shale play - northeast ohio edition 6-28-12

By DAN POMPILIShale Play

VIENNA, Ohio — Road construction con-tinued earlier this month along WarrenSharon Road near the Wollam Racing Stablesas work crews prepare for the large trucksthat will bring Trumbull County’s first UticaShale drilling rig.

It began in May when a tree was cut downat the planned access point, and now,Youngblood Paving of Wampum, Pa., putdown the blacktop for the access road onto

the farm property, where the well will bedrilled.

County Engineer Randy Smith said theroad milling also took place and will be fol-lowed by the chip-and-fill process and resur-facing, weather permitting.

Canonsburg, Pa.-based CNX has signed aroad maintenance agreement with TrumbullCounty, posted a $100,000 road bond andcertified $1 million in liability insurance.CNX is a subsidiary of CONSOL Energy.

County officials negotiated with CNX forroad-strengthening work that will prepareWarner and Warren Sharon Roads to handlethe heavy truck traffic that comes with adrilling operation, including transport of thedrilling rig itself.

To prepare Warner Road for the traffic, 2inches of blacktop will be added to the exist-

ing surface. The section of Warren SharonRoad will be milled, chipped and sealed, thenre-paved.

Smith said trucks exiting Ohio 82 will thentake Warner Road north to Warren SharonRoad and west about half a mile to the wellsite.

CNX Spokeswoman Lynn Seay said keyinfrastructure work needs to take place beforeany site construction can begin.

Seay said CONSOL’S director of Ohiooperations, Harry Schurr, said the company isplanning on a July drilling date, but no spe-cific day has been set.

The well was permitted at the end of April,and road construction was expected to beginby May with a June drilling date.

PSC cracking down onhydrant draining/14

Gov. John Kasich signs drilling rules/3

Report: Don’t worry too muchabout quakes and fracking/17

SSHHAALLEE PPLLAAYYEXPLORING LOCAL GAS AND DRILLING OPPORTUNITIES • Thursday, June 28, 2012

INSIDE

Chesapeake sellingpipelines for $4BWHEELING, W.Va. — To helpreduce a projected deficitranging anywhere from $9.5billion to $22 billion,Chesapeake Energy is selling itsstake in natural gas pipelinesystems for $4 billion/1

Site chosen for processing plantHANOVERTON, Ohio — A 117-acre site located about a milesouth of the village has appar-ently been chosen for a pro-posed $400 million shale gascollection and processingplant/Page 12

• Please see UTICA, page 2

• Please see LAWSUITS, page 2P

RS

RT

ST

D

US

PO

STA

GE

PA

ID

WH

EE

LIN

G, W

V

PE

RM

ITN

O. 8

56

By TOM GIAMBRONIStaff Writer

LISBON, Ohio — The shale gas boom under way inColumbiana County has been a boon to the legal pro-fession judging by the number of lawsuits.

More than a dozen shale-related lawsuits have beenfiled over the past year alone in county CommonPleas Court, including three lawsuits filed earlierthis month. The lawsuits are:

∫ TGS-Nopec Geophysical Co. andChesapeake Exploration filed a lawsuit againstMarilyn Slates of North Canton seeking accessto 332 acres in Hanover Township so it canperform seismic testing.

The property’s mineral rights have beenleased to Chesapeake, which hired TGS-Nopec to perform the seismic testingneeded to determine the best places todrill. According to the lawsuit, Slates —as the trustee for the land — hasrefused to sign off the paperwork thatwould allow the company access tothe property for testing.

This rig between Miller Roadand Ohio 517 in the uppernorthwest corner of Elkrun

Township will be drilling whatChesapeake has named the

Grubbs Well. Thegrowth of drilling operationsin Columbiana County hasled to a number of lawsuits.

Photo by Patti Schaeffer

Drilling road work under wayFirst Utica rigto be in Vienna

Gas boom leads tolawsuits in Ohio

2 SSHHAALLEE PPLLAAYY Thursday, June 28, 2012

330-856-6567713 Sodom-Hutchings Rd., SE • Vienna, OH

www.moonhawkherbals.com

15% OFFany purchases of

$2500 or more

330-856-6567713 Sodom-Hutchings Rd., SE

Vienna, OHwww.moonhawkherbals.com

Expires 7/31/2012

Open All Year RoundTuesday - Saturday 10am-6pm • Sunday 12-5pm

CLOSED MONDAYS

Dermal C FacialGives faces more youthful appearance

DERMAL K SKIN Clarifying CreamHelps Heal Spider Veins, Bruises, Stretch Marks, Burns, Scars, Eczema & Psoriasis, and More!

Cell FoodThe #1 Selling Oxygen,

Nutrient and Detox Supplement.

New!

• Allergy Products• Natural Supplements for Overall

Wellness• Diet Supplements• Tonics by Jennifer• Products for Restless Leg

Syndrome• Detox Foot Patch• Large Selection of Honey

Products• Great Coffee Substitute:

Dandelion Beverages

Wide Variety of Juices!• Goji• Reseratol• Acai Berry• Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar ... & More!

We also carry• Goji Berries• Dragon Herbs• Garden of Life’s NEW

Vitamin Code Vitamins

Purchase discounted gift certificates on Trib WebSaver go to TribToday.com for details

We carry a complete line of Sweet Annie Herbs, including their new diet supplement

GREENHOUSE OPEN YEAR-ROUND! LIVE PLANTS! • LARGEST SELECTION OF CULINARY & MEDICINAL PLANTS IN THE AREA!

Natural Gas and Oil Well Drilling

Rick Liddle, PresidentJohn Howell, Tool Pusher

200 Victoria Rd., Bldg. 4 • Austintown, OH 44515

330.770.2216 (c) • 330.301.0769 (c)

SHALE PLAYSHALE PLAY is published as a joint project by the Morning Journal, The Review,

Salem News and the Tribune Chronicle.

Lori McIntoshAdvertising Director330-424-9541 x257

[email protected]

Lisa LudoviciAdvertising Director330-385-4545 x142

[email protected]

Beth VolosinPublisher/Ad Director330-332-4601 x322

[email protected]

Kim BergmanAdvertising Director

[email protected]

EDITORIAL COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS CAN BE DIRECTED TO:

Dorma TolsonEditor - Morning Journal

330-424-9541 [email protected]

Frank RobinsonEditor - Tribune Chronicle

[email protected]

TO SUBSCRIBE: Call 1-888-550-8742. One-year, non-refundable subscription, $49.95

Lawsuitscontinued from page 1

Uticacontinued from page 1

The drilling pad will be approx-imately 200 yards south ofWarren Sharon Road and about150 yards west of Warner Road.

The county is also in talks withHouston-based Carrizo Gas foranother well in Vienna, alongRidge Road. Carrizo has obtained

a permit for one along HayesOrangeville Road in Hartford.

The Hartford site is purelyspeculative for now, Carrizosources said, because the compa-ny does not know what the Uticashale play may yield in theiracreage.

A permit obtained in MercerCounty, Pa., likely will beCarrizo’s first exploration ofUtica shale, and Hartford may bedrilled later if they believe it willbe productive.

A drilling permit for rural landlasts for two years.

The lawsuit asks the court todeclare that Chesapeake has theright to have its agent conductseismic testing on the property,issue an injunction grantingthem access, and also award theplaintiffs $25,000-plus in dam-ages as compensation for therevenue being lost due to thedelay.

This is the second such law-suit filed in the county, and theproperty owners won the firstone on a technicality, but theaction was refiled withChesapeake added as a plaintiff.

∫ Roger, Carolyn, James andBruce Starkey of Mechanicstownin Carroll County filed a lawsuitagainst Patriot Energy Partners ofLisbon, PEP Leasing of Lisbon,Andrew and Thomas Blocksomof Lisbon, and Robert Dickey ofLisbon. The lawsuit alleges theyare involved in some fashion withPatriot Energy and/or helpingsecure mineral rights leases fromthe Starkeys on behalf of PatriotEnergy.

Also named as defendants areBuckeye Oil Producing Co. ofWooster, Bass Energy ofFairlawn, Wimsatt Family ofParis, Sonata Investment Co. ofColumbus, and ChesapeakeExploration because all may havean interest in the leased property.

The gist of the lawsuit and sev-eral others filed against PatriotEnergy allege the companyengaged in questionable business

practices to obtain the leases foronly a fraction of what they werereally worth and then sold theleases to other companies for sig-nificantly more money.

A restraining order is sought toprevent the Blocksoms andDickey from notarizing or assign-ing any more leases in which theyhave an interest and that the leaseagreement with Patriot Energy bevoided. The Starkeys also wantmore than $1 million in damages.

∫ Another lawsuit was filed bya group of property owners in theLisbon and Leetonia areasagainst Columbia Gas and its par-ent company over the BrinkerStorage Field. Columbia Gas hadpre-existing leases for these prop-erties to store gas in undergroundtanks. The plaintiff claims theseleases have since expired due tolack of activity on the property,which would allow them to enterinto new leases for significantlymore money.

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit— the fourth of its kind — areDaniel and Sandra Gruszecki,Miller Road, Leetonia, Ohio;Richard and Diane Dowd, Ohio517, Lisbon; John, David andJennifer Krawchyk, Ohio 558,Leetonia; Dale Riehl, LeetoniaRoad, Leetonia; Tracy and JamesBruderly Jr., Lodge Road,Leetonia; Michael and DawnMoore, Leetonia Road, Leetonia;and Daniel and Lynn Hill,Woodville Road, Leetonia.

Photo by Dan Pompili

Construction crews from Youngblood Paving of Wampum, Pa., recently began laying blacktop for anew access road for what is expected to be the first Utica Shale natural gas well in Trumbull County,Ohio. The work, along Warren-Sharon Road in Vienna Township, will improve the roadways inadvance of drilling expected in July.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)— The policy debate overhydraulic fracturing in Ohiodoesn’t end with Gov. JohnKasich’s signing of newdrilling rules in mid-June.

A fellow Republican inthe Ohio House said that heand some GOP colleaguesplan to revisit the gover-nor’s proposed tax increaseon the industry before thesession ends in December,setting up a likely fightbetween lawmakers, thegovernor and the oil and gasindustry.

Hydraulic fracturing, orfracking, in-volves blastingmillions of gallons of chem-ically laced water into theearth to fracture shale for-mations and release oil, nat-ural gas and natural gas liq-uids such as propane.

The energy measuresigned by Kasich lays outrules for disclosing thechemicals that are used inthe process, construction ofwells and reporting of watersources and amounts usedas the developing Utica andMarcellus shale formationsrunning under parts of Ohioare explored.

The legislation also

makes changes to Ohio’sclean energy standard,affecting the types and per-centages of renewable ener-gy that are being phased inby utility companies.

But lawmakers chose toleave out the governor’splan to raise severancetaxes on high-producing oiland gas wells tapped usinghigh-pressure fracking.

Kasich wants to funnelproceeds from his proposed

tax increase into modeststatewide income-tax reliefin two or three years, after agrace period in collectionsthat would allow well oper-ators time to recover theirstartup costs.

Studies have diverged onthe tax’s economic impacton the growing industry,but polls show voters sup-port Kasich’s proposal.

Ohio Oil and GasAssociation executive vice

president Tom Stewart saidhis organization of energyproducers is largely sup-portive of the sweepingenergy bill that Kasichsigned Monday at EchogenPower Systems in Akron.

But Stewart said hebelieves Kasich’s proposalto increase the tax to 4 per-cent singles out large oiland gas producers oversmaller ones, raising apotential legal question.

“I think there could besome problems when youstart singling out by (shale)formations, or certain sizedbusinesses,” he said. “Youhave problems regardingequal treatment under thelaw.”

Stewart said the industrycontinues to fight the taxhike, and they have somesupport in the Republican-dominated state Legislatureto make adjustments.

“I don’t think the conver-sation’s dead,” Stewartsaid. “John Kasich is tryingto do his best for the wel-fare of Ohio, I know that.He wants good things tohappen for Ohio. But Idon’t think he has a goodhandle on oil and gas right

now. What we’re seeing is alot of caution out there inthe oil field.”

Kasich spokesman RobNichols said there’s been noevidence the governor’s taxhike would deter drilling.

“The industry is growing,it’s growing in terms of(job) applications, in termsof permits, in terms of num-ber of wells — and thisoccurring long after thegovernor’s plan for the sev-erance tax was known pub-licly,” he said. “At the endof the day, Ohio remains avery high tax state and thisis about driving down theincome tax to make us morecompetitive to put Ohioansback to work.”

GOP State Rep. LynnWachtmann, of Napoleonin northwest Ohio, isamong those who believethe issue needs more study.He said he believes anagreeable compromisecould be reached byDecember or January.

“My end goal is to have aseverance tax that encour-ages further investment aswell as development ofthese natural resources,” hesaid.

Thursday, June 28, 2012 SSHHAALLEE PPLLAAYY 3

PHIL’S SALES & SERVICE LLC.w w w . p h i l s k u b o t a . c o m

1472 Columbiana-Lisbon Rd. • Columbiana, Ohio

330-482-5548

Where can I find equipment that works hard but isn’t hard on me?Who has Performance-Matched implements?

Which dealer can I rely on for knowledge and service?Who has the right equipment for the job?

Kubota tractors/mowers/utility vehicles

THE ANSWER ISKUBOTA

Kasich signs drilling rulesOhio Gov. John Kasich, right, signs into law new drilling rules for his state.

AP Photo


TRUMBULL COUNTY ECONOMY IMPROVESBy LARRY RINGLER

Shale PlayWARREN, Ohio — Amid con-

cerns about weakening in thenation’s job market, the area’sunemployment rate continued toimprove in April, gradually settinga more stable economic foundationin home and vehicle sales.

“I have several doctors’ officeswho have called for medical assis-tants, both clinical, including phle-botomy (drawing blood) and officeworkers,” said Diana Moss, healthcare coordinator at the TrumbullCareer and Technical Center inChampion.

Vicki Thompson, the school’sadult education director, said theschool is seeing demand for every-one “from high school graduates topeople in their 60s. It had been realslow, but (employers) are startingto call again. The trend is upward,especially in manufacturing.”

Thompson said companies inthe past often would take experi-enced workers from other busi-nesses. But with workers retiring ata more rapid rate, companies arefacing a shortage of trainedemployees and are turning toschools like TCTC to fill the gap.

She said the school earlier inJune signed a “gigantic pact” withGeneral Motors Co. Lordstown

Complex to train workers. Twoother companies want to send sixto eight students into a trainingprogram.

Demand also is increasing forwelding, construction and otherskilled trades, partly driven by jobgrowth in the oil and gas shaledrilling companies moving into thearea to tap the Utica Shale.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, late last week announcedthe U.S. Department of Labor isproviding $6 million to trainworkers in the Mahoning Valleyand Shenango Valley of westernPennsylvania to counter an “acuteand critical” manufacturing skills

shortage of trained workers forshale and other manufacturingjobs. Jobs are acknowledged as thefirst step in an economic recovery,since a steady paycheck translatesinto house, vehicle and other pur-chases.

Trumbull County home sales inApril presented a mixed bag, withunit sales falling to 130 from 137a year ago, but the median pricerising to $64,050 from $62,900.

April new-vehicle sales showedsome small gain to 2,150 from2,083 in the same month of 2011.

