West Virginia

Cunningham Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Tyler County | West Virginia

WV “Landowner” Wins $4.8M in Lawsuit for Failure to Drill
March 9, 2015March 9, 2015

By Andy Leahy

On March 3, a federal judge awarded a Tyler County, WV mineral owner $4.8 million in present and future royalties (plus interest) as damages in a dispute involving the operator’s failure to follow through on some unusually generous lease terms. The operator, Cunningham Energy LLC of Charleston, WV, had promised to horizontally drill eight wells to and through the Marcellus Shale formation within three years, but was unable to do so–largely because the leaseholds were far too small to develop as stand-alone units, and the surrounding lands turned out to be already under lease to other drillers…
Read More “WV “Landowner” Wins $4.8M in Lawsuit for Failure to Drill”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Intl Rig Counts in Free Fall, What About Marcellus/Utica Counts?
March 9, 2015March 9, 2015

Rig counts are a closely watched measure as an indicator of future drilling and therefore future production. Over the past several years, rig counts have become a much less accurate method for predicting future production simply because so many wells have been drilled–in the Marcellus and now Utica–that connecting those wells to production will take years to complete. So if the number of rigs actively drilling goes down, it doesn’t correlate to a drop in production–not anymore. But rig counts are still important–the number of rigs actively drilling–because it’s an indicator of economic impact. When rigs are drilling, all sorts of goods and services and jobs are needed–which makes everybody happy. Baker Hughes, in the process of being gobbled up by Halliburton, has been for years the go-to source for rig counts. They issue counts on a weekly basis. MDN keeps track of rig counts in our 3x/year Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook. We decided it’s time to revisit rig counts–both globally and in the Marcellus/Utica–to see what the latest hullabaloo is all about. Are the counts going down in the northeast–and if so, where? The answer may surprise you…
Read More “Intl Rig Counts in Free Fall, What About Marcellus/Utica Counts?”
Brooke County | Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Marshall County | West Virginia

Big News: 3 More Marcellus-Powered Electric Plants Coming to WV
March 6, 2015March 6, 2015

Three weeks ago MDN reported a Buffalo, NY-based company had successfully gotten all necessary permits to move forward with building a $615 million, 549 megawatt electrical generating plant near Moundsville, WV that will be powered by Marcellus Shale gas (see Marshall Co Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets WV Green Light). Then we told you the plant will burn not only methane (natgas), but also up to 25% of the mix will be ethane (see WV Moundsville Electric Generating Plant to Burn Methane + Ethane!). Looks like the Moundsville project was the proverbial canary down the WV coal mine–and it lived! In the past few days the father and son team behind the Moundsville project have announced three (yes 3!) more just like it–all in WV. Why is this a big hairy deal? The Moundsville plant was already slated to be WV’s single largest user/consumer of natural gas. Just think how much gas will be used quadrupling that number…
Read More “Big News: 3 More Marcellus-Powered Electric Plants Coming to WV”
Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Forced Pooling HB2688 Passes House, Heads to Senate
March 5, 2015March 5, 2015

West Virginia House Bill (HB) 2688 (see WV HB2688 Forced Pooling Bill Continues March Toward Passage) has done what no other forced pooling bill over the past six years has done–it’s been approved by a full vote in the WV House. The House approved HB2688 on Wednesday by a vote of 60-40. The vote came after two hours of spirited debate over the merits–or lack thereof–in forcing some holdout mineral rights holders to allow drilling in certain, limited situations. Why has this bill gone further than the others before it? Probably because it creates a standard that 80% of the mineral rights in a unit must be leased in order to “force” the other 20% into the unit–to allow drilling. That’s one of (perhaps the) highest percentage for any state with a forced pooling provision. The bill now heads to the Senate for a vote…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Cleveland Fed Finds PA Natgas Production Up 1000% from 2009-2014
March 5, 2015March 5, 2015

Earlier this week the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland published a paper titled “Trends in Energy Production and Prices” (full copy below). In the paper, Cleveland Fed researchers examine national and Fourth District (KY, OH, WV, PA) trends in energy production and prices. What did they find? OH and WV doubled their natural gas production from 2009 to 2014. However, production in PA went up 1000% during that time, thanks to the Mighty Marcellus. Because of shale gas, energy prices are generally down across the region. Coal production is also on the decline in the northeast…
Read More “Cleveland Fed Finds PA Natgas Production Up 1000% from 2009-2014”
Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV HB2688 Forced Pooling Bill Continues March Toward Passage
February 25, 2015February 25, 2015

