West Virginia

Belmont County | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Seneca County (OH) | Stark County | West Virginia | Wood County (OH)

FERC Allows Rover to Use HDD in 4 More Locations, Incl Ohio River
November 20, 2017November 20, 2017

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last Thursday granted Rover Pipeline permission to resume horizontal directional drilling (HDD) at four more locations where it had been stopped. One of those locations is drilling under the Ohio River in the Majorsville area. Rover is a $3.7 billion, 711-mile natural gas pipeline that (will eventually) run from PA, WV and eastern OH through OH into Michigan and on to Canada. A large portion of the pipeline began flowing natural gas on Sept. 1st (see Big Portion of Rover Pipeline Now Up & Running – Thru Most of Ohio). Since then, Phase 1A of the pipeline has steadily increased its throughput and now flows over 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Utica/Marcellus Shale gas to Defiance, OH (see Rover Pipe Nearly Doubles Flow with Addition of Carroll, OH Compressor). However, it could flow more, if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would allow Rover to finish Phase 1B pipeline work in OH/WV to feed more gas to the main part of the pipeline. The problem is that Rover had early missteps, the most serious of which spilled 2 million gallons of non-toxic drilling mud in a swamp (i.e. “wetland”) near the Tuscarawas River back in April (see Rover Pipeline Accident Spills ~2M Gal. Drilling Mud in OH Swamp). Following that and several other mishaps, FERC shut down all Rover HDD work–for months. Gradually FERC has allowed Rover to resume HDD work, and with this latest round of four more HDD locations, it appears to us that only two HDD locations remain on the “do not drill yet” list, one of them being the Tuscarawas River location…
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Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV DEP Secretary Issues Letter Explaining MV Pipeline Decision
November 15, 2017November 15, 2017

In March, the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) issued a federal water crossing permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)–a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA (see WV DEP Grants Mountain Valley Pipeline Water Crossing Permit). In June, a group of profoundly radical “environmental” organizations filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit against the WVDEP for doing their job issuing the permit (see Radicals File Lawsuit Against WV DEP for Approving MV Pipeline). Because of the pressure of that lawsuit, WVDEP caved and reversed their decision in September, rescinding (called “vacating”) the permit for MVP (see Trouble for Mountain Valley Pipe: WV DEP Withdraws Water Permit). The WVDEP said they would “re-evaluate the complete application to determine whether the state’s certification is in compliance with Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act.” The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld WVDEP’s decision and granted the agency’s motion to invalidate the previous certificate they granted the project (see Court Backs WVDEP Move to Cancel Permits for Mountain Valley Pipe). Then earlier this month, in yet another 180 degree about face, WVDEP announced it has “lifted the suspension” of the MVP stormwater permit–and that the agency has decided to waive the permit, MVP has no need to get it before beginning construction (see WVDEP Reverses, Waives Water Permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline). Since that time WVDEP has faced withering criticism from antis, accusing the agency of abandoning their oversight of the project. On Monday, WVDEP Secretary Austin Caperton issued a letter to agency staffers (and to the public) to explain the agency hasn’t given up anything–that instead they have opted for a different type of oversight of the MVP project. We have to confess, it’s a very good letter and explains a lot. Bottom line: WVDEP is still very much large and in charge when it comes to overseeing impacts from the project on WV’s streams and rivers…
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Brooke County | Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

How Soon Will WV See Chinese Money? “Immediately” Says Official
November 14, 2017November 14, 2017

Last week’s big news that China committed to invest $83.7 billion in shale and petrochemical projects in West Virginia continues to reverberate (see China Agrees to Invest Amazing $83.7 BILLION in WV Shale, Petchem). Almost as soon as the deal was announced, so-called experts came out of the swamp to say, “Won’t ever happen, ain’t a big deal, move along, nothing to see here.” Such was how Bloomberg reported it (see Why $84 Billion From China Can’t Buy a U.S. East Gas Hub), and how the sometimes-swamp dwelling Wall Street Journal reported it (see A U.S. Natural-Gas Bonanza in China Isn’t a Done Deal). Such is the irrational hatred of Donald Trump and anyone who supports him, like WV Gov. Jim Justice. This is a time for celebration. The Chinese are sending money HERE, instead of the other way around, as it has been under Lord Obama and presidents going back for decades. Yet the swamp dwellers attempt to throw excrement on the good news. Let them. They expose themselves for the shallow, leftist shills they are. Here’s an important question on everyone’s mind: When will Chinese money begin to flow for some of these projects? The answer, according to WV Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher, is “immediately”–meaning within the next six months when ground will be broken on one, possibly two, natural gas-fired electric plants in the state. Below are insights into when the state will see the money, how the money will get distributed, and how this deal actually came together in the first place…
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Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Tyler County | West Virginia

