Utica Drilling in Columbiana County, OH, Came Alive in November
Columbiana County, OH, located in the northern portion of the Utica Shale play in the Buckeye State, has recently come roaring back to life. In 2022, there were 41 permits issued to drill in the Utica in Columbiana County. So far, in 2023, there have been 35 permits issued to drill in Columbiana County. But here’s the thing: 16 of this year’s 35 permits (half!) were issued in November! It’s like Columbiana had been asleep for most of this year, and then it suddenly came alive.
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New shale permits issued for Nov 20 – 26 in the Marcellus/Utica was anemic but better than the prior pathetic report of just a single new permit (see 
Yesterday and today, Hart Energy is hosting the 
The dead cat bounce bounced a little higher last week (i.e., the slight bounce a dead cat makes when it hits the ground). The rig count hit a new low for 2023 three weeks ago (see 
In February 2021, Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG), a company that invests in non-operated oil and gas assets (they let others do the drilling), announced it had purchased 64,000 net acres producing ~120 MMcfe/d (million cubic feet equivalent per day) in the Marcellus/Utica from Reliance Industries Limited (see 
In December 2017, MDN told you about a second proposed natural gas-fired power plant planned by CME Energy for Oregon (Lucas County), Ohio (see 
Yesterday, the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) met in a public forum and voted to allow shale drilling under (not on top of) three different state-owned tracts of land: all 20,000 acres of Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, more than 300 acres of Valley Run Wildlife Area in Carroll County, and 66 acres of the Zepernick Wildlife Area in Columbiana County. In addition, commissioners voted against shale drilling under Wolf Run State Park. Approximately 100 anti-fossil fuel zealots were on hand at the meeting and nearly made the votes impossible with their prancing, chanting, and singing. They made horses rear ends of themselves by making the meeting miserable for everyone else.
For more than a decade, MDN has brought you stories about shale development on and under land controlled by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD), an agency formed in 1933 to help control flooding and promote water conservation in the Muskingum River watershed area of Ohio, an area that covers 8,000 square miles (
In January, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see 
In 2020, EOG Resources, one of the largest oil and gas drillers in the U.S. (with international operations in Trinidad and China), sold all of its Marcellus assets, which were located in Bradford County, PA, to Tilden Resources for $130 million (see 
Ascent Resources, founded as American Energy Partners by gas legend Aubrey McClendon, is a privately held company focusing 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent, headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. The company issued its third quarter 2023 update yesterday. Ascent’s net production averaged 2.165 Bcfe/d (billion cubic feet equivalent per day) during 3Q23, down 7% from 3Q22 (2.339 Bcf/d). The company made $16.7 million in profit during 3Q23, down from $46.5 million in 3Q22.
The U.S. rig count changed course again last week, dropping rigs after adding rigs (albeit anemically) for the prior three weeks in a row. The national rig count lost seven rigs last week — dropping to 618 active rigs — not only the lowest rig total this year but the lowest count since February 2022. The count in the Marcellus/Utica gained one rig and now stands at 40 active rigs. However, the mix changed. PA lost two rigs, going from 22 to 20 last week. Ohio picked them up, going from 10 to 12 active rigs. And WV picked up one rig after losing it the week before. WV now stands at 8 active rigs.
We finally have a list of the 15 proposed projects that are part of the the West Virginia-led Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) project. Earlier this week, officials with the Dept. of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) and Battelle, the technology lab headquartered in Columbus Ohio that is quarterbacking the ARCH2 project, held an online briefing about ARCH2 (see