WARREN, Ohio – Oil production from horizontal wells exploring the Utica/Point Pleasant shale formation across Columbiana County is on pace to eclipse record yields from previous years, according to the most recent data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Through the first half of 2026, wells in the county have produced just shy of one million barrels of oil, data show, pumping out 996,723 barrels over the first two quarters of this year. In 2025, Columbiana County’s approximately 200 wells produced 1.431 million barrels for the full year, while the county yielded 1.494 million barrels in all of 2024.
Oil Production Still Strong
Horizontal wells in Columbiana County produced 452,818 barrels of oil during the second quarter of 2026, according to ODNR, while the county’s wells produced 543,905 barrels during the previous quarter.
Much of the oil production emerged from five wells at the Norris CL pad in West Township. Combined, these wells produced a total of 269,322 barrels over a 91-day period, or more than half of the county’s aggregate output. The most productive of these wells was the Norris CL 6H, which pumped out 60,070 barrels during the quarter.
All of the county’s oil-producing wells during the first and second quarters of this year are owned by EOG Ohio LLC, a subsidiary of Houston-based EOG Resources. EOG last year acquired the Utica assets of Encino Acquisition Partners.
In Mahoning County, EOG’s Wehr Spring Valley Farm well in Ellsworth Township produced 15,339 barrels of oil during the second quarter, according to ODNR records. Another well operated by Pin Oak Energy Partners in Jackson Township produced 105 barrels during the period, while Northwood Energy Corp.’s three wells in Jackson and Ellsworth townships yielded a total of 946 barrels.
Pin Oak’s six wells in Trumbull County also recorded some oil production. In total, the energy company’s wells during the quarter produced 602 barrels.
Some of the best producing oil wells in the state, however, were found further south. A horizontal well owned by Ascent Resources in Guernsey County, for example, produced 145,917 barrels during the second quarter – the most volume from a single well in Ohio, according to ODNR.
In all, Ohio produced 13.194 million barrels of oil during the second quarter, an improvement from 11.4 million barrels recorded during the first three months of the year.
Gas Production on the Increase
Production of natural gas remained strong across the state during the second quarter, ODNR results show. Ohio’s wells yielded 538.4 billion cubic feet of wet and dry natural gas for the three-month period ended June 30, compared to 511.4 billion cubic feet during the previous quarter.
Natural gas output in Columbiana County also proved strong during the second quarter, records show. The county’s wells produced 25.291 billion cubic feet of gas during the quarter, down from 26.4 billion produced during the first quarter, but much healthier than the 18.9 billion cubic feet realized during the final three months of 2025.
Among the strongest gas wells in Columbiana County are located at the Elkrun Johnson pad in Elk Run township. The seven wells, owned by Hilcorp Energy Co., yielded a total of 7.059 billion cubic feet of gas, including three that produced more than 1.3 billion cubic feet apiece over 91 days.
Meanwhile, natural gas production in Mahoning and Trumbull counties proved negligible, since there are fewer wells in the regions that on average produce less. Wells in Mahoning County yielded a total of 284.8 million cubic feet of gas, while those in Trumbull County produced just 66.5 million cubic feet total.
The largest-producing natural gas well in the state was drilled by Ascent Resources in Harrison County. That single well yielded 3.787 billion cubic feet of gas during the second quarter. Ascent owned all of the Top 10 most productive gas wells in the state during the period, ODNR data show.