Sales tax receipts for February,which Trumbull County receivedfrom the state in May, rose 10.8

percent from the year-ago periodto $1.85 million, by far the bestFebruary since the recessionstarted.

It all stems from a steady reduc-tion of the area’s jobless numbers,though with a note of caution.

Warren’s unemployment rate inApril dipped to 8.7 percent, its sec-ond straight month under 9 percentand lowest since 8.6 percent inOctober 2008 as the GreatRecession was starting to be felt.Trumbull County’s rate dropped to7.6 percent, best since the samenumber in October 2008.

However, a big part of the per-centage drop is people have givenup looking for work during yearsof recession.

Warren’s labor pool shrank to17,500, with 1,500 unemployed,in April compared to 19,400 avail-able workers and 1,700 jobless inOctober 2008.

The work force in the latestcounty rate was 100,000, with7,600 people unemployed, com-pared to a labor pool of 105,100and 8,000 unemployed in October2008.

Some training courses continueto grow.

Moss said the training andcareer center has been able to placestudents training in drawing bloodwith the American Red Cross.Pharmacy technicians also are indemand.

She added nursing homes andother caregivers “are crying for”state tested nursing assistants, orSTNAs, who provide bathing,dressing, feeding, grocery shop-ping and other direct patient care.

The school is seeking registrantsfor a class starting in July that willoffer a Health Care Associate pro-gram, which follows STNA train-ing.

Students at 200 percent orbelow of poverty level — $22,340for one person, $30,260 for a two-person household and $46,100 fora family of four — may participatein a lottery through the Compassservices program to get financialaid. Students also can get assis-tance through local OneStop stateoffices, prompting Moss to expectmore students for fall classes.

Local manufacturers: Hiring on an upswingChris Ferry of Newton Falls inTrumbull County, Ohio,practices welding at TrumbullCareer and Technical Center.Welding is a growing field withworkers expected to be indemand as the shale drillingindustry grows.

Photo by Larry Ringler

By KATIE SCHWENDEMANShale Play

EAST PALESTINE,Ohio — A member of thisvillage’s council is tired ofwaiting and wants to knowhow much money the vil-lage could reap through anoil and gas lease.

Fran Figley brought upthe matter during a recentcouncil meeting and refer-enced an article in theLisbon Morning Journalabout offers being made toLisbon for municipalproperty.

The article said the coun-ty seat could reap up to$5,800 an acre, plus 20percent royalties throughsigning with ChesapeakeExploration, the Oklahoma-based company that hasalready secured thousandsof leases in ColumbianaCounty.

Figley wants to knowhow much East Palestine isbeing offered for villageproperty but VillageSolicitor Shirley Smith hasdeclined to make that infor-mation public at this time.

She has said on numer-ous occasions she believesthe figures should not bedisclosed since the villageis currently in negotiations

with different companies.She told Figley that other

area offers are being printedin the newspaper becausethose leases have beenfinalized.

Figley asked her if shesaw the newspaper article,to which she responded thatshe did, however, the articlestated that Lisbon has notsigned a lease at this point.

Smith said in April she isattempting to negotiate with

Chesapeake Energy,Hillcorp Energy and BPRoyal Dutch Shell for 640acres of village land andthat a non-drill clause forpark and cemetery land beincluded in a potentiallease.

Of the village’s 640acres, about 135 acres arepark land and 32 acres arecemetery land.

Smith said she is stillwaiting to receive a formal

lease from ChesapeakeEnergy and that the delay isdue in part to an employeechange within the company.

Figley said several peo-ple in the village have askedhim where they stand on thematter and told Smith thatcouncil members should atleast know the figures —even if she does not wish todisclose them to the public.

“I disagree totally that itinterferes with us getting

the best price,” he said ofthe potential lease offers. “Idon’t know why councilwasn’t told anything.Maybe some on councilhave input; it’s been fourmonths now.”

Figley has said more thanonce he believes some oncouncil are privy to theinformation but councilmembers have not respond-ed to that claim during themeetings.

Councilman Don Elzersaid after the meeting thathe doesn’t know what thefigures are but can estimatebased on knowing howmuch he has been offeredfor his own property intown. He believes the vil-lage should hold out for a

more lucrative offer in thefuture.

“I’m hearing in the pri-vate sector they are offering$3,500 an acre ... I think thevillage should wait until thependulum swings back,” hesaid.

Smith said during themeeting that there are“varying opinions” onwhether waiting is benefi-cial, but added that at leasttwo individuals she has spo-ken with outside the villageare going to “hold out forhigher numbers.”

In addition to negotiatingfor village land Smith isalso talking to neighboringmunicipalities about leasingas a group. She said Salemsent a letter of interest to thevillage regarding a grouplease.

Elzer suggested at theend of 2011 that leasing asa group would reap morerevenue because moreacreage would be involved.

Smith said she wouldpresent Figley and othercouncil members with leas-ing information this week.

“Obviously I won’t beentering into a lease withoutcouncil’s review of that(lease) and approval,” shetold Figley.


Corner of Routes 7 & 14 • Columbiana, Ohio

330-482-0022

BANQUETCENTER

www.linksatfirestonefarms.com

WEDNESDAY NIGHTBUFFET

4:00 PM - 8:00 PMA different cusine every week from Hungarian, Greek,

Chinese to Italian and More.

ADULTS: $10.95CHILDREN 6-11 YEARS: $6.95; UNDER 5: FREE

Check our website atlinksatfirestonefarms.com/sunday_brunch/

SUNDAY BRUNCHEvery Sunday: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PMFresh carved meat, made to order omelets,shrimp cocktail, and more delicious food.

ADULTS: $13.95CHILDREN 6-11 YEARS: $8.95; UNDER 5: FREE

The ideal place for Weddings, Showers, Meetings, Proms,

Reunions & More!

Banquet Center, Golf Course andFirestone Homestead LLC Development

Feel like you’re on vacation every day!Cozy comfort living overlooking a scenic golf course. The Residential Community Center

houses a large Party Room with kitchen, lounge area with fireplace, exercise roomwith flat-screen television and a beautiful

in-ground heated swimming pool.Choose from 4 neighborhoods, homes, villas

and town houses. Our respected, quality builders design homes for every lifestyle

Lots are available too, call 330-718-5790.

How much money will village reap?Village leaders in EastPalestine, Ohio, arehoping to sign a naturalgas drilling lease for thevillage’s 640 acres sothat natural gas drillingrigs such as this one cansoon be in place.

File Photo


Authorized Hancor Storm Sewer Distributor

Home Office330-386-3646P.O. Box 2027

16363 St. Clair Ave.East Liverpool, OH 43920

• Industrial • Contractor • Pipe Supplies• Municipal Supplies • Oil Field Services

For Projects Big and Small,

Pipelines Stocks It All.

Satelite Office330-540-PIPE (7473)

7800 Addison Rd.Masury, OH 44438

By TOM GIAMBRONIShale Play

LISBON, Ohio — After beingtold the going rate for shale gasleases had dropped significantly,Village Council learned they werestill in line to get top dollar.

Village Solicitor VirginiaBarborak advised council mem-bers the law firm they retained toassist her in negotiations withChesapeake Energy advised herthe company was willing to paythe village $5,800 an acre, plus 20percent royalties.

Barborak suggested at the May29 council meeting they may wantto halt negotiations for nowbecause lease offers had declined

significantly. While other commu-nities have been signing leasesover the past 18 months, Lisbonmoved slowly, and during thatperiod prices rose to $5,800 anacre, only to drop to below $2,000an acre currently.

She said the newspaper storyabout the May meeting promptedtheir attorney to contact her toexplain Chesapeake was willing topay $5,800 per acre and 20 per-cent royalties, which is the highestthe company has reportedly paid.The village has 80 acres availableto lease.

Barborak said it is her under-standing that while individualproperty owners may be offered

$2,000 or less per acre now,Chesapeake is willing to pay thehigher amount to governmentalbodies.

“I just wanted to clarify that soyou didn’t think I lied to you lastweek,” she told council. Barboraksaid the next step is to put the leasein writing for council to approveand sign.

Published reports on May 30indicated that Chesapeake hadpulled its offer to pay the villageof Carrollton, Ohio, $5,800 anacre and 20 percent gross royal-ties. According to the report,another drilling company wasoffering Carrollton $3,500 anacre.

WELLSVILLE, Ohio —Cimbar Performance Mineralsannounced the completion of aseven-month, $6.5 million reno-vation of its Wellsville facility,which will greatly expand pro-duction capacity as well asopportunities for local employ-ment.

Company president AlbertWilson said the expansion at theplant, which produces cus-tomized mineral products used innatural gas drilling operations, isa result of the burgeoning shaleenergy industry in the area.

Though the footprint of theClark Avenue facility remains asbefore, a revamped milling cir-cuit and other upgrades willallow the plant to more than dou-ble its annual output, from250,000 tons to 650,000. Bycontrast, Wilson said that whenCimbar acquired the facility lastyear, its annual output was only3,600 tons per year.

Wilson also anticipates theneed for a greatly expandedworkforce to realize these pro-duction goals and foresees thehiring of an additional 27employees to join the currentranks of 24 workers.

“As the market grows, we willadd personnel to keep up with thedemand,” he said.

According to Wilson, theexpansion at the facility is part ofa developing local infrastructurethat will cater to the natural gasindustry as it grows here, as it hasgrown up around existing opera-tions. Speaking from the compa-ny’s headquarters in Cartersville,Ga., he said, “There’s no reason alot of that production shouldn’tbe up there.”

The bulk of the expansion willbe utilized for the production ofbarite, which is used not in thehydraulic fracturing processitself, but the initial drilling of thefracking well. In addition, theplant also produces talc and cal-cium carbonate, which are usedin paint, coatings, plastics, adhe-sives and the pharmaceuticalindustry.

With prospects for continuedgrowth in the local shale energyindustry looking very bright,Wilson expressed optimismabout the company’s future inWellsville.

“The investment is ongoing onour part,” he said. “We’re therefor the long term.”

A compressorstation such

as this could beon the horizon for

Lisbon if the villageapproves a natural

gas lease withChesapeakeEnergy. Thecompressor

station pumps thenatural gas into

transmissionlines.

File Photo

Cimbar expansion toincrease productionand employment

Village of Lisbon wants top dollar


HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) —Gov. Tom Corbett, who has beencriticized for cutting state spend-ing for schools and social servic-es, is advocating future tax cred-its worth as much as $66 milliona year for a petrochemical refin-ery planned by Shell Oil Co. inwestern Pennsylvania to capital-ize on booming natural-gasdrilling in the Marcellus Shaleregion.

The Corbett administration isseeking legislative approval nowto demonstrate its willingness toshare the costs of the multibil-lion-dollar project, even thoughthe credits would not becomeavailable until 2017. The creditwould be worth nearly $1.7 bil-lion over the 25 years they wouldremain in place.

“It’s a competitive climate outthere,” said Steve Kratz, aspokesman for the Department ofCommunity and EconomicDevelopment. “This is aboutreindustrializing the state.”

Corbett has not publicly dis-cussed the proposed tax break.

A top aide to Senate PresidentPro Tempore Joe Scarnati saidlawmakers will demand assur-ances that the plant will be builtin Pennsylvania and that promis-es of 10,000 to 20,000 relatedjobs will materialize.

“The Corbett administrationneeds to sell this and, if they canmake a compelling case that theamount of jobs proposed is accu-rate, I think some people (in theSenate) are going to be sympa-thetic to the credit,” said DrewCrompton, who is chief of stafffor Scarnati, R-Jefferson.

Shell already stands to receive15 years of tax cuts and exemp-tions under a bill Corbett signedearlier this year to designate thecracker-plant site as an expanded

Keystone Opportunity Zone.Kratz said the amount of tax

credits available to Shell will becalculated annually based on itsPennsylvania tax liability. It couldsell all or the unused portion of thecredit to suppliers of natural gascontaining ethane or manufactur-ers of products that use ethane orethane derivatives, he said.

The proposed credit isdesigned to “keep ethane inPennsylvania to be used in manu-

facturing and other industries thatuse ethane and its byproducts,”Kratz said.

The environmentalist groupPennFuture criticized the plan,contrasting it with recent cuts ineducation spending.

“The governor is choosing win-ners and losers and he has cast hislot with choosing to further help amulti-billion dollar corporationover the education of future gen-erations of Pennsylvanians,”

George Jugovic Jr., the group’spresident, said in a statement.

Pennsylvania competed withOhio and West Virginia for theplanned ethane-cracking plant andall three states included tax breaksin their proposals.

In March, Shell announced thatit had picked a site near Monaca,about 35 miles northwest ofPittsburgh, and signed a land-option agreement so it can furtherevaluate the site.

The “cracker” facility wouldconvert ethane from natural gasproduced in the Marcellus Shaleregion into more profitable chem-icals such as ethylene, which isused in making products thatinclude plastics, tires andfootwear. Shell has said it couldspend billions of dollars on theproject, which is expected todraw other companies to the area,although actual construction isstill years away.

Proposed Shell tax break in Pa.Pennsylvania lawmakerssoon will begindiscussions on proposedtax breaks for the

petrochemical industryworth $1.7 billion

over 25 years.

AP Photo

By TOM GIAMBRONI Shale Play

LISBON, Ohio — Five more permits arebeing sought to drill for shale gas inColumbiana County, bringing the total to38 over the past two years.

According to information from the coun-ty engineer’s office, the following permitapplications were filed with the OhioDepartment of Natural Resources over thepast several weeks:

∫ Unity Township: Dalton unit, which isaccessible from New Waterford Road andstate Route 14. The applicant is SWELPILP (formerly Shell Western E&P Inc.).

∫ Hanover Township: Hays Trust unit,which is accessible from Speidel andZeigler roads. The applicant is ChesapeakeExploration.

∫ Center Township: Andrulis unit,which is accessible from Lisbon-Dungannon Road. The applicant isChesapeake Exploration.

∫ Knox Township: Kibler unit, which isaccessible from Knox School Road. Theapplicant is Chesapeake Exploration.

∫ Salem Township: Riffle unit, which isaccessible from Longs Crossing Road.

Chesapeake Exploration is the applicant.All of the permits sought to date have

been approved by ODNR, with the approvalperiod averaging about a month.

The following is the list of drilling permitsby township: Butler, 4; Center, 2; Elkrun, 4;Fairfield, 2; Franklin, 2; Hanover, 7; Knox,4; Madison, 2; Middleton, 4; Salem, 1;Unity, 2; Washington, 2; West, 2.

The following is a list of unpermittedsites under development based on road-usemaintenance agreements filed with theengineer’s office. Permits have yet to besought for these sites:

∫ Elkrun Township: Johnston unit,accessible from Riffle and Pine Hollowroads.

∫ Salem Township: Gologram unit,accessible from Grafton Road; and Roy Dunit, accessible from Depot and Winonaroads.

∫ Center Township: Mrugala unit,accessible from Depot and Teegardenroads.

∫ Middleton Township: Hays unit,accessible from Vale Road.

∫ Madison Township: Amato unit,accessible from McCormick Run Road.

Applications filed for five morepermits to drill for shale gas

East Liverpool drops lawsuit By TOM GIAMBRONI

Shale PlayLISBON, Ohio — East

Liverpool’s lawsuit againstthe Columbiana Countycommissioners over shalegas lease money has offi-cially been dismissed.

