West Virginia

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

How Many New WV Jobs Go to Out-of-State Workers? We Can’t Know
October 28, 2013October 28, 2013

A developing issue in West Virginia is how many of the new jobs created in the state (which was up an astonishing 20% last year) are going to WV workers, and how many are going to out-of-state workers? According to WV’s 2011 Horizontal Well Control law, the annual report filed by the Dept. of Commerce’s Workforce West Virginia division is supposed to break it down. Problem is, both last year’s report and this year’s (recently issued, see Looking for a Job in the Marcellus? Think WV), does not provide the required in-state/out-of-state numbers.

Technically, Workforce WV is breaking the law by not providing the numbers–but not because it’s intentional. The one WV agency that could provide Worforce WV with the numbers they need for the report–the Revenue department–is prevented from doing so, by law. Talk about screwed up…
Read More “How Many New WV Jobs Go to Out-of-State Workers? We Can’t Know”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Looking for a Job in the Marcellus? Think WV
October 24, 2013October 24, 2013

If you’re looking for a job in the natural gas industry, you may want to consider…West Virginia. According to a new report from the Workforce West Virginia Investment Council, employment in the oil and gas industry in WV jumped a dramatic 20% last year. Not only that, but the average wage of the average o&g worker in WV jumped $5,500 in just one year–to $75,580.

Perhaps a jump in o&g workers in WV is not all that surprising, but what may surprise you is that employment in the o&g pipeline sector doubled last year from around 2,000 to around 4,000–up more than 100%! Yes, WV is a happenin’ place when it comes to shale drilling…
Read More “Looking for a Job in the Marcellus? Think WV”
Industrywide Issues | Research | Statewide WV | Wastewater | West Virginia

“Consultant” Says 62% of Marcellus Waste Goes Missing in WV
October 23, 2013October 23, 2013

A “consultant” testifying before West Virginia legislators on Tuesday said that WV has no idea where nearly 2/3 of shale drilling wastewater goes for disposal. He also accused the WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) of not doing their job with respect to reporting and tracking shale waste as directed by the 2011 Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act.

The consultant doing the accusing–Evan Hansen, president of the consulting firm Downstream Strategies–was there shilling for the anti-drilling group Earthworks. Therefore, the results of the so-called study (to be released next week) performed by his so-called consulting firm are at a minimum suspect…
Read More ““Consultant” Says 62% of Marcellus Waste Goes Missing in WV”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Ohio County | Wastewater | West Virginia

Wheeling Councilwoman Will Shun GreenHunter Ribbon Cutting
October 23, 2013October 23, 2013

Wheeling, WV City Councilwoman Gloria Delbrugge is a sore loser. Sounding like a petulant child, she says she won’t attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for GreenHunter Water as they begin to demolish old buildings and build new buildings for a frack wastewater recycling facility in Wheeling. MDN told you in March that Delbrugge vowed to stop the plant from coming to Wheeling (see Wheeling Councilwoman Vows to Prevent Frack Water Treatment Plant). When she calmed down a bit, it seemed as though she had softened her opposition (see Wheeling Councilwoman Softens Stand Against Frack Wastewater Plant).

But, true to form for most anti-drillers, the facts make no difference. Delbrugge says she doesn’t like ’em (GreenHunter), she doesn’t want ’em, and she doesn’t trust ’em. And so when the ribbon is cut in the next few weeks, Gloria will not regale them with her eminent presence…
Read More “Wheeling Councilwoman Will Shun GreenHunter Ribbon Cutting”
Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Did Gov Tomblin Find a European Investor for a WV Cracker Plant?
October 22, 2013October 22, 2013

At the beginning of October, MDN told you that West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin was heading out on a 13-day whirlwind European ~~vacation~~ trade mission to five different countries. One of his aims was to find someone to invest in an ethane cracker plant in West Virginia (see WV Gov Going to Europe to Find Him a Cracker). Tomblin is almost done touring Europe and said by phone from Switzerland that “he expects to make announcements within the next few days concerning deals made” as a result of his trip.

Will one of those announced deals be an investment in a cracker plant?…
Read More “Did Gov Tomblin Find a European Investor for a WV Cracker Plant?”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WVU Prof Tells Legislators 625′ Setback in Drilling is Not Enough
October 22, 2013October 22, 2013

A West Virginia University professor that helped prepare a report for the WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) continues to voice concerns about the way the WVDEP has interpreted the results of the study he helped research. In June the WVDEP released a third and final study (this one on air quality) required under WV’s 2011 Horizontal Well Control legislation. The report as issued by the WVDEP says based on the results of the research study, no new regulations are needed to control air emissions around drilling sites (see WVDEP Releases Study on Air Quality Impacts of Shale Drilling).

