Bricker & Eckler LLP's “
” for spring 2015 lists more than $6 billion invested in Ohio oil and gas projects since last fall.


Although there have been cuts in jobs and the number of drilling rigs in the state, the report found more than $3.5 billion in projects have been announced in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties since Bricker began tracking developments in October 2013.


There have been $28 billion in investments in Ohio as a direct result of shale development, which represents a 40 percent increase in the total investments since the Fall of 2014.


A local project added to the report in the past six months is the $1.6 billion venture by Utica East Ohio Midstream LLC.


A “three-plant processing complex” includes a cryogenic plant in Kensington in Columbiana County, a fractionation facility in Harrison County, and a cryogenic plant in Carroll County.


FirstEnergy also invested an undetermined amount of money building a transmission project to deliver power to the processing plant in Kensington.


Until the Midstream project, the largest local investment by far was the $1.2 billion spent by Vallourec to build a seamless pipe mill which straddles Mahoning and Trumbull Counties.


“Despite recent fluctuations in oil prices, the number of shale projects in Ohio continues to grow,” said Matt Warnock, Bricker partner and co-chair of the firm's Oil and Gas Industry Group. “Further—and somewhat surprising—we haven't seen any significant slowdown in the number of high-dollar projects. All of this bodes well for Ohio, particularly the southeastern region of the state.”


The firm published the first edition of its report in October 2013, at which time it identified $12.2 billion in new shale-related projects.


Since then, the cumulative total grew to $16.8 billion in the Spring of 2014, $22.3 billion in the Fall of 2014, and now well over $28 billion.


According to the report, this total fails to take into account the dozens of projects with unknown values and the potentially multi-billion ethane cracker plant recently announced by Governor John Kasich as being slated for construction in Belmont County.


As part of this project, PTT Global Chemical and Marubeni Corp. plan to spend approximately $150 million for engineering and permit work to determine if the project will move forward.


If it does, the companies estimate it will bring several hundred permanent jobs, several thousand construction jobs and a total investment of several billion dollars.


Below is a compilation of oil and gas related projects in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties as found in the "
" report.


Columbiana County


Anchor Drilling Fluids USA Inc.
Opened a drilling fluids production facility within the Columbiana County Port Authority's Wellsville Intermodal Industrial Park; leased an additional acre in August on a month-to-month basis.
$1,250 per month investment

Arrowhead Utica Pipeline LP (Hilcorp Energy Co. subsidiary)
Constructing a gas transfer plant at the Wellsville Intermodal Facility. Expected to create
between 30 and 50 jobs.
$20-40 million investment

California Investors
Building a hotel in Salem that is focused on supporting the oil and gas industry with lockers and mudrooms.
Unknown investment

*FirstEnergy Corp. (New)
Completed a transmission project to deliver power to the Utica East Ohio Midstream, LLC processing plant in Kensington.
Unknown investment

Marathon Petroleum Corp.
3.6-acre property purchased at the Wellsville Intermodal Facility to be used as a truck offloading facility and a pipeline to transport the oil and gas to storage tanks that Marathon already has at the industrial park.
$2.4 million investment

Mule Sidetracks LLC A subsidiary of MarkWest Energy Partners LP
Bought the Youngstown & Southern Railroad. The Y&S Railroad Co. will continue to operate it, and the Columbiana County
Port Authority retained the mineral rights to the 36-mile short line.
$3 million investment

U.S. Silica
Modified existing buildings and equipment at its East Liverpool location to accommodate
the storage of a kind of silica known as Northern White frac sand.
Unknown investment

*Utica East Ohio Midstream LLC (M3 Midstream joint venture with Chesapeake Midstream and EV Energy Partners) (New)
The “three-plant processing complex” includes a cryogenic plant in Columbiana County (Kensington), a fractionation facility in Harrison County (Scio), and a cryogenic plant in Carroll County (Leesville).
$1.6 billion investment

Columbiana and Mahoning Counties


Pennant Midstream LLC (Hilcorp Energy Co. and NiSource Inc. partnership)
Built a 55-mile wet gas gathering pipeline system in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania to transport wet gas to the Hickory Bend cryogenic natural gas processing plant in Mahoning County. Operations began in August 2014, and the processing plant is capable of processing up to 200 MMcf/d of natural gas liquids.
$375 million investment
Columbiana and Mahoning Counties

Rex Energy Company
Expanding in PA and OH with the acquisition of about 208,000 acres (total) from Royal Dutch Shell, which will increase the company's acreage in the Appalachian Basin by 200 percent.
$120 million total investment
Mahoning County

“O” Ring CNG Fuel Systems LP
Pennsylvania-based company partnered with Dearing Compressor to develop a new CNG fuel station near its Youngstown manufacturing plant. Recently broke ground on a station in Marion County.
$2.3 million investment per station

FirstEnergy Corp.
Company has installed a 3.5-mile, 138-kV transmission line to serve a natural gas
processing plant in Springfield Township in its “efforts to support the growing shale gas industry in Ohio.”
$3 million investment