Both sides agreed to dis-miss the lawsuit in a jointentry filed earlier thismonth in ColumbianaCounty Common PleasCourt, which comes on theheels of a court order com-mitting commissioners todepositing $1.5 millionwith the court to helpresolve the lawsuit betweenEast Liverpool and theBuckeye Water District.

The BWD was success-fully sued for breach ofcontract by East Liverpoolafter the BWD quit pur-chasing water from thecity.

This resulted in a $4.8million judgment againstthe BWD, which commis-sioners were also on the

hook for as a co-defendantbecause the county onceoperated the water districtthat later became theBWD.

When the BWD balkedat paying East Liverpool,saying that to do so couldcripple its operations, thecity filed a lawsuit againstcommissioners seeking anymoney they received forleasing county property foroil and gas development,with the funds to be appliedtoward the judgment.

To help resolve the law-suit and get East Liverpoolto drop its lawsuit, com-missioners agreed to make$1.5 million in future leasemoney available for satis-fying the judgment againstthe BWD, which wouldrepay the county.

This was followed by thecourt entry officiallydepositing the money withthe court while EastLiverpool and the BWDcontinue to negotiate.

AGREEDEast Liverpool andColumbia Countycommissioners agreedto dismiss the lawsuitin a joint entry filedearlier this month inColumbiana CountyCommon Pleas Court,which comes on theheels of a court ordercommittingcommissioners todepositing $1.5million with the courtto help resolve the law-suit between EastLiverpool and theBuckeye Water District.


W.Va. couple sues gas drillers over land leaseMORGANTOWN, W.Va.

(AP) — A Brooke County cou-ple who claim they were dupedinto leasing their land to a gascompany for $50 per acre in2007 wants a judge to declarethat the lease expired and punishthe operators they say tookadvantage of them.

Ramon and Lois Bowen suedOklahoma-based ChesapeakeAppalachia, Pennsylvania-basedRange Resources and Texas-based Statoil USA OnshoreProperties last month in BrookeCounty Circuit Court.

None of the companies has yetfiled a response to the allega-tions, but Chesapeake had thecase transferred to U.S. DistrictCourt in Wheeling.

The Bowens said that fiveyears before the profit potential

of the Marcellus and Utica shalegas reserves was commonknowledge, a land man forRange talked them into leasing53 acres for what they now knowis far less than market value.

They signed a deal for $50 peracre, with rental payments of $7per year and a 14 percent interestin royalties, amounts they say are“so low as to shock the con-science.”

Julie Archer of the WestVirginia Surface Owners RightsOrganization said those figuresare outrageous.

Some Northern Panhandle res-idents have gotten as much as$5,000 an acre, she said, and gascompanies are required by statelaw to pay at least 12.5 percentin royalties. Some people havenegotiated percentages in

the 20s.“They really got taken advan-

tage of,” Archer said of theBowens.

The Bowens’ complaint saidthe lease also contains otherterms that are “lopsided andoppressive,” improperly favoringthe operators.

They said they would neverhave made such a deal, “had theyreceived truthful and accurateinformation” about the extent ofsurface disruption that would berequired and about the “dramati-cally greater” value of oil andgas drilling rights.

In 2010, Range signed thelease with the Bowens over toChesapeake and Statoil.Chesapeake, which controlled 73percent of the lease, then tried inJanuary to extend the lease

another five years.The Bowens say they didn’t

cash the $2,655 bonus check thatChesapeake offered. Nor didthey negotiate that amount.

Their attorney, Dan Guida,contends the lease expired Jan.29, and Chesapeake cannot uni-laterally extend it. Guida said thelanguage regarding renewal ofthe lease is ambiguous and sug-gests the company is obligated tooffer a deal at current marketvalue, not merely renew the iden-tical terms.

Any renewal, the lawsuit says,“requires a meeting of the minds... but no such meeting of theminds existed or exists.”

Guida said he has three similarcases with landowners pendingin Marshall County CircuitCourt. Those cases are likely to

remain in state court, however,because each involves a landagent who was a West Virginiaresident. In the Bowen case, theland man was fromPennsylvania.

A spokeswoman forChesapeake didn’t immediatelycomment on either the lawsuit orwhether the company has plansto drill on the Bowens’ land.

The lawsuit accuses the com-panies of fraud, unjust enrich-ment, trespass and civilconspiracy.

It demands unspecified dam-ages, including a punitive awardto deter future bad-faith conduct,and it asks Judge John PrestonBailey to declare the lease nulland void.

No hearings have beenscheduled.

GAS INDUSTRY: By CASEY JUNKINS

Staff WriterTRIADELPHIA, W.Va.

— Gas industry leadersbelieve the amount ofmethane they release isabout half what the federalgovernment claims, butBen Stout said that stillmay be too much.

“Even if it is half as bad,it’s still pretty bad,” saidStout, a Wheeling JesuitUniversity biology profes-sor. “The main thing is thatthey need to have moremonitoring to see how badit really is.”

A study released earlierin June by the AmericanPetroleum Institute dis-putes previous findings bythe U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency regard-ing the release of methaneand other air pollutantsfrom drilling operations.

API’s director ofRegulatory and ScientificAffairs, Howard Feldman,said methane emissionswere half what previouslyhad been estimated by theEPA. He called the newdata the most robust thenation now has on thesubject.

“Our new report pro-vides the best, most com-prehensive estimate ofmethane emissions fromU.S. natural gas produc-tion. It’s based on datafrom 10 times as manywells as support the esti-mate EPA has been using,”he said.

“This emissions informa-tion is critically importantbecause it allows oil andgas companies, citizens andregulators to gauge theindustry’s impact on theenvironment and allows

companies to measure con-tinued efforts to reducetheir environmentalfootprint.”

The API study accumu-lated data from 91,000wells operated by 20 com-panies over a large geo-graphic area and notes theEPA only studied 8,800wells in a smaller area.

“The fact that theseemissions are much lessthan earlier, more limitedestimates and the fact thatoperators are already work-ing to reduce emissionsfrom natural gas productionis good news for the futureof U.S. natural gas develop-ment and the game chang-ing benefits of job creationand economic growth thatwill come with it,”Feldman added.

A recent statement fromEPA Administrator LisaJackson stated, “Methane,when released directly tothe atmosphere, is a potentgreenhouse gas — morethan 20 times more potentthan carbon dioxide.”

Jackson said the firstphase of the stricter stan-dards for air emissions willlast until January 2015.

From now until then,owners and operators musteither flare their emissionsor use emissions reductiontechnology called “greencompletions,” which shesaid are already widelyused at gas wells.

In 2015, all new frac-tured wells will be requiredto use green completions.

According to natural gasproducer Devon EnergyCorp., green completionstake place after a well hasbeen fracked.

Information fromJackson states that suchsteps will reduce about 95percent of the “harmfulemissions from these wellsthat contribute to smog andlead to health impacts.”

However, methane is notthe only factor when con-sidering air emissions fromgas drilling.

Chesapeake Energy, in alegal advertisement, is

seeking an air quality per-mit from the West VirginiaDepartment ofEnvironmental Protectionfor the “potential to dis-charge” the followingamounts of these materialson an annual basis from theoperations at the Sand Hillcompressor station in OhioCounty: methane — 86.63tons; carbon dioxide —93,800 tons; nitrogenoxides — 82.96 tons; car-bon monoxide — 16.87tons; carbon dioxide equiv-alent — 95,667 tons; ben-zene — 0.33 tons; andformaldehyde — 3.22tons.

There will also be vari-

ous amounts of volatileorganic compounds, partic-ulate matter, sulfur dioxide,acetaldehyde, acrolein, eth-ylbenzene, methanol, n-hexane, toluene, xylenesand nitrous oxide. Loweramounts of these pollutantsare released at many of thegas production sitesthroughout the Upper OhioValley.

According to the Centersfor Disease Control andPrevention, long-termexposure to high levels ofbenzene can causeleukemia. According to theU.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency, even atlow concentrations, carbon

monoxide can cause fatiguein healthy people and chestpain in people with heartdisease.

Stout — an outspokencritic of Chesapeake’s planto place a gas well 1,300feet from Wheeling ParkHigh School, largely due tothe potential air pollution— said residents andresearchers need to see howthe operation works.

“Maybe it will be good ifthe (West VirginiaDepartment ofEnvironmental Protection)approves the well. Maybethen we will get to see howthe community responds,”he said.

Methane emissions half that of EPA estimates

Photo by Casey JunkinsChesapeake Energy has the “potential to discharge” 93,800 tons of carbon dioxide and 86.63 tons of methaneper year from its natural gas compressor station under construction near The Highlands, as well as the oneunder construction at Sand Hill.

‘“Even if it is half asbad, it’s still prettybad.”

Ben Stout


By CASEY JUNKINSShale Play

WHEELING, W.Va. — A singleChesapeake Energy well in WetzelCounty produced 1.05 billion cubicfeet of natural gas and 349 barrels ofoil in 2011, according to the WestVirginia Department of EnvironmentalProtection.

By comparison, a Chesapeake wellin Marshall County yielded a compar-atively low 310 million cubic feet ofgas and 1,137 barrels of oil last year,showing that production levels in theNorthern Panhandle’s Marcellus Shalecan vary quite a bit.

“Given that the wells cost $6 mil-lion to $7 million, the well revenueswould have covered a significant por-tion of the capital cost. Also the miner-al owner should be happy with the roy-alty check,” said Tim Carr, MarshallMiller professor of energy at WestVirginia University.

A survey by the Sunday News-Register of 24 random operating wellsin Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler countiesshows various amounts of oil and gasbeing produced. The numbers showproduction from 2011 only, whichmeans there are not yet any figures forOhio, Brooke or Hancock countiesbecause the pipeline network neededto take gas to market in those countiesis still under construction.

Information provided byChesapeake shows that drilling in thewet gas areas found in the NorthernPanhandle — loaded with ethane,propane, butane and pentane — hasproven up to three times more prof-itable than drilling in Pennsylvania’sdry gas regions.

For a typical dry gas well, the com-pany earns about $13,000 in revenueper day. However, the company earnsup to $38,800 in revenue each day forwet wells, company statistics show.

“A well that makes more liquidswill probably (have) lower gas (pro-

duction) rates, just becausethe liquids get in the way ofthe gas. Given that oil is $90per barrel, one should havesuch a problem,” Carr added.Natural gas futures for Julydelivery are trading at $2.35per mcf, up slightly from $2per mcf in April. One mcf isequivalent to 1,000 cubic feetof natural gas.

In Wetzel County, theChesapeake well yielding1.05 billion cubic feet of gasand 349 barrels of oil lastyear is located on surfaceproperty in the name ofWhiteman. Another Chesapeake wellon surface land in the name ofHohman produced only 314 millioncubic feet of gas in 2011, but rendered7,232 barrels of oil, according to theDEP.

Also in Wetzel County, aChesapeake operation in the name ofRine produced 805 million cubic feetof gas last year with 775 barrels of oil.Another Chesapeake well in the nameof Messenger yielded 656 millioncubic feet of gas and 2,365 barrels ofoil in 2011, DEP statistics show.

The Saber well in Wetzel County,also operated by Chesapeake, pro-duced 614 million cubic feet of naturalgas and 12,109 barrels of oil last year.

Finally, a Chesapeake well drilledon land the company owns rendered911 million cubic feet of gas and3,710 barrels of oil in 2011.

Louisiana-based Stone EnergyCorp., on land in the name of Nice,saw one of its Wetzel County wellsproduce only 54 million cubic feet ofgas in 2011. However, the well alsoyielded 7,160 barrels of oil last year.

Another Stone Energy project pro-duced 638 million cubic feet of gasand 1,670 barrels of oil on land ownedby Wheeling Jesuit University.

Finally in Wetzel County,

Pittsburgh-based EQT Corp. saw oneof its wells produce 768 million cubicfeet of natural gas and 14 barrels of oilon land in the name of Tyrell last year.

In Tyler County, Houston, Texas-based Magnum Hunter Resources sawa well produce 765 million cubic feetof gas and 4,156 barrels of oil onproperty in the name of Weese.

According to the DEP numbers,Marshall County features the widestrange of producing wells. Houston,Texas-based Gastar Exploration —which has signed deals to developwells on property owned by PPGIndustries and Bayer Corp. — pro-duced 232 million cubic feet of gasand no oil from a well in the name ofWengerd.

St. Marys, W.Va.-based TransEnergy struck a degree of success in2011 with wells in the name of Keatonand Groves, respectively. For the wellon the Keaton land, Trans Energy ren-dered 1.03 billion cubic feet of gasand 1,620 barrels of oil in 2011.

The well on the Groves land pro-duced 827 million cubic feet of gasand 1,117 barrels of oil.

California-based oil giant Chevronassumed control of AB Resources’Marshall County assets last year, even-tually shutting many of the wells down

to improve the safety of opera-tions. Nevertheless, for a well onland in the name of Bardall,Chevron reported 412 millioncubic feet of gas and 9,542 bar-rels of oil for 2011.

Another well in the name ofTaylor yielded Chevron 496 mil-lion cubic feet of gas and 7,370barrels of oil.

A well Chevron shut down inSeptember in the name ofCarmichael produced 345 millioncubic feet of gas and 126 barrelsof oil last year.

A well on surface land ownedby the Starcovic family yielded

818 million cubic feet of gas and 494barrels of oil, while one in the thename of Curry rendered 439 millioncubic feet of gas and 5,275 barrels ofoil for Chevron.

For its Marshall County operations,Chesapeake produced 746 millioncubic feet of gas and 6,717 barrels ofoil at a well in the name of Law.

On land in the name of Stern,Chesapeake saw a well produce 331.4million cubic feet of gas and 2,813barrels of oil, while a well in the nameof Mason Dixon Farms produced 310million cubic feet of gas and 1,137barrels of oil last year.

A Chesapeake well in the name ofHarlan yielded 668 million cubic feetof gas and 745 barrels of oil last year,with another well in the name ofMcDowell producing 511 millioncubic feet of gas and 7,184 barrels ofoil.

Another Chesapeake well in thename of Waryck rendered 727 millioncubic feet of gas and 5,274 barrels ofoil in 2011.

Chesapeake spokeswoman JacqueBland said the company had no com-ment on these West Virginia produc-tion levels, while officials withChevron and Stone Energy could notbe reached for comment.

Companies show varied amounts of gas and oilWELL PRODUCTION REPORTED

Photo by Casey JunkinsNatural gas industry equipment sits at the Wheeling Industrial Park in the Peninsula portion of the city. Chesapeake Energy and other drillers are working inthe Wheeling area.

‘“Given that the wells cost $6 million to $7million, the well revenues would havecovered a significant portion of the capitalcost. Also the mineral owner should behappy with the royalty check.”

Tim Carr, Marshall Miller Professor of Energy at West Virginia University


By SCOTT McCLOSKEYShale Play

BENWOOD, W.Va. — TheNorth Benwood Industrial Parkoffers a great central location fora new $2 million drilling fluidsfacility, the company’s presidentof U.S. operations said.

Representatives with AESDrilling Fluids LLC, based inHouston, Texas, met with cityand state officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony this month atthe new facility. Joining the cer-emony were state SenatePresident Jeff Kessler andDelegate Mike Ferro, both D-Marshall.