However, Dr. Michael McCawley, chairman of the Dept. of Occupational & Environmental Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at WVU and author of the original “raw” report, said he thinks air emissions from Marcellus and Utica shale drilling do need tweaking, particularly the amount of distance required from a well site to the nearest structure, like a home or school (called a “setback”). McCawley thinks 625 feet from the center of a well pad is not enough (see Did WVDEP Ignore It’s Own Research on Shale Well Air Pollution?). On Monday Dr. McCawley was back before WV legislators making the same argument…
Read More “WVU Prof Tells Legislators 625′ Setback in Drilling is Not Enough”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Electronic Permit Filing for Marcellus Drilling Coming Soon in WV
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

In December 2011 a special session of the West Virginia legislature took up and passed a new Marcellus drilling bill in record time–four days flat–although in reality it took most of 2011 to prepare the legislation. The WV Senate passed the “Horizontal Well Act” 33-0 and the House passed it 92-5. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed it immediately. (For a summary of what’s in the “new” law, see WV Has New Marcellus Drilling Law in Record Time).

It’s now been nearly two years since then, time for a status report. WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) spokesman Tom Aluise says the new law is paying off. Aluise talked about a new electronic permit filing system on the way, and he identifies the top five counties in WV with Marcellus wells…
Read More “Electronic Permit Filing for Marcellus Drilling Coming Soon in WV”
Housing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Washington County (OH) | West Virginia | Wood County

Drilling Impact: Rental Housing Soars Around Marietta/Parkersburg
October 21, 2013October 21, 2013

One sector typically affected early in the drilling process is real estate. In some areas where drilling comes to town, sales of single family homes increase. So far there’s only been a slight uptick in home sales for the Marietta (Washington County), OH/Parkersburg (Wood County), WV area.

Apartment and house rentals, however, are a whole other matter. They’ve taken off like a rocket in the region. New hotel and motel construction is now under way as well…
Read More “Drilling Impact: Rental Housing Soars Around Marietta/Parkersburg”
Atlas Energy | Blue Racer Midstream | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Harrison County | Lycoming County | Marshall County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | West Virginia

Atlas Update: Finding Alternatives to Blue Racer Natrium Plant
October 17, 2013October 17, 2013

Atlas Resource Partners (ARP), a driller working in several plays–including the Marcellus and the Utica–issued a financial and operations update yesterday. Included in the update are details of Atlas’ recent activities in the northeast–number of wells drilled, etc. Pretty standard stuff–the “normal” kind of periodic press release issued by drillers, except…

It’s interesting to MDN that in Atlas’ update they mention, rather prominently, the ongoing issue that Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium processing plant has been shut down since an explosion and fire occurred on Sept. 21st (see Natrium, WV Fractionation Plant Still Closed After Explosion/Fire). The shut-down is having a significant negative affect on Atlas’ ability to get gas to market. So Atlas, like other drillers in the Ohio Valley area, is seeking alternative sources to process their gas. They’ve located a partial solution and continue to look.

Blue Racer has a growing problem on their hands with the continued shut-down of Natrium if their customers continue to find other solutions…
Read More “Atlas Update: Finding Alternatives to Blue Racer Natrium Plant”
Economic Impact | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

I’m Hooked on an (Ethane) Feeling, High on (Cracker) Believing
October 16, 2013October 16, 2013

Will the northeast ever get an ethane cracker plant to handle the massive amount of ethane being produced in wet gas areas of western PA, eastern OH and the panhandle of WV? Some people think so (MDN among them), although each year that goes by without a cracker it seems less likely because of new ethane and NGL pipelines being built to haul ethane out of the northeast. Still, people “in the know” say they have a feeling. Kind of reminds us of the old BJ Thomas song, “Hooked on a Feeling.”

Yesterday at the Wheeling (WV) Economic Outlook Conference, Don Rigby, executive director of the Wheeling-based Regional Economic Development Partnership, was the latest “in the know” person to say he’s hooked a cracker feeling…
Read More “I’m Hooked on an (Ethane) Feeling, High on (Cracker) Believing”
Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Unexpected News in Latest BH Rig Counts – 42% Jump in Rigs in…
October 15, 2013October 15, 2013

From time to time MDN takes a look at the Baker Hughes “rig count”–the number of rotary drilling rigs operating in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. The “received wisdom” in the drilling industry that is as goes the rig count, so goes production numbers. Used to be if you saw a decrease in the number of rigs in a given geography, maybe 6-12 months later you would see a corresponding decrease in production from that area. No more. Shale drilling has changed all of that. Nowadays the rig counts go down, and production (in PA anyway), doubles! Why? A lot of wells previously drilled are still waiting to be hooked up to pipelines and begin their production. And shale well production is different from conventional well production. The once simple measurement of more rigs/more production (and the reverse) no longer holds completely true.

