Region’s Shale Gas, Oil Production Expected to Increase

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Oil and natural gas produced from the Utica/Point Pleasant and Marcellus shale formations in eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are projected to increase next month, according to the latest data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The EIA’s most recent drilling productivity report shows that gas produced from the Utica/Point Pleasant and Marcellus – collectively termed Appalachia – is expected to increase by 80 million cubic feet per day in March.

In February, energy companies were producing an average of 35.018 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from well sites within the shale region, EIA reports. That number is expected to reach an average of 35.098 billion cubic feet per day next month.

Oil output is also expected to increase in March, EIA reported. Wells across Appalachia are projected to yield an average of 140,000 barrels per day in March, an increase of 3,000 additional barrels per day compared with February.

All seven shale plays across the United States reported an expected increase in natural gas production in March. These shale formations are projected to produce 96.591 billion cubic feet of gas per day in March, an increase of 426 million cubic feet per day from February.

The country’s shale formations should also yield an additional 75,000 barrels of oil per day in March compared with the previous month, EIA reports, for a total average of 9.357 million barrels per day.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.