Jim Sherman, president ofU.S. operations for AES DrillingFluids, said the industrial park isa great fit for the new drillingfluids plant.

“We’re glad to be here. This isa good facility; it fits what weneeded,” said Sherman. “It’s agood location for the potential inthe Utica Shale, where we’re try-ing to get some work from someof the local customers. We need-ed a nice size warehouse for

some expansion, and this is justcentrally located for us. We’relucky to be here, and we’re luckyto find it.”

Sherman said AES needed asite that is “used to a little bit ofindustry.”

“It’s more about storage andblending than it is anything elsewith us. ... We use a lot of syn-thetic oils,” he added.

The new facility makes a syn-thetic oil-based drilling fluid, or“drilling mud,” which is used inthe natural gas industry’s drillingprocess. The plant is now fullyoperational and employs about17 full-time workers, accordingto Russell Marks, operationsmanager for AES.

Marks said the facility rentsdrilling fluid to customers likeChesapeake Energy, who use itduring the drilling and frackingprocess.

The fluid is eventually trans-ported back to the plant, where itis “reconditioned” and usedagain. It aides workers in remov-ing the cuttings from wells,according to Marks.

The AES facility is built on a180- by 120-foot concrete padand holds about 20 large tanksthat provide nearly 9,000 barrelsworth of storage. In addition, the

facility has a couple of 3,000-barrel tanks, including severaltanks that store calcium chloridewater.

Benwood Police Chief Frank

Longwell, who also co-chairs thecommunity’s economic develop-ment committee along withMayor Ed Kuca, said he is excit-ed about AES locating in thecity’s industrial park and hopes itwill continue to create spinoffeconomic growth for thecommunity.

“They’ve done a tremendousjob on locating here. ... Theymade the property look very pre-sentable,” said Longwell.

“It will be more revenue forthe city, more jobs for the OhioValley and, hopefully, this willhave more spinoff.

“Benwood is certainly takingfull advantage of the drilling,natural gas and oil boom, andwe’re just glad we will be able tocapitalize on this particular busi-ness. ... It fits like a glove for thecity,” said Longwell.

“We will continue to workwith other development opportu-nities to move Benwoodforward.”

Kuca said the community isfortunate to have AES locatethere.

Drilling fluids company opens $2 million facility

Photo by Scott McCloskeyBenwood Police Chief Frank Longwell, left, and Jim Sherman,president of U.S. operations for AES Drilling Fluids, talk prior to aribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for the new AES facility locat-ed in the North Benwood Industrial Park.

By CASEY JUNKINSStaff Writer

WHEELING, W.Va. — Noting theircompany spends “$500,000 per day ondiesel” fuel, Chesapeake Energy officialsare working to make cheaper natural gas amore viable alternative transportation fuelin the coming years.

This will not just include passengervehicles, however, as Chesapeakebelieves more natural gas can be used topower airplanes, trains, recreational boatsand construction equipment.

As part of Chesapeake’s latest statementto investors, the company that has beenplagued by investor concerns over ChiefExecutive Officer Aubrey McClendon’spersonal dealings by taking a 2.5 percentstake in local drilling operations continueslooking for ways to increase demand for itsgas — and reduce its $9.5 billion debt.

Though the price of gasoline hasdropped slightly over the past few weeks,Chesapeake officials note that “new naturalgas engines currently under developmentand expected to be released soon” are oneof the major factors for the increased use ofcompressed natural gas for transportation.It also notes that environmental regulationswill help promote the gas as a cleaner-burning alternative to gasoline.

Chesapeake, the Upper Ohio Valley’slargest active gas driller, and GeneralElectric are also partnering to provide eas-ier access to what they say is a more afford-able fuel — compressed natural gas. Also,per an agreement with Chesapeake, GEwill provide more than 250 modular “CNGin a Box” stations to establish CNG pumpsat existing gasoline stations or otherlocations.

Chesapeake and GE said Peake FuelSolutions will bring the technology to mar-ket. The technology, according to the com-panies, allows them to take the natural gasfrom a pipeline and compress it on-site atan industrial location or refilling station. ACNG vehicle, such as a taxi, bus or smalltruck, can then refill its tank using a tradi-tional fuel dispenser, much like those usedfor diesel or gasoline refueling.

The companies note that buses and otherfleet vehicles are the largest consumers ofCNG, especially in certain Californiacities. Some school buses in Los Angelesare now using compressed natural gas inplace of gasoline, while some ofCalifornia’s garbage truck fleets are nowusing the natural gas. Also, Atlanta is nowrunning some of its public buses on naturalgas.

The “price of oil versus price of naturalgas is simply too huge to ignore,”Chesapeake notes, referring to oil prices in

the range of $85-$90 per barrel comparedto units of natural gas in the $2-$2.50range.

According to Chesapeake, GM,Chrysler, Honda and Ford are in theprocess of developing more natural gasvehicles. For maritime shipping, ports inNew York City, New Orleans, Seattle andMiami are those featuring fleets most like-ly to adopt more natural gas-poweredvehicles.

Chesapeake also notes that recreationalwatercraft are also an area of potential

growth in the use of natural gas.Opportunities also lie with using naturalgas to power airplanes and trains, the com-pany believes.

Construction companies could also usethe fuel for mining, pumping and otheractivities. With this in mind, the construc-tion project for Chesapeake’s new officecomplex at Fox Commerce Park near St.Clairsville is ongoing.

Someday, the company may be able topower these construction vehicles with itsown natural gas.

CHK touting natural gas for transportationChesapeake Energy, currently building an office complex at Fox Commerce Park near St. Clairsville, states thatthe “price of oil versus price of natural gas is simply too huge to ignore” regarding the possibility of powering morevehicles and construction equipment on natural gas.

Photo by Casey Junkins


By TYLER REYNARDStaff Writer

WHEELING, W.Va. — TheOhio County Board of Educationis exploring its legal options inthe event permits to conduct nat-ural gas drilling near WheelingPark High School are approved,which could occur soon now thatthe public comment period hasclosed.

School officials in a letterappealed directly to WestVirginia Department ofEnvironmental Secretary RandyHuffman in an effort to preventChesapeake Energy from drillingnear the school. Also filing objec-tions during the 30-day periodwere the Ohio CountyCommission and several mem-bers of the public. A petition con-taining 310 signatures also wassubmitted to the DEP.

The proposed site is about1,300 feet from the high school,more than twice the legal limit forwells to be located from an“occupied dwelling,” but objec-tions cite concerns over potentialhealth hazards and consequencesof inexperienced drivers sharingthe road with drilling trucks,among others.

The land on which the wellwould be drilled is owned by theParks System Trust Fund ofWheeling, and the lease is signedby members of the WheelingPark Commission.

Board of education attorney

Patrick Casey said park commis-sion attorney James Gardill hasnot yet fulfilled his request forinformation related to the pro-posed drill site. The two havebeen unable to meet in person,but Casey said he believes Gardillis open to “finding commonground.”

“So basically the ParkCommission and their counsel is

just sitting there — or at least nothelping us,” Board of EducationPresident Erik Schramm said.“They haven’t expressed an inter-est in caring for our children orthose folks at Wheeling ParkHigh School, I take it.”

Fellow board attorney KevinColeman said there is no timerestriction on when the DEP mustrule on the permit applications.

“Chesapeake has made it clearpublicly, and to us, that theyintend to move forward theminute they get the permit,”Casey said.

Board members discussedlegal options with Casey andColeman behind closed doorsduring an executive session, butCasey said no legal action will betaken until the DEP approves

Chesapeake’s permits, if at all.“The board is resolved to fulfill

its mission and protect the stu-dents, and they’re prepared tomove forward in whateveravenue is necessary,” Casey said.

Coleman said he forwarded thehigh school’s evacuation plan tothe DEP. He also filed a Freedomof Information Act request withDEP, seeking a copy ofChesapeake’s permit applicationto drill in Oglebay Park, whichcalled for the closing of OglebayStables. Park commissionersobjected to that proposed site,and it subsequently never devel-oped at that location.

Coleman is also seeking theDEP’s records of investigationsconducted into the approximately12 citations he claimedChesapeake has received sinceOctober.

Board explores legal avenues to stop wellPatriot Field at Wheeling Park High School in Ohio County, W.Va., is less than one-quarter mile from where Chesapeake Energy is planning to drill for natural gas.

Photo by Tyler Reynard


WHEELING, W.Va. — Tohelp reduce a projected deficitranging anywhere from $9.5 bil-lion to $22 billion, ChesapeakeEnergy is selling its stake in natu-ral gas pipeline systems for $4billion.

Also by selling these assets toGlobal Infrastructure Partners,Chesapeake can reduce previous-ly projected capital spending byabout $3 billion during the nextthree years as the Oklahoma City-based company continues lookingfor ways to increase its profitabil-ity. The driller also needs to payback the $4 billion loan it tookfrom Goldman Sachs last month.

“We greatly appreciate thehard work and dedication of ourmidstream employees as theyhave contributed to building oneof the largest and highest qualitymidstream businesses in theindustry,” said Chesapeake ChiefExecutive Officer AubreyMcClendon. “We look forward tothe continued success of our mid-stream businesses under the lead-ership of its existing midstreammanagement team and GIP’s newownership.”

In the natural gas industry,companies such as ChesapeakeEnergy, XTO Energy, Chevronand Range Resources are knownas producers because they ownthe gas that is pumped from theground. “Midstream” assets

include pipelines and processingplants — such as those operatedby Dominion Resources,Williams Partners (CaimanEnergy), MarkWest Energy andothers — which are needed totake the gas to market.

According to the company’swebsite, Global InfrastructurePartners is “an independent infra-structure fund manager that com-bines deep industry expertise withindustrial best practice opera-tional management. The fundinvests in high quality infrastruc-ture assets in the energy, transportand water/waste sectors where wepossess deep experience and rela-tionships.” Among the company’s

listed partners are former employ-ees of General Electric and CreditSuisse.

“We have enjoyed a mutuallybeneficial partnership withChesapeake over the past threeyears, and we look forward tocontinuing to provide Chesapeakewith high quality midstream serv-ices while expanding these offer-ings to other producers requiringsimilar services,” said AdebayoOgunlesi, GIP’s managing part-ner.

In the specifics of this transac-tion, Chesapeake Energy is sell-ing its stock in the officially inde-pendent midstream companyknown as Chesapeake Midstream

Partners to GIP. ChesapeakeMidstream Partners is a publiclytraded company on the New YorkStock Exchange that is technical-ly separate from ChesapeakeEnergy.

J. Mike Stice is chief executiveofficer of Chesapeake MidstreamPartners.

“We have built a very talentedand profitable organization, and Iam very excited about the futureof our independent midstreambusinesses,” Stice said. “Webelieve our unique combination ofcontractual, organic and drop-down growth is unmatched in themidstream industry.”

Stice also serves as president of

Chesapeake Energy’s fully ownedsubsidiary, ChesapeakeMidstream Development, whichalso operates some pipelines andprocessing facilities. ChesapeakeEnergy has signed a letter ofagreement to sell these assets toChesapeake Midstream Partners.The transactions together wouldequal a $4 billion deal.

“We have been working for thepast few months to monetize oursubstantial and valuable mid-stream assets and are pleased toannounce the sale of our invest-ments in (Chesapeake MidstreamPartners ) and a plan to sell ourremaining midstream assets atattractive prices,” McClendonadded. “Importantly, the sale of(Chesapeake MidstreamDevelopment) will also reducepreviously planned capital expen-ditures by approximately $3 bil-lion over the next three years.”

Much of Chesapeake’s finan-cial difficulties result fromMcClendon’s personal businessdealings with local Chesapeakeleaseholdings, which saw himtake a 2.5 percent personal inter-est in Brooke, Ohio, Marshall andWetzel County Chesapeakeoperations.

This left some investors con-cerned because Chesapeake is apublicly traded company, whileMcClendon’s firms —Larchmont Resources andJamestown Resources — are hisown businesses.

Chesapeake selling pipelines for $4 billion

Photo ProvidedAs natural gas companies continue building pipelines to pumpUtica and Marcellus shale gas out of the Ohio Valley,Chesapeake Energy is selling its piping facilities for $4 billion.

SOLD!Chesapeake Energy isselling its stock in theofficially independentmidstream company knownas Chesapeake MidstreamPartners to GIP.Chesapeake MidstreamPartners is a publiclytraded company on theNew York Stock Exchangethat is technically separatefrom Chesapeake Energy.

12 — Thursday, June 28, 2012 SSHHAALLEE PPLLAAYY Thursday, June 28, 2012 — 13

By TOM GIAMBRONIShale Play

HANOVERTON, Ohio — A 117-acre sitelocated about a mile south of the village hasapparently been chosen for a proposed $400million shale gas collection and processingplant.

The property is located at the intersectionof Ohio 644 and Tunnel Hill and Haganroads and was sold by Bill O. Burns, trustee,according to real estate transfer records filedat the Columbiana County Auditor’s Office.Locals refer to it as the old Delp farm.

The address of the property is listed as11687 Route 644, which was sold for $1.8million to Utica East Ohio Midstream LLC, asubsidiary created for the project by M3Midstream, which is one of the partners inthe joint venture along with ChesapeakeMidstream and EV Energy Partners.

The plant will serve as a collection andcompression site for natural gas extracted byshale drillers in the region, with an initialcapacity of 600 million cubic feet per day. Itincludes a cryogenic processing plant thatextracts natural gas liquids from the shalegas, such as propane, butane and ethane.

The NGLs will be piped from the plantacross Carroll County to a $500 million

shale gas storage and transfer hub being con-structed in Harrison County by MarkWestEnergy Partners as part of the project.

The dry natural gas from the Hanovertonplant will be transferred into local natural gaspipelines.

None of the companies involved in theHanoverton project has commented, but anemployee in the auditor’s office said thecover letter attached to the real estate trans-action they received stated the land was to beused for a gas processing plant.

The employee said he made a notation onthe transaction to check on the property in ayear to see if the plant had been constructed,which would increase the taxable value of theland.

County Commissioner Mike Halleck saidit is his understanding the Burns property iswhere the plant is to be built, “and we’re veryexcited.”

M3, which is also known as Momentum, isto run the plant, which will be built over fiveyears, with the first phase expected tobecome operational by May 2013.

Chesapeake Energy and its affiliates arethe majority partner in the venture, with a 59percent interest, followed by M3 with a 33percent interest and EV Energy at 8 percent.

This farm field is part ofthe 117 acres in HanoverTownship where a $400

million shale gas collectionand processing plant is tobe built. This view is fromthe Intersection of Hagan

and Tunnel Hill road,looking northwest.

Photo by Tom Giambroni

Site chosen for shalegas collection andprocessing plant

THE OLD DELP FARM


PSC cracking downon hydrant draining


MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — The WestVirginia Public Service Commission is warn-ing natural gas companies to stop drainingwater from fire hydrants for use in natural gasdrilling operations.

“It’s just helterskelter out here,” saidGeorge Lagos, gener-al manager and chiefoperator for MarshallCounty PublicService District No.4, which serves alarge area of thecounty betweenMoundsville and Cameron. “They just stopwherever to get water.”

