Rig Count Remains Steady in Eastern Ohio’s Utica

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The number of oil and gas rigs in operation across Ohio’s Utica shale remained unchanged last week at 17 compared to the previous week, according to the latest update from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

ODNR released eight new permits for horizontal wells during the week ended Sept. 3, the agency reported.

Four of those permits were awarded to Hess Ohio Developments LLC for wells in Belmont County, three were issued to Antero Resources Corp. for new wells in Noble County, and a single permit was issued to Ascent Resources Utica for a well in Guernsey County.

To date, ODNR has issued 2,233 horizontal well permits in counties that contain the gas-rich Utica shale rock formation. Of that number, 1,789 wells are drilled and 1,396 are in production.

No new permits were issued for wells in Mahoning, Columbiana or Trumbull counties for the week, ODNR reported.

And no new permits were issued in neighboring Lawrence and Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania’s section of the Utica, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

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