Belmont County

Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Ohio

The Secret to Gulfport’s OH Utica Drilling Success
December 17, 2012December 17, 2012

An excellent article on the Youngstown Business Journal website from Saturday delves into the question of why Gulfport Energy has (so far) turned in the most impressive results of all Utica Shale drilling in Ohio (see this MDN story for background on their success). Gulfport CEO Jim Palms credits better science and a little of luck for their astonishing success.

The real secret as to why Gulfport’s wells in Harrison and Belmont counties are doing so much better than counties farther north, like Carroll and Columbiana? It has to do with pressure…

Read More “The Secret to Gulfport’s OH Utica Drilling Success”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Gulfport Energy | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Utica Shale

Gulfport’s New Utica Well Produces Mind-blowing 28.5 Mmcf/d!
November 28, 2012November 28, 2012

First we had the “Alpha Dog” Utica Shale well from Gulfport Energy, the Wagner 1-H well producing 14 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (see this MDN story). Then we had an even bigger success with Gulfport’s Shugert 1-1H, which MDN dubbed the “King of Utica Shale wells” producing a whopping 20 million cubic feet of gas per day (see this MDN story). We’re running out of metaphors to use! Yesterday Gulfport reported a flow rate of 28.5 million cubic feet per day on the Shugert 1-12H well (in Belmont County, OH), sister well to the 1-1H. Wow! Shall we call the 1-12H the Emperor Utica Shale well? It certainly ascends to the throne as the top-most producing well in the Utica.

In the same announcement from yesterday Gulfport said it has made its first sales in the Utica Shale via MarkWest Energy. Here is the full press release with details on the Shugert 1-12H and MarkWest:

Read More “Gulfport’s New Utica Well Produces Mind-blowing 28.5 Mmcf/d!”
Belmont County | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio

Belmont County, OH Drilling to Take Off Soon
November 26, 2012November 26, 2012

Want to know where drilling is set to rapidly expand? One of the indicators is how busy the county clerk or county recorder’s office is. Before you drill you have to lease, and in order to lease, you have to perform title searches to be sure the landowner has free and clear title to enter into a lease. Busyness at the county recorder’s office is a good signal for what will soon follow.

Using the metric of how busy the recorder’s office is, Belmont County, Ohio is due for a lot of drilling activity in the not-too-distant future:

Read More “Belmont County, OH Drilling to Take Off Soon”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Guernsey County | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Gulfport CEO Says Company’s Future is the Utica Shale
November 12, 2012November 12, 2012

On a conference call last week, Gulfport Energy’s CEO James Palm called the Utica Shale a “once-in-a-lifetime play … and a company changer.” He said the company plans to invest $225 million next year in Ohio’s Utica Shale to drill 50 new wells. The eventual goal? They plan to drill 400 Utica Shale wells in the next four years.

Read More “Gulfport CEO Says Company’s Future is the Utica Shale”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Ohio | Utica Shale

New ‘King’ of Utica Wells? Gulfport Shugert Well @ 20 Mmcf/d
October 10, 2012October 10, 2012

Yesterday Gulfport Energy Corporation reported astonishing production results for it’s Utica Shale well Shugert 1-1H (in the town of Kirkwood, Belmont County, Ohio). The well tested at an initial rate of 20 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (Mmcf/d). It also produced an initial 144 barrels of condensate per day, and 2,002 barrels of natural gas liquids per day.

Previously, MDN reported another Gulfport Utica well (the Wagner 1-H) had become the “alpha dog” by overtaking the famed Chesapeake Buell well—and the Wagner well was flowing at “just” 14 Mmcf/d and producing 1,881 barrels of NGLs (see this MDN story). What do we call this new well: The King? (We’re running out of metaphors!) The new Shugert 1-1H well by Gulfport is, to MDN’s knowledge, the single largest producing well in the Utica Shale.

Read More “New ‘King’ of Utica Wells? Gulfport Shugert Well @ 20 Mmcf/d”
Belmont County | Harrison County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio

Muskingum Watershed Moves Forward with Water Sales to Drillers
September 25, 2012September 25, 2012

There’s been a change in position at the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD), a large watershed located in Ohio. MDN reported earlier this year that the MWCD was making moves to sell water from some of it’s vast supply to Utica Shale drillers who have a number of active drilling rigs in the area. Almost as soon as the news was announced, however, the board of the MWCD issued a press release saying they would not sell any more water (other than a deal already done) until a comprehensive study was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey “later this year” on how such water sales might impact the watershed (see this MDN story for background).

The MWCD has reversed its decision (again). The USGS survey is not yet done, but the MWCD is now going to sell water to drillers—but only for a limited time. Here’s the details:

Read More “Muskingum Watershed Moves Forward with Water Sales to Drillers”
Antero Resources | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Utica Shale

Barnesville, OH Signs Lease with Antero, Receives $6M
September 12, 2012September 12, 2012

The Village of Barnesville, OH (Belmont County) just signed a lease with Antero Resources to allow shale drilling on 1,047 village-owned acres. The village now has an additional $6 million in revenue because of it.