Tyler County, WV Mentioned as Candidate for $10B NGL Storage Hub
November 13, 2017November 17, 2017

In May 2016, MDN brought you the news that a researcher at West Virginia University (WVU) believes a natural gas liquids (NGL) storage hub is what the Marcellus/Utica region really needs (see WVU Researcher Says Marcellus/Utica Needs an Ethane Storage Hub). According to Brian Anderson, director of WVU’s Energy Institute, without ethane storage (and pipelines) the Marcellus/Utica region risks seeing its abundant ethane leave the area, mostly heading to the Gulf Coast. We need that ethane here, in our area. Kevin DiGregorio, executive director of the Chemical Alliance Zone, also took up the cause in an editorial in July 2016 (see WV, OH, PA, KY Should Cooperate on $10B NGL Storage Hub). Since that time we’ve run a number of stories about the proposed $10 billion NGL storage hub for the Marcellus/Utica. In particular, West Virginia’s two U.S. senators, Shelley Moore Capito (Republican) and Joe Manchin (Democrat) have been pushing hard for such a hub (see WV Senators Ask Trump to Create NGL Storage Hub Commission). It has been thought that WV and PA and OH would need to cooperate to help fund such a project. Even the mighty Shell cracker is “only” costing $6 billion! So $10 billion is almost incomprehensible. But then everything changed last week when we told you we now have a pretty good idea of how the project will get funded–by the Chinese (see China Agrees to Invest Amazing $83.7 BILLION in WV Shale, Petchem). West Virginia has, from the beginning, been the state most often mentioned as the location for such a storage hub–but until now no specific site has come across our radar. That’s changed. With money flowing from China for a bevy of shale-related projects, different locations across the Mountain State are speaking up. Tyler County is the latest, saying they are under consideration for the $10B NGL storage hub, and they will do “whatever needs to be done” to win the project. There are, however, two other locations in WV also under consideration…
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Antero Midstream | Antero Resources | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Wastewater | West Virginia

Antero’s $275M WV Wastewater Recycling Facility Ready to Launch
November 13, 2017November 13, 2017

By our reckoning, Antero Resources’ $275 million wastewater recycling facility in Doddridge County, WV is either already operational, or will be within the next few days (sometime this week). In 2015 Antero hired Veolia Water Technologies Inc. to build a new shale wastewater recycling facility in Doddridge County (see Antero Building New 60K Bbl Wastewater Recycling Facility in WV). The facility, called the Clearwater Facility, will process 60,000 barrels of wastewater per day, separating water, salt and radioactive particles. The salt can be sold to municipalities for use as road salt–but frankly there’s not enough of a market to sell it all. And not all of it will be of sufficient quality to be sold that way. So Antero also spent $20 million to build a landfill next to the plant for the salt (see Update on Antero’s $275M Wastewater Facility in WV). According to the Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram, an Antero official recently said the Clearwater Facility is set to open in “the first part of November.” If you consider the first 15 days of the month the first part of the month, that leaves two days for the facility to be up and running. Hence our speculation it either already is open, or will be this week…
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Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia

More on that Massive $83.7B Chinese Investment in WV Shale/Petchem
November 10, 2017November 10, 2017

