Drilling Down
Caiman Energy, its Partners to Invest $800M in Utica
Thursday, July 12, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- More midstream infrastructure is on its way to eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale region as Caiman Energy II secures $800 million in investments to develop a natural gas liquid and crude oil gathering and processing network.
Caiman’s partners include Williams Partners of Tulsa, Okla., EnCap Flatrock Midstream of San Antonio and Highstar Capital of New York. The area of focus will be the natural gas liquid- and oil-rich areas of the Utica Shale in Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania, the company said.
Kasich Signs Executive Order on Injection Wells
Wednesday, July 11, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – An executive order signed by Gov. John Kasich allows the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' oil and gas division more authority over injection wells that are used to dispose of contaminated wastewater from drilling operations.
The order, signed late Tuesday, calls for new regulations that "provide the greatest degree of citizen protection possible without causing irreparable harm to an industry important to the economy."
New Well Permit Issued for Columbiana County
Wednesday, July 11, 2012COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has awarded another horizontal drilling permit for Columbiana County for oil and gas exploration in the Utica shale.
A permit was issued July 2 for Houston-based Sierra Resources LLC, which wants to drill a well at the Kiko farm in Butler Township.
Also last week, Chesapeake Energy was issued two permits for horizontal wells in Carroll County, the most active county in Ohio for Utica shale exploration. The permits were issued for the Lucas and Colescott properties in Loudon Township.
Duke Study Warns of Danger to Marcellus Aquifers
Tuesday, July 10, 2012DURHAM, NC -- A Duke University study of well water in northeastern Pennsylvania suggests that naturally occurring pathways could have allowed salts and gases from the Marcellus shale formation deep underground to migrate up into shallow drinking water aquifers.
The study found elevated levels of salinity with similar geochemistry to deep Marcellus brine in drinking water samples from three groundwater aquifers, but no direct links between the salinity and shale gas exploration in the region.
NiSource, Hilcorp Target Eastern Ohio for Utica Plant
Monday, July 09, 2012MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – NiSource Inc. and Houston-based Hilcorp Energy announced today the creation of a joint venture that calls for building a new natural-gas liquids processing plant in northeastern Ohio and another 50 miles of pipeline infrastructure there and in western Pennsylvania.
The first phase of the project would constitute an initial investment of about $300 million, NiSource said, and work on the plant and new pipelines could begin later this year.