Industrial Waste Control Inc. and Austin Master Services LLC Industrial Waste Control Inc.
Granted a permit by ODNR to contract with Austin Master to begin testing incoming drilling waste in Youngstown. “Austin Master will provide the radiological expertise necessary to design a treatment process for drilling waste found to have radioactive properties. This facility, located less than a mile west of YSU, will potentially provide jobs for graduating YSU engineers.”
Unknown investment

Mahoning County approved a deal to sell Consol Energy up to 500,000 gallons of water per day at a rate of $6 per 1,000 gallons. Consol will use the water for shale well in North Jackson.
Possible $90,000 per month investment

Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 396
Training program aimed at experienced welders who need to learn new skills specific to pipe welding in the oil and gas industry. The training is funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission and the union's training department.
Total of two matching grants: $130,530

U.S. Petroleum Exploration Investors from the Mahoning Valley and Canada
Created a startup company, which offers project management services for drilling operations. Headquartered in Canfield and it employs 25 people.
Unknown investment

UA Local Union No. 396
Money from the Ohio Appalachian Development Grant program will train welders and pipefitters in the Mahoning Valley for jobs in Ohio's Utica shale region.
$150,000 investment

Youngstown State University
The president of YSU “will be tasked with building the academics of YSU to support [the oil and gas] industry.”
Unknown investment
Trumbull County

Aim NationaLease National
Provider of commercial truck leasing and contract maintenance services established an affiliate, Aim Services Co., from its headquarters in Girard to provide oil and gas transportation services – particularly water – in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Unknown investment

Appalachian Railcar Services Inc.
Relocated one of its fixed locations from Lordstown to the Warren Depot to offer on site rail car work and mobile crew services to the growing rail traffic that is moving through the area as a result of shale development. The company will have 15,000 linear feet of rail on which to work at the Warren Depot, as well as 200,000 feet of warehouse space that it plans to lease.
Unknown investment

Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley
Paid to have the Trumbull County recorder's office's records scanned and digitized at no cost to the county.
$253,877 investment

BP America
Converted a former FedEx distribution center located in the Youngstown Commerce Park into its new Utica Operations Center.
Unknown investment

BP America BP America
Provided an initial $50,000 to Trumbull County to lease the Defined STEM program for students for two years. It provided another $50,000 to extend the program an additional two years through 2016.
$100,000 investment

Exterran Holdings Inc.
Opened oil and gas equipment plant that is expected to employ 120 people and will manufacture production equipment used to treat and process oil and natural gas.
$13.2 million

Trumbull FracTracker Alliance
Opened a new office in space provided by nonprofit incubator.
2-year, $130,000 grant

Halcon Resources
Planning a new oil storage and rail-transloading terminal at the Ohio Commerce Center. Expected to create 30 full-time jobs. Future uncertain following company's announcement that it is suspending its Utica drilling operations.
$70 million investment

IGS CNG Services 
The company's eighth public compressed natural gas fueling station in Weathersfield Township opened July 2014.
Unknown investment

Legacy Measurement Solutions Inc. (formerly J-W Measurement Co.)
Texas-based company expected to create 150 jobs upon moving into a new, 73,000-square foot facility in Brookfield Township where it will engineer gas-measurement equipment and provide supplies and services to the oil and gas industry. Received a 55 percent, seven year tax credit from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority for the company to create $6.8 million in annual payroll at the location.
Unknown investment

Perni & Perni Equities LLC
Planning to construct a new, 87-room Comfort Suites Hotel and possible conference center.
$6.5 million investment

Savage Services
Opened rail services at the Ohio Commerce Park in Lordstown. Transloads bulk materials to and from rail cars, manages materials flow and manages safe rail operations.
Unknown

Valerus and Brilex Industries LLC
Brilex added 10 jobs in 2013 at its Andrews Avenue plant to accommodate additional business coming from its new partnership with Valerus for manufacturing oil and gas production equipment. Plans to add 20 more in 2014.
Unknown investment

Vallourec (formerly known as V & M Star)
Constructed a new seamless pipe mill. Construction of the new pipe threading plant, to be used by its VAM USA subsidiary, continues; it is expected to open in the second quarter of 2015. State tax credit terms include an agreement to hire at least 80 employees.
$1.2 billion and $81.6 million investment

VEC/Evets Electrical Inc.
Tripled capacity and added 30 jobs.
$2.5 million investment

Warren Steel Holdings LLC
“The resurgence of oil and gas exploration in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays has driven additional steel consumption, which puts the Warren mill in a choice place to grow.” Employment was expected to eventually reach about 300. As of February 2015, demolition of the former RG Steel plant continued, but the former administration building was donated to the Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center (TBEIC) for startup companies in energy and natural resources.
Unknown investment

Weatherford Artificial Lift Systems Inc. (subsidiary of Weatherford International Ltd.)
Built a multi-purpose oil and gas operations facility that will train and employ about 150
people.
$3.4 million investment
*Denotes projects added since the last report.

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