ODNR Issues 10 New Permits for Ohio’s Utica Shale

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The rig count in eastern Ohio’s Utica shale remained unchanged at 26 during the week ended May 30 compared to the previous week, as oil and gas companies continued their exploration efforts in the southern tier of the play.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources last week issued 10 horizontal well permits to four energy companies prospecting in the Utica.

Denver-based Antero Resources Corp. received four permits for wells in Monroe County, ODNR reports. CNX Gas, a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Consol Energy, was also awarded four permits — two permits for wells in Monroe County and two permits in Noble County.

Chesapeake Exploration LLC, a division of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy, received a single permit to drill in Harrison County, while Triad Hunter LLC was awarded one permit for a new well in Noble County.

There were no new permits issued for Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties during the week. Nor were there any new permits issued in Lawrence and Mercer counties, just across the Ohio line in western Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

To date, ODNR reports that 901 horizontal wells are producing in Ohio, while 1,497 have been drilled thus far in the Utica shale.

Natural gas wells in the Utica collectively produced 183.5 billion cubic feet of gas during the first quarter of 2015, ODNR reported yesterday. The 877 wells that turned in production numbers also together produced 4.4 million barrels of oil during the period.

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