Commission officials note they havereceived complaints from northern WestVirginia about “truckers” — presumablyworking as subcontractors for drilling com-panies — allegedly taking water from firehydrants without approval from local waterutilities. Commission information states thetruckers reportedly hauled the water for useat natural gas drilling and fracking sites.

No particular drilling company or subcon-tractor is mentioned, but companies operat-ing in the area stretching from HancockCounty in the north to Marion County in thesouth include Chesapeake Energy, Chevron,

Gastar Exploration, EQT Corp., TransEnergy, CNX Gas Corp., Magnum Hunterand Stone Energy Corp.

“These takings come at the expense of thelocal water utility and its customers. Ifenough of a revenue shortfall is created, the

water utility cus-tomers will have tomake up the expensethrough an increasein rates,” the com-mission states.

Lagos said heknows subcontrac-tors are taking waterfrom hydrants inMarshall County.

“We have been trying to catch them,” hesaid. “They want the water so they can sprayit on the roads.”

According to West Virginia Code, anyonewho takes water without the knowledge ofthe owner and while attempting to evadepayment can face misdemeanor charges.Penalties can range from a $2,000 fine to afull year jail sentence.

“If anyone sees someone out doing thiswe ask them to call us to report it,” addedLagos, noting his office’s phone number is304-843-1234.

To report someone taking water from afire hydrant, one could also call the commis-sion office in Charleston at 304-340-0300.

Photo by Casey JunkinsThe Public Service Commission of West Virginia is warning natural gascompany subcontractors to stop taking fracking water from fire hydrants. ‘

“It’s just helter skelter out here. Theyjust want to stop wherever to getwater.”

George Lagos


CADIZ, Ohio — OklahomaCity-based Chesapeake Energywants to shed the leases it holdson 337,481 acres in Ohio’sUtica Shale to help reduce thecompany’s $9.5 billion debt.

In the company’s most recentpresentation to investors,Chesapeake officials state theybelieve the liquids-rich UticaShale gas leaseholdings shouldbe worth $13,000 to $17,000per acre. Were Chesapeake togain even $10,000 per acre froma buyer for this Ohio acreage, itwould yield more than $3.37billion.

Company information alsoshows completing this deal mayallow Chesapeake to focus itsoperations in Ohio counties suchas Jefferson, Harrison,Columbiana and Carroll becausethe acreage in these counties isnot in the package for sale.

“The company has altered itsplans to develop all of its highlyprospective acreage and insteadwill focus its development onthose counties where its landownership is more concentratedthan the land ownership in thecounties being offered for sale,”Chesapeake states on the sale list-ing as a “rationale for selling.”

Chesapeake spokesman PeteKenworthy declined further com-ment, noting the listing byacreage marketer Meagher

Energy Advisors contains all rel-evant information on the poten-tial sale. This information showsthe company would like to com-plete the sale by Aug. 17.

Chesapeake notes most of theacreage for sale lies in the wetgas or oil window. These areareas that should yield ethane,propane, butane and pentane, inaddition to the methane dry gas.

The leases for sale are in twocontiguous bands of counties. Innortheast Ohio, acreage in Huron,Ashland, Lorain, Wayne,Summit, Portage, Geauga,Ashtabula and Trumbull countiesis listed. To the south, parts ofLicking, Fairfield, Hocking,

Vinton, Meigs, Athens, Perry,Muskingum, Morgan andWashington counties are listedfor sale.

As part of the ongoing effort toreduce the company’s debt,Chesapeake previouslyannounced plans to sell morethan 500,000 acres of leases inColorado and Wyoming andreduce director compensation.The company also needs to payback the $4 billion loan it tookfrom Goldman Sachs.

Chesapeake also will soonhave four new board members

and a new chairman, a step offi-cials hope will help give thedriller lasting stability.

Many concerns investors haveregarding Chesapeake stem fromworries over Chairman and ChiefExecutive Office AubreyMcClendon’s personal businessdealings with local Chesapeakeleaseholdings. These dealingssaw McClendon take a 2.5 per-cent personal interest in Brooke,Ohio, Marshall and WetzelCounty Chesapeake operations.This left some investors con-cerned because Chesapeake is a

publicly traded company, whileMcClendon’s firms —Larchmont Resources andJamestown Resources — are hisown businesses.

McClendon has since agreed toend this practice by June 30,2014 — and to eventually relin-quish his chairmanship of thecompany. According to the letterto shareholders, the company istaking other measures to reducedebt, including:

∫ eliminating the use of com-pany aircraft for personal travel;

∫ replacing annual cashbonuses with performance-basedawards;

∫ establishing minimum stockownership guidelines; and

∫ retaining an independentcompensation adviser.

The information shows thatChesapeake is classifying itsWest Virginia acreage in thesame category as the Ohioacreage under the Utica Shalebanner. It shows the companyhaving significant holdings inJefferson, Harrison, Columbianaand Carroll counties in Ohio,along with some holdings scat-tered throughout BelmontCounty.

For West Virginia, Ohio,Marshall, Wetzel and Brookecounties all have very largeamounts of acreage leased toChesapeake, while the companyhas some holdings in Hancockand Tyler counties.

Chesapeake selling Ohio acreage, company trying to reduce debtDEBT-REDUCINGMEASURES∫ Eliminating the use ofcompany aircraft forpersonal travel ∫ Replacing annual cashbonuses with performance-based awards ∫ Establishing minimumstock ownership guidelines ∫ Retaining anindependent compensationadviser


NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio (AP) — Officialsoverseeing reservoirs in Ohio’s largest contained water-shed have decided to halt water sales to oil and gasdrillers in response to environmental concerns as theyawait a water-availability study.

Environmentalists and other members of the publichave raised concerns about the Muskingum WatershedConservancy District selling water to drillers for use inhydraulic fracturing, which injects millions of gallonsof chemical-laced water into the earth at high pressureto free gas. Environmental groups have said they fearthat drawing the water from reservoirs could leaveinsufficient water supplies for the public and wildlife.

Conservancy district executive director JohnHoopingarner said it’s in the public’s interest to stopthe sales until the district receives an independentwater-availability study and updates its water supplypolicy.

“We want to fully understand the concerns of inter-ested groups and the public and ensure that each step inthe process is transparent and open for public review,”Hoopingarner said.

The conservancy district said the moratorium on newsales will not affect a previously-approved sale of up to11 million gallons from Clendening Reservoir inHarrison County to Oklahoma-based Gulfport EnergyCo.

The Clendening reservoir typically contains about8.6 billion gallons of water.

The Ohio Environmental Council, the SoutheastOhio Alliance to Save Our Water and the BuckeyeForest Council praised the district’s decision stoppingsales for now.

Melanie Houston, director of water policy and envi-ronmental health for the Ohio Environmental Council,said in a release that the public has raised valid con-cerns and there is “much scientific information andpublic opinion to be gathered.”

But officials in Cadiz, Ohio, in Harrison County, aredisappointed with the district’s decision.

“Their inaction will cause an increase in truck traffic,random withdrawals of water from creeks and streamsin the watershed and will slow down the pace of oil andgas development because of the difficulty in findingwater,” Rich Milleson, economic development directorfor the Cadiz Community Improvement Corp., said.

The village hoped to get conservancy districtapproval to increase its purchase of water from TappanLake and resell the extra water to oil and gas compa-nies.

The village buys lake water for its municipal watersupply, but wants to use money from the sale of extrawater to rebuild and expand its waste water treatmentplant to meet Ohio Environmental Protection Agencystandards.

Milleson says more research isn’t necessary.“They have the science to know they can withdraw

great amounts of water from those lakes without anyimpact,” Milleson said.

The conservancy district hopes to have results thisyear from a water-availability study of three of its reser-voirs by the U.S. Geological Survey. The districtapproved the study of the Atwood, Clendening andLeesville reservoirs earlier this year.

The MWCD covers more than 8,000 square miles, orabout 20 percent of Ohio, from just above Canton toMarietta and drains into the Muskingum River. Overall,the MWCD spans five counties and portions of 22 oth-ers and includes a system of 16 reservoirs.

The conservancy district, formed in 1933 to developand implement a plan to reduce flooding and conservewater for beneficial public uses in the MuskingumRiver Watershed, has authority under Ohio law to sellwater from its reservoirs.

MuskingumWatershedhalts drillingwater sales

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) —A plain, white building in a businesspark off Bakers Ridge Road houses akey component in America’s trans-portation future.

This is the home of WVU’sNational Alternative Fuels TrainingConsortium — the nation’s epicenterfor training and promotional pro-grams for alternative fuel andadvanced technology vehicles such aselectric, natural gas and hydrogen.

The building itself is unremarkable— outside it’s a white box. Inside arean administrative area, a few class-rooms — one small and one large —a lab and a five-bay shop.

What goes on inside is what sets itapart.

NAFTC’s goal is to promote andfoster energy independence throughfour areas of emphasis: Curriculumdevelopment, training courses andworkshops, education outreach; andprogram management.

It was founded in 1992 as WVUworked with the natural gas industryto develop its program, but has sinceexpanded to include other alternative-fuel transportation.

The NAFTC offers more than 25courses and workshops, AssistantDirector Judy Moore said. More than30,000 technicians have taken 1,600courses — people from the U.S. AirForce, the Department of Energy,NASA, Disney, city metro depart-ments, public utilities and more.

More than 650,000 people haveattended more than 1,500 workshopsand awareness events.

What’s under the hood — andinside the trunk — of an electric car isfar different from what’s inside agasoline-powered one. Emergencyresponders take courses to learn howto rescue people from electric carswithout harming themselves or thepeople they’re rescuing.

The training isn’t all done atNAFTC headquarters, Moore said.The consortium has 50 sites across

the country: National training centersat community colleges and universi-ties, and associate training centers atsecondary schools and tech-edschools that focus on auto techstudents.

NAFTC also has a grant from theU.S. Department of Energy to devel-op materials for its Clean CitiesCoalition program.

Every even-numbered year since2002, NAFTC has coordinatedNational Alternative Fuel VehicleDay Odyssey. The 10-year anniver-sary 2012 Odyssey is set for Oct. 19.

Odyssey is aimed at the generalpublic, Moore said, and offers ride-and-drives, vehicle displays, work-shops, demonstrations, trivia contests,lab and garage tours, and more.

The 2002 Odyssey drew 17,000people to 51 sites in 31 states. It hasgrown over the years — 2010 drew230,000 people to 131 sites, includ-ing schools and higher educationfacilities, across the U.S. and Canada.

“It’s a pretty significant event andwe do it all from right here,” Mooresaid.

This year’s goal is to attract250,000 people to 150 sites. Thekickoff event is set for Indianapolis;they may also go to Washington, D.C.

Although NAFTC operates underthe WVU Research Corp., it isn’tdevoted to research. Reflecting onOdyssey, Executive Director AlEbron said, “Our primary focus is totruly educate the public about thevehicles.” In one shop sits the consor-tium’s 2011 Chevy Volt, receivedlast August through a federal

American Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act program.

They use it for transportation andtraining.

The Volt is a plug-in hybrid electricvehicle. It travels about 35 miles onpure battery power, then switches togasoline power — the engine acts as agenerator to run the electric motor,giving a total range of about 375miles.

Ebron liked it so much he boughtone himself.

Asked about fuel usage, he said, “Iwill never have to put gas in it inMorgantown.”

Visible on the wall, just past theVolt, is a biodiesel vat to makebiodiesel fuel. Biodiesel is a petrole-um alternative made from fat or oil,and is generally blended with petrole-um diesel. B-20, for instance, is 20percent biodiesel and 80 percentpetroleum diesel.

Another bay holds a cutawayToyota Prius — a regular hybrid thatuses battery power at low speeds —that shows the car’s innards.

Among its uses, first responderslearn how to approach one safely.They can scan barcodes on variouscomponents to learn about the car’smechanisms.

Auto technicians learn how to diag-nose problems on the Prius. There’s a“bug box” computer in the back. Theteacher can flip a bug switch, and thetrainees have to figure out what’swrong.

On this spring day, severalNAFTC staffers are gathered aroundthe Prius, learning the ins and outs,so they can explain it to others at aPittsburgh conference.

A working Prius sits outside —used, like the Volt, for transportationand training — along with twoChinese-made electric cars that aresmaller, less comfortable, less pow-erful and with less driving range thantheir American and Japanesecounterparts.

AP PhotoIn this photo, a cutaway of a Toyota Prius is housed at the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortiumin Morgantown, W.Va. The cutaway is used for training first responders on how to work on the vehicle in anemergency.

WVU teaches about alternative-fuel carsUNDER THE HOOD

‘“I will never have to putgas in it in Morgantown.”

— Al Ebron


HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) —Gov. Tom Corbett’s administrationbegan its public relations effort thismonth to build support for a 25-year tax credit worth up to $1.7 bil-lion that it wants to foster a petro-chemical industry in Pennsylvaniaaround the state’s supply of naturalgas from the vast Marcellus Shaleformation.

Three of Corbett’s cabinet secre-taries held a forum at the BeaverCounty community college, nearthe Pittsburgh-area site of a multi-billion-dollar petrochemical refin-ery planned by a subsidiary ofNetherlands-based oil and gas giantRoyal Dutch Shell PLC.

The Republican governor’sadministration has just begun shar-ing with the public the details ofwhat lawmakers say would be thebiggest package of taxpayer-paidincentives in Pennsylvania’s histo-ry for a project Corbett bills as thereindustrialization of the state.

Secretary of Revenue DanMeuser said the “PennsylvaniaResource Manufacturing TaxCredit” would more than pay foritself through the creation of thou-sands of new jobs.

The goal of the incentive is tolure an entire industry, not just theShell plant, Secretary of Labor and IndustryJulia Hearthway said.

The recently revealed plan of Corbett’swould not affect the state’s finances rightaway — the $66 million-a-year tax creditwould first take effect in 2017. But Corbettwants the state Legislature to approve thetax credit before the end of June when law-

makers leave Harrisburg for the summer toshow Shell that the state is serious about itsoffer of financial incentives for the refineryand a surrounding chemical manufacturingindustry.

Shell’s so-called ethane cracker would bethe first built in the northeastern UnitedStates, spurred by the rapid growth of

drilling in the Marcellus Shale for-mation, which is thought of as thenation’s largest-known natural gasreservoir.

However, many rank-and-filelawmakers have not been briefedon the matter and legislation is justbeing introduced.

“Without knowing the details, Ireally can’t speak to it, whether itmakes economic sense,” Rep. GlenGrell, R-Cumberland, said. “Iwould need to know what is theamount of state tax credits that isgoing to be applied per job created.Then we have to evaluate that ver-sus what it could cost to incentivizeor create jobs elsewhere.”

The Corbett administration’s financialincentive plans for Shell appear to revolvearound the tax credit and a newly createdtax-free zone for the site that the Legislatureapproved in February. Lawmakers briefedby administration officials said they weretold that taxpayer-paid financial aid wouldbe considered to help clean up the site

where the plant would be built, but admin-istration spokesman Steve Kratz said thatno such financial aid is available for privateentities.

Administration officials have declined toestimate the value of the tax-free site toShell.

Under the legislation, the tax creditwould apply to any ethane cracker inPennsylvania that converts natural gas liq-uids to ethylene, which is then used to pro-duce chemicals that go into everything fromplastics to tires to antifreeze.

The credit would be equal to a nickel pergallon of ethane purchased and used inmanufacturing ethylene in Pennsylvania.