We’re still reeling after yesterday’s announcement that China has agreed to invest $83.7 billion in the State of West Virginia–largely in shale and shale-related petrochemical projects (see China Agrees to Invest Amazing $83.7 BILLION in WV Shale, Petchem). Let’s put China’s promised investment in perspective. The GDP (gross domestic product, or the value of all of the state’s economic activity) for WV last year was $73.4 billion. One expert calculates the entire investment by the Marcellus/Utica industry in WV so far has been about $35 billion. The investment by China, which will be spread out over 20 years, is larger than all of the economic activity in WV for a single year, and 2.5 times the investment made by the shale industry so far! That’s massive. It’s huge. It’s mind-blowing. There really aren’t words big enough for this investment–IF it comes to be. You see, what was signed in China yesterday is a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU). It’s a handshake–a gentleman’s agreement. And sometimes those agreements disappear. So this is far from a done deal. However, we’ll take it. If even half of the promised investment becomes reality, it’s game-changing. It is, according to WV Gov. Jim Justice, the single largest private investment in the state’s history. Now that we’ve had 24 hours to digest the news, a number of people are talking. While we still don’t have specificity about the projects that will get funded with this money, we do have more insight. The first couple of projects to get funded will be electric generating power plants–powered by Marcellus/Utica gas. And we know where those plants will most likely be located: “one in Harrison County and one in Brooke County” according to head of the WV Chamber of Commerce. Cracker plants (plural) are also being talked about for WV. We’ve been monitoring the news since yesterday’s announcement and have collected a number of excerpts below of what people (in the know) are saying about this historic deal…
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Brooke County | Economic Impact | Ethane | Hancock County | Industrywide Issues | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Weirton, WV Tries to Interest the Chinese in a Cracker Plant
November 10, 2017November 10, 2017

The early bird catches the worm. Not even a day had gone by when Patrick Ford, the executive director of the Weirton-based Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, piped up and signaled China that Weirton would be a great place to locate an ethane cracker plant. Ford said Weirton sits roughly halfway between Shell’s cracker plant under construction, and a planned cracker plant by PTT Global in Belmont County, OH. Weirton was considered for both of those projects but apparently there was an issue getting enough contiguous acreage for a large-scale project like a cracker. However, Ford says those issues are now resolved and Weirton is open for cracker business. Ford told a reporter, “We want to see a third ethane cracker in this region — and it should be in Brooke or Hancock County” (note that Weirton straddles both). We like Weirton’s plucky opportunism. Businesses and projects in WV should not sit on their hands. Get that Chinese money and get it quick, before it disappears into someone else’s pocket!…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | West Virginia

China Agrees to Invest Amazing $83.7 BILLION in WV Shale, Petchem
November 9, 2017November 9, 2017

The “Art of the Deal” is still alive and well for Donald Trump. Trump along with an entourage of various state officials are currently on a trade mission in Asia. This morning (our time) a flurry of announcements were issued about Trump (and others) convincing China to invest $250 billion (a staggering number!) in various projects in the U.S. A whopping $83.7 billion of that (a full third!!) will be invested in one state–West Virginia. And the WV investment, according to the announcement, will be in “shale gas and chemical manufacturing projects.” The investment will come over the next 20 years, so yes, we’ll believe it when we see it. However, we cannot overstate how big and how good this news is for our friends in the Mountain State. While no specific projects are mentioned, we get this enticing tidbit from the announcement: “The projects will focus on power generation, chemical manufacturing, and underground storage of natural gas liquids and derivatives.” Sounds to us like we now know where the $10 billion NGL storage facility will be located (see WV Senators Ask Trump to Create NGL Storage Hub Commission). It also sounds to us like a cracker plant may be a possibility. And a number of Marcellus-fired electric plants. This is truly a “wow” story! Here’s the announcement released earlier today…
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Baker Hughes | Energy Services | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Baker Hughes Oct Rig Count – US Slides by 18, PA Drops 1 Rig
November 8, 2017November 8, 2017

The International (non-U.S.) Baker Hughes rig count for October 2017 was 951, up 20 from the 931 counted in September 2017, and up 31 from the 920 counted in October 2016. The U.S. rig count for October 2017 was 922, down 18 from the 940 counted in September 2017, but up 378 from the 544 counted in October 2016. Notice that we have almost as many rigs operating in the U.S. as the entire rest of the world (minus Canada). Canada’s rig count has improved a lot since earlier this year. However, Canada’s October rig count drooped a bit–204 in October (down 4 from September) but up 48 from October 2016. What about rig counts in the Marcellus/Utica? Pennsylvania lost one rig and ran an average of 32 rigs during October, versus Ohio running 29 rigs and West Virginia running 15 rigs, the same as September…
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Housing | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Ohio County | West Virginia

Tiny Houses: Answer to Affordable Housing in Active M-U Area?
November 8, 2017November 8, 2017

