Marshall County

Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | West Virginia

WV Moundsville Electric Generating Plant to Burn Methane + Ethane!
February 24, 2015February 24, 2015

Since April of last year, MDN has written about and monitored a new project to build a $615 million electrical generating plant in Marshall County, WV that will burn Marcellus Shale gas (see MDN stories about it here). Called Moundsville Power, the project received a final green light last week (see Marshall Co Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets WV Green Light). Andrew Dorn, managing partner for Moundsville Power, recently shed more light on the project. Dorn gave a timeframe for when construction will begin, along with some other interesting factoids. Here’s something we didn’t know: the new plant will be one of the first in the U.S. to burn ethane…
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Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Marshall Co Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets WV Green Light
February 17, 2015February 17, 2015

A somewhat complicated plan to build a 549 megawatt electrical generating plant near Moundsville, WV (for $615 million) that will be powered by Marcellus Shale gas has been making steady progress since last year (see Plan Advances to Build $615M Gas-Powered Electric Plant in WV). Marshall County voted to approve the plan, which includes a condition that the county accept the deed to the plant once its built in an arrangement to reduce potential property taxes on the facility (see Marshall County Votes to Accept Gas-Powered Electric Plant). Good news: the West Virginia Public Service Commission has issued a final order approving the siting certificate. The next step along the road is for the plant to get its financing (investors) lined up and then begin construction…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Property Value | West Virginia

Marshall County Property Values Rise Yearly Thx to Marcellus
February 12, 2015February 12, 2015

In contravention to the erroneous claim by anti-drillers that property values go down when drilling comes to town, Marshall County, WV continues to prove it’s just the opposite. Last year at this time MDN told you that the property values in Marshall County for 2013 had collectively risen an astonishing $605 million–in just one year (see When Drilling Comes to Town, Property Values Go…UP, Not Down). What about property values in 2014? They broke the record, again. Values are up a collective $631 million!…
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Chief Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Marshall County | Ohio County | Tug Hill Operating | West Virginia

Lease Terms Revealed for Land Deal in Marshall County, WV
February 9, 2015February 9, 2015

In November, MDN brought you the news that Tug Hill Operating, a privately-owned exploration and production company, did a deal with the Marshall and Ohio County Landgroup in West Virginia for a $100 million signing bonus for about 500 families (see Panhandle WV Landowners Broker $100M Deal with Tug Hill Operating). We later learned that Tug Hill’s CEO was at one time concurrently the COO of Chief Oil & Gas, meaning the two companies are “tight” and perhaps share a drilling program (see More Details on Tug Hill $100M Lease in WV Panhandle). In November we had precious few details, beyond the $100 million signing bonus and a claim that royalties may end up being another $400-$500 million. Can you imagine a half BILLION dollars rushing into the economy of those two panhandle counties? Astonishing. Behold the miracle of fracking! At any rate, we now have an inkling of what the terms may have been. The Marshall County Commission is considering signing a lease with Tug Hill for 72 acres behind the animal shelter. The deal isn’t done yet, but the we know the proposed terms, both for the signing bonus and the royalty…
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Energy Companies | Equinor/Statoil | Gastar Exploration | Jay-Bee Oil & Gas | Lease & Royalty Payments | Marshall County | Noble Energy | Statewide WV | Triad Hunter | Tyler County | West Virginia | Wetzel County

More Bids to Drill Under WV State-Owned Land, Incl Ohio River
January 27, 2015January 27, 2015

West Virginia keeps up its aggressive push to lease and allow drilling under state-owned land–both under the Ohio River and under other tracts of state-owned land in prime Marcellus/Utica country. Last Friday the state Dept. of Commerce, responsible for overseeing the leasing program, opened its latest round of bids. Some of them are truly eye-popping. You may recall Antero Resources has paid $12,000 per acre (with 20% royalties) to drill under 518 acres of the Conaway Run Wildlife Management Area (see Record High Bid to Drill Under Bambi’s Home in Tyler County, WV). In the bids opened Friday, Jay Bee bid an even higher price to drill under the Jug Wildlife Management Area, also in Tyler County…
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Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Marshall County | Noble Energy | West Virginia

