief mention in a press release issued this morning about first quarter 2014 results, BP says: “Following on from the decision to create a separate BP business around its US lower 48 onshore oil and gas activities, and as a consequence of appraisal results, BP has decided not to proceed with development plans in the Utica shale. The Upstream result includes a write-off relating to the Utica acreage.”

Last November MDN wondered aloud whether BP would decide to move forward, or call it quits (see Decision Point: Will BP Drill Their Utica Acreage? Or Pass?). Now we know. Why leave? As we pointed out at the time, Trumbull County has proven to be mostly dry gas, and not wet gas (or natural gas liquids) which makes it a much less profitable part of the play to drill in. BP rolled the dice and bet wrong. The only other driller in Trumbull has been Halcon Resources. They pulled out too (see Halcon Resources Stops Drilling, Gives Up on the Utica Shale). Is there any hope for future Utica drilling in Trumbull County?…
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Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Trumbull County

Clean Energy Plans NatGas Electric Generation Plant in Lordstown
April 16, 2014April 16, 2014

Clean Energy Future, a company based in Boston, MA, had a “first date” night Monday in Lordstown (Trumbull County), OH. Clean Energy proposes to build an $800 million electric generation plant on 57 acres on Salt Springs road in Lordstown. The plant will be fired by natural gas from the Utica and Marcellus. Clean Energy was there to talk with town residents and to ask the village board to rezone the area so they can build. About 150 people attended date night to size up Clean Energy and their plan.

If the board decides to approve the project, construction would begin in December 2015. However, the plant won’t be completed and online until 2018. Yeah, it takes a long time to build these complex plants–which are made all the more necessary and urgent because of President Obama’s war on coal and the EPA’s strict new rules on burning coal. Here’s how the first date went in Lordstown on Monday:
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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Supply Chain | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

Fabricating Plant CEO Thinks Utica Drilling will Head North Soon
April 14, 2014April 14, 2014

Evets Oil & Gas Construction Services recently opened a new 20,000-square-foot facility serving the oil and natural gas drilling industry in Hubbard (Trumbull County), OH. The company has been around since 1968 and designs and builds everything from pipelines and compressor plants to billion dollar gas and oil processing facilities. The new facility in Hubbard converted a brownfield into a greenfield, something Evets is justifiably proud of.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony last week, Evets CEO Rex Ferry said he thinks Utica Shale drilling will drift northward in the next few years–in 2015 or 2016–and he’s betting their new location in Trumbull County will put the company in the catbird seat. Ferry’s opinion is certainly contrary to that of most others who believe Utica drilling has moved and will stay south for the foreseeable future. Is Ferry whistling past the graveyard? Or crazy like a fox? We’ll know in the next couple of years…
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CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Trumbull County

Trumbull County Gets $100K to Conduct CNG “Feasibility” Study
April 8, 2014April 7, 2014

The state of Ohio Controlling Board has approved a $100,000 grant for Trumbull County to “gauge the benefits of using vehicles that run on compressed natural gas.” Er, OK. It seems the Trumbull County engineer will use the funds “for a two-part feasibility study on the advantages of converting existing vehicles or purchasing new ones, as well as the potential construction of a CNG fueling station in the county.”

Just a thought: But might it not be better to buy a couple of CNG vehicles with the money and check to see how much they save by using them? Rather than a full-blown study to come to the same conclusion dozens of other municipalities have already come to (which is CNG saves money)? Perhaps we’re just being obtuse and missing something about this story…
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American Water Management | Earthquakes | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Regulation | Trumbull County | Wastewater

OH Earthquakes May Delay Opening of New Niles Injection Well
March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

Although Niles (Trumbull County), Ohio is about 18 miles from Poland (Mahoning County), Ohio by car, it’s only about 8-9 miles “as the crow flies.” And that proximity may be a problem for a new Class II frack wastewater injection well set to open in just a few weeks in Niles. Why? Because nearby Poland is where there was a recent series of earthquakes (see # of Youngstown Earthquakes go from 2 to 11 – Fracking to Blame?).

American Water Management Services Inc. say they are about two weeks away from opening their new injection well in Niles–or could open if they get the necessary permits. The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) says it’s too early to say whether or not the new injection well will be allowed to open in the next few weeks because of the ongoing earthquake investigation…
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Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Ohio | Statewide OH | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

Drilling Shifts South in OH Utica Shale + More on Halcon Exit
March 6, 2014March 6, 2014

There is no doubt Utica Shale drilling in eastern Ohio has made a transition. Once upon a time Chesapeake (and a few others) looked to places like Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Carroll County is still quite active with drilling, but much of the new drilling has drifted south, to places like Harrison, Guernsey, Belmont, Noble and Monroe counties, as evidenced by the latest round of permits issued by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources. To the north in places like Trumbull? Not so hot anymore. Two days ago we told you about Halcon Resources’ decision to say adios to Trumbull County (see Halcon Resources Stops Drilling, Gives Up on the Utica Shale).

The shift southward and Halcon’s exit doesn’t seem to concern one of Halcon’s contractors, Kleese Development Associates, that hauls Halcon’s frack wastewater to area injection wells. Below are two articles: one illustrates the shift south in permits for new wells, and one that interviews Kleese, providing us with a bit more insight into Halcon’s decision to stay away from the Utica, for now…
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BP | Energy Companies | Ohio | Trumbull County | Utica Shale

BP Shifts into First Gear with Shale – Splits Offshore/Onshore
March 6, 2014March 6, 2014

BP is one of the world’s largest integrated oil and gas companies, with operations that span from exploration and production in the upstream to midstream pipelines and even downstream (one of the world’s largest energy traders). A truly huge company. They also own 84,000 acres of leases in the Ohio Utica Shale–acreage they’ve done almost nothing with since leasing in early 2012. According to Volume 3 of the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook (published in January), we count 5 drilling permits for BP in the OH Utica Shale for all of 2013. Barely a pulse.

Our course hindsight is 20/20, but one of the problems is BP leased all of that land in the northern part of the Utica play–in Trumbull County. As we’ve noted elsewhere today on MDN, Utica drilling has decidedly shifted southward (away from Trumbull and other northern counties). But perhaps geography hasn’t been the only thing holding BP back in their Utica drilling program. Could it be an inefficient management structure in the company? Perhaps! Two days ago BP announced they are splitting offshore and US onshore drilling into separate divisions within the company. Judging from the announcement, it appears the decision to split operations is an effort to take better advantage of shale drilling. While they don’t mention the Utica specifically, we believe part of the reason BP has not drilled in the Utica is due to their own internal structure, which they’re moving to remedy…
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