We have to confess this story is purely for amusement purposes–ours and yours. In our daily trawl of the news related to “Marcellus Shale” we spotted this headline: “Group hopes to add tiny houses to Wheeling Island.” We thought, What in the world do tiny houses on Wheeling Island (Wheeling, WV) have to do with the Marcellus? So we read the article to find out. Anyone watching HGTV has, at one point or another, watched a program about “tiny houses.” There’s even an HGTV show called Tiny House Hunters. “Tiny houses” are actual stick-built homes that are under 500 square feet of living space. Think really-small efficiency apartment. Except it’s a real house–sort of. The average American home is 1,780 square feet of living space. (If you’re not familiar with the tiny house movement, read this Wikipedia entry.) So what do tiny houses in Wheeling, WV have to do with the Marcellus? A group in Wheeling believes tiny houses on Wheeling Island is a viable solution for affordable housing. You see, the Marcellus/Utica has successfully employed a lot of people in the region–and a lot of new people have moved in, sopping up available apartments, homes, and trailers. There’s a bit of a housing shortage due to an abundance of Marcellus workers. The group in Wheeling thinks they have the solution: sell a bunch of tiny houses on Wheeling Island…
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Energy Companies | EnerVest | Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Enervest Pushes for Co-Tenancy in West Virginia
November 7, 2017November 7, 2017

In August MDN told you the West Virginia Oil & Natural Gas Association (WVONGA) plans to push, once again, for what MDN calls forced pooling lite in the next session of the legislature scheduled for early 2018 (see WVONGA Makes Plans to Push Forced Pooling Lite in 2018). Forced pooling legislation in West Virginia has been put forward five times in the past seven years–and each time it has failed to win enough votes in the WV legislature. This year, WVONGA changed tactics and renamed forced pooling as co-tenancy and joint development (see WV Won’t Push Forced Pooling, Will Push Joint Dev. & Co-Tenancy). The West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization refers to co-tenancy as “majority rules” and joint development as “invisible ink” (see Another Look at WV’s Co-tenancy & Joint Development Proposals). EnerVest, a shale (and conventional) driller with considerable acreage in West Virginia recently contributed a editorial to the Charleston Gazette-Mail which unsurprisingly supports WVONGA’s push–at least for co-tenancy. The article doesn’t mention joint development, but since the two are tied together in a single bill, we assume they also want to see joint development. Below is (once again) a brief explanation of the two concepts, along with EnerVest’s editorial/reasons for why the Mountain State needs them…
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Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WVDEP Reverses, Waives Water Permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline
November 2, 2017November 2, 2017

Hold on or you might get whiplash. In March, the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) issued a federal water crossing permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)–a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA (see WV DEP Grants Mountain Valley Pipeline Water Crossing Permit). In June, a group of profoundly radical “environmental” organizations (Sierra Club, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Indian Creek Watershed Association, Appalachian Voices and Chesapeake Climate Action Network) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit against the WVDEP for doing their job issuing the permit (see Radicals File Lawsuit Against WV DEP for Approving MV Pipeline). Because of the pressure of that lawsuit, the WVDEP caved and reversed their decision in September, rescinding (called “vacating”) the permit for MVP (see Trouble for Mountain Valley Pipe: WV DEP Withdraws Water Permit). The WVDEP said they will “re-evaluate the complete application to determine whether the state’s certification is in compliance with Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act.” Just two weeks ago the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld WVDEP’s decision and granted the agency’s motion to invalidate the previous certificate they granted the project (see Court Backs WVDEP Move to Cancel Permits for Mountain Valley Pipe). Yesterday, in yet another 180 degree about face, WVDEP announced it has “lifted the suspension” of the MVP stormwater permit–and that the agency has decided to waive the permit, MVP has no need to get it before beginning construction. It appears newly-minted Gov. Jim Justice, still in his first year, put a branding iron to the backside of WVDEP. Hold on to your cowboy hat! MVP is on the way to getting built in the Mountain State…
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Antero Resources | Doddridge County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | MarkWest Energy | West Virginia

Doddridge, WV Drilling & Processing is Marcellus-Central
October 27, 2017October 27, 2017