Here’s the details about the deal, including the per-acre price and royalty percentage (some of the highest we’ve seen):

Read More “Barnesville, OH Signs Lease with Antero, Receives $6M”
Belmont County | Brooke County | Jefferson County (OH) | Mahoning County | Marshall County | Ohio | Ohio County | Trumbull County | West Virginia

New OH/WV “Shale Play” Publication Debuts
August 27, 2012August 27, 2012

For those living in eastern Ohio and along the border in West Virginia, be on the lookout for a new free publication called Shale Play, published by the Warren (OH) Tribune Chronicle and its sister publications.

Read More “New OH/WV “Shale Play” Publication Debuts”
Belmont County | Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants

Chesapeake’s Construction Investment in Ohio Continues
August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

More jobs and more economic activity are on the way in eastern Ohio courtesy of Chesapeake Energy’s investments to build a new office complex near St. Clairsville (Belmont County) and their investment in a natural gas processing plant (Harrison/Columbiana counties). The new office complex is due to open in November while the processing plant is due to come online in 2013.

Read More “Chesapeake’s Construction Investment in Ohio Continues”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Would Drillers be Interested in a Half Acre? Yep
August 13, 2012August 13, 2012

You may not get rich as a landowner of a small plot of ground by leasing it for gas drilling, but depending on where you live, even if you own just a half acre of land, you may be able to participate in Marcellus or Utica Shale drilling. That’s what happened with Belmont County when they recently discovered the county owns a half acre plot of land they previously didn’t know they owned. Gulfport Energy made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Read More “Would Drillers be Interested in a Half Acre? Yep”
Belmont County | Carroll County | Guernsey County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (OH) | Mahoning County | Noble County | Ohio | Utica Shale | Wayne County (OH)

The Permits Keep Coming for New OH Utica Shale Wells
July 31, 2012July 31, 2012

According to the Daily Jeffersonian, Ohio’s Utica Shale drilling shows no signs of diminishing based on the number of new permits issued for horizontal wells in June:

Read More “The Permits Keep Coming for New OH Utica Shale Wells”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Hess | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Belmont, OH Attorney Sues Hess to Dissolve Lease
July 9, 2012December 19, 2012

An attorney in Belmont County, Ohio—Rebecca Bench—is suing to end a lease deal she and her husband signed in 2008, originally with Mason Dixon Energy for $100 per acre. Mason Dixon later sold the lease to Hess Corp.

The $100 per acre Bench and her husband were paid is a fraction of recent transactions, some as high as $5,900 per acre. Bench says Mason Dixon was never registered to do business in Ohio, meaning the original contract was fraudulent.

Read More “Belmont, OH Attorney Sues Hess to Dissolve Lease”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Guernsey County | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio

Gulfport Drills Longest Horizontal Utica Wells to Date
June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

Gulfport Energy reports it has just completed drilling the two longest horizontal Utica Shale wells—ever. The horizontal portion for one of the wells, located in Harrison County, Ohio, went over 1.5 miles.

Here’s the particulars:

Read More “Gulfport Drills Longest Horizontal Utica Wells to Date”
Belmont County | EMG | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Guernsey County | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Ohio | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Utica Shale

MarkWest/EMG Finalize Deal with Gulfport Energy in OH Utica
June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

MarkWest’s joint venture with EMG, called MarkWest Utica, has finalized their deal with Gulfport Energy to provide midstream infrastructure services (pipelines and gas processing) in Harrison, Guernsey and Belmont counties in Ohio. The deal was initially announced in early March (see this MDN story). No word on the price tag for the deal.

Read More “MarkWest/EMG Finalize Deal with Gulfport Energy in OH Utica”
Belmont County | Economic Impact | Housing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio

RV Park for Shale Workers in OH Sees Strong Demand
May 7, 2012May 7, 2012

In an indication of things to come, pipeline construction firm Price Gregory has requested 50 RV spaces for its workers in a new RV/camper park located in Morristown, OH (Belmont County)—by June 1st!

Read More “RV Park for Shale Workers in OH Sees Strong Demand”
Belmont County | Energy Companies | Hess | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Utica Shale

Belmont County, OH Landowner Sues Hess Over $100/Acre Lease
March 8, 2012March 8, 2012

Rebecca Bench, a landowner in Belmont County, Ohio is representing herself in a lawsuit she has brought against Hess. The lawsuit alleges that Mason Dixon Energy, whom she signed a lease with (that lease was eventually purchased by Hess) had no legal standing to conduct business in Ohio at the time they convinced Rebecca and her husband Kevin Bench to sign a lease in 2008 for $100 per acre. By comparison, recent lease agreements for Utica Shale leases in the county have gone as high as $5,200 per acre.

Read More “Belmont County, OH Landowner Sues Hess Over $100/Acre Lease”