Oil Production Slows in Columbiana County in Q2

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Horizontal wells across Columbiana County collectively reported a decline in oil production during the second quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter, but output is still strong when compared to year-ago numbers, according to the most recent report from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Columbiana County’s 176 wells produced a total of 358,455 barrels of oil during the quarter. That’s approximately 21% lower than first quarter production of 457,269 barrels, data show.

Still, year-over-year oil production more than doubled, according to ODNR. Output during the second quarter stood 151% higher than the second quarter of 2023, when wells produced 142,669 barrels over a 90-day period.

All the oil produced during the period in Columbiana County was from wells owned and operated by EAP Ohio – a subsidiary of Houston-based Encino Energy, the single largest oil producer in the state, according to ODNR data. EAP’s wells in Ohio reported total production of more than 3.88 million barrels of oil throughout the quarter.

EAP’s Lehwald CL 205H well in Butler Township produced the most oil in Columbiana County during the quarter with 52,688 barrels. Three other Lehwald pad wells also delivered better than average production: the Lehwald 3H well pumped out 40,055 barrels; the pad’s 5H produced 34,165 barrels; and Lehwald 1H yielded 32,572 barrels.

Overall, oil production in Ohio increased quarter-to-quarter from 7.227 million barrels to 8.011 million barrels, a 10% gain and the highest yield since the state began tracking horizontal well production more than 10 years ago.

Moreover, data show that energy companies have tapped into an expanding oil fairway in the Utica/Point Pleasant shale region.

The latest data from ODNR also indicates an opening of an oil window further west into Tuscarawas County. EAP’s Sproul well in Rush Township emerged as the top-producing oil well in the state with 150,105 barrels during the second quarter. Three additional wells at the Sproul pad each yielded more than 100,000 barrels during the quarter.

In all, the county produced 858,773 barrels for the period, but with just 16 active wells, data show. All but two of the wells are owned by EAP, records show. 

Nine of the 16 wells were placed into operation during the second quarter of 2024, according to ODNR.

Eastern Ohio’s Utica/Point Pleasant, a shale formation traditionally known more for its vast reservoir of wet and dry natural gas, yielded 526.589 billion cubic feet of gas during the quarter, ODNR reported. During the first quarter, Ohio’s wells produced 534 billion cubic feet of gas.

In Columbiana County, wells owned by EAP, Hilcorp Energy Co., Geopetro LLC and Pin Oak Energy Partners produced a total of 21 billion cubic feet of natural gas during the second quarter.

Wells in Mahoning and Trumbull counties produced a negligible amount of both oil and gas, data show. Trumbull County wells yielded 267 barrels of oil and 55 million cubic feet of gas, while wells in Mahoning County produced 970 barrels of oil and 117.8 million cubic feet of gas.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.