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Weekly Shale Drilling Permits for PA, OH, WV: Mar 8-12

All three M-U states received permits to drill new shale wells last week. Pennsylvania received 18 new permits for three drillers, all of them in the western part of the state. Ohio received 5 new permits for two different drillers. And West Virginia received 5 new permits, all for the same company in the same county on the same well pad.
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2 Horiz. Clinton Sandstone Wells Drilled in Ashtabula County, OH

Ashtabula County, OH

Once upon a time the Clinton Sandstone layer was the most drilled rock layer in Ohio. Then the Utica/Point Pleasant came along and it seemed as if everybody forgot about the Clinton. Previously the Clinton was drilled vertically, or conventional-only. But what if you drilled the Clinton horizontally, like you do in the Utica? You might get a “Utica-lite” well, as we commented back in 2015 (see Ohio Clinton Sandstone Horiz Wells on the Increase – Utica-Lite?). EnverVest, among others, has experimented with horizontal drilling in the Clinton Sandstone (see EnerVest Likes Clinton Sandstone “Utica-lite” Oil Wells in OH). According to drillers who have experimented in the Clinton, drilling a horizontal Clinton well is anywhere from 3-10 times more expensive than a conventional well, but it produces anywhere from 7 to 20 times more oil, which is typically the hydrocarbon companies drill for in the Clinton. Today we spotted a story about a driller we had not previously heard of (which is rare), currently drilling two horizontal Clinton wells in Ashtabula County, OH. Here’s an update on drilling in the Clinton Sandstone in Ohio…
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