Statewide OH

Energy Companies | Guernsey County | Noble County | Ohio | Rex Energy | Statewide OH

Rex Energy OH Utica Wells go Toe-to-Toe with Gulfport Wells
March 20, 2013March 20, 2013

So far, we’ve had precious little in the way of well production numbers from the Ohio Utica Shale. The numbers we have had are encouraging. On Monday, Rex Energy released well production numbers for their “Warrior South Prospect” wells in the Ohio Utica, and the numbers look very good indeed. From two wells in Guernsey County and one in Noble County, Rex is reporting an average daily production of around 8 million cubic feet of natural gas, 500 barrels of condensate (natural gasoline), and 1,200 barrels of natural gas liquids (mostly ethane), per day for each well.

Below are the details from Rex, along with an embedded copy of their company presentation just updated (March 2013) which shows many more details, including maps and a very interesting table (on page 18) that compares Rex’s three Ohio wells with other drillers’ wells, including Ohio’s largest producing wells drilled by Gulfport. When converted to BTUs produced—which takes into account not only methane, but also gas liquids, condensate and oil—the Rex wells are among the best producing wells in the state…

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Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Utica Numbers Keep Going Up: 575 Permits, 272 Wells Drilled
March 20, 2013March 20, 2013

The Ohio Utica Shale numbers just keep going up. The latest, including tallies for where permits were issued last week:

Read More “OH Utica Numbers Keep Going Up: 575 Permits, 272 Wells Drilled”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Wastewater

Anti-Drilling Groups Want ODNR to Shut Down All Injection Wells
March 19, 2013March 19, 2013

Anti-drilling groups held multiple concurrent press conferences in Ohio yesterday to demand the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) stop doing their job in regulating wastewater injection wells. Instead, the enviro-extremist groups want the federal EPA to take over the job. Whacko. Their rationale? One bad actor, Ben Lupo, dumped wastewater down a storm drain in Youngstown.

What does Lupo’s actions have to do with wastewater injection wells? Er right…Nothing, actually! Such twisted reasoning is called a non sequitur—an illogical argument. Just because one bad actor dumped wastewater instead of properly disposing of it in an injection well doesn’t mean injection wells are not properly regulated. It “doesn’t follow.” But that’s what passes for logic among the fracking-deranged crowd.

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Anadarko | Energy Companies | Muskingum County | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Is Anadarko Leaving the Ohio Utica Shale?
March 18, 2013March 18, 2013

A story in the Columbus Dispatch floats the rumor that Anadarko Petroleum, one of the country’s largest drillers, has not only suspended plans to drill in a 9,000-acre wild game preserve in Muskingum County, OH (known as “the Wilds”), but they also may be abandoning plans to drill anywhere in the Ohio Utica and the 141,000 acres they control…

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

The Non-Issue of Water “Disappearing” in the Fracking Process
March 18, 2013March 18, 2013

As the number of Utica Shale wells drilled in Ohio increases, so too does the need for water. Each well fracked uses, on average, about 5 million gallons of water. Some of that water is recycled, but most of it (80%) stays in the ground. Anti-drillers try to use the issue of water “disappearing” from the hydrologic cycle to scare the hoi polloi, but a Gannett article does a nice job of laying those fears to rest.

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Hancock County (OH) | Hardin County | Ohio | Seneca County (OH) | Statewide OH | Wyandot County

Some OH Counties Happy Their Oil Prospects Improve on ODNR Map
March 18, 2013March 18, 2013

The new “best places to drill” map from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) continues to generate buzz. Some counties, like Meigs, are happy they’re back on the map for natural gas drilling (see related article from today). Other counties are saying, “Hey look, we’re on the map for oil!”

Four counties along the western edge of the Utica on the map for potential oil drilling include…

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Economic Impact | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Congressmen Form LNG Working Group to Encourage Exports
March 18, 2013March 18, 2013

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan announced last week that he and Ohio Congressman Bill Johnson have founded the “Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Export Working Group” for the 113th Congress. The purpose of the group is to encourage the Obama administration (specifically the Dept. of Energy) to get off it’s collective rear-end and start approving some of the many requests for permits to export natural gas.

Congressman Ryan’s press announcement:

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Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Utica’s “Best Oil Window” Boundaries Taking Shape
March 15, 2013March 15, 2013

With more and more wells being drilled in the Ohio Utica Shale, drillers are starting to zero in on the best places to drill for oil.