Shell’s industrial complex would likelyattract many smaller, specialized chemicalplants, according to the Washington, D.C.-based American Chemistry Council, andthe Corbett administration wants to encour-age that by allowing Shell to sell or transferthe tax credit to companies that supply theethane or use a derivative.

Shell has estimated that the core plantcould employ several hundred people andcreate up to 10,000 construction jobs. TheAmerican Chemistry Council estimated lastyear that a manufacturing industry aroundthe plant could employ another 2,400 peo-ple, plus another 8,200 people indirectlythrough the ongoing purchase of suppliesand raw materials. Also, Corbett warnedthat he has heard that Ohio and WestVirginia are still trying to lure away theShell cracker with their competing offers offinancial incentives. In the meantime, someof the natural gas liquids produced fromthe Marcellus Shale region are alreadyunder contract to be piped down to the GulfCoast, where 26 of the nation’s 29 crack-ers are located.

Corbett seeking shale tax creditPennsylvania Gov. TomCorbett smiles during anews conference after hesigned an unemploymentcompensation bill into law, June12 in Harrisburg, Pa. Corbett isbeginning an effort to get ahuge tax credit for the gasindustry.

AP Photo

Chesapeake to renegotiate 4,400 N.Y. gas leasesALBANY, N.Y. (AP) —

A subsidiary of ChesapeakeEnergy Corp., the country’ssecond-largest natural gasproducer, has agreed to letmore than 4,400 New Yorklandowners renegotiate oldgas leases for more favorablefinancial and environmentalterms, state Attorney GeneralEric Schneiderman said.

Chesapeake Appalachiaalso agreed to pay $250,000to cover the state’s investiga-tion costs under the agreement.

Chesapeake had tried toextend the leases in 2009,claiming the state’s de factomoratorium on shale gasdevelopment since it startedan environmental review in2008 constituted an uncon-trollable event that allows fora lease extension if an “act ofgod” or unforeseen circum-stance prevents drilling.

Schneiderman investigatedafter receiving complaintsfrom landowners. The leaseswere signed long before theshale gas boom that began inPennsylvania in 2007 boostedland prices from as low as $2-$3 an acre to more than$1,500 an acre. Manylandowners today are alsowriting extensive environ-mental protections into leases.

In the settlement, Chesa-peake admits no wrongdoing.

“It is unfortunate that wehave been in this situation inNew York since 2008, wherelandowners and their minerallessees have been unable todevelop mineral rights in theSouthern Tier despite arobust drilling program beingundertaken in neighboringPennsylvania,” Chesapeakespokesman Brian Grove saidin a prepared statement.

The state has not permittedshale gas development usinghorizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturingsince it began an environ-mental review in 2008. Thereview and new regulationsare expected to be completedthis year.

Shale gas drilling in theMarcellus Shale region,which underlies parts of NewYork, Pennsylvania, WestVirginia and Ohio, hasslowed this year with naturalgas prices at the lowest levelin a decade because of highproduction and reduceddemand over the unusuallymild winter.

Chesapeake and otherenergy companies have refo-cused much of their drillingefforts to areas of the coun-try, such as Texas and Ohio,with higher-priced liquidpetroleum products mixedwith the gas.

AP Photo

Chesapeake Energy is planning to renogiate more than 4,000 leases in New York.


By SETH BORENSTEINAP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The controversialpractice of hydraulic fracturing to extract natu-ral gas does not pose a high risk for triggeringearthquakes large enough to feel, but othertypes of energy-related drilling can make theground noticeably shake, a major governmentscience report concludes.

Even those man-made tremors large enoughto be an issue are very rare, says a specialreport by the National Research Council.

In more than 90 years of monitoring, humanactivity has been shown to trigger only 154quakes, most of them moderate or small, andonly 60 of them in the U.S. That’s comparedto a global average of about 14,450 earth-quakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater every year,said the report.

Most of those are caused by gas and oildrilling the conventional way, damming rivers,deep injections of wastewater and purposefulflooding. Only two worldwide instances ofshaking — a magnitude 2.8 tremor inOklahoma and a 2.3 magnitude shaking inEngland— can be attributed to hydraulic frac-turing, a specific method of extracting gas byinjection of fluids sometimes called “frack-ing,” the report said. Both were last year.

“There’s a whole bunch of wells that havebeen drilled, let’s say for wastewater and thenumber of events have been pretty small,” saidreport chairman Murray Hitzman, a professorof economic geology at the Colorado Schoolof Mines. “Is it a huge problem? The reportsays basically no. Is it something we shouldlook at and think about? Yes.”

With increased drilling to satisfy the coun-try’s thirst for energy, it is important to watchinjection and other wells better and considerpotential repercussions before starting, thereport said. No one has been killed, nor hasthere been major damage, from man-madequakes in the United States, said the report bythe council, which is part of the NationalAcademy of Sciences, a private nonprofitinstitution that provides expert advice to thegovernment.

“There is potential to produce significantseismic events that can be felt and cause dam-age and public concern,” the report said.

The research council report shows that mostof the tremors that can be blamed on humansoccurred in California, Texas, Colorado,Oklahoma, and Ohio. California andOklahoma had the biggest man-made shakesas byproducts of conventional oil and gasdrilling. Colorado has one of themost documented cases of

three 5.0 to 5.5 man-induced quakes becauseof an injection well. Northern California alsohas 300 to 400 tiny quakes a year since 2005because of geothermal energy extraction.

Man-made drilling — usually injections offluids deep and at high pressure — can triggershaking because it changes the crucial balanceof fluid into and out of the subsurface. Thatcan then affect the pore pressure of the soil andthat’s what helps keep faults from moving,Hitzman said.

The report makes sense as far as it goes, saidU.S. Geological Survey seismologist WilliamEllsworth, but since the research council start-ed its study, government geologists havenoticed a strange increase in earthquakes thatseem man-made. At a professional seismologyconference in April, Ellsworth presented aUSGS report on a six-fold increase in man-made quakes. He pointed to induced quakes ofmagnitude 4 or larger in the past year inTexas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, NewMexico, and Ohio, but said much of this hap-pened too late for the research council toinclude in its study.

Hitzman said it’s still too early to tellwhether those recent quakes would havechanged the report’s conclusions.

Another study — also too recent for theresearch council report — says a 4.7 mag-nitude quake in central Arkansas in 2011was man-made and scientists are still look-ing at a 2011 quake in Oklahoma thatmeasured 5.6 as a potential but not proveninduced tremor, Ellsworth said.

The man-made quakes that Ellsworthhas been seeing are almost all related towastewater injection, he said. Ellsworthsaid he agreed with the research councilthat “hydraulic fracturing does not seemto pose much risk for earthquake activi-ty.”

If the country starts capturing theglobal warming gas carbon dioxidefrom coal power plants and injecting itunderground, there is a potential for alarger quakes given the amount ofthe heat-trapping gas that wouldhave to be buried, the council’sreport said. That’s an issue thatneeds more study, it said.

Congress and theDepartment of Energyrequested the 240-page report.

REPORT:QUAKE TRIGGERSIn more than 90years of monitoring,human activity hasbeen shown to trigger only 154quakes, most ofthem moderate orsmall, and only 60of them in the U.S.That’s compared toa global average of about 14,450earthquakes ofmagnitude 4.0 orgreater every year.

AP PhotoHydraulic fracturing does not lead to more earthquakes, but underground wastewaterinjection does pose some risk, a new government report indicates.

Don’t worry too much about quakes and fracking


Look for Shale Playboxes throughout

Mahoning, Trumbull andColumbiana Countiesand keep informed!

Shale Play is brought to you by

www.shaleplayneohio.com

By LINDA HARRIS Shale Play

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio —Jefferson County’s Oil and GasCommittee is getting nearly$50,000 in grant money todevelop “Project Unite,” a web-based communications systemthat will allow government lead-ers, school officials, industry andprivate citizens to share informa-tion and concerns as the shale oiland gas drilling industry movesforward.

The funding, earmarked by theLocal Government InnovationFund, is subject to stateControlling Board approval, butat Wednesday’s meeting com-mittee members began workingon the kinds of informationthey’d like to see on the site.

“It should streamline (things),”Commissioner Dave Maple, thecommittee’s moderator, said. “Itgives the people of the communi-ty a little more transparency withthe industry, it will reduce a lot ofthe frustration associated with the(shale) industry.”

Dozens of community groupsranging from township trusteesto city government, school lead-ers and business and industryendorsed the grant application inwhat the group’s leaders havecalled an unprecedented collabo-rative effort.

“The most pleasant surprisewas the number of entities thatsigned on as partners in support ofthe project and their interest and

enthusiasm for the whole conceptof collaboration,” said JoyHowell, superintendent of theJefferson County EducationalService Center and a key player inpreparing the grant application.

Howell credited a shared

desire to “improve the quality oflife for the citizens of JeffersonCounty that linked us all togetherin this project, and truly made usa single, united team.”

Commissioner Tom Gentilesaid the grant was “a remarkable

example of what we can do whenwe want to.”

“There’s going to be a lot ofuseful information for our citi-zens, business and people look-ing for jobs, and a conduit for theindustry to get information out,”

he said.George Allan, who wrote the

grant application before retiringfrom JCESC, said he’s hopingthe success of the initial collabo-ration “leads to more productiveuse of our resources andexchanges of information,exchanges of services andexchanges of ideas that can growthe county.”

Once the state controllingboard signs off on the grant,Jefferson Regional PlanningCommission Director DomenickMucci said they’ll be able toissue a request for proposals and“create a punch list of what we’dlike to see it be.”

The committee meets monthlyin the Pugliese Center at EasternGateway Community College’sSteubenville campus.


By LINDA HARRIS Shale Play

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio —Saying shale development holds“tremendous potential” for bring-ing jobs and economic growth tothe Buckeye State, U.S. Sen.Sherrod Brown told Steubenvilleresidents this month those jobsneed to go to Ohioans.

During a visit to EasternGateway Community College’sPugliese Center, Brown, D-Ohio,said his SECTORS initiative, oth-erwise known as the“Strengthening EmploymentClusters to Organize RegionalSuccess” Act, would ensure train-ing is aligned with the needs ofindustries that are creating thejobs while providing a “morestructured, a more reliable ongo-ing stream of money” to pay forthose programs, which he said arekey to ensuring Ohioans benefitfrom growth industries.

“We must make sure these newjobs are going to Ohioans, notout-of-staters,” Brown said.“That’s exactly what RetrainAmerica and the ShaleNet pro-grams at Eastern GatewayCommunity College are designedto do - train locals for shale explo-ration positions. The SECTORSact takes a similar approach byaligning worker training pro-grams to the needs of industriesthat are creating jobs. It helpslocal communities, and educa-tional institutions like EGCC, tai-

lor work force training to meetindustry needs. Here in JeffersonCounty, the SECTORS Actwould help the community makesure more workers are preparedfor opportunities in shaledevelopment.”

ShaleNet is a U.S. Departmentof Labor-funded initiativefocused on preparing local resi-dents for new jobs in the oil andgas industry. Likewise, “RetrainAmerica” offers similar trainingfor Ohioans looking for work inthe shale industry. EasternGateway is using both to preparearea residents to work in oil- andgas-related jobs.

Kim Cline, project manager atProgress Alliance, described theJefferson County community asthe “gateway to Ohio’s shaleregion.” Blessed with an inter-state highway, river and railaccess, she said the shale boom,although still in its infancy, hasnonetheless been “a totally differ-ent experience for us.” Wherebefore the Progress Alliance staffhad to search out potential suitors,she said potential investors noware contacting them in search of

assistance in locating sites or hir-ing workers.

“In my opinion, JeffersonCounty’s been really in front ofthe ball,” she told Brown. “In a lotof (ways) Jefferson County is theposter child for other counties.We’re trying to stay in the fore-front, instead of letting it run usover.”

Tracee Joltes, assistant directorof work force outreach at EasternGateway, said the school’sShaleNet program has alreadygraduated about 70 students,roughly 60 percent of whom areworking in the oil and gas indus-try so far. Others have found workin machine shops that serve theindustry in some capacity, shesaid. A program like SECTORS,she said, would “provide moreopportunities.”

“These companies want to hirelocal (workers),” she added. “Itcosts them less money to hirelocal.”

Brown said employers inemerging industries — a list hesays includes things like solarenergy, advanced manufacturingand health care - struggle to find

qualified workers to fill job open-ings, despite Ohio’s 7.5 percentunemployment rate. He said SEC-TORS would tailor work forcedevelopment to the needs of thoseindustries, allowing more workersto be placed in those new jobs andattracting more businesses to theregion.

The bill would organize stake-holders connected to a regionalindustry to develop plans forgrowing that industry, he said.Eligible entities would be able toapply for a one-year planninggrant of up to $250,000 and athree-year implementation grantof up to $2.5 million, he said.

Brown said the SECTORS pro-gram would give schools likeEastern Gateway “an ongoingstream of money” to develop spe-cialized training programs meet-ing the needs of growth industriesin their region.

Prior to meeting with studentsin one of those retraining pro-grams, Brown fielded questionsfrom residents and listened totheir perception of the shaleindustry.

He told those in attendance thatthe shale boom “is all good newsif done right.”

“(And) ‘done right’ meansmaking sure of other things, thatany manufacturing is done in thiscounty ... that drinking water isprotected, that we know whatchemicals are used in the process,and that these jobs are local jobs.”

Brown says shale jobs need to go to Ohioans

Gas panel gets $50,000 grant for project unite

‘“We must make sure these new jobs are going toOhioans, not out-of-staters.”

— U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown

Photo by Linda HarrisU.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks with EasternGateway Community Collegestudents and area residentsabout the potential for jobs andeconomic growth in EasternOhio during a visit to the col-lege’s Pugliese Center.

Jefferson Countycommissioners TomGentile, left, and DaveMaple discuss the kinds ofinformation that should beincluded on a newweb-based communicationssystem the oil and gascommittee is working on.

Photo by Linda Harris


By WARREN SCOTT Shale Play

WELLSBURG, W.Va.— After working severalmonths to establish a natu-ral gas well at Brooke HillsPark, crews are expected tobegin the next phase thisweek.

Jacque Bland, mediarelations specialist forChesapeake Energy Corp.,confirmed some time thisweek crews could beginhydraulic fracturing thetwo wells created at thesite.

Bland said the work willtake two to three weeksbecause the company does-n’t plan to do it onweekends.

Janice McFadden, thepark’s manager, said,“They’re working with usto keep it on weekdays

because of shelter rentalsand other activities thereon the weekends.”

The process involvespumping hundreds of thou-sands of gallons of water,mixed with sand and vari-ous chemicals, into theunderground Marcellusshale to release the gas.

The operation is expect-ed to involve hundreds oftrucks that will travelthrough the park, so planscall for the work to be donemostly at night andon weekdays.

Before drilling began,crews with Chesapeakewidened and paved thepark’s entrance road andextended it to the drillingsite at the rear of the parknear Pearce Run.

McFadden saidChesapeake has worked

around the park’s activitiessince it began operationsthere last fall.

As an example, she saidit scheduled its operationsaround the Brooke CountyFair and Brooke HillsSpooktacular.

McFadden said the oper-ations are expected to becompleted anywhere fromOctober to two years fromnow.

