West Virginia

Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | NGLs | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Williams

Williams’ Oak Grove, WV Plant (Slowly) Gets New De-Ethanizer
February 17, 2014February 17, 2014

The Oak Grove processing plant in Marshall County, WV is about to get its first de-ethanizer, a huge piece of equipment that strips ethane from “wet gas” so it can be sold, via pipeline. Until recently most ethane in the northeast has been a waste product for drillers–something that’s blended with other hydrocarbons or even burned (flared) to get rid of. However, with two new ethane pipelines up and running–one to Sarnia, Canada (Mariner West) and one to the Gulf Coast (ATEX), ethane is a valuable commodity. And so Williams is adding a de-ethanizer to their still-under-construction Oak Grove processing plant.

The de-ethanizer recently arrived by train at Benwood CSX rail yard along the Ohio River. Now the 123-feet long (and 14 feet wide) piece of equipment will go on a very special “superload” truck and it will take 3 days to go just 30 miles to reach the Oak Grove site. If you live in WV, you might want to reconsider plans to travel along routes WV-88 or US-250 later this week, unless you like moving along at 5 miles per hour…
Read More “Williams’ Oak Grove, WV Plant (Slowly) Gets New De-Ethanizer”
Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Property Value | West Virginia

When Drilling Comes to Town, Property Values Go…UP, Not Down
February 5, 2014February 5, 2014

When drilling comes to town, property values plummet–right? Wrong. The property value plummeting lie is told so often by anti-drillers that they’ve convinced themselves it’s actually true. So let’s take a look at property values in one of the most shale-drilled counties in West Virginia–Marshall County. Property values in Marshall County for the 2014 tax year have gone UP a total of $158.2 million. Huh. What about last year? In 2013 property values in Marshall County went UP by $605 million! Must be an anomaly. Go back another year. OK–property values in Marshall County in 2012 went UP by $335 million. The reason, according to county officials, is Marcellus Shale drilling.

Contrary to the popular anti-drilling lie, it seems when drilling comes to town, property values actually go UP, not down. We wonder how many other arguments anti-drillers spin where the truth is opposite of their claims? Here’s more on the good news of zooming property values in Marshall County, WV:
Read More “When Drilling Comes to Town, Property Values Go…UP, Not Down”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

MarkWest: 7 New NE Plants Online in Past 4 Mos, 17 More Coming!
January 31, 2014January 31, 2014

There are a number of midstream (pipeline and processing plants) companies operating in the Marcellus and Utica region. The country’s largest midstream company, Kinder Morgan, increasingly has a presence in the region. Joint ventures of various kinds, like Blue Racer Midstream (Dominion and Caiman Energy) are important new–and big–players. Williams Partners is one of the biggest. But if we had to identify which midstream company has the most assets, the most presence in the region, we’d have to say it’s MarkWest Energy. Yesterday MarkWest issued an operational update on their Marcellus and Utica projects–and frankly, it’s really impressive. This is a “time to crow about what we’ve done and will do” update. They’ve earned the right.

Over the past four months MarkWest has brought seven new, major projects online: 5 new cryogenic processing plants (separates wet gas into two streams, methane and NGLs), and 2 new fractionation plants (further separates the NGLs into their components, like ethane, butane and propane). Each one of these projects represents hundreds of millions of dollars of investment and hundreds of jobs. Here’s the kicker: MarkWest has another 17 major processing and fractionation projects under construction! Incredible. Below is the update issued yesterday by MarkWest which identifies many of projects and customers. It’s well worth your time to read:
Read More “MarkWest: 7 New NE Plants Online in Past 4 Mos, 17 More Coming!”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio County | Regulation | Roads | Wastewater | West Virginia

GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Facility Hits a Snag
January 31, 2014January 31, 2014

GreenHunter Water, which is building a frack wastewater recycling (and potentially barging) facility in Wheeling, WV, has hit a snag. So far, it’s a pretty big snag. Last year the company received approval from the Wheeling Planning Commission to proceed with the plant, after initial resistance. So far, the WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has not issued any permits because they won’t and don’t need to review the plant until it’s ready to start operating. Then they’ll visit and evaluate.

