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It really is starting to look like a boom!

Ohiosam

*Supporting Member*
11,709
191
Mahoning Co.
Yesterday...

LISBON - Chesapeake Energy Corp. announced Tuesday it plans to construct a shale gas processing complex as part of a $900 million, five-year investment in Columbiana County.

Although the news release issued by Chesapeake failed to state where the processing facility would be located, other sources have confirmed it will be built near Hanoverton.

The announcement comes 11 days after Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon and his board of directors dined at the Spread Eagle Tavern in Hanoverton as part of a helicopter tour of company assets in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Chesapeake had more than 42,000 acres in the county under lease as of mid-December.

Spread Eagle owner David Johnson, whose family owns the Summitville Tile Co., met with McClendon and Chesapeake officials during their visit. "It's going to be a huge thing for this area because, as I said before, Columbiana County is at the epicenter" of the shale gas boom under way in the region, he said. "I know they told me (March 2) they are very serious about making a commitment to this area, and they expect it to be a long-term commitment."

County Commissioner Chairman Mike Halleck put it another way.

"This announcement is monumental. All of this is going to change the face of this county," he said.

The complex is to consist of gas gathering and compression facilities built and operated by Chesapeake subsidiary, Chesapeake Midstream Development. The site will also process gas, remove NGLs (natural gas liquids, such as ethane, propane, butane, pentanes, natural gasoline) from the shale gas, and serve as a loading and terminal facility, all of which is to be built and operated by the Houston-based M3 Midstream LLC, also known as Momentum.

EV Energy Partners LP, also based in Houston, is another partner in the county project.

"The state-of-the-art cryogenic processing facility will be located in Columbiana County and have an initial capacity of 600 million cubic feet per day. NGLs will be delivered to a central NGL hub complex in Harrison County that will feature an initial NGL storage capacity of 870,000 barrels and (NGL removal) capacity of 90,000 barrels per day, as as well as substantial rail-loading facility," according to the Chesapeake news release. This Harrison County facility is being constructed by MarkWest Energy Partners of Denver.

"This first question is how many jobs this will create. That'll be up to Chesapeake, but it's a $900 million project," Halleck said.

He said local officials have been working behind the scenes with area vocational schools to ensure residents have access to the necessary training to put themselves in a position to compete for the new jobs.

"Everyone's concerned we get people with the right skill sets," Halleck said. "For people looking for work, this is their opportunity."




Now today...


PITTSBURGH (AP) - Shell Oil Co. has chosen a site near Pittsburgh for a major, multi-billion-dollar petrochemical refinery that could provide a huge economic boost to the region.

Dan Carlson, Shell's General Manager of New Business Development, said Thursday that the company signed a land option agreement with Horsehead Corp. to evaluate a site near Monaca, about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania had all sought the plant and offered Shell major tax incentives. Monaca is just 20 miles from both the Ohio and West Virginia borders, so workers in all three states are likely to benefit.

Shell has said that it could spend several billion dollars to build the plant, and that the complex would attract a wide range of industry and suppliers to nearby locations. But actual construction is still years away. The company said the next steps are environmental and design studies and further economic analysis, then permits.

One lifelong resident of the Pennsylvania township almost broke down on hearing the news.

"Oh my God. It makes me want to cry. That's just the best news," said Christie Floyd-Gabel, Potter Township's secretary.

It's also an unexpected turn for Horsehead's zinc factory, which is located on the banks of the Ohio River. In September the company announced plans to shut the Monaca smelter plant by 2013 and relocate to North Carolina, along with most of its 600 workers.

"That was a major loss," Floyd-Gabel said of Horsehead's plans to depart, adding that's it's amazing that another major corporation may come in to replace Horsehead.

Ali Alavi, a Horsehead spokesman, said the company would have to vacate the factory site by April 30, 2014, under the terms of the option agreement with Shell.

Shell said the Horsehead site had the mix of resource and transportation attributes "to accommodate facilities for a world scale petrochemical complex and potential future expansions."

The so-called ethylene cracker plant would convert natural gas liquids into other, more profitable chemicals, which then go into everything from plastics to tires to antifreeze.

Shell's choice may ultimately represent an indication of just how strongly the industry feels about the vast gas reserves in nearby underground shale rock formations. Carlson told The Associated Press that any plant must be economically competitive with existing plants in Louisiana and Texas, and even with international plants.

The Marcellus Shale, which lies thousands of feet underground, has attracted a rush of major oil companies, who have drilled almost 5,000 new wells in the last five years. The Marcellus covers large parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia, and drillers have also started to tap the adjacent, deeper Utica Shale formation.

Ohio and West Virginia officials had made all-out efforts to attract the plant. Last year West Virginia Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette said, "We intend to compete with the last breath in our body to attract one or more crackers," and Ohio's governor reportedly flew to Houston to meet with Shell officials.

The Monaca site is several miles away from another industrial park in Aliquippa that state and local officials had touted.
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
The CHK plant is peanuts compared to the Shell cracker...that was the big fish that apparently Ohio couldn't land. I was VERY surprised to see it go to PA bc of the dry gas/wet gas line, but then again...who knows...
 

Ohiosam

*Supporting Member*
11,709
191
Mahoning Co.
For me it really doesn't matter which state they went to(yes I understand the tax ramifications) both are only about 25-30 miles away. That finally means good local jobs, maybe we can keep some of the kids in the area instead of sending them NC, VA, TX etc for jobs.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
The CHK plant is peanuts compared to the Shell cracker...that was the big fish that apparently Ohio couldn't land. I was VERY surprised to see it go to PA bc of the dry gas/wet gas line, but then again...who knows...

Yep. The Shell cracker is going to be unlike anything we've seen east of the Mississippi. And to think I almost got to work for them!
 

Riverdude

The Happy Hunting Grounds Beyond
Supporting Member
10,254
115
Ashtabula, Ohio
I am drilling like 5 miles from WV and maybe 12 miles from Ohio. Cotty can come bring me dinner in the evenings.
 

Riverdude

The Happy Hunting Grounds Beyond
Supporting Member
10,254
115
Ashtabula, Ohio
I just went to Walmart in WV and missed the exit, thought I use to go home this way, especailly when I had to turn around in Ohio to get back to Walmart. I could tell while in Walmart I was in WV, lol.