At a recent informational event about the gas industry, an advisor for the American Petroleum Institute called Wheeling, W.Va. (where one of Spilman’s seven offices is located) “dead center” of the Marcellus & Utica Shale fields. Wheeling and the surrounding region is particularly attractive to energy companies because of the prevalence of wet gas (natural gas that contains aqueous substances, such as ethane and other valuable hydrocarbons) in the underlying shale formations.
Other topics discussed included the hoped-for ethane cracker, mineral rights vs. landowners’ rights issues and labor issues. Find out more in this article.
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Friendly City is Proclaimed ‘Dead Center’ of Gas Rush
THE INTELLIGENCER / WHEELING NEWS-REGISTER
By Casey Junkins
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
WHEELING – With local wells producing enough Marcellus and Utica shale natural gas to support an ethane cracker, industry leaders believe the city lies in the “dead center” of an economic boom.
“Right here in Wheeling, you are at the dead center of all the activity,” said Rayola Dougher, senior economic advisor for the Washington, D.C.-based American Petroleum Institute, during a Tuesday information session at the Capitol Theatre. API represents more than 490 oil and gas companies.
“Wheeling is becoming a very important hub in the oil and gas industry because of the nearby ‘wet’ gas,” added Gastar Exploration Vice President-Northeast Michael Mc-Cown.
