OH Landowners Frustrated with Old, Leaking Conventional O&G Wells
There are more than 270,000 oil and natural gas wells across Ohio. Many of them (most) are conventional wells. Many (most) are also old (the first well was drilled in 1860). Some 80,000 of Ohio’s O&G wells are Clinton sandstone wells. Half of those, roughly 40,000, are inactive and many are “in a state of disrepair.” Rachel Wagoner, a journalist with Farm and Dairy Magazine, spent more than six months investigating Ohio’s old and abandoned oil and gas wells. She recently published an extensive report that finds some companies that own some of the wells simply ignore them and don’t/won’t fix them. Some companies take so long to respond when asked to address problems, it’s the same thing as refusing to fix them. In some cases, the unfixed wells are causing problems for landowners and nearby residents.
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New research released by The Buckeye Institute models the impact that a new Clean Power Plan–which the Biden Administration is attempting to revive through the regulatory process–would have on jobs, the economy, and customers. In “The Economic Impact of a Potential New Clean Power Plan on Ohio and California” (full copy below), researchers with Buckeye’s Economic Research Center (ERC), using power usage data from government agencies in Ohio and California, found that customers in Ohio would see an increase of $810 on their electric bills per year and that customers in California would see an increase of $665 annually.
In January, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see 
Yeah, you read the headline correctly. Encino Energy offered the State of Ohio $1.8 BILLION (estimated) to drill for natural gas and oil under Salt Fork State Park, located in Guernsey County, OH. The park includes 17,229 acres of land and 2,952 acres of water. In December, Encino made an offer to the state immediately after House Bill (HB) 507 passed. The offer includes a payment of $5,500 per acre as a signing bonus and 20% royalties. No drilling would be done inside the park. All drilling would be done on land surrounding (on the outside of) the park.
In January, Ohio House Bill (HB) 507 became law with the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine (see 
New shale permits issued for Mar. 27-Apr. 2 in the Marcellus/Utica dropped quite a bit from the prior week. There were 21 new permits issued in total last week, down from 32 in the prior week. Last week’s tally included 15 new permits for Pennsylvania, 6 new permits for Ohio, and no new permits in West Virginia. Last week the top receiver of new permits was Ascent Resources with 6 new permits, 5 in Jefferson County, OH, and 1 in Harrison County, OH. Chesapeake Energy took the #2 slot with 5 new permits in Bradford County, PA.
Leave it to liberal Democrats to hype an issue that isn’t even an issue to try and scare folks for political gain. LibDems have introduced a bill in the Ohio House that would prohibit fracking for oil and gas underneath Lake Erie. The leftists of Lake Erie Waterkeeper appear to be behind the measure. When was the last time you heard about any drillers salivating over drilling and fracking under Lake Erie? That’s right. NEVER. And yet the left wants to plant the seed that drillers now have their sights set on fracking Lake Erie.
The Ohio Natural Energy Institute (ONEI), formerly the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP), recently issued a press release to point out that between 2010 and 2021, Ohio’s oil and gas sector has paid a cumulative $755 million in taxes which supports local schools, municipalities, counties and other services in Ohio. Hey, how much in tax revenue have anti-fossil energy groups (like the Sierra Club) paid during that time to support the Buckeye State? That’s right: $0. Instead, anti groups have destroyed jobs and companies, resulting in less taxes paid.
In a case initially filed last summer in Ohio, a Belmont County mineral rights owner alleges that Rice Drilling (now owned by EQT) drained natural gas from a rock layer it did not have the right to access according to the signed lease. Golden Eagle Resources says the lease allowed Rice to drill down only as far as the Utica Shale layer, which Rice did. However, Golden Eagle says fractures from Rice’s fracking of the Utica layer reached down into the adjacent Point Pleasant layer and drained some of the gas from the Point Pleasant too–and that’s a no-no according to the lease.
The Democrats who control and write for the Cleveland Plain Dealer are, once again, attacking a new law that allows for shale drilling under (but not on top of) Ohio state-owned land. The new measure was passed and signed into law late last year (see 
While we don’t track rig counts each week, given the volatile up-and-down nature of rig counts, the count from last week warrants comment. Oil rigs fell by one last week to 589, while gas rigs rose by nine to 162. Total rig count is up 13.7% over the same time last year–a good indicator that more drilling is happening. In our region, the Marcellus play gained five rigs from the previous week, while the Utica lost four rigs from the previous week.
Once again, the Biden administration is attacking the fossil fuel industry. This time it is via one of its favorite blunt force instruments: the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Yesterday the EPA released what it calls its final “Good Neighbor Plan” that forces gas- (and coal-) fired power plants to further reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. It’s either reduce NOx by installing really expensive new equipment, shut the plant down, or option #3…pay an indulgence (tax) to keep sinning (polluting) by purchasing an “offset.” Liberals are so predictable.
The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) issues an update on Utica (and Marcellus) oil and natural gas production each quarter. ODNR no longer issues a press release to summarize the results as they once did, which means the quarterly updates fell off our radar. Now and again something jogs our memory to revisit and share with you the production reports from the ODNR, to bring you the top 25 wells by production for both natural gas and oil production. Today we look back at all of 2022. ODNR publishes a detailed spreadsheet of all active wells showing oil and gas production by well. We make a copy of that spreadsheet, enhance it to make it more usable, and link to it. Below are the results.