Where is the “best oil window” in the Utica/Point Pleasant? A recent article describes its boundaries…

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Carroll County | Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

2nd Forced Pooling Order in OH Utica, Landowner Gets No Bonus
March 15, 2013March 15, 2013

For the second time since the Utica Shale drilling boom began, the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management (DOGRM) has issued a forced pooling order (in Carroll County). In Ohio it’s called a “unitization order.” No matter what you call it, it means that the driller—Chesapeake Energy—will be allowed to drill under someone’s property that doesn’t want it because a majority of the surrounding property (88% in this case) is leased and the property in question is needed to complete a drilling unit.

Not only is this news because it’s only the second unitization order issued for Utica Shale drilling, it’s news because in this case DOGRM is not forcing Chesapeake to pay a leasing bonus to the reluctant landowner—a change from the first unitization order:

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Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

OH Utica Shale ODNR Numbers: 567 Permits, 268 Drilled
March 14, 2013March 14, 2013

The latest numbers from the ever-expanding Utica Shale in Ohio, for permits and wells drilled:

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

ODNR Issues New OH Utica Maps, Including “Best Places to Drill”
March 11, 2013March 11, 2013

Last week the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) released a number of new maps. Two of them, in particular, will be of interest to MDN readers: A map which displays the location of wells permitted and/or drilled, and a map showing Total Organic Carbon (TOC)—an indicator of the “best places to drill.” Both maps are embedded below.

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Devon Energy | Energy Companies | Ohio | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

First Driller to Abandon the Utica Shale & Other Tidbits
March 11, 2013March 11, 2013

Intrepid Utica Shale reporter Bob Downing from the Akron Beacon Journal attended the Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) annual winter meeting in Columbus last week. Bob filed the following list of “leftover items”—interesting tidbits—from that meeting, including the identity of the first company that will abandon the Utica:

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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation

Industry to OH: Raise Severance Tax, Forget About New Refineries
March 11, 2013March 11, 2013

An article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer provides an update on what’s happening “behind the scenes” when it comes to Ohio’s proposed budget. In particular, it provides a glimpse of something you don’t often hear about: “blunt” conversations that happen in the hallways of the State Capitol.

The article tells about conversations state representative Mike Foley, a Cleveland Democrat, has had with some oil & gas industry people about his support for Gov. John Kasich’s proposed severance tax increase:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

Latest Fed Beige Book Credits Shale with Economic Expansion
March 8, 2013March 8, 2013

Two days ago the Federal Reserve released their bi-monthly survey of regional economic trends, called “the Beige Book.” One of the stars in the current edition of the Beige Book (full copy embedded below) is the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Shale drilling is mentioned prominently for Region III (Philadelphia) and Region IV (Cleveland).

According to the Fed, shale drilling is expanding rapidly, and along with it an increase in banking, manufacturing and other sectors. Sort of “a rising tide raises all boats” theme.

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Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH | Taxation

Prominent OH Republicans Oppose Kasich Severance Tax Hike
March 8, 2013March 8, 2013

It appears Ohio Republicans have grown a backbone and are opposing the plan by Gov. John Kasich to raise the oil and gas severance tax in the state in order to transfer wealth from landowners and drillers (the ones who earn it) to everyone else (who don’t earn it). At a meeting yesterday of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel said he opposes the governor’s plan to raise the severance tax. Later in the day, Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder also piled on and predicted the tax hike will not pass in this year’s budget.

True to form, a Kasich spokesman said “big oil is a powerful lobby with very deep pockets,” implying Mandel, Batchelder and other Republicans are either scared, have been bought off, or both. Whatever happened to John Kasich, once a rising conservative star? That John is long gone…

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BP | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Processing Plants | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

BP Refinery Near Toledo Gets Upgrade, Anticipates OH Crude
March 8, 2013March 8, 2013

The BP-Husky Refinery, a 94 year-old oil and gasoline refinery in Oregon, OH (near Toledo), showed off a $400 million upgrade yesterday. The new upgrade took two years and 1,500 short-term workers to complete and will make the refinery more efficient, less polluting and enable it to refine better grades of gasoline.

The interesting part for MDN readers: Right now the refinery gets most of its crude oil from Canada, but new sources of crude are starting to flow from Ohio itself, as well as Pennsylvania and West Virginia—from the Utica and Marcellus Shale. The upgraded refinery has more flexibility to process different types of crude, including Ohio crude…

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