PENNANT MIDSTREAM UTICA GAS PROCESSING PLANT NOW READY FOR OPERATIONS

Pennant Midstream has announced that its Hickory Bend cryogenic processing plant in Mahoning County, OH is now live and online and ready to receive “wet gas” from the Utica Shale.

The $375 million plant is now ready. Pennant, which is a joint venture between Hilcorp Energy and NiSource, is preparing to build two more plants at the same location. Each plant can handle about 200 million cubic feet of raw gas per day, separating it into methane and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The NGLs are then pipelined elsewhere for further processing.

Read the announcement below:

 “We are excited to announce this milestone,” said Chad Zamarin, chief operating officer of NiSource Midstream Services and president of Pennant Midstream. “As producers bring wells online and are able to flow gas to the facility, Hickory Bend will be capable of processing up to 200 million cubic feet per day. This achievement contributes to increased shale production in the Appalachian Basin and is not only critical to unlocking the potential of the Utica shale play in Ohio, it is furthering economic development in the Mahoning Valley.” NiSource Midstream Services, LLC, operates Pennant Midstream, which is jointly owned by Harvest Pipeline (an affiliate of Hilcorp Energy Company) and NiSource Midstream Services.
The Hickory Bend processing plant and gathering system, a $375 million investment in the region, includes approximately 55 miles of 20- and 24-inch wet gas gathering pipeline facilities, as well as the cryogenic natural gas processing plant, which will separate dry natural gas from natural-gas liquids (NGLs). The dry gas will be transported for delivery to homes and business across the region, and the NGLs will be shipped through a new liquid pipeline for conversion into products such as butane, ethane and propane, delivering additional value to the marketplace. Much of the liquids will be transported by way of a 38-mile NGL pipeline to a fractionation facility in Harrison County, Ohio.
The plant will support rich-gas production from Hilcorp Energy Company as well as additional producers in the area. In addition to the initial processing capacity of up to 200 million cubic feet of gas per day, the core gathering pipelines will support delivery of more than 600 million cubic feet per day.

While there is only one processing facility currently located at the 90-acre site, Pennant Midstream is preparing the land for two additional plants to meet the growing need for midstream services in the area as the Utica shale play is developed. Zamarin said that the company is encouraged by the development of the Utica play. “We are making a long-term investment in midstream infrastructure in Ohio that, in the end, could equal over $1 billion.”