WV Leases Another 1,400 Acres Under Ohio River for Drilling
January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

More drilling under the Ohio River is about to become reality. Last October, MDN told you about the deal to lease a 232-acre tract of land around and under the Ohio River in Marshall County, WV. The state leased the land for drilling to Gastar Exploration for $3,500 per acre plus a 20% royalty (see Gastar Wins Lease to Drill Under Ohio River in WV). That deal netted WV a tidy signing bonus check for $812,000, to say nothing of the royalties they’ll get once the gas starts to flow. WV liked that deal and decided to put more land under the river on the market (see WV Looks to Lease More Ohio River, Other State Land for Drilling). Yesterday the state confirmed they are close to finalizing a deal with Noble Energy to lease another 1,400 acres of state-owned land around and under the Ohio River–also in Marshall County. This new deal also nets the state $3,500 per acre, or $4.9 million, as a signing bonus…
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Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Marshall County | Ohio County | Utica Shale | West Virginia

Gulfport Energy Enters WV Utica, Leases in Ohio/Marshall Counties
January 19, 2015January 19, 2015

Looks like Gulfport Energy, with 184,000 acres of leases and an active driller in eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale, is making moves into the West Virginia Utica Shale. We spotted an article that says Gulfport has purchased an 87.5% stake in “hundreds of lease agreements” in Ohio and Marshall counties in WV. We don’t know how many acres are involved (yet). But we do know who they’ve purchased the leases from…
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Axiall | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Gastar Exploration | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Marshall County | West Virginia

Gastar Wins WV Lawsuit to Keep Fracking, Completes 10 New Wells
January 5, 2015January 6, 2015

In November we told you that Chemical manufacturer Axiall, with a plant in Natrium (Marshall County), WV, had successfully stopped Gastar from fracking several drilled shale wells located near the chemical plant (see Gastar Fracking Near WV Chemical Plant Halted Pending Court Review). Axiall was afraid that fracking the wells would release fugitive methane into their nearby brine wells. Axiall says something similar happened previously with some of their brine wells near a Triad Hunter fracking operation. But Gastar fought back and today announced a WV court has thrown out the lawsuit brought by Axiall and that Gastar is now free to frack. According to Gastar, Axiall tried to stop them in PA with a similar kind of lawsuit which was also dismissed…
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Chevron | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Marshall County | West Virginia

Moundsville Leases Park Land for $5K/Acre, 18% Royalties
December 31, 2014December 31, 2014

Moundsville (Marshall County), WV recently signed a deal with Chevron that allows Chevron to drill under (not on) the municipal-owned Valley Fork Park. The deal leases the park’s 14.95 acres for $5,000 per acre plus 18% royalties when the gas begins to flow. Moundsville received $74,750 up front in lease bonus payments…
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Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Dominion Fined $55K for Run-off in WV Creeks
December 17, 2014December 17, 2014

Dominion Transmission has agreed to pay $55,470 in fines for violating the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act. The fines are the result of WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) investigations that started in November of 2012. The DEP investigated “slips” or slopes restored after Dominion dug trenches to lay pipeline. The slopes were not restored properly and sediment and erosion ended up in area creeks. Dominion is required to fix the creeks and pay the fine…
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Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio County | Statewide WV | Wastewater | West Virginia

New Brine Processing Plant Coming to Panhandle of WV
December 2, 2014December 2, 2014

The new owners of what was the AOP Clearwater brine processing plant in Marion County, WV (renamed to Fairmont Brine Processing) plan to grow their successful operation by opening a much larger, second plant in Wheeling, WV. The last time MDN wrote about the AOP Clearwater plant was in March 2010 (see AOP Clearwater Plant in WV a Big Success in Treating Marcellus Shale Wastewater). Apparently the “big success” didn’t last for AOP. An engineering firm was called in to evaluate the plant and told them they would need $10 million in upgrades, so AOP Clearwater cleared out. The guy who owned the engineering firm believed in the project, got some investors and bought the plant himself. Dave Moniot, CEO of both Venture Engineering and now Fairmont Brine Processing, turned the plant around. He’s now using that success to expand with a second plant in Wheeling…
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CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio County | Statewide WV | West Virginia

