West Virginia

Accidents | Antero Resources | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | West Virginia

Well Explosion in Doddridge County, WV Injures 8 People
July 8, 2013July 8, 2013

Shale drilling is an industrial process and accidents happen–it’s inevitable. Still, it’s sad when it does happen. Early Sunday morning there was an explosion at an Antero Resources drilling site in Doddridge County, WV injuring eight people–four of whom were airlifted to West Penn Hospital’s burn center in Pittsburgh.

The very scant details as we now them right now:
Read More “Well Explosion in Doddridge County, WV Injures 8 People”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio County | West Virginia

Chesapeake Production Results for 2 Wells in Ohio County, WV
July 8, 2013July 8, 2013

As part of a story about Chesapeake Energy selling off yet another $1 billion worth of assets (in Texas and Louisiana), we get this brief production update for two Chesapeake Marcellus “wet gas” wells in Ohio County, WV:
Read More “Chesapeake Production Results for 2 Wells in Ohio County, WV”
Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Roads | West Virginia

Road Damage from Drillers a Problem in Marshall County, WV Town
July 8, 2013July 8, 2013

One of the downsides to drilling–something that’s eminently fixable–is road damage from heavy trucks. A small town in southeastern Marshall County, WV is experiencing the problem first-hand. The drilling industry needs to take note, step up, and fix the problem…
Read More “Road Damage from Drillers a Problem in Marshall County, WV Town”
Blue Racer Midstream | Caiman Energy | Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | NGLs | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium, WV NGL Plant Now Up & Running
July 5, 2013

Blue Racer Midstream, a joint venture between Dominion and Caiman Energy, was supposed to have a new $500 million wet gas (natural gas liquids) processing plant online in Natrium, WV last December (see Dominion $500M NGL Processing Plant in WV to Open in December). The date was then changed to “late spring” (see Natrium, WV NGL Plant Behind Schedule, Will Open “Late Spring”). Blue Racer finally stopped predicting when the plant would open, but MDN told you in late May the signs were there for an “imminent” opening (see Natrium, WV NGL Processing Plant Start-up Close).

Strike up the band! Even though Blue Racer has decided not to make a public announcement, the Akron Beacon Journal is reporting the plant has been up and “quietly” operating for the past several weeks…
Read More “Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium, WV NGL Plant Now Up & Running”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

New Rules for WV Horizontal Drilling Now in Effect
July 3, 2013July 3, 2013

On Monday, July 1, new drilling rules for horizontal shale drillers went fully into effect in West Virginia after being developed over the past two years. WV law firm Lewis Glasser Casey & Rollins, PLLC provides this handy summary of the new and more important provisions:
Read More “New Rules for WV Horizontal Drilling Now in Effect”
Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Research | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WVDEP Releases Study on Air Quality Impacts of Shale Drilling
July 3, 2013July 3, 2013

The West Virginia Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act, passed and signed into law in December 2011, directed the WV Dept. of Environment Protection (WVDEP) to conduct three studies. The third and final study was recently released, titled “Air Quality Impacts Occurring from Horizontal Well Drilling and Related Activities” (full copy embedded below).

According to the cover letter from the WVDEP, based on the findings in the study, no new regulations are required to control air pollution around drilling sites…
Read More “WVDEP Releases Study on Air Quality Impacts of Shale Drilling”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Wastewater | West Virginia

GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Plant Up for Vote July 8
June 28, 2013June 28, 2013

As MDN told you in early June, the Wheeling (WV) City Council delayed a vote to allow GreenHunter Water to begin construction of a new fracking wastewater recycling facility at a site in the Warwood section of Wheeling–along the Ohio River (see Wheeling Delays Vote on GreenHunter’s Frack Wastewater Plant). After an initial misstep by GreenHunter in not pre-briefing City Council members and the resulting bumpy relationship with some of them, it seems GreenHunter worked hard to address their concerns (see Wheeling Councilwoman Softens Stand Against Frack Wastewater Plant).

The Warwood wastewater recycling facility will once again be on City Council’s docket for a vote at their July 8 meeting:
Read More “GreenHunter’s Wheeling Frack Wastewater Plant Up for Vote July 8”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Marshall County | NGLs | Processing Plants | West Virginia | Williams

Williams Invests $4.5B on Midstream Plants in a Single WV County
June 27, 2013

Williams Partners–one of the largest midstream companies operating in both the Marcellus and Utica Shale–is investing a massive $4.5 billion on three processing facilities in Marshall County, WV. A single county! Pennsylvania is still hoping Shell will proceed with building an ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA and they’re gaga over the prospect of a $2 billion investment to build that plant. But right across the border in Marshall County, Williams is right now spending $4.5 billion ($2.2B of it on upgrades and new construction).

