Magnum Hunter sells noncore Utica acreage
Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. of Dallas said its wholly owned subsidiary, Triad Hunter LLC, signed a definitive agreement to sell noncore undeveloped Utica leasehold acreage in West Virginia for $40.8 million to an undisclosed independent producer.
The assets involved 5,210 net acres in Tyler County, W. Va., and represented less than 3% of Magnum Hunter's total net acres in leases in the Marcellus and Utica.
Gary C. Evans, Magnum Hunter chairman and chief executive officer, said the properties were not in Magnum Hunter's long-term drilling plan.
"Additionally, with lease expirations on the horizon on a large portion of this acreage position, it made sense to sell these properties now to an industry competitor that already owns adjacent leases," Evans said.
Marathon boosts its refining to process shale production
Marathon Petroleum Corp. commissioned a 35,000-b/d condensate splitting unit at its 242,000-b/d Catlettsburg, Ky., refinery as the company moves forward with plans to boost its capacity to process production from shale in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
In December 2014, MPC commissioned a 25,000-b/d splitter at its 90,000-b/d Canton, Ohio, refinery.
In addition to the Catlettsburg, Ky., splitter, that project also includes installation of condensate storage tanks and dock modifications to enable barge unloading at the refinery, MPC said in an e-mail to OGJ.
Condensate will be delivered to the refinery by barge via the Ohio and Big Sandy Rivers. Combined, the Catlettsburg and Canton splitter projects cost about $250 million.
During a June 2 investor presentation, MPC executives said they continue leveraging current refining capacity to process more US light sweet crude oil and to boost diesel output.
MPC has invested $140 million in a project at its 212,000-b/d Robinson, Ill., refinery to increase the plant's light crude processing capacity by 30,000 b/d and enable the site to run 100% light crude oil.
The Robinson project is scheduled for completion during 2016. A separate Robinson project, slated for completion this year, involves a revamp of the refinery's distillate hydrocracker that would enable the processing of more feedstock at a lower conversion and shift about 5,000 b/d of light products to ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD) production, according to MPC's most recent annual report to investors.
Williams Partners increases stake in UEO midstream
Williams Partners LP's subsidiary Utica Gas Services has acquired an additional 13% stake in Utica East Ohio Midstream LLC (UEO) from a subsidiary of EV Energy Partners LP for $357 million, boosting Williams Partners total interest in UEO to 62%.
UEO is a joint project to develop infrastructure for the gathering, processing, and fractionation of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) in eastern Ohio's Utica shale.
Williams Partners, along with another equity owner, operates the infrastructure complex which consists of gas gathering and compression facilities, four processing plants with a total capacity of 800 MMcfd, a 135,000 b/d NGL fractionation facility, about 600,000 bbl of NGL storage capacity, and loading and terminal facilities.
API-Ohio runs radio ads against severance tax
The American Petroleum Institute launched a series of radio ads in Ohio urging people to call their state senators in opposition of any additional taxes on the oil and gas industry, said Chris Zeigler, API-Ohio executive director.
An increased severance tax on horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing was expected to be included in a Senate version of a budget bill for Ohio.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich proposed a 6.5% tax on oil and gas sold at the wellhead and a 4.5% rate on natural gas liquids. The Ohio House of Representatives pulled the severance tax proposal out of the budget.
A budget measure is in a Senate committee as of late May, and if authorized, could progress to a conference committee around June 15, Zeigler said.
Gulfport Energy Corp. buying Utica leases
Gulfport Energy Corp. in June announced plans to buy leases covering more than 35,000 acres of eastern Ohio from Aubrey McClendon's Utica shale affiliate.
American Energy-Utica LLC sold 35,325 acres in Belmont, Monroe, and Jefferson counties. In addition, American Energy Appalachia Holdings LLC was renamed Ascent Resources LLC, which will transition into a company independent from American Energy Partners LP of Oklahoma City.
Gulfport Energy agreed to pay $68.2 million for 6,200 acres in Belmont and Jefferson counties and to pay $319 million for a dealing including 27,200 acres in Monroe County. The Monroe County acreage includes a four-well pad and gas-gathering system.
The transaction also tentatively includes another 1,900 Monroe County acres for $19.4 million, and that deal is contingent on American Energy fulfilling some conditions.
Upon closing of the deals, Gulfport would hold 243,000 acres of leases in the Utica core.
McClendon left Chesapeake Energy Corp. in 2013. In April 2015, American Energy agreed to return 6,000 acres to Chesapeake and pay $25 million in a partial settlement over a land dispute.
American Energy-Midstream spinning off, changing name
American Energy-Midstream LLC is transitioning to a company independent of American Energy Partners LP, and the midstream company changed its name to Traverse Midstream Partners LLC, effective July 1.
Traverse Midstream was financed by a $500 million equity commitment from The Energy & Minerals Group and additional equity from various others including Aubrey K. McClendon, chairman of Traverse Midstream.
Holdings include a 35% interest in Rover Pipeline LLC, a 710-mile interstate gas pipeline serving the Utica and Marcellus shales, and a 25% interest in the Ohio River System, a gas-gathering trunkline.
Both will be operated by Energy Transfer Partners LP. Rover was expected to be in service by mid-2017 and Ohio River was expected to be in service by the third-quarter 2015.
