OOGA’s DeBrosse Report: 2014 a Breakout Year for Utica Shale
Each year the 3,200-member Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) issue the DeBrosse Memorial Report (full copy below). The report is a high level look at where (and how much) drilling there has been in the state–and what they’re finding (methane, oil, NGLs). The latest report, recounting 2014, was released at the recent OOGA Annual Winter Meeting in Columbus. Needless to say the latest report shows the exponentially increasing importance of the Utica Shale in the state. Last year a full 61% of all new wells drilled and completed in the state were shale wells. The report also shows the state produced 11 million barrels of oil from the Utica Shale. In 2013 the Utica produced 4.3 million barrels of oil. Welcome to Utica-land!…
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Sometimes the CURE is worse than the disease. Such is the case with the anti-drilling Communities United for Responsible Energy (CURE) in eastern OH. The group agitated and squawked and carried on with such histrionics that they’ve gotten the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) to order an oilfield services company to shut down a satellite location in Jefferson County, OH. The offense? Depends on who you ask. The company, Anchor Drilling Fluids, says it didn’t have a permit to store excess drilling mud–the stuff used by drillers to keep a drill bit cool and lubricated and free of bacteria. The ODNR says Anchor was recycling at that site and lacked a proper waste recycling permit. Question: If you mix drilling mud at a well site but don’t use all of it, and you then truck it back to HQ to store it for a few days or weeks before taking it somewhere else, is that “recycling”? Apparently it is for the ODNR…
This is a shout out to the marvelous people we (meaning me, Jim Willis) met in Pittsburgh on Wednesday at the 3rd Annual Oil & Gas Awards. I was truly humbled and thrilled to meet so many MDN readers! You gave me some great feedback on MDN–feedback that has me thinking about some new initiatives going forward. So stay tuned for the future and what I believe will be some good things coming. During the day I was privileged to host two panel discussions. A special thank you to the panelists on the “Minimizing Environmental Impact” panel: Melissa Hamsher, Vice President at Eclipse Resources; Lauren Parker, Principal at Civil & Environmental Consultants; and Gregg Stewart, Permitting Manager with PennEnergy Resources. And a special thank you to the panelists on the “Health and Safety” panel: Charlie Dixon, Safety and Workforce Director with Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program; Frank Harrison, President of Areion Energy; and Chad McCutcheon, Communications Professional with McCutcheon Enterprises. Stellar panelists all! They made me look good, and that’s a hard thing to do. 😉 There were about 150 attendees at the Industry Summit during the day. MDN will bring you videos (when they become available) for each of the sessions. The evening was the “main” event–a gala awards ceremony with folks decked out in tuxedos and evening gowns. We have the complete list of winners for the 2015 Northeast Oil and Gas Awards below…
A change in strategy? The Wheeling News Register is reporting an uptick in the purchase of mineral rights in the Upper Ohio Valley area. If a landowner owns both the surface and mineral rights, the typical situation is that the landowner will lease the mineral rights to an energy company for a certain period of time, receiving an up-front signing bonus. If drilled, the landowner will receive ongoing royalties from any gas (or oil) produced. But in some cases, instead of leasing, energy companies are buying the mineral rights. That is, the mineral rights become separated from ownership of the land on the surface. The energy company then owns the mineral rights, along with the right to use a bit of the surface to locate a drill pad and wells. The landowner selling the mineral rights gets a higher initial signing bonus by selling the mineral rights as opposed to leasing. But they also get zero royalties when selling the mineral rights. It becomes a decision between a little more money now, or a lot more money later. What kind of money are we talking about?…
There’s once again renewed interest in Ohio’s Clinton sandstone. This time the interest is in drilling horizontal wells–“baby” wells compared to a Utica well. Over a dozen horizontal wells either have been or are now being drilled in the Clinton. One company, traditionally a conventional (vertical-only) driller, says drilling a horizontal well in the Clinton is 3 times more expensive than a vertical-only well, but it’s 7-8 times more productive. Another driller puts the cost at 10 times more than conventional drilling but 20 times more productive. Any way you slice it, it seems that small and large firms alike are taking a close look at the Clinton, drilling for “leftover natural gas and oil.” Here’s details of who’s doing the drilling and where…
We’ve commented before on the lawless tendencies of anti-drillers, particularly in Ohio where, when they lose a court case, they declare the government is illegitimate (see