The Brooke County Park

and Recreation Commis-sion, which oversees thepark, has received$750,000 for signing alease allowing Chesapeaketo drill on nearly 100 acresat the park.

The park will receive 18percent of royalties onabout 90 acres, with otherroyalties going to descen-dants of the W.C. Gist fam-ily, which retained mineralrights to a portion of the

land donated to the countyfor the park.

Park officials don’tknow how much they willreceive through the royal-ties, because the quantityof gas at the site isn’tknown.

McFadden noted thepark won’t receive the roy-alties until a transmissionline is built from the park.

The park board also isslated to receive a right-of-way fee for the propertycrossed by the line.

The signing fee hasallowed the park board tomake improvements, suchas refurbishing its golfcourse, adding a fencebetween the course and theentrance road andinstalling new playgroundequipment.

There also are plans to

build a 160-square-footstorage building for trac-tors and other equipmentused to maintain thegrounds and its golf carts,which have been the targetof vandals in recent yearsbecause they are storedoutside.

The park board alsoplans to hire a consultant toaid it in planning futureadditions aimed at drawingmore people to the park.

A water park, ice skatingrink and opportunities forsnowboarding or skiinghave been considered bythe group.

McFadden and otherpark officials said they arecomfortable it will be donesafely, adding it brings amajor source of revenue tothe park, which had beenstruggling financially.

Fracking to begin at Brooke Hills Park

‘“They’re working with us to keep it onweekdays because of shelter rentals andother activities there on the weekends.”

— Janice McFadden

Ohio preps for drilling,researches mineral rights

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)— Ohio officials are cata-loging how much state proper-ty sits above the Utica shale asthey prepare for potential gasand oil drilling in state parksand forests, which wereopened to drilling under a lawenacted last year.

When lawmakers weredebating that idea, officialsfrom the Ohio Department ofNatural Resources had saidthe state owned less than one-third of the mineral rightsunder state parks, and theydidn’t know who held therights for land in some cases.

State workers have spentthree months reviewing prop-erty records in 16 easternOhio counties with the mostactive shale drilling, stretch-ing from Trumbull Countysouth to Monroe County andwest to Muskingum County.

The Ohio Department ofNatural Resources says theresearch in those counties isalmost done.

“This demonstrates thelevel of work that is necessaryin terms of identifying themineral rights that are ownedby the state,” spokesmanCarlo LoParo said. “Manyproperties contain hundredsof parcels, all of which had to beresearched.”

More research is planned in up to 19other counties with less active shaledrilling, with possibilities ranging fromAshtabula County in the northeast cornerto Meigs County in southern Ohio.

The industry has flooded the state insearch of gas and oil deposits in the Uticaand Marcellus shale formations, andGov. John Kasich and other state leaders

are hinging much of Ohio’s job growthstrategy on the increase in drilling.

Environmentalists have expressedconcerns about pollution from drillingand the method known as hydraulic frac-turing, which blasts millions of gallonsof chemically laced water into the earthto fracture shale formations and releaseoil, natural gas and natural gas liquidssuch as propane.

Drilling companies with high interest

in the Utica shale have offered easternOhio landowners more than $5,000 anacre for mineral-rights leases.

It’s not clear when drilling companiesmight be offered access to state parkproperties.

Some companies were briefed aboutstate lands last month but received noschedule, said Brian Hickman, aspokesman for the Ohio Oil and GasAssociation.

AP PhotoLouie Chodkeiwicz stands in his yard within site of one of the oil and gas wells near hisproperty in Broadview Heights, Ohio

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — WestVirginia’s abundant natural gas supply hasGov. Earl Ray Tomblin ready to order acost-benefit analysis of switching at leastpart of the state’s vehicle fleet from gaso-line and diesel, according to administra-tion officials and those who have beenasked to serve on the resulting task force.

Tomblin plans to issue an executiveorder that also aims promote this alterna-tive source among the public, said RobAlsop, his chief of staff.

“He thinks that given the price of natu-ral gas and what looks like the long termdevelopment of the Marcellus Shale, thiscan become a resource for our fleet insteadof depending on oil,” Alsop said.

“It could help with job creation and low-ering transportation costs in the state.”

The task force is expected to include topexecutives from gas producers and compa-nies with such relevant holdings as servicestations.

“We’re interested in demonstrating thatwe can improve our nation’s energy secu-rity, hopefully by converting at least partof the vehicular fleet in this country, start-ing here in West Virginia,” said Phil Realeof the state’s Independent Oil and GasAssociation, among those asked to join thevolunteer group.

Scott Rotruck, a Chesapeake Energyexecutive and another task force member,called switching at least part of the fleet“an excellent first step in a broader move-ment that would change the way we allfuel our cars in the U.S.”

“The state has several large roles toplay, notably this time as a ‘market player’with fleet conversion,” Rotruck said.

Tomblin is also among 13 governorswho appealed to auto makers in an April27 letter to help them jointly shift theirfleets.

“A bipartisan partnership between gov-ernors and auto manufacturers in the U.S.makes sense and has the potential to createnew options for alternative fuel vehiclesand transportation fuel diversity,” the let-ter said.

W.Va. makingpush for naturalgas vehicle


‘By CASEY JUNKINS

Staff WriterWHEELING, W.Va. —

Drillers believe WorkForce WestVirginia’s evaluation of theiremployment levels does not paintan accurate picture, but unionleaders said the numbers prove thegas and oil industry is not hiringlocally.

WorkForce WV, a division ofthe state Department ofCommerce operating underSecretary Keith Burdette and Gov.Earl Ray Tomblin, lists only2,244 Mountain State oil and gasworkers in 2010. The numberactually dropped slightly in 2011to 2,179, according to thosefigures.

However, the vice president ofthe Independent Oil and GasAssociation of West Virginia citeda study commissioned by theAmerica’s Natural Gas Alliancethat shows 16,888 gas workers inthe state for 2010.

R. Dennis Xander, president ofBuckhannon, W.Va.-basedDenex Petroleum and vice presi-dent of IOGA, said this number is“amazing.”

“Between 2008 and 2010, nat-ural gas prices collapsed, fallingby something like 60 percent, andstill employment is robust,” hesaid.

“I think the oil and gas industryshould get credit for just maintain-ing jobs in this economic environ-ment. And yet we are actuallygrowing.”

Noting West Virginia’s unem-ployment rate surged to 6.9 per-cent last month, Xander wondershow high the rate would be with-out his industry.

“If the Sierra Club ... had theirway and were able to shut downdrilling, what would WestVirginia’s unemployment ratebe?” he said, emphasizing that thisis his personal view, rather thanthe view of IOGA as a whole.

The report Xander cites lists the16,888 number for 2010 as the“employment contribution ofunconventional gas.”

The Marcellus and Utica shaleformations are considered by theindustry to be unconventionalbecause of the horizontal drillingand fracking needed to extract thegas.

This employment contribution

statistic is a number that includesjobs created for those working inthe drilling fields, but also forthose working in supportpositions.

The study refers to this conceptas “direct, indirect and induced”jobs.

It states that direct gas jobs arefor those who “explore, produce,transport and deliver natural gasto consumers or provide criticalsupplies or on-site services thatsupport unconventional gasactivity.”

The indirect jobs are held bythose who supply material orservices for the industry, whichmay be someone who works for asand or chemical provider. Theinduced jobs are those caused bythe gas workers spending theirmoney, which could includethose working for restaurants orhotels.

However, the Work-Force sta-tistics show the number of WestVirginia residents workingdirectly for gas and oil drillershas not increased over the pasttwo years, despite a continuedupswing in drilling and fracking.

“Our data comes from allUnemployment Insurance-cov-ered employers themselves. Theyare required by federal and statelaw to submit employment andwage information on a quarterlybasis,” said WorkForce spokes-woman Courtney Sisk.

The Affiliated ConstructionTrades Foundation and the WestVirginia State Building andConstruction Trades Councilhave long voiced concerns aboutnatural gas companies bringing inworkers from other states. DaveEfaw, secretary-treasurer of thetrades council, cited theWorkForce numbers as evidencefor his cause.

“West Virginians are watchingthe natural gas industry grow intheir own backyards, as prom-ised, but the sad part is they’renot part of the growth or evenbenefiting from it,” he said.

“We see guys in RVs andtrucks coming from Texas,Louisiana and other states intoour communities to do the jobslocal workers can do and gettingthe paychecks local workersbadly need,” Efaw continued.“Paychecks earned by local

workers stay in West Virginiaand help our economy — pay-checks earned by Texans get senthome to Texas.”

Gas industry jobs paying near-

ly $30 per hour are on their wayto Marshall County soon, asDominion Resources will look tohire 40-45 full-time, permanentworkers for the natural gas pro-

cessing plant set to open inDecember.

There will be positions forelectricians, plant operators andloaders.

Gas industry,WorkForce clashon drilling jobs

JOBS NUMBERS DEBATED“If the Sierra Club ... had their way and were able to shut down drilling, what would West Virginia’s unemployment rate be?”

— R. Dennis Xander

Photo by Casey JunkinsA construction worker is shown at Dominion Transmission’s natural gas processing plant inMarshall County. The state of West Virginia and the natural gas industry are debating the num-ber of jobs created by the industry.


Assistantt SecuritySitee Supervisor

Needed full time for local areashopping center. Exp. in securi-ty, law enforcement or super-visory exp. preferred but notnecessary. Must have highschoo l d ip loma or GEDequivalency, clean criminalbackground, val id dr iverslicense & able to pass drugscreen. 40 hrs. per week. Appli-cants should mail cover letter,resume & salary requirementsto:

Directorr off SecurityEastwoodd Mall,, Unitt #49055555 Yngst.. Warrenn Rd.

Niles,, OHH 444466

OTRR DRIVERSS with Class A License wanted.Must have:

∫ Good MVR∫ 2 yrs exp. w/53 ft vans

∫ OTR exp

Call:: 330-469-6456

INDEPENDENTDRIVERS

Clean Class A CDLtaking applications for pulling

53 ft. trailers.Su-Jon Enterprises

3170 Highland Ave SWWarren, OH 44481

330-469-6456

DRIVERSApplications being acceptedfor tow truck drivers. Min. 25yrs of age. Clean MVR. Exp.preferred or mechanically in-clined. Resident of Niles orsurrounding area. For appt.

call between 8:30am - 4:30pmonly at: 330-544-6101

DRIVERSNational trucking co. seeksexp. owner & lease operatorswith a valid Class A CDL.

Qualified applicants will pro-vide store to store moves forour national retail account.Clean background & MVR re-quired.

Competitive pay per mi. & fuelsur-charge paid on a weeklybasis. Additional compensationfor doubles endorsement.

Average 2200 mi. per weekworking Sun.- Thurs. eves.

Call330-538-6188

Shhoopp PurchasinngTooll Rooomm Clerrkk

Local fast pacedmanufacturing com-pany looking for a fulltime, aggressive andself motivated individu-al with a strong com-puter background towork in an industrial en-vironment.

To schedule, control &track purchasing ofplant supplies and in-ventory.

EExxcceelllleenntt bbeenneeffiittss,, wwoorrkkiinngg eennvviirroonn--mmeenntt aanndd 440011((kk))

ssaavviinnggss ppllaann.. WWaaggeess bbaasseedd oonn

eexxppeerriieennccee..Sendd resumee to::

Tribunee Boxx #4894P.O.. Boxx 1431

Warren,, Ohioo 44482

Programmerr // AnalystAstroo Shapess (locatedd inn Struthers,, Ohio)) hass ann im-mediatee openingg forr aa Programmerr // Analyst..

The job responsibilities include as-sisting in fact finding to developand/or modify information systems;assisting with the development ofprogram specifications; designing,coding, testing and debugging pro-grams and preparing documentationfor own programs.

Qualified candidates need a basicunderstanding of computer logicand the fol lowing requiredlanguages: PHP, SQL, HTML, CSS(C or C++ and .net are desired).Other required skills include: fami-liarity with relational databases anddesign (ie. Oracle); Linux (any),Apache and the ability to do somehigher level math (calculus, stats,etc.). Other desirable skills wouldbe the familiarity with PL/SQL,Triggers, Procedures, networkingprotocols (such as TCP, UDP). Abachelor’s degree in computer sci-ence a plus.

Interesstedd candiiddaatess shouldd sendd theeiirr resumess to::

Kellyy Shaffer,, H.R.. Managerr 655 Mainn Street,

Struthers,, OHH 444711 orr to::

[email protected]

Noo telephonee callss -- please

OPENN Positions

Ready for something new?Requirements: 7-10/hrs permo. Willingness to succeed.

Must want to help others!Trainingg provided

Hugee incomee potential!

yourlifeimproveshere.com

Jobs Jobs Jobs! Real Estate! Pets! More!Classified

LINUXX SYSTEMM ADMINISTRATOR

A progressive aluminum extrusion company in the greaterYoungstown, Ohio area has an opening for a

Linuxx Systemm Administrator.This position will report directly to the Info. Technology Mgr.and will work with all network users in the organization.

Responsibilitiess include:

Daily monitoring and maintenance of 20+ servers; performingback up, file replications and script mgmt. for servers;planning and expanding current service offerings; testing andapplying new software and maintenance patches; maintainingand supporting a multi-VLAN Cisco network environment.

Thee successfull candidatee willl possess:

5+ yrs. Linux server administration experience; strongUbuntu Linux experience; and Windows 2003/2008 server.A solid experience with a multi-server environment and fami-liarity with databases and web programming languages andautomation is a plus. Must be able to troubleshoot and pro-vide viable solutions and possess excellent communicationand interpersonal skills.

Position offers an excellent wage and benefit package, workenvironment and 401(K) Plan.

Send resumes along with salary requirements to:[email protected] or

Astroo Shapes,, Inc.. Attn.. Kellyy Shaffer;

655 Mainn Street,Struthers,, OHH 44471

DRIVERS

Locall && Regionall Semi-Dump

RR && JJ Truckinginn Boardman,, OHH iss seekingg qualifiedd locall andd

regionall driverss too runn semi-dumpss forr con-structionn workk onn locall oill && gass fields.

Qualifiedd Applicants:∫∫ Mustt bee att leastt 233 yearss off age∫∫ 22 yearr mininumm off CDLL experience∫∫ Hazmatt certification

∫∫ Cleann MVRR aa must

Wee Offer:

∫∫ Fulll benefitss ∫∫ Vacationn pay∫∫ Safetyy awards

Calll Zekee at:

1-800-262-9365,, Ext.. 121E.O.E.

Lookingfor a job,looking tohire, orneed torelocate?You’vecome tothe rightplace.

Next IssueDeadline:

Friday, July 6@ 10AM

Looking for a bargain?Check the classified.You might uncover thebargain of a lifetime.

WHEN applying for em-ployment for the govern-ment, utility or airlinejobs, remember you mayapply directly with thecompany at no charge.Call the Better BusinessBureau at:330-744-3111.

�� !

� � �� "�� # $�"�� %�� #�� #��&�� '� ��%#��(��$�� )*��("��)*!�

$�+� �� #�� #�� ,�� &� � � ��&� �� -�� #�"�� #�� (�� &�� "�� -��#� ��%�� "�� #��-�� .��. �� -/�� -��%��

��"� ��.�� 0�� #�� '��%1 ��%��" �� #�� ' �2�34567473��

Shale Play! Shale Play! Shale Play!

