Anyone who was born and raised in eastern Ohio knows that large scale investments in the region have been few and far between.  Thankfully with increased oil and gas development over the past several years, things have really turned around.  According to a Bricker and Eckler report, over $18 billion has been invested over the past several years in eastern Ohio, thanks to oil and gas development.

While that $18 billion is quite impressive, that’s just the beginning.  During the month of August, the region attracted another $3 billion in additional investment from three separate projects that will provide eastern Ohioans with well-paying jobs for many years to come.

Yesterday, Appalachian Resins announced that it will build a $1 billion facility in Monroe County that will be able to process approximately 18,000 barrels per day of ethane into ethylene and polyethylene, the feedstock for plastic and many other items we use in our daily lives.  The facility is expected to begin operating in early 2019 and will produce 600 million pounds of ethylene/polyethylene per a year.  This new feedstock has the potential to reinvigorate the manufacturing sector in the region, which will, in turn, increase investment and jobs in the Ohio Valley.

In addition to the Appalachian Resins announcement, Columbia Pipeline Group also announced its plans to invest $1.75 billion in a 160-mile pipeline in Ohio and West Virginia to support shale development in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.  The pipeline will be capable of transporting 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to markets in the Midwest and Gulf Coast.

Last but not least, EnLink Midstream LLC is investing $250 million in new pipeline and processing facilities in eastern Ohio.  It is planning to build a 45-mile pipeline that will transport condensate coming from the liquid-rich portion of the Utica Shale and connect to existing 200 miles of pipeline in eastern Ohio and West Virginia.  The processing facilities, located in Belmont, Noble and Guernsey Counties, will be able to process up to 560 million cubic feet of natural gas and 41,500 barrels of condensate per day.

These major investments continue to demonstrate that oil and gas development is breathing new life into a region that for years had been ignored.  With eastern Ohio only being in the early stages of development, it will be interesting to see what new and exciting investments continue to pour in as the state capitalizes on these tremendous opportunities.