The three facilities are the Fort Beeler processing plant, the Oak Grove processing plant, and the Moundsville fractionation plant. Here is an update on those three plants and Williams’ massive investment:
Read More “Williams Invests $4.5B on Midstream Plants in a Single WV County”
CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Will WV Resolve Legal Issues & Use Acid Mine Water for Fracking?
June 21, 2013June 21, 2013

West Virginia, like Pennsylvania, has a problem with “mine influenced water” (MIW), commonly called acid mine drainage–water that seeps from abandoned coal mines into the environment. It’s a serious environmental threat in both states. WV lawmakers, like those in PA, would like to solve two problems at the same time: Get rid of the acid mine drainage by using it as a source of water for fracking shale wells (see PA Wants Drillers to Use Acid Mine Water in Fracking – Will They?).Can WV make it work when (so far) it hasn’t worked in PA?
Read More “Will WV Resolve Legal Issues & Use Acid Mine Water for Fracking?”
Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Do More Wet Gas Pipelines to Gulf Coast = No NE Cracker Plants?
June 17, 2013June 17, 2013

With new wet gas pipelines being built from the Marcellus/Utica to the Gulf Coast, and with new cracker plants being built along the Gulf Coast, will any ethane cracker plants ever get built in the Marcellus/Utica? It’s a serious question that more and more people are asking.

Aside from West Virginia Secretary of Commerce Keith Burdette’s eternal optimism that WV will get a commitment for an ethane cracker plant any day now (see WV “Very Much in the Game” to Get a Cracker Plant), and aside from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s changing timeline on when Shell will make a final final final final final decision on building a cracker in Pennsylvania, MDN made the following observation more than a month ago:
Read More “Do More Wet Gas Pipelines to Gulf Coast = No NE Cracker Plants?”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Rig Counts (and Profits) in the Marcellus/Utica
June 14, 2013June 14, 2013

An interesting article in yesterday’s Wheeling News-Register (below) takes a look at rig counts in the Marcellus/Utica region, noting the big increase in rigs drilling in Ohio while the number of rigs in West Virginia has remained the same or gone down slightly, and the number of rigs in Pennsylvania has decreased rather dramatically. The article also gives us a look at how much money, on average, Chesapeake Energy makes per day per well in both dry and wet gas areas. Very useful information.

MDN has inserted a Baker Huges rig count chart at the bottom showing the number of rotary drilling rigs by state (PA, OH, WV) for the past 12 months (taken from the Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook):
Read More “Rig Counts (and Profits) in the Marcellus/Utica”
Industrywide Issues | Maryland | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide MD | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Boundaries of the Utica and Marcellus Shale (Maps)
June 13, 2013June 13, 2013

A brief post on the RealClearEnergy website presents what at first glance seems glaringly obvious to us: Most of the Marcellus Shale is underlain by the Utica Shale. But on second thought, perhaps it’s not so obvious to many people.

MDN has remind ourselves that new readers are accessing this site all the time–sometimes learning about the Marcellus and Utica Shale for the first time. So in the spirit of “refresher course” for some, and “here’s how it works” for others, below is that brief post, along with an excellent map. We’ve also included, for the first time ever, a series of maps from Vol. 2 of the 2012 Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook that show the boundaries for both the Marcellus and Utica Shale on state maps (PA, OH, WV, NY, MD) with counties identified on the maps (this is really cool stuff folks!)…
Read More “Boundaries of the Utica and Marcellus Shale (Maps)”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Berkeley County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Intelligence to be Sacrificed at WV Stop the Kaboom Festival
June 13, 2013June 13, 2013

The crazies are at it again. Radical anti-fossil fuel activists, calling fracking “extreme resource extraction” that is “destroying the planet,” are organizing a hippie-fest in Hedgesville (Berkeley County), WV this Friday through Sunday to raise money to agitate against fossil fuels–the very same fossil fuels the people organizing and attending use every day of their lives. The so-called “Stop the Kaboom Music and Arts Festival” (bring your own pot) is now in its third year and hopes to be bigger and better than ever…
Read More “Intelligence to be Sacrificed at WV Stop the Kaboom Festival”
Fayette County | Industrywide Issues | Wastewater | West Virginia

Possible Problem at WV Frack Wastewater Injection Well
June 12, 2013June 12, 2013

West Virginia regulators are investigating whether or not an injection well in Fayette County used for fracking wastewater is discharging some of that wastewater into Wolf Creek. Apparently there have been past issues with the well…
Read More “Possible Problem at WV Frack Wastewater Injection Well”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Equinor/Statoil | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Marshall County | West Virginia

WV Landowners Settle with Chesapeake Out of Court
June 12, 2013June 12, 2013

A lawsuit in Marshall County, WV that previously escaped our notice has just been settled. Landowners David and Sharon Hall, owners of 116 acres, sued Chesapeake Energy and Statoil alleging damage to their surface property. The lawsuit also says Chesapeake did sloppy work on the drill pad, destroyed crops and destroyed timber on seven acres of the Hall’s land.

Last Friday the judge dismissed the case because it was settled out of court…
Read More “WV Landowners Settle with Chesapeake Out of Court”
Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Wastewater | West Virginia

Wheeling Delays Vote on GreenHunter’s Frack Wastewater Plant
June 11, 2013June 11, 2013

Wheeling, WV City Council decided at last night’s meeting to delay a vote for at least another month that would allow GreenHunter Water to begin construction of a new fracking wastewater recycling facility in the city at a site along the Ohio River (for background, see GreenHunter Buys Barge Terminal in Wheeling for Frack Wastewater). City Council members asked some pointed questions of GreenHunter last night.

The proceedings (and outcome) from last night’s meeting:
Read More “Wheeling Delays Vote on GreenHunter’s Frack Wastewater Plant”