VISUAL INSPECTORManufacturer of steelcomponents for the auto-motive industry seeks en-ergetic, dependable work-er. Visually inspects partsto assure compliance tocustomer drawings.$10.50/ hr+ incen-tive+shift differential.Must be willing to workafternoon shift(3pm-11pm). Drug test re-quired. Company offerscompetitive benefitspackage.

Send resume to:Ohio Star Forge Co.,H.R. Dept./Visual,P.O. Box 430,

Warren, OH 44482-0430.E.O.E.

The Shaw GroupInc.

is a Fortune 500 com-pany with over 27,000employees around theworld that services thesteel, energy, chemical,environmental, infrastruc-ture and emergencyresponse markets forgovernmental andprivate sector clients.

We are accepting appli-cations for the followingqualified candidates towork in Steel Mill Indus-trial Maintenance posi-tions:

ó Electrical Techniciansó Mechanical Techniciansó Maintenance Plannersó Automation Engineersó Maintenance Supervision

Additional incentive po-tential, 401K, Medical,Dental, and Vision In-surance Short Term and

Long DisabilityLife Insurance

Interested applicants shouldcall the:

Human Resources CraftResource Center

Direct: 225.313.5763or 812.362.6284

Submit resumes to:

[email protected] fax to 812.362.6805

E/E/O M/F/D/V

STYLISTSGalleriaa off Hair

at Howland Corners is lookingfor (4) PT/FT Stylists. Salonhas brand new equip. andcompletely remodeled andunder new mgt. Sendresume:165 Niles-CortlandRd, Warren SE, Oh 44484.

PRODUCTIONN CLERK

Local manufacturing com-pany currently seeking anexperienced manufacturingclerk to join its operations.This 1st shift, 40-48 hrs. perweek position requires 3-5years’ experience perform-ing hands-on production andshop floor reporting, admin-istrative experience that in-cludes strong computerski l ls wi th a workingknowledge of accountingprinciples, time- keeping,and shipping procedures.Must be able to multi-task ina fast-paced work environ-ment.

This position reports directlyto the Plant Manager andoffers the right candidate theopportunity to join a finan-cially strong organizationand receive a comprehen-sive benefit package that in-c l u d e s M e d i c a l /Life/Dental/401k options anda competitive wage struc-ture. Pre-employment drugscreening including hair folli-cle testing required.

Interested candidatesshould submit their resume

listing salary history to:

Tribunee Boxx #4895P.O.. Boxx 1431

Warren,, Ohh 44482

MECHANICNiless Ironn &

Metall Co.,, LLCQual i f icat ions:: Looking forseasoned diesel, welding & hy-draulics experience.Expectations:: Will work in allweather conditions, self- motivat-ed, knowledge & competence intrucking, cable & hydraulic cranemaintenance & preventivemaintenance.

Applicationn process:: Walk-inswelcome to fill out applications &turn in resumes from 7 a.m. - 4p.m., Mon.-Fri., at 700 S. Main

St., Niles, OH 44446.(330) 652-2262

FACTORY POSITIONS

Star Extruded Shapes is ac-cepting applications.

Starting rate is $7.90 anhour, weekly pay, and bene-fits after 90 days. We are asmoke-free & drug freeworkplace.

Apply in person at:

7055 Herbert RoadCanfield OH 44406between the hours of8:00am to 4:00 pm.

No Phone Calls PleaseE.O.E. APP/M/F/V/H

EARNN EXTRAA $$$ MONEYY $$Deliverr Phonee BooksTrumbulll Countywide

∫ Flexible Hours∫ Have Insured Vehicle∫ Must Be At Least 18 Yrs. Old∫ No Exp. Necessary∫ Clerks & Loaders Needed

855-955-7337www.sddsinc.com,,

Ref.. Jobb #OH05

KEYY CARRIERLook no further for a

rewarding career opportunity!

Pat Catan’s is looking to fill aKey Carrier position at ourWarren retail location. Idealcandidates will have strongcommunication and customerservice skills. Previous plano-gram work experience is aplus!

If you enjoy merchandising,expressing your creativity withdisplays, and want to developyour leadership skills, this maybe the ideal position for you.

Candidates must be able towork a flexible schedule whichmay include some nights andweekends.

We offer a competitive hourlyrate and a fun, creative work

environment!

Applyy at:: Patt Catan’s

19233 Ridgee Ave.. SE330-369-1557

EOE

FLEXIBLEE DAYWORKK INN

WARRENN AREANo nights or weekends,work ing fu l l - t ime orpart-time. Average $8 to $12per hour. Must have goodcommunication skills, withan outgoing personality——doing customer servicetype work.

330-394-1555

MAINTENANCEPar t - t i m ee en t r yy l ev elmaintenance position atTod’s Crossing, an in-dependent senior housingcommunity. skills required:Painting & janitorial withmechanical aptitude as youwill also learn basic mainte-nance duties. We are anequal opportunity employer.Criminal background & drugtest screening.

Applications acceptedJunn 25-29,, 8am-3pm

at the rental office locatedat:

13300 Blakelyy Circlee SW,Warrenn 44485..

[No phone calls.]

MAINTENANCETECHNICIANS

Republic Steel seeks experi-enced Electrical and Mechani-cal Maintenance Techniciansfor our Canton, Ohio steel-making operations to performpreventive, predictive, androutine maintenance tasks toinclude troubleshooting issues,repairing mill equipment, andperforming inspections, andadjustments.

Qualifications must include atleast 3 years experiencemaintaining heavy manufactur-ing equipment; mechanicalskills- hydraulics, pneumatics,mechanics and basic electricalrepair; electrical skills-PLCás(Allen Bradley, ABB), AC / DCmotors, controls, digital drives,circuits, electricity and highvoltage distribution. A postsecondary education or techn-ical trade certificate is pre-ferred. The position requires awillingness to work rotatingshifts including weekends andholidays as required.

Base hourly rate of $21.67plus 20% wkly incentive op-portunity, 401k option, fullypaid healthcare benefits in-cluding dental and vision.

Submit resumes to:

C. Muller, H. R.2633 8th St. NE

Canton, OH, 44704

Or apply online at:

www.republicsteel.com


MACHINISTManual & CNC1st & 2nd Shift Available

FITTERS & WELDERS

Experience required.Full Benefits - Top Wages

Apply: [email protected] P.O. Box 298, Girard, OH 44420

Serving others is our mission. Make it yours.

Thanks to excellent service, Dollar General Market continues to grow. As a division of Dollar General, the nation’s largest small-format retail discounter, we proudly offer fresh food and quality products at low prices. Improving lives through service in our stores and communities, we serve the best interests of our employees as well, with competitive pay and benefits, and advancement potential. If you are service-minded, you’re welcome to join our store in Niles, OH. Join us at the:

Dollar General Market Hiring EventFriday, June 29, from 10 am to 2 pm

Magnusom Grand Hotel9519 E. Market St., Warren, OH 44484

We are hiring for the following roles:

Seeking individuals with a desire to serve, a drive to excel and a determination to succeed, Dollar General Market truly cares about our customers, our employees, our communities, and our world. Interested candidates can apply in person at our Hiring Event. Learn more at

EOE M/F/D/V

Looking for a

job, looking to

hire, or need to

relocate?

You’ve come to

the right place.

Shale Play! Shale Play! Shale Play!

WHEN applying for employment forthe government, utility or airline jobs,remember you may apply directly withthe company at no charge. Call the

Better Business Bureau at:330-744-3111.

Need a new home?

Sell an item in theclassifieds!

Looking for those who are ready

to buy? Try the classifieds. The

marketplace where you have the

buyers attention. Call 1-800-550-

8742 today!



WELDER/FITTER/MAINTENANCE

Local Aluminum ExtrusionPlant seeking an experienced

Welder/Fitter/Maintenancee Mechanic

Must be able to read Caddrawings and fabricate partswith minimum of 3 years ex-perience at MIG, TIG, Stick,F l u x , a n d b e v e r yaccurate/detail oriented.Must be skilled using an airarc, lance and be certifiedwith pipe and high pressurewelds. Candidate will be re-quired to make somemachine repairs as needed.

Please send resume to:Extrudexx Aluminum,, Inc.

P.O.. Boxx 6977 Northh Jackson,Ohioo

44451Attn:: H.R..

[email protected]

WeldersExperience in

heavy plate fabricationenvironment

utilizing any of thefollowing processes:

ó Flux Core

ó Stick

ó Tig

ó Submerged Arc

Pay commensuratewith experience.

Please sendresumes to:

P. O. Box 216Hubbard, Ohio

44425

NEWTON TWP.Ready to move in. Close toGM/McDonald Distributioncenter, newly renovated 2 &3 bdrm. mobile homes, $400& $425 per mo.

Call 330-979-2482 or330-824-3700

WarrenGett Itt Alll At““TThhee NNeeww””

RRiivveerr RRuunnAAparrtmentssNoo aapppplliccaattiionn ffeeee**OOnnllyy $$115500 DDeeppoossiitt

1,, 22 && 33 bdrm.. apts.&& townhomes

fromm $449

** PPeettss wweellccoommee OOnn--ssiittee ffuullll sseerrvviicceeDDaayyccaarree,, TThheeaattrree,,IInntteerrnneett,, FFiittnneessss &&BBuussiinneessss CCeenntteerrss

Open Mon.-Sat. til 5

330-898-3035

www.WarrenApartments.com

*Restrictions Apply

WARREN

June Move-In Special$50 Laundry Card

Accepting Applications

ó On-Site Laundry Facilityó Computer Centeró Activities & Eventsó Air Conditioned

New HampshireHouse Apts.

1244 Fifth St. SW(Off Tod Ave)

Mon. thru Fri., 8-5 p.m.(Sat. by appt.)330-393-8900

E.O.E.

Warren

1 & 2 bdrm.Starting at $395

Includes heat, water& appliances

ß Specials ß

Call 330-898-6014

Niles

Timberr CreekApartments

Fitness Rm. & Lg. PoolSurveillancee Cameras

Discounted Cable

ALLL UTILITIESS PAIDStudioo $415;11 Bdrm.. $525

Senior Friendly330-652-2535

www.timbercreekapts.net

MINERALL RIDGE

RRiiddggeewwoooodd AAppttss..(On SR 46 Near I80 Interchange)

Efficiencies & 1 Bdrm. Units.Number Of Extras.

On-Site Mgr. Check Us Out -Great Location. Priced Right.

330-652-6008 or 330-545-6630

CORTLANDBBeeaauuttiiffuullllyy UUppddaatteedd

Large 1 bdrm., $5252 bdrms., $475, $525 $600

with pool + electric

333300--663377--66669911

HIMALAYAN

Himalayan KittensAvailable now. Registered.Various colors & white.

740-922-2170 or740-922-1670

TRUCKK DRIVERLocal company in need of a

mid-range/local driver.Must have Class A CDL.

Excellent benefits & workingenvironment.

Please apply in person orsend resume to:

Extrudexx Aluminum,, Inc.. 120511 Mahoningg Ave.,,

Northh Jackson,, OHH 44451-06977

Attn:: HRR Managerr

Life/Health/Benefitss Produc-er

Independent Insurance Agen-cy in Trumbull Co. is seeking alife/health and benefit producerto sell and service an existingbook of business. Experienceand licensing required.

Send resume to:[email protected]

MRDDExperiencedd Stafff andd

Supervisor.Betterr Livingg NowApplyy inn personn att

14600 Centrall Parkway,, Warren.. 330-373-6318

LPNsBriarr Hilll Healthh Caree

Residencee inn Middlefieldd Villagee seeking:

Part-timee LPNs2ndd && 3rdd shifts..

Calll too schedulee yourr interview

440-632-5241

Burton Health Care Center

Burton Health Care Centerhas positions available for:

Activityy Director,, fulll time

Activityy Assistantt fulll time

Cook,, fulll time

Cook/dietaryy aidepartt time

Housekeeper/laundryy aide,, partt time

Interested applicant cansubmit resumes or

apply in person:

Burtonn Healthh Caree Center

14095 E. Center StreetBurton, OH 44021

or fax 440-834-9824or visit our website at:

www.windsorhouseinc.comEOE, Drugfree Workplace

Extrudexx Aluminum,, Inc., along established extrusioncompany, has a position avail-able for a

Customerr Servicee Representative

in our North Jackson office.Wee aree seeking an individualthat has prior experience in abusiness environment; experi-ence in the metal industry isbeneficial, but not required.Must be self-motivated, andhave the ability to work withminimal supervision. Organi-zational and administrativeskills are a requirement, aswell as excellent communica-tion and customer serviceskills.Wee offerr competitivee payy andd aa comprehensivee bene-fitt package.

Please send resumes to:[email protected] orr

P.O. Box 697North Jackson, OH 44451

Att:: HR

RNás & STNAásAutumn Hills Care Centeris currently accepting

applications forRNás & STNAás.

We have both 12-hour day& night positions available.We are looking for reliable &motivated individuals to join

our growing team.

Competitive wages& benefits.

NO Mandatory OT

Apply in person orsend resume to:

Autumn HillsCare Center

2565 Niles-Vienna Rd.Niles, OH 44446

DFWP/EOE


VXII Globall Solutionss has

IMMEDIATEE OPENINGSS forFULLL andd PARTT TIME

Inboundd Calll Center

∫∫ Customerr Caree ∫∫ Customerr Servicee ∫∫ && Sales

AREE YOU:√√ Ablee too passs aa criminall backgroundd checkk && drugg screen?√√ Att leasee 188 yearss off age?√√ Knowledgeablee withh thee Internet,, Word,

Excel,, Outlook,, etc?

WEE OFFER:√√ Competitivee hour lyy rate√√ Paidd trainingg √√ Trainingg completionn bonus√√ *Somee positionss offerr medical,, dental,, &&

visionn coverage√√ *Somee positionss offerr lucrativee incentivee bonuses

Applyy Onlinee at

www.vxi.com

Orr Walk-InMondayy thruu Fridayy

99 a.m.. -- 44 p.m.

200 Federall Plazaa West4thh Floor

Youngstown,, OHH 44503

PPuutt YYoouurr RReettaaiill SSaalleess AAnndd CCuussttoommeerr SSeerrvviiccee SSkkiillllss ttoo UUsseeIInn AA CCaarreeeerr WWiitthh GGrreeaatt MMoonneeyy AAnndd OOppppoorrttuunniittiieess!!

Shale Play! Shale Play! Shale Play! Shale Play! Shale Play! Shale Play!

Looking for a job,looking to hire,or need torelocate?

You’ve come tothe right place.

Looking for a bargain?Check the classified.You might uncoverthe bargain of a

lifetime.

Sell Your BoatCall 1-800-550-8742

Classified ads willwork for you,whether you’rebuying or selling.

WHEN applying foremployment for thegovernment, utility orairline jobs, remem-ber you may apply di-rectly with the compa-ny at no charge. Callthe Better Business

Bureau at:330-744-3111.

Looking for skilled MedicalCare? There are many

qualified servicesadvertised in the classified

section everyday.

shale play - northeast ohio edition 6-28-12

Documents

ohio road construction

warrensharon road

thentake warner road

number of lawsuits

road bond andcertified

drilling opportunities

drilling date

uticashale drilling