Investment in the energy-rich shale sector in eastern Ohio continues to grow, reaching $74 billion since 2011, according to a report commissioned by JobsOhio.
The quarterly report, done by Cleveland State University’s Energy Policy Center at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, shows that about two-thirds of that investment has been in drilling, land acquisition, building roads and other expenses tied to the “upstream” portion of oil and gas production.
The rest has been spent on activities such as collecting and gathering the oil and gas along with transmission lines and investments in natural-gas power plants and other uses.
Bryce Custer, SIOR, CCIM with NAI Ohio River Corridor, worked on projects which accounted for over $2 billion of the $74 billion investment with the Carrol County Energy natural gas-powered plant and the Southfield Energy natural gas-powered plant in Columbiana County along with many other projects throughout eastern Ohio. According to Custer, “We anticipate that this number will continue to rise as proposed polymer complexes begin construction and a variety of plastics and derivative companies look to Ohio as a source of lower cost raw materials, utilities and a strong workforce.”
The study represents investment through the first half of 2018.
Production of natural-gas liquids ethane, propane and butane is expected to double during this period, accounting for 19 percent of the nation’s total.
The latest data shows production from the region, which is primarily natural gas, continues to surge.
The Cleveland State report is based on investment data by companies working in the region.
In the first half of 2018, much of the investment was focused on Belmont, Monroe and Jefferson counties on the state’s eastern edge.
Meanwhile, additional investment is being made to further develop the region’s pipeline system to get resources to markets.
But what is attracting the attention of Andrew Thomas, the executive in residence at the Energy Policy Center, and research associate Mark Henning is how the resources will be used and whether it will be in the state.
A $700 million Cleveland-Cliffs iron-making plant set to open in Toledo next year is using natural gas to make hydrogen, they said. A similar $500 million project being developed in Ashtabula County in Northeast Ohio by Petmin USA will do the same thing.