BP has announced plans to expand existing infrastructure in northeast Ohio to accommodate increased natural gas production in the area, as well as exploring partnerships with midstream processing plants in Trumbull County. Such plants are already under construction in Mahoning and Columbiana counties. BP has leased more than 84,000 mineral acres in the area and are expected to have invested $100 million in Trubull County drilling by next year.
MarkWest Energy Partners announced that it has commenced operations in its Mobley Gas Processing Plant in Wetzel County, West Virginia, according to Energy Business Review. The plant is the first of three gas processing plants in the U. S. planned by MarkWest, with the second facility to likely be completed in the first quarter of 2013, and the third to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2013. The first plant, capable of processing 200 million cubic feet of gas per day, is currently operating at 60% capacity, and is expected to reach its full capacity soon to accommodate the drilling success in the Marcellus Shale. The three plants are expected to have a capacity of 520 million cubic feet per of gas per day after completion.