Shale Permit Activity on the Rise in Columbiana County

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Houston-based Hilcorp Energy Co. has received a dozen permits to drill new horizontal wells in the Utica-Point Pleasant formation in Columbiana County, records show.

The 12 permits, issued on Nov. 1, are for new wells at the Scheel pad in Elk Run Township, according to the latest data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Hilcorp has been awarded 37 permits to drill new wells in the Point Pleasant formation so far this year in Columbiana County, according to ODNR. It has also received seven permits to deepen existing wells in the county.

Overall oil and gas production from shale formations is on the rise across the country, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

According to EIA’s Drilling Productivity Report dated Oct. 17, oil production is projected to increase by 104,000 barrels per day to 9.105 million barrels in November across the country’s seven shale formations.  Natural gas production is also expected to jump by 554 million cubic feet per day to 95.085 billion cubic feet per day.

In Appalachia, which includes the Utica/Point Pleasant in eastern Ohio and the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, oil production is expected to increase by 2,000 barrels per day to 122,000 barrels daily.

Natural gas production is also on the rise, EIA data show. In November, natural gas wells in Appalachia are expected to increase output by 89 million cubic feet per day to 35.666 billion cubic feet per day, the agency reported.

The Appalachian region continues to be the largest natural gas-producing shale play in the country.

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