YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Two horizontal wells that began production in March helped boost oil production in Columbiana County to more than 300,000 barrels during the first quarter of 2025, according to data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The most recent production figures from ODNR show that Columbiana County’s 187 wells exploring the Utica/Point Pleasant shale formation in eastern Ohio produced a total of 327,137 barrels of oil during the quarter ended March 31.

EAP Ohio, a subsidiary of Houston-based Encino Energy and Encino Acquisition Partners, placed two wells into production in early March at the Kitzmiller well pad in Knox Township. The Kitzmiller 10H well yielded 67,646 barrels in just 29 days, while a second well at the pad produced 60,961 barrels within the same period.

All of Columbiana County’s oil-producing wells are owned and operated by EAP Ohio, data show. The company operates 87 wells in the county and recently drilled its first well in Mahoning County.

Oil production in Columbiana County during the first three months of 2025 was down 28% compared with same period in 2024, records show. However, production increased 19.2% compared with the previous quarter.

Mahoning County produced just 1,022 barrels during the period from four wells owned by Pin Oak Energy Partners and Northwood Energy Corp. Trumbull County wells – all owned by Pin Oak – yielded 339 barrels.

Last year, Encino’s wells produced nearly 1.5 million barrels of oil in Columbiana County, a segment of the Utica/Point Pleasant that was historically known for its rich natural gas reserves.

Encino has emerged as the single-largest oil producer in Ohio, accounting for nearly half of all oil produced from the Utica/Point Pleasant in the first quarter. According to ODNR, Encino’s wells yielded 5.3 million barrels across the state, or 48%, of the total 11 million barrels pumped in Ohio during the period.

The largest oil well in Ohio was EAP’s Akers well in Harrison County, which produced 154,985 barrels over a 90-day period.

Last week, EOG Resources announced it had reached a deal to acquire Encino Acquisition Partners’ assets in the Utica/Point Pleasant for $5.6 billion. The transaction is expected to close sometime in the second half of this year.

Gas Production

Horizontal wells across Columbiana County produced 23.1 billion cubic feet of dry and wet gas during the quarter, down 7.2% compared with the same period last year and down approximately 8% from the previous quarter, according to ODNR.

Records show wells operated by four companies produced natural gas during the first quarter in the county – EAP, Pin Oak, Hilcorp Energy Co. and Geopetro LLC.

Hilcorp’s wells in Columbiana County collectively yielded 14.6 billion cubic feet of gas during the quarter, while EAP’s wells produced 8.1 billion cubic feet, according to ODNR records.

The most productive gas well for the first three months of 2025 was Hilcorp’s Fairfield Unkefer 8H, which yielded 766.7 million cubic feet of gas.

Wells in Mahoning County, including seven owned by Hilcorp, produced 183.5 million cubic feet of gas. Trumbull County wells produced just 69.6 million cubic feet of gas, records show.

In all, Ohio’s horizontal wells produced 489.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas during the first quarter. The largest single gas well in the state for the period was Gulfport Appalachia LLC’s Westhawk well in Monroe County, which yielded 2.87 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Pictured at top: An Encino Energy well in Mahoning County.