Northern Utica Lights Up: Columbiana Farmland Sells for $18,750/Acre

Ohio's Utica shale boom ignited around 2011 in northeastern counties, with Carroll County emerging as the epicenter of early drilling. Operators like Chesapeake Energy targeted the oil and liquids-rich "wet gas" windows in Carroll, Columbiana, and Harrison counties. However, as operators refined their geologic understanding, they discovered the formation's most prolific "dry gas" window lay to the southeast. Development steadily migrated toward Belmont, Monroe, Jefferson, and Guernsey counties, where deeper, overpressured rock formations yielded massive volumes of natural gas. By the mid-2010s, these southern counties dominated Ohio's Utica production, eclipsing the northern pioneers that first proved the play's potential. However, three years ago, Encino Energy "cracked the code" on Ohio Utica oil drilling, and activity began migrating north again (see Oil Prod. in Northern Utica Comes Alive – Encino Cracks Oil Code).

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