Rig counts are still, however, a useful metric to track. And sometimes they reveal something surprising, as MDN found out today in reviewing the latest numbers. Rig counts are an indication of where there is an increase (or decrease) in new drilling activity. Landowners eager to have a well drilled on their property can use rig counts to gauge how quickly (or not) that may happen. Supply chain companies that sell services to drillers are also interested in tracking rig counts. So what, exactly, did MDN find that surprised us? The big surprise is where rig counts have recently spiked–significantly. It’s in a Marcellus/Utica state you may not expect…
Read More “Unexpected News in Latest BH Rig Counts – 42% Jump in Rigs in…”
Lease & Royalty Payments | West Virginia | Wirt County

Wirt County Landowner Deal Falls Through, Still Searching
October 14, 2013October 14, 2013

In August, MDN reported that the largest Marcellus landowner group we’re aware of, the Wirt County, WV Landowner group with 241,000 acres, was close to signing a deal (see Wirt County Landowner Group Close to Deal for Huge 241K Acres).

According to the group’s chairman James Lydon, that original deal has fallen through and the group is now back in the hunt for a deal, talking with other drillers…
Read More “Wirt County Landowner Deal Falls Through, Still Searching”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

17 State Chambers of Commerce to EPA: States Regulate Fracking
October 9, 2013October 9, 2013

On Sept. 20, 17 state Chambers of Commerce sent a joint letter to President Obama’s new EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy. They opened the letter (full copy below) with a nice greeting and a congratulations on her recent confirmation as administrator, and then immediately launched into a statement (not really a request) that tells her to, in so many words, keep her mitts off fracking. That is, leave the regulation of fracking where it properly and Constitutionally belongs–with the individual states.

The federal government does not have a Constitutional role in regulating fracking and the Chambers of Commerce, representing 34% of all states and from the biggest oil and gas producing states in the Union–want to keep it that way. Not surprisingly, among the signatories are the Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia Chambers of Commerce…
Read More “17 State Chambers of Commerce to EPA: States Regulate Fracking”
Energy Companies | Trans Energy | Tyler County | West Virginia

Trans Energy Sells Off Holdings in Tyler County, WV – Who Bought?
October 3, 2013October 3, 2013

Yesterday Trans Energy, a pure play driller focused on the Marcellus Shale (in West Virginia) announced they’re selling off their holdings in Tyler County, WV so they can concentrate on their holdings and drilling operations in Marshall, Wetzel and Marion counties instead. The deal is for 1,163 acres, two well pad sites and one uncompleted Marcellus Shale well. Trans Energy is getting $11.2 million for the transaction.

The announcement from Trans Energy does not identify who is doing the buying, but MDN has what we consider a pretty solid guess…
Read More “Trans Energy Sells Off Holdings in Tyler County, WV – Who Bought?”
Energy Services | Halliburton | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lewis County | Muskingum County | Ohio | West Virginia

Halliburton Shuts Down WV Cement Plant, Moves to OH
October 3, 2013October 3, 2013

In a move that’s sure to anger West Virginians, but make Ohioans happy, Halliburton announced Tuesday they’re shutting down their cement plant operations in Weston (Lewis County), WV and moving it 150 miles away to a new service center they’ve opened in Zanesville (Muskingum County), OH. No word on how many jobs in Weston are affected…
Read More “Halliburton Shuts Down WV Cement Plant, Moves to OH”
Accidents | Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Processing Plants | Rex Energy | West Virginia

Natrium, WV Fractionation Plant Still Closed After Explosion/Fire
October 2, 2013October 2, 2013

As MDN previously reported, an explosion and fire was reported at the Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium, WV natural gas processing plant early Saturday on Sept. 21 (see Explosion/Fire at Blue Racer’s Natrium, WV Processing Plant). It’s a week and a half later and the plant, which both processes or separates wet gas and further fractionates it into its component compounds remains closed while an investigation continues. WV officials and the plant’s owners (Blue Racer is owned by Dominion and Caiman Energy II) still don’t know what caused the explosion and fire.

Meanwhile, at least one Natrium customer has found an alternative source to process their wet gas…
Read More “Natrium, WV Fractionation Plant Still Closed After Explosion/Fire”