Six Permits Awarded in Ohio’s Utica Shale

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued six permits for horizontal wells to energy companies drilling for oil and gas in eastern Ohio’s Utica shale last week, the agency reports.

Permits were awarded to XTO Energy Inc., a division of Exxon Mobil, to drill four new wells in Belmont County for the week ended March 31, ODNR said. Chesapeake Exploration LLC secured two new permits for wells in Harrison County.

The rig count in the Utica rose last week to 23 from 19 the previous week, according to ODNR.

As of March 31, ODNR had issued 2,799 permits for horizontal wells in the Utica, 2,314 of which are drilled and 1,871 of which are in production.

No permits were issued in the northern Utica, which encompasses Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull counties. Nor were there new permits issued for neighboring Lawrence and Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.