American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2016 - 92

and we will drill more wells."
The Marcellus Shale play is receiving
most of the attention from regional producers, but Bennett asserts the Utica
could prove just as attractive to Ohio operators targeting liquid hydrocarbons.
"The Utica is a quality rock. Is it the
Eagle Ford or Bakken? No, but a nice
piece of the play is in Ohio, and will
benefit a lot of landowners and companies
operating in the Appalachian Basin," he
assesses.
The flood of natural gas and associated
products is encouraging further development of a regional petrochemical industry,
Bennett reports. Plans for at least three

Appalachian Basin cracker plants have
been announced, and he predicts at least
one will reach completion.
In September, Ohio Governor John
Kasich reported that an American subsidiary of Thailand's largest integrated
refining company was poised to invest
$100 million for initial engineering work
on a world-scale ethane cracker to be
built on the Ohio River in Belmont County.
Other projects are proposed for Parkersburg, W.V., and Monroe County, Oh.,
and Royal Dutch Shell's $4 billion complex planned for Monaca, Pa.
"The Ohio statewide economic development agency, JobsOhio, has done great

work in attracting these manufacturers,"
Bennett praises. "It is not only cracker
plants, but those facilities that utilize natural
gas for feedstock. I really have to commend
JobsOhio on its efforts of trying to get
those companies to locate in the state."
Bennett says the region's production
community has been waiting four years
for Shell's decision, and it continues to
wait. "I will feel a lot more comfortable
about these projects once we start seeing
the dirt turning, and when we start to see
the buildings take shape," he says. "Until
that time, we have to remain cautiously
optimistic that Ohio will become a petrochemical hub in the Appalachian Basin."❒

Exporting U.S. Oil, Gas Good For Ohio
COLUMBUS, OH.-In late December,
the first U.S. oil exports in 40 years left
Gulf ports more than 1,000 miles south
of Ohio, but the state's producers still
will benefit from access to international
markets, predicts Shawn Bennett, the
Ohio Oil & Gas Association's executive
vice president.
The natural gas sector received its
own boost earlier in 2015, after the Department of Energy approved Dominion's
plans to export as much as 770 million
cubic feet a day of domestically produced
liquefied natural gas from its terminal in
Cove Point, Md. OOGA notes that Dominion is the parent company of Dominion
East Ohio, and so the Ohio transmission
system will be part of the national network
that will send natural gas to the Chesapeake
Bay export facility.
Speaking in advance of the association's
winter convention, set for March 16-18,
Bennett says expanding the sales base
for both oil and natural gas can only help
U.S. producers. "Every bit helps. We are
producing so much light crude, and we
have to send it to the areas that refine it.
HR 2029, the budget bill that includes a
provision allowing oil exports, will help
producers get a fair market value for
their product. The big spread between
Brent and West Texas Intermediate oil
prices is killing U.S. markets. You now
are seeing that spread shrink considerably,"
he assesses.
Oil exports strengthen the United
States' geopolitical muscle, Bennett points
out, boosting the country's economic and
political clout. "While traditionally the
United States flexed its military muscle,
now it can flex its natural resources
muscle as well," he says. "On the international stage, this gives the United States
a little more say."
Despite some perceptions that Wash92 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

ington is starting to recognize a wide
range of advantages to supporting domestic
oil and gas production, Bennett warns
that it is too early to accept that notion.
"Do I think that Congress may have
given up a lot in HR 2029 to get crude
exports? Possibly, but it is a very important
issue, and we do not know what took
place behind closed doors when the two
chambers were negotiating the bill," he
says. "Allowing crude exports was a very
important issue to the entire industry. To
get that off the table and to be able to
focus on other issues is very important. I
am glad it finally got done."
Endangered Species
Bennett says Ohio's oil and gas operators also are applauding the announcement from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service that recognizes oil and gas activities do not threaten the northern longeared bat, a species listed as threatened
under the Endangered Species Act. According to a Federal Register notice published Jan. 14, the agency's final 4(d)
rule removes prohibitions to prevent the
bat's incidental take during otherwise
lawful activities, such as clearing trees.
"The northern long-eared bat has concerned us in Ohio for the past couple
years," Bennett reports. "OOGA has submitted comments on the bat several times
to try to get a favorable ruling, and it
looks like USFWS has issued one. Instead
of trying to alienate the oil and gas industry
in this 4(d) rule, USFWS has left the industry alone and recognizes that the white
nose syndrome is causing the drop in the
bat population, not industry activities.
Thankfully, science has prevailed on that
matter, and oil and gas activities will not
be singled out. The industry does not
need more roadblocks to development."

Even with concerns about the northern
long-eared bat resolved, Bennett points
out there still are more than 25 plant,
reptile and animal species under consideration for ESA protection, including the
Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake and the
Monarch butterfly. OOGA has submitted
comments on many of the proposed listings.
"You have to remain optimistic that common sense will prevail, however, common
sense will never prevail if the association
is not out there commenting and submitting
the scientific findings," he says.
OOGA also continues to monitor the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
revised National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for ground-level ozone, following the government's October decision
to cut the limit to 70 parts per billion. Although many had feared EPA would set
the ozone standard at an even tougher 65
ppb, he predicts the new limit will be
difficult enough to satisfy, and many
expect large parts of Ohio will be in
nonattainment.
Industry and public concerns about
the tighter ozone standard have not stopped
since its implementation, Bennett states.
"That ozone rule lacked a significant
analysis of its economic impact," Bennett
poses. "It is supposed to be about balancing
the environment and the economy. I don't
think it is correctly balanced here. I
believe the agency focused too much on
the greenhouse gas rule, and did not think
about economic development.
"The fight continues on this. You are
seeing some movement in Congress regarding the rule," he says. "The oil and
gas industry will operate within the confines of the rule, however OOGA will
continue to fight against it and make sure
that common sense and economic growth
win out."
❒

American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2016

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