New LNG Plant for Drillers Coming to Panhandle of WV
December 2, 2014December 2, 2014

LNG (liquefied natural gas) use is beginning to pick up in the Marcellus/Utica. Demand for LNG is increasing as drillers shift away from using diesel fuel to power rigs and instead use field gas, CNG (compressed natural gas) and LNG. Sensing an opporunity to serve drillers in the tri-state area of PA, WV and OH, Dave Moniot, CEO of Fairmont Brine Processing, who is also building a new brine plant in Wheeling (see today’s related story), is investing in an LNG plant in the Wheeling area–likely at the same site where he’s building a new brine processing plant. Moniot is partnering with Plum Energy to build the new plant under the name of TriState LNG…
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Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pennsylvania | Sand/Proppant | West Virginia | Wyoming County (PA)

WV Sand Company & Community Work Together to Solve Problem
November 25, 2014November 25, 2014

Ahhh, what a breath of fresh frac sand-free air. A month ago MDN told you about Hi-Crush Partners’ desire to build a frac sand transfer station in Tunkhannock (Wyoming County), PA–a plan that’s meeting resistance from the local community (see NEPA Town Residents Resist Frack Sand Transfer Station). Hi-Crush is now in court with the county planning commission. Meanwhile, in Marshall County, WV, a frac sand facility built by Unimin Sand Co. resulted in (yes) sand particles blowing into the nearby community. Did the community rise up and demand the facility be closed? Did the sand company push back and sue? Nope. They worked together. Unimin is building six new storage silos to contain the sand and the community appreciates the high-paying jobs provided by the company. Note to Wyoming County Planning Commission: Have a talk with the people in Benwood, WV to see how adults react to these issues when they occur…
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Energy Companies | Greene County (PA) | Lease & Royalty Payments | Marshall County | Ohio County | Pennsylvania | Tug Hill Operating | Utica Shale | West Virginia

Still Time for WV/PA Landowners to Participate in $100M Deal
November 24, 2014November 24, 2014

Landowner coalitions are certainly not new. They began in the Marcellus region around seven years ago when landowners in Pennsylvania banded together to get rates and conditions more favorably than they otherwise could on their own. Smart idea. What is new is that landowners in West Virginia are now banding together because, although Marcellus drilling takes place in the state and much of that land has been leased, the Utica Shale that underlies the state is just now getting started. So landowners, like those in Marshall and Ohio counties (in the panhandle of WV) and Greene County (in southwest PA) are forming new groups to negotiate new leases for the Utica Shale. The Marshall/Ohio/Greene landowner group did just that, recently signing a $100 million deal (see Panhandle WV Landowners Broker $100M Deal with Tug Hill Operating). A few more details about the group and the deal…
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Chief Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Marshall County | Ohio County | Tug Hill Operating | West Virginia

More Details on Tug Hill $100M Lease in WV Panhandle
November 13, 2014November 13, 2014

We have some more details about that lease deal for $100 million by Tug Hill Operating to lease land in Marshall and Ohio counties in the northern panhandle of West Virginia that we wrote about yesterday (see Panhandle WV Landowners Broker $100M Deal with Tug Hill Operating). We know a bit more about Tug Hill and the person behind it, and we now know that the $100M deal is with about 500 families (average of $200,000 signing bonus per family), and that it’s not too late for others to get in on the deal…
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Axiall | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Gastar Exploration | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Marshall County | West Virginia

Gastar Fracking Near WV Chemical Plant Halted Pending Court Review
November 13, 2014November 13, 2014

Chemical manufacturer Axiall, with a plant in Natrium (Marshall County), WV, has successfully stopped Gastar from fracking several drilled shale wells located near the chemical plant. Why? They’re afraid that the fracking process will allow gas to travel underground and affect their previously drilled brine wells in the area. That exact scenario, according to Axiall, played out last year when Triad Hunter fracked wells nearby. The fracking, according to Axiall, led to a blowout at one of their brine wells and the well began emitting natural gas–an explosion hazard. A judge agreed with Axiall and put a stop to any fracking by Gastar pending a full hearing before the court…
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