IGS CNG Services, in conjunction with other partners and Governor Tomblin’s office, announced that the grand opening of Charleston, West Virginia’s first compressed natural gas fueling station for vehicles will be held on January 28, 2014. The fueling station is located at 10 Spring Street in Charleston.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the number of compressed natural gas stations could double over the next two years. The increase is a result of a number of companies converting their vehicle fleets to run on CNG. Recently, Shale Hotels Inc. and “O” Ring CNG Fuel Systems LP entered into a joint venture to build an undisclosed amount of CNG stations. There are currently five CNG stations in Southwestern Pennsylvania that are open to the public: EQT’s Strip District facility, Giant Eagle’s stations in Crafton and Cranberry, American Natural’s Station Square station and Waste Management’s Clean-n-Green station in Washington County.
Largely due to increased revenues from drilling permit fees, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has nearly doubled its staff in the last two years. Metro News reports that the DEP cites this growth as allowing them to be more responsive to both the public and the oil and gas industry. An additional change that the DEP expects to have significant impact on the industry is the implementation of an e-filing system for drilling permit applications. The e-filing system is expected to improve the efficiency of the permitting system for both the DEP and the companies seeking permits.
Workforce West Virginia Investment Council has released findings that cite a 20 percent jump in oil and gas industry employment last year, the West Virginia Gazette reports. During the same period, the average wage for workers in the industry has also risen by nearly $5,500. The rise in employment is focused in the regions where Marcellus Shale activity is the highest, and the growth can be seen in ancillary industries as well. Particularly, the pipeline and storage tank construction sector has experienced significant growth corresponding to the oil and gas industry.
West Virginia Senate President Jeff Kessler is leading the drive to create an oil and natural gas trust fund named the “Future Fund” that would support education, economic development or tax relief decades from now, reports the Global Post. Kessler recently led a group of West Virginia lawmakers to visit North Dakota, where 30 percent of oil and gas tax collections are placed into the state’s Legacy Fund, which cannot be spent until 2017. Kessler indicated that he would like to present the Future Fund proposal as a constitutional amendment in January 2014, stating that he believes that constitutional protections would lock down the fund from lawmakers and interest groups that would like to spend the money prematurely.
In one example of how development of the Utica and Marcellus shale formations are contributing to the Ohio economy, one expanding business has recently been awarded approval to use microbes to rehabilitate soil contaminated by petroleum products. Long used to reclaim soil from gas stations and other industrial sites, Ohio Soil Recycling of Columbus, Ohio is now using microbes to reclaim drill cuttings from well sites, preserving material that would otherwise be taken to a landfill. The process uses naturally occurring bacteria to break down the petroleum products in as quickly as 24 hours. Ohio Soil Recycling has only recently received approval for the process, but is reporting great interest from oil and gas producers in Ohio.
Last week, global research firm IHS released a report regarding the economic impact of U.S. unconventional oil and gas production, Bloomberg reported. According to the IHS report entitled America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the Economy – Volume 3: A Manufacturing Renaissance, in 2012, unconventional oil and gas activity increased disposable income by an average of $1,200 per U.S. household. This study examined the full energy value chain (upstream, midstream and downstream energy and energy-related chemicals) and the overall contributions on the manufacturing sector and U.S. economy. Based on this examination, U.S. oil and natural gas production has supported 2.1 million jobs and has added nearly $75 billion in federal and state revenues.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a group of Brazilian business and energy industry professionals known as the Brazil Industries Coalition is visiting Pennsylvania this week in an attempt to learn from the state’s experience and to evaulate the possibility of sending exports to Brazil. The group is meeting with Pennsylvania regulators and operators and will tour a drilling site. The WSJ cites to the National Confederation of Industry, which states that energy costs in Brazil are among the highest in the world. One Brazilian energy company executive noted that one unit of natural gas sells for $18.00 in Brazil. In the United States, that same unit would sell for about $4.00.
MarkWest Energy is slated to sell some of its natural gas facilities in Doddridge County, West Virginia to Summit Midstream Partners in the coming days. According to Platts McGraw Hill Financial, the $210 million transaction is anticipated to close this month and will include approximately 40 miles of high-pressure gathering pipelines, designated right-of-ways associated with the gathering lines and two compressor stations. These WV pipeline and compressor station systems are currently serving an affiliate of Antero Resources based upon a long-term, fee for service contract.
Ohio governor John Kasich revised his proposed drilling tax after it has been rejected by the Ohio legislature. The new proposal would increase the proposed tax of 4% to 4.5% and direct 25% of the revenue generated by the tax to 33 Appalachian counties. The remainder would go toward funding state income tax decreases. The new proposal is likely to face continued resistence from industry groups.
On May 29, 2013, WV Governor Ray Tomblin announced the establishment of the Appalachian Petroleum Technology Training Center, which will include joint programs hosted by West Virginia Northern Community College and Pierpont Community and Technical College and is supported in part by the oil and gas industry. Students will have the opportunity to earn a two-year associate degree or a one-year certificate program in the field of petroleum technology through the program, which opens next fall. The Center will have hands-on facilities, including indoor and outdoor drilling simulation laboratories. Corky Demarco, Executive Director for the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, noted that “Having business and industry involved in the curriculum and facility planning gives us confidence that graduates will have the skills and hands-on training needed for industry careers.”
According to the Charleston Gazette, Denver-based Energy Corporation of America (ECA) will build a three-story office building Northgate Business Park in Charleston. The building will have more than 5,000 square feet of space and house 100-200 employees. It will replace the company’s current eastern regional headquarters in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston. ECA has operations in the United States and New Zealand, and is actively engaged in natural gas exploration and production in the Marcellus Shale play.
Pennsylvania has been ranked third among all states for the number of new or expanded corporate facilities by Site Selection Magazine. The magazine also ranked Pittsburgh sixth among metropolitan areas with more than one million people. The Tribune-Review reports that it is the second consecutive year that Pennsylvania was among the top states and third for Pittsburgh in the top ten among large metropolitan markets. The editor in chief of the economic development publication indicated that the energy industry, including the oil and gas industry, helped the state’s ranking.
As reported in the Fayette Tribune, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s Natural Gas Vehicle Task Force has released its final report on how the state can utilize its natural gas resources to reduce transportation costs and boost the local economy. The Task Force identified locations within the state that contain large concentrations of government fleet vehicles, and therefore have the greatest demand for fueling infrastructure (map). The Task force suggested tax credits for the purchase of natural gas vehicles and for private investments in the construction of fueling stations. The Task Force also recommended that the state develop programs to educate West Virginians about natural gas vehicles, including the benefits of adopting these vehicles and information on how to maintain and operate them.
In another sign of the energy industry’s impact on the region, the Pittsburgh Technical Institute broke ground earlier this week on a $3.5 million energy technology center designed to educate individuals in the oil and gas electronics involved in extracting, transporting, and storing gas. The 15,392-square-foot facility, which is being funded partially by the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, is expected to be completed this fall. The Post-Gazette has more.