Stratigraphy showing Knox Unconformity – click for larger version
Cabot Oil & Gas is drilling test wells in north central Ohio looking for “what’s next” after the Marcellus. Cabot began to push dirt around on its first OH wellpad (in Ashland) in April, and began to drill a hole on that pad in June (see Cabot O&G to Begin Drilling in Ashland County, OH This Week). Cabot has also begun drilling at a second site, and has filed for a permit to drill at a third site, in Vermillion Township in Ashland County (see Cabot Files Permit #3 for Knox Formation Test Well in Ashland, OH). We’ve read comments by Cabot that the type of exploration they’re doing in OH just as often doesn’t pan out as it does–no doubt trying to manage and tamp down expectations. However, actions speak louder than words. On Monday Cabot held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new (albeit small) branch office located in Jeromesville (Ashland County). Sure looks to us like things are getting serious! You don’t just sign a lease for office space if things don’t look promising. In the past Cabot has been cagey about which rock layer they’re targeting in Ohio. We know it’s not the Utica. Devon Energy previously tried drilling the Utica in Ashland and it didn’t work. While both the Knox and the Rome layers have been mentioned in Cabot’s permits, it appears it is the Knox layer that Cabot is targeting. Although Cabot doesn’t admit what they hope to find (oil, gas, NGLs), it’s clear they’re hoping to find oil. Below we have more details on the new office space, and more on the Knox and Cabot’s approach to drilling in it…
