Rig Count Drops to 10 in Ohio’s Utica Shale

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The rig count in eastern Ohio’s Utica shale dropped during the week ended June 25, signaling a continued reduction in drilling activity in the face of weak oil and gas prices, according to the latest data provided by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

ODNR reports 10 rigs operated in the Utica during the week, one fewer than the previous week.

Meanwhile, ODNR reported just two new drilling permits were issued during the week, both of them in the southern tier of the play.

Chesapeake Exploration LLC, a division of Chesapeake Energy, was awarded a single permit to drill a new horizontal well in Carroll County in East Township. ODNR issued a second permit to Ascent Resources Utica LLC for a new well in Jefferson County, Mount Pleasant Township.

To date, 2,185 permits for wells have been issued throughout the Utica in Ohio, ODNR reports. Of that number, 1,751 are drilled and 1,328 are in production, the agency said.

No new permits were issued for Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties. Nor were any Utica permits issued last week in neighboring Lawrence and Mercer counties, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

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