However, the WV Dept. of Transportation’s Division of Highways (DOH) has rejected GreenHunter’s plan to have trucks with frack wastewater entering and exiting the plant. The DOH rejection happened last August and according to the DOH, they haven’t heard a thing from GreenHunter since…
Read More “GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Facility Hits a Snag”
Accidents | Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Blue Racer: Natrium Plant Back Online, New Customers, Adds Barging
January 28, 2014

Big news from Blue Racer Midstream. Last September there was an explosion and a fire “isolated to a small area” at the Blue Racer Natrium processing and fractionation facility in Marshall County, WV (see Explosion/Fire at Blue Racer’s Natrium, WV Processing Plant). The fire knocked the plant offline for customers needing to process wet gas. At least two (perhaps more) customers found other sources to process their wet gas (see Blue Racer’s Natrium Plant to Remain Offline Until Jan 2014). According to a single sentence buried in a press release issued yesterday, the Blue Racer Natrium plant is finally, after five long months, back online. No date was given for when it resumed operations–presumably yesterday or over the weekend. The statement says, “The Natrium I processing unit has recently returned to service following a temporary shutdown that occurred after a fire damaged the unit.”

No mention of how long it was offline (five months!) or the work done to get it back online. Probably the lawyers telling them to keep their mouth shut. Anyway, we’re happy to see it back up and running. In addition to that very big news (which was decidedly downplayed in the press release), Blue Racer also announced yesterday they’ve picked up several new customers for an expansion at the Natrium processing/fractionation plant (see who below). Finally, Blue Racer announced that in addition to the current rail, truck and pipeline they use to move NGLs (natural gas liquids) from the plant, they’re adding barging down the Ohio River. Notwithstanding the downplayed reopening of the Natrium plant, this is one of the most enlightening press releases from a midstream company we’ve seen in some time…
Read More “Blue Racer: Natrium Plant Back Online, New Customers, Adds Barging”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Odebrecht | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Wood County

Houston Investment Firm a True Believer in WV Cracker Plant
January 28, 2014January 28, 2014

A huge vote of confidence by an investment firm that the ethane cracker plant recently announced by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and planned for Parkersburg, WV will actually be built (see WV Announces Brazilian Company to Build Ethane Cracker Complex). Siltstone Capital, an investment and advisory firm with corporate offices in New York and Houston, bought the old Blue Cross and Blue Shield building in downtown Parkersburg–vacant since 2009–to set up offices for the company and to lease out space they don’t use themselves.

Siltstone invests in companies in the energy sector: exploration and production, oil services, and midstream. If they weren’t totally convinced that the Odebrecht cracker plant would be built, you can be sure Siltstone would not have spent $475,000 on a vacant building in Parkersburg, WV (population 31,492)…
Read More “Houston Investment Firm a True Believer in WV Cracker Plant”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | Wastewater | West Virginia

WV Anti-Drillers Try to Tie Coal Chemical Spill to Fracking
January 24, 2014January 24, 2014

MDN alerted you yesterday that some businesses on the periphery of the shale drilling industry in West Virginia may be affected by the recent coal-related chemical spill in that state that shut off water to some 300,000 residents (see Bumpy Ride for GreenHunter Because of WV Coal Chemical Spill?). Apparently anti-drilling Democrats in the state aren’t stopping at the periphery of the industry–why not use this unrelated chemical spill tragedy to falsely paint the entire shale drilling industry too? Yeah! What a great idea! (Rahm Emanuel: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste.”)

And so is born one of the most confusingly false and fact-challenged articles we’ve read in a long time–and that’s saying something. A Huntington News reporter was apparently so wowed by has-been WV politician Charlotte Pritt (who once ran for governor in WV and lost), that he accepted her spoon-fed pablum that the recent coal-related chemical spill “has ties” to the fracking industry. The reporter confusingly cites studies going back years from trustworthy sources like (*cough*) Politico, and sprinkles in liberal doses of liberal dogma like “Halliburton loophole,” and apparently expects you to understand what he and Queen Charlotte are trying to say: frackin’s bad for ya man…
Read More “WV Anti-Drillers Try to Tie Coal Chemical Spill to Fracking”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio County | Wastewater | West Virginia

