PDC Energy announced at the end of 2014 they would not drill any new wells in the Ohio Utica Shale in 2015 (see PDC Energy Pushes Pause Button on OH Utica Drilling for 2015). Not long after that, PDC announced early results from an Ohio Utica well pad they named (we kid you not) “Dynamite” (see PDC Energy’s Interesting 2014 – “Dynamite” in the Utica). Kind of a twisted sense of humor, no? Because of the results PDC continues to get from the Dynamite well pad, they told analysts on an earnings call earlier this month they may un-pause drilling in the Utica sooner than anticipated. When? If the price of crude oil hits $70 per barrel (right now it’s just shy of $60/barrel), PDC has said it will likely begin drilling again in the Utica. However, even if the price is in the mid- to high-sixties, that may be enough to tempt them to re-enter the Utica, given their “Dynamite” results…