Last week MDN gave you a heads-up that a new forced pooling bill has picked up steam and is moving through the process in the West Virginia legislature (see WV Forced Pooling Bill HB2688 – Good or Bad for Landowners?). The 60-day legislative session in WV is now just past the halfway mark and HB2688 continues to move. It passed the House Energy Committee and is now before the House Judiciary Committee. The bill is polarizing. It seems, at least at a distance, that Republicans (who control both the House and Senate in WV) are lining up to support the bill, and Democrats are lining up to oppose it. Which puts us in the strange circumstance of tilting to the Dem side on this issue. Below we’ve located a good rundown of the main provisions in the bill, along with an editorial written by a House Democrat who opposes the bill–listing his reasons…
Read More “WV HB2688 Forced Pooling Bill Continues March Toward Passage”
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…
Read More “WV Moundsville Electric Generating Plant to Burn Methane + Ethane!”
Accidents | Crude Oil | Fayette County | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | West Virginia

Update on Bakken Oil Train Derailment in WV; Unreported Fact
February 24, 2015February 24, 2015

Last week MDN told you about the latest train derailment hauling Bakken crude oil that occurred in West Virginia (see Bakken Oil Train Derails in WV: Destroys House, 2 Towns Evacuated). The good news is that no one was injured in the accident. However, it was/is a major disruption in the area where it happened, in Fayette County. Some of the oil ended up in the Kanawha River, one house was destroyed and two towns were evacuated. What a mess. We have an update on where things stand, along with new news that the rail cars hauling the crude were NOT the older DOT-111 style cars that have been criticized as not being strong enough–but indeed they were the newer CPC 1232 tanker cars…
Read More “Update on Bakken Oil Train Derailment in WV; Unreported Fact”
Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Odebrecht | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Wood County

Parkersburg Cracker Plant Decision May Not Come in 2015 After All
February 23, 2015February 23, 2015

Last week MDN noted having spotted the first cloud over the Odebrect project to build a $3 billion ethane/petrochemical plant near Parkersburg, WV (see First Cloud Appears for Odebrect WV Ethane Cracker Plant Project). Ostensibly it is the low price of oil that’s causing Odebrecht to reconsider whether or not they will move forward with the project. As we pointed out, “reevaluating” doesn’t mean they’ve decided not to move forward. It just means they’re taking their time. There is, however, a marked change in the “feeling” about this project. Prior to recent comments by Odebrecht the very strong presumption is that the project will proceed. Now? That presumption is no longer quite so strong. WV officials, from both the state and from Wood County where the cracker is due to be built, weighed in with their observation that it’s not the location of the cracker that’s in question…
Read More “Parkersburg Cracker Plant Decision May Not Come in 2015 After All”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio County | Regulation | Wastewater | West Virginia

GreenHunter Keeps Pressure on USCG to Barge Brine on Ohio River
February 23, 2015February 23, 2015

GreenHunter Resources is keeping up the pressure on the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)–essentially daring them to stop GreenHunter from proceeding with barging brine–or produced water–from shale wells down the Ohio River (see GreenHunter to Coast Guard, We’re Barging While You Fiddle Around). In new comments last week, GreenHunter’s Chief Operating Officer Kirk Trosclair reaffirmed his company is proceeding with its plan to begin barging from a facility in Wheeling, WV. Meanwhile, so-called “environmental” groups are organizing and joining forces with the Wheeling Water Warriors (Warriors, Warriors, Warriors…that’s an echo you hear for our superheros) to oppose GreenHunter from barging a substance that isn’t anywhere near as toxic as the chemicals that currently float down the river on barges every single day. Here’s what Trosclair said last week…
Read More “GreenHunter Keeps Pressure on USCG to Barge Brine on Ohio River”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | West Virginia | Wetzel County

Magnum Hunter 7-Well Pad in WV Online, Yields 80/20 Gas/Liquids
February 23, 2015February 23, 2015

Last week Magnum Hunter Resources announced their recently completed Marcellus Shale well pad in Wetzel County, WV went online to production–all 7 wells on the pad. Combined, the 7 wells are producing an average 35 million cubic feet per day equivalent (MMcfe/d) of natural gas. Actually it works out to be around 17% natural gas liquids, 3% condensate and 80% natural gas/methane flowing from the wells. Here’s the details from MH…
Read More “Magnum Hunter 7-Well Pad in WV Online, Yields 80/20 Gas/Liquids”
Braskem | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Odebrecht | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wood County

