Seven New Drilling Permits Issued in Utica

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Just seven permits for new horizontal wells targeting the Utica shale were approved by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources during the week ended Dec. 26, the agency reports.

All of the permits were issued in counties in the southern tier of the Utica play.

Statoil USA received four new permits to drill in Monroe County, Rice Drilling LLC was issued two permits for wells in Belmont County, and PDC Energy Inc. secured a single permit for a well in Guernsey County.

ODNR reports there were 15 rigs operating in the Utica during the week, compared to 14 in action a week earlier. To date, 2,113 permits have been issued in Ohio’s Utica, 1,665 wells are drilled, and 1,120 of these wells are in production.

No new permits were issued in the northern tier of the Utica, which includes Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in Ohio, or in neighboring Lawrence and Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.