Rig Count Drops to 16 in Ohio’s Utica

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The rig count across the Utica shale oil and gas play in eastern Ohio dropped to 16 during the week ended Oct. 22, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The rig count stood at 17 the previous week.

ODNR approved nine permits for the week. Eight permits were awarded to Rice Drilling LLC for horizontal wells in Belmont County, while a single permit was issued to Ascent Resources, also for a well in Belmont.

There were no new permits in the northern tier of the Utica during the week, according to ODNR. There were no new permits issued in the western Pennsylvania counties of Lawrence and Mercer, which border Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in Ohio.

Through Oct. 22, ODNR has issued 2,277 permits in the Utica, of which 1,834 are drilled and 1,414 are in production.

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