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Springfield Cryogenic Plant to Begin Full Operations
NEW MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- After more than a year of planning and construction, Pennant Midstream LLC's Hickory Bend cryogenic processing plant is ready to begin operations, the company announced today.
"As producers bring wells online and are able to flow gas to the facility, Hickory Bend will be capable of processing up to 200 million cubic feet per day," said Chad Zamarin, president of Pennant and chief operating officer of NiSource Midstream Services LLC.
NiSource operates Pennant Midstream and the Hickory Bend system under a partnership with Harvest Pipeline, an affiliate of Hilcorp Energy Co.
"This achievement contributes to increased shale production in the Appalachian Basin and is not only critical to unlocking the potential of the Utica shale play in Ohio, it is furthering economic development in the Mahoning Valley," Zamarin said in a prepared statement.
The Hickory Bend system represents a $375 million investment from Pennant and includes approximately 55 miles of 20-inch to 24-inch wet gas gathering pipelines that lead to the large cryogenic plant on State Line Road in Springfield Township.
Pennant's plant accepts natural gas from producing wells in the Utica shale and separates dry gas, in this case, methane, from natural gas liquids. The dry gas is transported through existing lines and into homes and businesses across the region, while the wet gas would be shipped 38 miles via a new liquids gathering pipeline to a fractionation hub in Harrison County.
There, the liquids are separated into specific products such as ethane, butane and propane.
The new cryogenic plant near New Middletown supports gas production from nearby Hilcorp wells and other producers, the company said. The first plant, or "train," is capable of processing 200 million cubic feet a day, but gathering lines hold the capacity to transport 600 million cubic feet a day.
Hilcorp has drilled two wells at its Carbon Limestone Landfill pad in Poland Township in Mahoning County, one of which is in production. The company has intentions to drill at least 12 wells at the site.
Pennant is preparing land on the 90-acre site that would accommodate two additional plants to meet the need for midstream services as production from Utica wells increases, Zamarin said.
In addition, the state controlling board is expected to consider at its meeting Jan. 13 a request to award a $100,000 grant toward public roadwork improvements related to the Pennant Midstream project.
"We are making a long-term investment in midstream infrastructure in Ohio that, in the end, could equal over $1 billion," Zamarin said.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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