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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 6 – 12

For the week of Jan 6 – 12, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica to drill new shale wells remained healthy. There were 27 new permits issued last week, down three from 30 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued 13 new permits, with four going to Snyder Brothers in Armstrong County, four going to Coterra Energy in Susquehanna County (must be Coterra has restarted drilling), three for Infinity Natural Resources (INR) in Indiana County, and two for Range Resources in Washington County. Read More “27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jan 6 – 12”

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30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 30 – Jan 5

For the week of Dec 30 – Jan 5, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica rebounded from holiday lows. There were 30 new permits issued last week, up from just 12 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued nine new permits, with six going to Range Resources in Allegheny County and three to EQT, split between Lycoming and Washington counties. Read More “30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 30 – Jan 5”

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12 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 23 – 29

For the week of Dec 23 – 29, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica took a dive, which isn’t surprising given it was the end of the year. There were only 12 new permits issued for Dec. 23 – 29, less than half the 27 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued seven new permits, with five going to Repsol in Bradford and Tioga counties and two going to EQT (and Rice, owned by EQT) in Greene County. Buckeye State (OH) issued five new permits, all of which went to Encino Energy (EAP) in Carroll and Harrison counties. The Mountain State (WV), issuing precisely zero new permits. Must be the WV DEP folks were out of the office for the holiday. Read More “12 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 23 – 29”

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Superlight Crude Production Takes Off in Eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale

Condensates the light-colored bottles on the left

We’ve been covering the emergence of Ohio Utica oil over the past couple of years (see our Utica oil stories here). Other news outlets are beginning to notice the oily Utica. The experts at RBN Energy published a post on Friday announcing, “Condensate Production Takes Off in Eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale.” Condensate is another word for superlight crude oil. The RBN post analyzes recent oil drilling in Ohio, the potential for more growth through the second half of the 2020s, and the impact of Ohio’s increasing oil output on Midwest midstreamers and refiners. Read More “Superlight Crude Production Takes Off in Eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale”

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27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 16 – 22

For the week of Dec 16 – 22, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica remained healthy. There were 27 new permits issued last week, up from 22 issued the week before. In something of an unusual twist, the Keystone State (PA) issued just four new permits, all of them to different drillers. PennEnergy Resources’ permit was in Beaver County; Seneca Resources’ permit was in Tioga County; and Range Resources and EQT (Rice) each had one permit in Washington County. Read More “27 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Dec 16 – 22”

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OH Court Case Mixed Bag for Landowners re Post-Production Deductions

A lawsuit that slipped by us (and is still playing out) that began in Carroll County, OH, has major ramifications for landowners and drillers across the state. The case is EAP Ohio LLC v. Sunnydale Farms LLC, et al. in which 13 oil and gas leases were executed in 2008 and 2009 in Carroll County, Ohio. The 2008 Leases contained an identical royalty clause that limited post-production deductions to three categories: transportation, compression, and/or dehydration to deliver the gas for sale. After drilling wells on those properties, EAP (Encino Energy) deducted several other items from royalties, including costs incurred for processing, treating, fuel, gathering, and trucking. The lawsuit tussles with the issue of how terms are defined and whether these “extra” categories are allowed under the lease’s language. Read More “OH Court Case Mixed Bag for Landowners re Post-Production Deductions”

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Return of the Wildcatters – Utica Oil Drillers Grow Organically

Oil wildcatting is the process of drilling exploratory wells in areas with little to no history of oil and gas production. Wildcatting is a high-risk activity that involves drilling in unproven or fully depleted areas. Wildcat wells are often drilled far from other wells and without the use of well logs or other geological data. Wildcatting can be profitable—or spectacularly unprofitable. A recent Hart Energy article reports that “wildcatting is back.” The very first part of the article focuses on wildcatting that is happening in the Ohio Utica Shale. Read More “Return of the Wildcatters – Utica Oil Drillers Grow Organically”

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Encino CEO Says Ohio Utica Oil Boundaries Likely to Expand

We’ve brought you the news (a number of times) of how Encino Energy was the first driller to figure out how to coax large quantities of oil from the Ohio Utica Shale (see Oil Prod. in Northern Utica Comes Alive – Encino Cracks Oil Code). According to Encino founder and CEO Hardy Murchison, the oil window could extend well beyond its current geography. Murchison says, “It could be years or even a decade before we know the full extent of the [Ohio Utica oil] play.” Read More “Encino CEO Says Ohio Utica Oil Boundaries Likely to Expand”