First Cloud Appears for Odebrect WV Ethane Cracker Plant Project
February 18, 2015February 18, 2015

Hmmm. Is there a cloud on the horizon over the Odebrecht ethane cracker project proposed for Parkersburg, WV? Until now every single thing we’ve read or heard (or discussions we’ve had with David Peebles from Odebrecht) have indicated the WV ethane cracker project is full speed ahead, pedal to the metal. It was only at the tail end of 2013 that the project was announced (see WV Announces Brazilian Company to Build Ethane Cracker Complex). The $4 billion project will construct not only an ethane cracker, but several petrochemical plants as well (see Odebrect Cracker Aims to Attract Chemical/Plastics Manufacturing). In fairness, Odebrecht has said a final decision won’t be made until later this year (see Odebrecht WV Cracker Plant Decision “By End of 2015?). And until now, it certainly seemed like this project, even more than the Shell cracker in Pennsylvania, has had the momentum. Then we read this…
Read More “First Cloud Appears for Odebrect WV Ethane Cracker Plant Project”
Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Forced Pooling Bill HB2688 – Good or Bad for Landowners?
February 17, 2015February 17, 2015

Like a bad penny that keeps turning up, a forced pooling law in West Virginia keeps returning. Every year from 2009-2014 forced pooling legislation has been introduced, and ultimately defeated, in the WV legislature. We’ve covered the issue for years. Once again a new bill has popped up. House Bill (HB) 2688 was introduced by Delegate Lynwood Ireland (Chairman of the House Energy Committee) and co-sponsored by Delegates William Anderson (Speaker Pro-Tempore) and George Ambler. All three are Republicans. The bill has already passed the House Energy Committee and currently sits with the House Judiciary Committee for review. It may move fast or it may move slowly. Proponents of the bill say, in essence, this time the bill is different. There are compromises and provisions to protect both surface and sub-surface landowners. The interesting thing to MDN is that the West Virginia Royalty Owners Association is now on board and supporting the bill. Below we tackle this thorny issue once again. We have the full text of the bill as proposed, along with reaction to it, and our own thoughts…
Read More “WV Forced Pooling Bill HB2688 – Good or Bad for Landowners?”
Accidents | Fayette County | Industrywide Issues | West Virginia

Bakken Oil Train Derails in WV: Destroys House, 2 Towns Evacuated
February 17, 2015February 17, 2015

For some time we’ve covered the issue of Bakken crude oil being transported via rail, primarily because it’s oil from shale (in North Dakota) and because the rail shipments often traverse the Marcellus/Utica region. Technically it’s not a Marcellus/Utica story–but it is related. The most recent news we highlighted is that ND regulators passed strict new rules that require Bakken drillers to separate out NGLs (natural gas liquids) from the crude before it’s loaded onto rail cars (see ND Regulators Pass Rule Making Bakken Crude by Rail Safer). The new rules go into effect in April. The presence of NGLs in the crude make it much more flammable and explosive (if it’s in an accident) than it otherwise would be. There have been a string of rail accidents involving Bakken crude. Unfortunately, another Bakken crude railroad accident happened yesterday–this time in Fayette County, WV. Some of the oil ended up in the Kanawha River, one house was destroyed and two towns were evacuated…
Read More “Bakken Oil Train Derails in WV: Destroys House, 2 Towns Evacuated”
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…
Read More “Marshall Co Gas-Powered Electric Plant Gets WV Green Light”
Accidents | Brooke County | Energy Services | Enterprise Products Partners | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | West Virginia

ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Now Fixed, 100% Back Online Today
February 13, 2015February 13, 2015

Sometime today, the Appalachia-to-Texas Express (ATEX) ethane pipeline will once again be fully operational. On January 26 a section of the pipeline in Brooke County, WV ruptured and caught fire (see ATEX Ethane Pipeline Explodes, Burns in Brooke County, WV). The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is investigating but so far they don’t have a final determination. When that section of the pipeline went offline, two of four processing facilities that feed ethane to the line we bumped off. Starting today, all four processing plants will once again be flowing ethane through the ATEX…
Read More “ATEX Express Ethane Pipeline Now Fixed, 100% Back Online Today”