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”


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.
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.
EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in Trinidad and China), owns nearly a half million acres of leases in the Ohio Utica. EOG calls its position the “Ohio Utica combo play” and now considers it one of the company’s “premium plays.” EOG concentrates on oil drilling in the Utica. The company experimented with the Utica this year, however, the time for experimenting is coming to a close. During the company’s third quarter update last Friday, COO Jeff Leitzell said EOG will be “up to two full rigs and one full frac fleet by year-end” next year.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) released production numbers for the second quarter of 2024 yesterday. The story the numbers tell continues to be about Utica oil, which continues to rise each quarter. Ohio’s total oil production during 2Q24 was 8.01 million barrels, up 23% from 2Q23’s 6.5 million barrels and up 11% from 1Q24’s 7.2 million barrels. The story of oil in the Buckeye State can’t be told apart from Encino Energy (EAP), which produced nearly half of all the state’s oil during 2Q24. As for natural gas production, it’s no surprise it went down slightly in 2Q24, given the current low price for gas. The state produced 526.6 Bcf in 2Q24, down 3.7% from 2Q23’s 547.0 Bcf, and down 1.4% from this year’s first quarter number of 534.0 Bcf. MDN pulled the numbers from the ODNR quarterly report and produced top 25 lists for both gas and oil wells.
We’ve been waiting for this! For the past few years, since EOG Resources acknowledged it had quietly amassed nearly half a million acres of leases in the Ohio Utica Shale, the company has been experimenting with crude oil drilling in the Utica. Each quarter EOG’s managers have sung the praises of the Utica (see
The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) continues to do its job. Yesterday, the group held a meeting and awarded five contracts for drilling and fracking UNDER (not on) several state-owned lands, including a contract with EOG Resources to drill under 85 acres in Keen Wildlife Area in Washington Township, Harrison County, for $211,650 ($2,500/acre). Also of interest at yesterday’s meeting was that 40 parcels of land in Salt Fork State Park and Salt Fork Wildlife Area were removed from the committee’s agenda. Apparently, the nominating company withdrew its application for those tracts.
Writing for Hart Energy’s Oil and Gas Investor magazine, author Nissa Darbonne penned a fabulous overview of the Utica, bringing us the history of oil drilling in Ohio (in the 1800s) all the way up to the present day and Encino Energy’s dominance in oil drilling in the Utica. The article includes details about Encino and other companies, including Infinity Natural Resources and EOG Resources. Yesterday, we brought you the story of oil giant EOG joining the Utica party (see
Writing for Hart Energy’s Oil and Gas Investor magazine, author Nissa Darbonne penned a fabulous overview of the Utica, bringing us the history of oil drilling in Ohio (in the 1800s) all the way up to the present day and Encino Energy’s dominance in oil drilling in the Utica. The article includes details about Encino and other companies, including Infinity Natural Resources and EOG Resources. Yesterday, we brought you the secrets of the fracking recipe in the Utica used by Encino and INR (see
EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in Trinidad and China), owns nearly a half million acres of leases in the Ohio Utica. EOG calls its position the “Ohio Utica combo play” and now considers it one of the company’s “premium plays.” EOG concentrates on oil drilling in the Utica. As part of the company’s second quarter 2024 update, Jeff Leitzell, EOG’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) said the company added another 10,000 acres of leases to its Utica portfolio during 2Q (now at 445,000 acres). He also said the company is currently focusing on 225,000 acres that are in the “volatile oil window” of the Utica.