Permit Activity Dries Up in Utica Play

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Just three permits for horizontal wells were issued last week to energy companies exploring for oil and gas in eastern Ohio’s Utica shale.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reports that XTO Energy, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, received two permits for the week ended Jan. 9 to drill in Belmont County. Eclipse Resources LP, based in State College, Pa., was awarded a single permit to drill in Guernsey County.

There were 14 rigs operating in the Utica during that week, according to ODNR.

To date, 2,117 permits have been issued in Ohio’s Utica, 1,670 wells have been drilled, and 1,121 wells are in production.

There was no permit activity in Mahoning, Trumbull, or Columbiana counties during the week ended Jan. 9, according to ODNR.

Nor were permits issued in neighboring Lawrence or Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania’s Utica, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.