Bumpy Ride for GreenHunter Because of WV Coal Chemical Spill?
January 23, 2014January 23, 2014

Is there a connection between the recent chemical leak in West Virginia that cut off water for 300,000 people–a leak related the coal industry–and GreenHunter Water’s plans for a frack wastewater recycling plant in Wheeling, WV? Perhaps. No, GreenHunter had nothing to do with the chemical spill that made national headlines for weeks (see Coal Industry Blamed for West Virginia Chemical Spill). But because GreenHunter plans to store fracking wastewater in tanks above ground “mere yards from the Ohio River” as one article says, they are now coming under increased scrutiny. One might say they’re now under a microscope.

MDN has covered the long road for GreenHunter in establishing the Wheeling wastewater recycling facility (see these MDN articles). Just when it appeared that the path was clear–and that even the U.S. Coast Guard would finally grant GreenHunter permission to barge frack wastewater from the Wheeling facility–the coal-related chemical spill happened, which may end up adversely affecting the GreenHunter project…
Read More “Bumpy Ride for GreenHunter Because of WV Coal Chemical Spill?”
Energy Companies | Marion County | Marshall County | Trans Energy | West Virginia

Trans Energy’s WV Focus Paying Off – IP Numbers for 8 Wells
January 23, 2014January 23, 2014

Trans Energy is a smaller, “pure play” driller in the WV Marcellus Shale. MDN told you last October that Trans Energy had sold off it’s holdings in Tyler County, WV in order to focus on drilling in Marshall, Wetzel and Marion counties (see Trans Energy Sells Off Holdings in Tyler County, WV – Who Bought?).

Looks like focusing is paying off for Trans Energy. Tuesday the company provided an update on production for 8 of their wells in Marion and Marshall counties. The IP (initial production) numbers look pretty darned good to us…
Read More “Trans Energy’s WV Focus Paying Off – IP Numbers for 8 Wells”
Chevron | Energy Companies | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Chevron’s Marcellus Drilling Picks Up Steam in WV, PA
January 21, 2014January 21, 2014

With 700,000 net acres in the Marcellus Shale and 600,000 net acres in the Utica Shale, Chevron is one of the largest acreage holders in the northeast. Although Chevron has been actively drilling in Pennsylvania, their drilling in Ohio and West Virginia, up to now, has been all but non-existent. Is that about to change, at least in WV? According to an article published today out of Wheeling, WV, Chevron’s drilling activity in WV is due to pick up in 2014…
Read More “Chevron’s Marcellus Drilling Picks Up Steam in WV, PA”
Beaver County | Braskem | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Odebrecht | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | West Virginia | Wood County

WV Cracker Plant has Already Purchased Land for Future Site
January 20, 2014January 20, 2014

In November, WV Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced he finally had him a cracker (see WV Announces Brazilian Company to Build Ethane Cracker Complex). By Dec. 31, Odebrecht, the company that will build the ethane cracker, had purchased the future site for their proposed plant in Wood County, WV through a holding company–for $10.9 million. A chemical plant currently located on the site employing 130 people will close in 2015. But have no fear–when the cracker plant is built, it will (for a time) employ 10,000 people to build it. It’s a massive undertaking that will ultimately lead to an estimated $7 billion economic injection just for the state of West Virginia. Talk about an economic revolution!

Compare WV’s proposed cracker to the Pennsylvania proposed cracker plant. Shell announced their intention to build a PA cracker plant in June 2011. How long did it take Shell to purchase the property on which they plan to build their cracker plant? They still haven’t purchased it. Let’s see: under 2 months to purchase the property for the WV cracker, still no purchase after 2 1/2 years for the PA cracker. Which one do you think is serious about building, and which one will get built first?…
Read More “WV Cracker Plant has Already Purchased Land for Future Site”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jay-Bee Oil & Gas | Tyler County | West Virginia

Frack Tank Explosion in Tyler County Shuts Down Jay-Bee Pad
January 15, 2014January 15, 2014

Try as we might, sometimes an important news story slips by our otherwise keen eye on the Marcellus and Utica. Case in point: On Jan. 2 there was a rare accident at a shale drilling site in Tyler County, WV, a drill site operated by WV-based Jay-Bee Oil & Gas. A flow-back tank on the drill pad exploded, injuring a worker at the site and causing the spill of a “black sludge” onto a neighboring field. The West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) shut down the Lisby drill pad operation, which is located along Big Run Road, roughly 6 miles southeast of Middlebourne, WV, and issued Jay-Bee a citation over the incident.

