Tuscarawas

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) has asked the state attorney general (AG) to pursue civil penalties for alleged environmental violations that may have occurred during construction of Energy Transfer Partners LP’s (ETP) Rover Pipeline.

FERC has denied Rover Pipeline LLC permission to finish horizontal directional drilling (HDD) at two sites critical to laterals in Ohio and West Virginia — at least for now.

In a letter Tuesday responding to FERC’s May 10 order that suspended new horizontal directional drilling (HDD) for the Rover Pipeline, backer Energy Transfer Partners LP asked Commission staff to allow completion of two HDDs critical to laterals in Ohio and West Virginia.

The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) approved two separate agreements Friday to provide water from several managed lakes in eastern Ohio for approximately three months to Antero Resources and Gulfport Energy Corp. for Utica Shale operations.

Dover, OH-based Dennison Disposal LLC has applied for a permit to drill a Class II wastewater injection well in Union Township in Tuscarawas County, OH, to support oil and natural gas drilling in the Utica Shale. The well would be drilled to a depth of 7,900-9,000 feet, according to the permit application with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) The well, classified as a saltwater injection well, would have an average disposal capacity of 5,000 barrels a day of wastewater, and a maximum disposal capacity of 8,000 barrels a day. An ODNR spokesman said a public comment period on the proposed well is to end April 24. Last July, Gov. John Kasich signed an executive order temporarily giving the ODNR power to regulate injection wells (see Shale Daily, July 13, 2012). Specifically, the chief of the Division of Oil Gas Resources Management, currently Rick Simmers, has the authority to enact rules for injection wells, including requiring additional testing before drilling and possibly setting a maximum allowable injection pressure. The ODNR currently has an inventory of 151,000 Class II injection wells, including saltwater injection, enhanced oil recovery and annular disposal wells.

The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) agreed Friday to lease more than 6,000 acres under one of the lakes it manages in eastern Ohio to Antero Resources, with a bonus payment of nearly $41 million.

Ohio wells produced about 73.3 Bcf of natural gas and 4.9 million bbl of oil in 2011, according to a report released this week by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management.

One person was killed after an explosion at an oil and natural gas well near Bolivar, OH, in Tuscarawas County, on Monday morning.

With the Marcellus and Utica shale ethane situation under control for the moment, propane is becoming the next natural gas liquid (NGL) to trouble producers in Appalachia.