Ohio 231 - Marcellus Drilling News

CONSOL’s Plans for Ohio Utica Shale Have Begun

June 28, 2012June 28, 2012

CONSOL Energy’s drilling in Ohio’s Utica Shale is now under way and ramping up rapidly, according to CONSOL’s Harry Schurr who spoke Wednesday at a workshop on the campus of Kent State University. They’ve already drilled their first Utica well in Tuscarawas County, and they plan to drill 15 more this year. CONSOL also has a joint venture with Hess. Hess plans to drill six Utica wells this year.

Energy Execs Rank Drilling Locations Including WV, OH, PA, NY

June 27, 2012June 27, 2012

Each year, the Canadian-based Fraser Institute surveys petroleum industry executives and managers (623 of them for 2012) asking them their opinions on the barriers to investing in exploration and production in various geographies across the globe. That is, what makes them more likely or less likely to spend money drilling in a particular location?

The Global Petroleum Survey, as it’s called, tallies the survey responses and ranks each geography from most desirable place to invest, to least desirable. The rankings for this year are interesting and illustrative that politicians’ words and legislation have a direct bearing on where, and how much, drilling companies are willing to spend.

Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Statewide OH

New OH Drilling Law Tracks Jobs by Resident/Non-Resident

June 26, 2012June 26, 2012

Drillers who operate in Ohio are put on notice that the state is now watching how many Ohio residents are hired by the industry. Ohio State Senator Lou Gentile, Democrat from Steubenville, had the only amendment from his party to be included in the new drilling law signed by Gov. John Kasich earlier this month.

The amendment, called “Ohio Workers First,” requires the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to track hiring of residents and non-residents and create an annual report showing employment figures for the oil and gas industries in the state. The purpose? To show the “real economic impact” of drilling in the state. And to send a very loud and clear message to the industry.

Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles | Ohio | Washington County (OH)

Marietta, OH Evaluates Converting All City Vehicles to CNG

June 26, 2012June 26, 2012

Marietta, Ohio Mayor Joe Matthews is looking into converting all of the city’s gasoline powered vehicles to run on compressed natural gas (CNG), to cut down on costs.

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Muskingum County | Ohio

Businesses Form Coalition to Reach Drilling Industry in OH

June 25, 2012June 25, 2012

Businesses in Muskingum County, Ohio are banding together to form a coalition to market themselves to the Utica Shale drilling industry that’s just getting started in the area.

Backed by the Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce, the new group, called the Muskingum Oil and Gas Coalition, currently has 28 member companies. They want to get to 130 members. Members pay $300 per year in dues to fund the new group.

Anadarko | Coshocton County | Energy Companies | Ohio

Anadarko Set to Drill in Coshocton County, OH

June 25, 2012June 25, 2012

It looks like Anadarko is getting ready to drill in the Utica Shale in Coshocton County, Ohio. New blue signs on rural roads have begun to spring up warning Anadarko truckers to not go beyond certain points (to limit road damage). When queried about the signs, Anadarko’s public affairs rep said:

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:

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Wildlife Federation Sounds Alarm on Fracking in OH, MI

June 22, 2012June 22, 2012

Sadly, we have to add the National Wildlife Federation to the list of rabid anti-drilling groups. In fact, a check of the NWF website shows they’ve drunken so deeply from the anti-everything pool they’re beyond redemption. The latest “wild” charge they’re making (pun intended) is that natural gas drilling, specifically fracking in Ohio and Michigan, will use excessive amounts of water from the Great Lakes and is an imminent danger to people and animals.

Chesapeake Energy | Columbiana County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio

Columbiana County Lease with Chesapeake, Highest Bonus Ever

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012

broken the record Columbiana County, OH has just signed a deal with DPS Penn (an agent for Chesapeake Energy) to lease 548 acres for Utica Shale drilling. And they astutely doubled their money from the original offer from DPS a year ago. The new terms of the deal, just signed, are for $5,850 per acre and a 20 percent royalty. Columbiana also negotiated the lease term down to three years. A typical lease is five years.

The deal makes Columbiana breaks the record as the highest signing bonus granted to any government body for a Utica (or Marcellus) Shale lease deal.

Coshocton County | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Muskingum County | Ohio

Utica Shale Drilling Causes Unemployment Drop in Eastern OH

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012

The Coshocton County, Ohio unemployment rate has been stubbornly high, but now it’s starting to move lower. In May of this year the unemployment rate for Coshocton stood at 9.3 percent. It was 10.2 percent in April, one month earlier. And if you go back a year to May 2011, it was 11.3 percent. In fact, the current 9.3 percent rate is the lowest rate seen in Coshocton County since 2008.

What’s caused the Coshocton unemployment rate to go 2 percent lower in just one year? Yep, much of it can be credited to Utica Shale drilling.

Just How Big Will Shale Oil/Gas Drilling Get in Ohio?

June 20, 2012June 20, 2012

The Tuscarawas Oil and Gas Alliance (TOGA) Summit was held on Tuesday, June 19 at the Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas, Ohio. One of the speakers was Rhonda Reda, executive director of the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP). She said in 2011 there were 33 shale wells drilled with 5 in production, and by 2015 eastern Ohio will see some 4,000 new shale wells, mostly in the Utica Shale.

Reda had a number of statistics and predictions for how large the drilling boom will get in Ohio. Among the statistics she highlighted:

Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH AG Mike DeWine Targets Chesapeake for Fraud

June 20, 2012June 20, 2012

Ohio’s attorney general, Mike DeWine, has Chesapeake Energy in his crosshairs. He’s investigating them for “fraud” because their stock price went down. Good luck with that.

Here’s what the Columbus Dispatch is reporting:

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Shale Drilling’s Positive Effect on OH Commercial Real Estate

June 18, 2012June 18, 2012

The numbers in Ohio show that the Utica and Marcellus Shale drilling boom is already having a positive affect on the commercial real estate market. Late payments for commercial mortgages and loan delinquency rates have dropped, significantly, in just the past year.

Ohio | Statewide OH

OH State Land – About to be Leased for Drilling?

June 15, 2012June 15, 2012

Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) officials report their research into how much of the mineral rights the state owns beneath state land in 16 eastern Ohio counties is almost complete. What does that mean? In 2011 the state passed a law allowing the state to lease state-owned land for oil and gas drilling—at least for the portions where they own the rights. It appears that’s now about to happen.

OH Gov. Kasich Signs New Drilling Law – Now, Back to Taxes

June 12, 2012June 12, 2012

Yesterday Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed new oil and gas legislation into law that will impact shale gas drilling in his state. For a summary of what’s in the new law, see this previous MDN story. Kasich said during the signing ceremony: "We were not going to develop shale gas at the expense of the environment…we have contained in this bill the most aggressive, clearest, fairest and strongest fracking regulations that you can find anywhere in the country." He later claimed that Ohio’s new law is, “the toughest law on fracking fluid in America.”

What happens next? Kasich has promised to return to pushing his plan to tax the shale drilling industry and pass along the proceeds as a small income tax cut to Ohioans:

Cuyahoga County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Property Value

Do Property Values Decrease When Drilling is Nearby?

June 11, 2012June 11, 2012

Does nearby drilling have a negative effect on real estate values? It’s a debate that has raged over the past several years. The drilling industry will say that on average, housing prices are unaffected by drilling. But if drilling is close—very close—there seems little doubt that it can negatively impact a homeowner’s property value. It’s one of the issues that those of us who support drilling must face honestly and openly. And figure out how to address it.

A case in point comes from a home owner in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio (Cuyahoga County).