Ohio 224 - Marcellus Drilling News

An Update on Ohio’s Utica Shale – Facts & Figures

September 5, 2012September 5, 2012

An article in Crain’s Cleveland Business yesterday takes a look at the pattern of investment in the Utica Shale play in Ohio. According to the article, the Utica follows the same model found in other areas of the world: First smaller independent oil and gas companies invest doing the “retail” work of going house to house to get leases signed. They may even drill a few wells. But soon after, larger o&g companies, the “majors” descend and buy up many of those investments.

The article shares some interesting facts and figures about the current status of investment and development of the Utica in Ohio, among them:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

Ohio Home Rule Movement to Regulate Drilling Picks up Steam

September 4, 2012September 4, 2012

The Akron Beacon Journal reports there’s a new movement gaining steam in Ohio to return “home rule” to local municipalities when it comes to oil and gas drilling. Home rule, for those unfamiliar, grants municipalities a say in whether, and where, drilling for natural gas and oil can occur within a township. Think of it as zoning, which is precisely what it is. The home rule debate is currently red hot in New York State where, similar to Ohio, the state previously passed a law removing the right of local municipalities to regulate drilling in any way (including bans). It’s also a hot topic in Pennsylvania where zoning provisions in the newly passed Act 13 law are now in PA Supreme Court awaiting a final decision.

Ohio passed a law in 2004 taking the right away from municipalities to regulate drilling. Now, some residents are trying to get the state legislature to reconsider it:

Devon Signs Road Repair Agreement with Wayne County, OH

August 31, 2012August 31, 2012

Devon Energy has signed an iron-clad agreement with Wayne County, Ohio to repair any damage caused by heavy trucks to roadways and bridges in the county from their drilling activities. A meeting on Tuesday night in Fredericksburg, OH was standing-room only as officials and local residents assembled to hear about the agreement.

Athens County | Ohio

Athens County, OH to See First Utica Shale Well Soon

August 30, 2012August 30, 2012

Drilling interest is heating up in Athens County, Ohio. The first of three planned Utica Shale gas wells will be drilled in the next few months. In addition, hundreds of landowners have recently signed leases to allow drilling. Are good things on the way for Athens County landowners? Perhaps!

On the location and timing of the first well to be drilled:

PA Drilling Rig Count Sinks to Lowest in 2 1/2 Years

August 29, 2012August 29, 2012

If you kick around the oil and gas industry for any length of time, you’ll hear about something called “the rig count.” Rig counts are the number of drilling rigs in use by energy companies to drill (or “spud”) new wells. If the rig count falls, that means new leasing is likely to fall and eventually, natural gas production will fall. But in the case of the Marcellus, falling rig counts don’t mean falling production—quite the opposite. It just means there’s a whole lot of wells already drilled, waiting to be completed and hooked up to pipelines.

Still, a falling rig count does give you a feel for where new drilling will (or won’t) take place—valuable for landowners and businesses to know. The latest numbers for Pennsylvania show the rig count in that state falling to its lowest level in years:

Carroll County | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Utica Shale

Carroll County – “Epicenter” of Utica Shale Drilling in OH

August 29, 2012August 29, 2012

According to Amy Rutledge, head of the Carroll County, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Carroll County is at the “epicenter” of Utica Shale drilling for the state. She offers these facts and figures to back up that claim:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Fracking Coming to Wayne National Forest in SE OH

August 28, 2012August 28, 2012

The path is now cleared for hydraulic fracturing and Utica shale gas drilling to begin in Wayne National Forest in southeast Ohio. The U.S. Forest Service, after holding off on a decision about fracking in the forest until a study was completed, has concluded that fracking is safe to do and has approved a plan to move forward with it.

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Harrison County | Ohio

Gulfport’s “Alpha Dog” Utica Shale Well Upstages Chesapeake Well

August 27, 2012September 5, 2012

There’s a new “alpha dog” of Utica Shale wells in Ohio that’s upstaging Chesapeake Energy’s Buell well. The Gulfport Energy Wagner 1-28H well in Harrison County is producing an enormous amount of natural gas—record-breaking in fact.

Gulfport reports the Wagner well is “by far the strongest well” ever produced by Gulfport.

Hilcorp & NiSource Approach OH Landowners About Pipeline

August 27, 2012

In July, Hilcorp Energy and NiSource announced a joint venture to combine their Utica shale acreage with Hilcorp doing the drilling. The jv also will build wet gas gathering pipelines in Ohio and Pennsylvania (see this MDN story). It looks like the pipeline part has begun. A Youngstown television station reported over the weekend that reps from Hilcorp and NiSource were going door to door in parts of Mahoning County asking landowners to sign waivers to allow the pipeline.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Muskingum Watershed Votes to Lease Land, Allow Pipeline

August 27, 2012August 27, 2012

MDN reported in early June that the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) board had caved to pressure from enviro-bullies and pulled back from selling water from its vast supply to Utica Shale drillers (see this MDN story).

The MWCD said at the time they would wait for the results of a study they commissioned with the U.S. Geological Survey to look at water sales from three of their reservoirs: Clendening, Atwood and Leesville (see this MDN story). The MWCD has not decided to sell more water (yet), but they did decide on Friday to lease some of their land for drilling. They also approved a right-of-way to extend a drilling pipeline. Both decisions have anti-drillers ticked off.

Columbiana County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Columbiana County, OH Sees Slowdown in Leasing – Good or Bad?

August 27, 2012August 27, 2012

Leasing activity in Columbiana County, Ohio is slowing down. Is that a bad thing? Or a good thing?

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.

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH

Energy Group Says U.S. Can be Off Foreign Oil by 2020

August 27, 2012August 27, 2012

The Consumer Energy Alliance says if legal and regulatory roadblocks were removed, the United States could be producing and meeting 95% of it’s own energy needs in the next eight years—by 2020. The Marcellus and Utica Shale play a role in such a plan.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Licking County | Ohio

Licking County, OH Forms Fracking Advisory Committee

August 24, 2012August 24, 2012

Licking County, located in central Ohio, has not yet seen any fracking of shale gas wells, but a new committee sponsored by the county has been established to study fracking and to prepare for “someday” when it may happen. Most of the focus of the committee (so far) seems to be on road use agreements.

Ohio | Ross County | Statewide OH

Ohio Shale Drilling Starting to Expand South & West

August 23, 2012August 23, 2012

According to Rhonda Reda, executive director for the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program, interest in drilling in Ohio that started in the eastern part of the state—in the prolific Utica Shale—will soon start moving to south and west in the state. In fact, there’s already signs that drilling interest is expanding southwest to Ross County.

Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Hilcorp Energy | Ohio

Hilcorp’s First Utica Permit for Columbiana County, OH

August 23, 2012August 23, 2012

Hilcorp Energy has just received its first permit to drill a Utica Shale well in Columbiana County, Ohio. Although this is Hilcorp’s first permit, it is the 49th permit for Columbiana County.