New Driller On the Block: Caiman Invests Millions
Wheeling Intelligencer
21
November 2010
By Casey Junkins, Staff Writer
MOUNDSVILLE - Riding along U.S. 250 in Marshall County between
Moundsville and Cameron, one should notice a large natural gas liquids
processing plant and pipeline under construction.
With $150 million already spent and $200 million more on the way over
the next 18 months, Dallas, Texas-based Caiman Energy is making major
investments in Marshall and Wetzel counties. The Marcellus Shale
formation underlying West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as
portions of Ohio and New York, is the company's target.
"The Shale area under Marshall and Wetzel counties contains one of the
best rich gas resources in the entire Marcellus," said Jack Lafield,
chief executive officer for Caiman Energy. "The potential for this
region of the Marcellus Shale is huge. Caiman will develop and grow its
assets as the play expands."
Unlike Chesapeake Energy, AB Resources and other natural gas drillers
rapidly expanding operations in West Virginia, Caiman acts only to
gather and process the gas, rather than actually produce it.
"We provide the service of gathering natural gas from the wells drilled
in northern West Virginia, processing the gas for the removal of the
natural gas liquids, and delivering market quality natural gas to major
pipelines for consumption throughout the Northeast," Lafield said.
Currently, Caiman has completed 40 miles of gas gathering pipelines in
Marshall and Wetzel counties, with another 70 miles under construction.
Caiman's processing plant on U.S. 250 will separate what are known as
"natural gas liquids" from the natural gas stream as it is delivered
from the wellhead. The natural gas liquids - which can be processed
into propane, butane, ethane and natural gasoline - can then be resold,
according to the website, http://www.naturalgas.org.
"In most instances, natural gas liquids (NGLs) have a higher value as
separate products, and it is thus economical to remove them from the
gas stream," information from the website indicates.
The Fort Beeler cryogenic facility, located about 9 miles southeast of
Moundsville, should be completed and ready for operation early next
month, employing about 10 workers. It will separate the natural gas
liquids from the natural gas itself by chilling the gas stream to a
temperature of -120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the natural gas liquids are collected, they will be put into a
25-mile pipeline Caiman is building that feeds into a "fractionation"
facility currently under construction along the Ohio River, just north
of the Marshall-Wetzel county line.
The pipleline and the fractionation facility are scheduled for
completion in June 2012. In essence, the fractionation facility will
process the natural gas liquids into their final form.
"The fractionation facility will take a blended liquid hydrocarbon
product (called "Y Grade") and separate the Y Grade into purity
propane, butane and natural gasoline," Lafield said. "The initial
facility will handle 12,500 barrels per day of Y Grade feedstock."
The fractionation plant also will be a welcome addition to the area's
industrial base, which took a hit last week with the announced closing
of First Energy's R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside. Along with a dozen
workers at the plant, there will be rail and truck loading areas to
allow for easy transportation of the processed products.