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Same Guy Who Drilled 1st Marcellus Well Helped Crack Utica Oil Code

John Pinkerton

Hart Energy has published a number of articles highlighting companies and key people in the Marcellus/Utica region. Hart has an ongoing series called Hart Energy’s Hall of Fame to honor industry pioneers and the Agents of Change (ACEs) who are leading the energy sector into the future. A recent Hall of Fame article highlights one of the most important figures in both the Marcellus and Utica plays—John Pinkerton. Read More “Same Guy Who Drilled 1st Marcellus Well Helped Crack Utica Oil Code”

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12 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 25 – Dec 1

For the week of Nov 25 – Dec 1, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica dropped dramatically. Only 12 new permits were issued last week, less than half the 28 issued the week before. The Keystone State (PA) issued just two new permits, one to EQT in Greene County and the other to Range Resources in Washington County. The Buckeye State (OH) issued six new permits last week. All six went to Encino Energy (EAP), with four in Carroll County and two in Columbiana County. The Mountain State (WV) issued four new permits, three of which went to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy) in Ohio County and one to Antero Resources in Tyler County. Read More “12 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 25 – Dec 1”

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Enverus Report Says Utica Shale Oil is a “Middleweight Contender”

The research arm of Enverus (formerly Drillinginfo), one of the most trusted, energy-dedicated SaaS platforms offering real-time access to analytics, insights, and benchmark cost and revenue data, earlier this week published a new report on the Utica Shale. The report specifically discusses Utica oil—the production performance for Utica wells, and the economics of the play. The analysts of Enverus conclude that the Utica is “America’s modest middleweight contender.” However, that’s not the biggest news. Read More “Enverus Report Says Utica Shale Oil is a “Middleweight Contender””

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Where M-U Drilling is Now, Where Might It Be Headed Next

According to an extensive report appearing on the World Oil website (and in the November issue of the magazine), multiple possible futures lie ahead for the Marcellus and Utica shales. So, which future will come to pass? Today, both industry and government see the Marcellus and Utica formations as tremendous opportunities for companies and state governments, with domestically produced energy, jobs, and a huge economic impact. Read More “Where M-U Drilling is Now, Where Might It Be Headed Next”

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28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 18 – 24

For the week of Nov 18 – 24, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica continued to be strong, with 28 new permits issued, down just two from the 30 issued the prior week. The Keystone State (PA) issued 11 new permits, with five going to CNX Resources, all in Allegheny County. Two permits were issued to Southwestern Energy (now Expand Energy) in Lycoming County. The remaining four were single permits issued to EQT Corporation (Greene County), Infinity Natural Resources (Indiana County), Range Resources (Washington County), and Apex Energy (Westmoreland County). Read More “28 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 18 – 24”

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30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 11 – 17

For the week of Nov 11 – 17, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica were strong, with 30 new permits issued, down just slightly from the 34 issued the prior week (but way up from the piddly numbers issued in prior weeks). The Keystone State (PA) issued 16 new permits, with seven going to Range Resources, all in Washington County. Six permits went to EQT in Lycoming County. Two permits were issued to Olympus Energy in Westmoreland County. A single permit was issued to Chesapeake Energy (now Expand Energy) in Susquehanna County. Read More “30 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 11 – 17”

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34 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 4 – 10

For the week of Nov 4 – 10, permits issued in the Marcellus/Utica came roaring back with a total of 34 permits issued (up from 13 issued the prior week). There were some VERY interesting things to note about some of the permits issued. The Keystone State (PA) issued 16 new permits, with five going to Range Resources in Washington County. And that’s the first of three interesting things to note. All five Range permits were issued for Cecil Township, which recently passed a ban on new fracking via a 2,500-foot setback regulation (see Cecil Twp Supervisors Pull the Trigger on Frack Ban Via Setbacks). Read More “34 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Nov 4 – 10”

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Encino’s “Four Pillars” Transformed Co. into M-U’s Top Oil Producer

We’ve written a number of times about the Ohio Utica Shale and its beginnings with gas legend Aubrey McClendon, who, as CEO of Chesapeake Energy, was one of (if not THE) first to recognize the Utica as an oil play. However, it was a successor company, Encino Energy, that figured out how to coax large quantities of oil out of the Utica shale. Encino is one of the big success stories of drilling for oil in the Ohio Utica Shale. However, using the right tech is only part of the equation that transformed a company founded in 2017 into the #1 largest oil producer in Ohio and all of the Marcellus/Utica. Read More “Encino’s “Four Pillars” Transformed Co. into M-U’s Top Oil Producer”