Utica Shale

Two new cryogenic processing plants are expected to begin operations in Ohio’s Utica Shale this month, representing a combined 400 MMcf/d of capacity for producers in the region with shut-in wells waiting for it.

Work is underway at the former Ormet Corp. aluminum smelting plant straddling Ohio and West Virginia to transform the 1,700 acre site into a large-scale port and central service terminal for the oil and gas industry operating in the region.

Shippers stepped up for 3.25 Bcf/d of pipeline capacity from the Marcellus and Utica shales to markets in the Midwest, Great Lakes and Gulf Coast on Energy Transfer Partners LP’s (ETP) ET Rover project. The binding commitments are for 15- and 20-year fee-based contracts.

Polls show Pennsylvania’s Republican Gov.Tom Corbett narrowing the double-digit lead that Democratic challenger Tom Wolf has enjoyed for much of the campaign. The election has high stakes for the oil and gas industry as Wolf has pushed a severance tax and made energy reform a mainstay of his campaign.

Eclipse Resources Corp. said Monday that it slightly exceeded its third quarter guidance by producing 85.8 MMcfe/d in its core operating area of southeast Ohio in another update that shows the company has gained some momentum heading into the end of the year.

Range Resources Corp. turned in another solid quarter of record production.

The Permian Basin unit of American Energy Partners LP (AELP) could go public within a year depending on market conditions, the Aubrey McClendon-led company said Tuesday.

A natural gas leak at an unconventional well operated by American Energy Partners LP affiliate American Energy Utica LLC prompted an overnight evacuation order in southeast Ohio’s Jefferson County after emergency management officials feared it could lead to an explosion, according to state regulators.

Mountain Valley Pipeline, a joint venture (JV) of affiliates of EQT Corp. and NextEra Energy Inc., has requested that FERC initiate its National Environmental Policy Act pre-filing review of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project, a proposed 300-mile pipeline that would deliver Marcellus and Utica shale natural gas to high-demand markets in the southeastern United States.