Doddridge County, WV

There’s no question that Doddridge County is one of the most active counties in West Virginia, with respect to the Marcellus/Utica industry. Doddridge is home to MarkWest’s Sherwood complex, the single largest gas-processing complex in the Northeast with eight cryogenic processing facilities. Antero Resources, an active (really big) driller in Doddridge, is building a huge wastewater recycling facility in the county. As we reported in September, the tax base in the county has tripled over the past seven years (see Doddridge County, WV Tax Base Triples in 7 Yrs Thx to M-U Shale). Dominion Energy also has a large presence in the county with hundreds of miles of gathering and interstate pipelines. Yes, Doddridge is a happenin’ place when it comes to the Marcellus. We’d call it “Marcellus-Central” in WV…
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Economic Impact | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

List of 26 Shale Gas-Fired Electric Plant Projects in OH-PA-WV
October 24, 2017October 24, 2017

Last week the The Independent Power Producers (IPPs) of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia wrote an official letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) detailing their objection to a proposed plan by the Dept. of Energy (DOE) to give special treatment to electric power generating facilities powered by coal and nuclear plants. The DOE recently ordered FERC to devise new market rules favoring coal and nukes on the premise they contribute to “grid resiliency.” The IPPs writing the letter in opposition represent at least 26 shale gas-fired electric plant projects across the three states, which will contribute $21 billion to those state economies and generate 20,000+ jobs. Below we have the letter sent to FERC by the IPPs. That letter prompted our friends at Energy in Depth to produce a list of the projects the IPPs are building (or have built) in the tri-state area. It is an impressive list. We liked it and grabbed it to share with the MDN audience…
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Clay County | Cunningham Energy | Energy Companies | Kanawha County | West Virginia

Cunningham Energy Strikes More Oil in WV
October 23, 2017October 23, 2017

Cunningham Energy is a small oil driller based in West Virginia. In 2015, Cunningham struck oil in the Big Injun sandstone formation in Clay County, WV (see Cunningham Strikes Oil in West Virginia’s Big Injun Territory). In 2016, Cunningham announced they would target another shallow formation, the Weir Sand formation, a few layers below the Big Injun (same group of rocks called the Mississippian system), once again looking for oil (see Cunningham Using Horizontal Drilling to Target Weir Sand in WV). Last week Cunningham provided an update to say they’ve hit a milestone by producing 20,000 barrels of oil production from two new shallow horizontal oil wells located in Clay County, once again targeting the Big Injun. They also said they will soon begin to drill those previously mentioned Weir wells in Kanawha County. Normally we don’t cover news from conventional drillers, but Cunningham is interesting for a few reasons. While the rock layers Cunningham targets are layers typically targeted by conventional oil drillers, the lines are beginning to become blurred between conventional and unconventional. Cunninghamton targets shallow layers using horizontal drilling, and they drill increasingly longer laterals. Yet they don’t frack their wells. What is the definition of conventional vs. unconventional drilling? In brief, unconventional is the marriage of both horizontal drilling AND fracking. If you don’t have both, you don’t have what we consider an unconventional well. Yet conventional wells, like those drilled by Cunningham, increasingly have characteristics of unconventional wells, like long horizontal laterals (used to be vertical-only). Cunningham, in their promotional material, talks about one day drilling shale wells. Looks like they’re getting practiced up and ready…
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Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

EQT’s Equitrans Expansion Project Gets PA DEP Water Permit
October 23, 2017July 8, 2019

EQT’s Equitrans (pipeline) Expansion Project is on track to begin construction by the end of this year–likely sometime in November. We first covered this project in 2015 (see Time to Support EQT Mountain Valley & Equitrans Pipelines @ FERC). The Equitrans Expansion Project will upgrade compressor stations, add approximately eight miles of pipeline connectors to upgrade capacity on the Equitrans Pipeline from southwestern Pennsylvania into West Virginia. The $100 million project, when completed, will expand capacity on the Equitrans pipeline by 600 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d). The project when introduced was slated to be done by the end of 2018. Looks like they will keep that schedule. On Friday, October 13, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for both the $100 million Equitrans Expansion Project and $3.5 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline. The two projects are connected. On Saturday, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection issued, via publication in the Pennsylvania Register, federal water crossing permits for the Equitrans Expansion Project. The bulldozers can’t be far behind…
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