Jay-Bee was supposed to have provided a report to the DEP by yesterday outlining what happened and why. The DEP is also requiring Jay-Bee to provide a best management practices plan for flow-back tank systems at all of its operations in WV. In other words, Jay-Bee is now on the hot seat and needs to prove to the DEP that they can operate safely. Here’s what we can so far find about the accident, including the WVDEP’s statement about it…
Read More “Frack Tank Explosion in Tyler County Shuts Down Jay-Bee Pad”
Bradford County | Energy Services | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Preston County | PVR Midstream | PVR Partners | West Virginia | Wyoming County (PA)

PVR Partners Marcellus Pipeline Flows Increase 60% in 1 Year
January 14, 2014January 14, 2014

Midstream company PVR Partners issued an update yesterday to brag about their Marcellus operations–and well they should. Average throughput on the PVR “Eastern Midstream Systems” increased 60%, from 1.1 billion cubic feet per day average in December 2012 to 1.8 Bcf/d in December 2013. They also completed a total of 101 well connections in 2013 for the Eastern Midstream area.

PVR’s Eastern Midstream includes operations in Lycoming, Wyoming, Bradford and Greene counties in Pennsylvania, and Preston County in West Virginia. Here’s the full PVR update with more details:
Read More “PVR Partners Marcellus Pipeline Flows Increase 60% in 1 Year”
Belmont County | Blue Racer Midstream | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Marshall County | Ohio | Ohio County | Pipelines | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Williams

Utica/Marcellus Construction Spending Rockets in Wheeling Area
January 14, 2014January 14, 2014

According to McGraw Hill Construction, the Wheeling, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Ohio and Marshall counties in WV and Belmont County in Ohio, saw construction explode from $60.3 million in 2012 to $1.57 billion in 2013–a 29-fold increase. The vast majority of that explosion in construction came from–you guessed it–the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Midstream companies Williams and Blue Racer spent the majority of that on new processing plants and pipelines in the area.

This is incredibly good news for that area of the Ohio Valley. The even better news? Ironworkers Local No. 549 predicts this kind of spending by the drilling industry will go on for at least another 5-10 years. Wow!…
Read More “Utica/Marcellus Construction Spending Rockets in Wheeling Area”
Accidents | Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | NGLs | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Blueracer Natrium Wet Gas Plant Remains Offline, How Much Longer?
January 13, 2014January 13, 2014

Last September there was an explosion and a fire “isolated to a small area” at the Blueracer Natrium processing and fractionation facility in Marshall County, WV (see Explosion/Fire at Blue Racer’s Natrium, WV Processing Plant). The fire, which “burned itself out,” knocked the plant offline until this January. Because of the outage, at least two (and perhaps more) companies found other sources to process their wet gas (see Blue Racer’s Natrium Plant to Remain Offline Until Jan 2014). However, not all drillers have had success in finding other sources to process their wet gas and are stuck, waiting for the Blueracer Natrium plant to re-open.

The latest word from Blueracer on when they will reopen the plant, which doesn’t seem encouraging…
Read More “Blueracer Natrium Wet Gas Plant Remains Offline, How Much Longer?”
Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Odebrecht | Processing Plants | Property Value | West Virginia | Wood County

Life is Good in Parkersburg, WV Thx to Cracker Plant Talk
January 10, 2014January 10, 2014

Even though it’s not yet a done deal, just the fact that Brazilian-based Odebrecht announced they might build a several-billion dollar ethane cracker plant in Parkersburg, WV is enough to cause a rush on real estate in the area. Empty office buildings are getting snapped up, hotels are calling the country economic development agency about possible new construction, and in one case a physician has contacted Parkersburg about setting up a practice specifically targeted at oil and gas workers. Life is suddenly very good around Parkersburg…
Read More “Life is Good in Parkersburg, WV Thx to Cracker Plant Talk”