Utica/Marcellus Gas Production Expected to Increase in January

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Oil and gas production from the Utica and Marcellus shale formations is expected to increase in January, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The EIA’s Drilling Productivity Report shows that natural gas output stands to increase 78 million cubic feet per day by next month in the Appalachia region, which includes eastern Ohio’s Utica play and the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

This week, Hilcorp Energy Co. filed applications with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for permits to deepen three of its wells in Fairfield Township in Columbiana County.

So far this year, Hilcorp Energy Co. has been awarded 14 permits from ODNR to drill new wells in Columbiana County and one permit to deepen an existing well.

EAP Ohio has been awarded seven permits for new wells in the county, and five permits to deepen existing wells.

There were no new well permits issued in either Mahoning or Trumbull counties this year.

Oil in the Appalachia region is expected to tick upward by 1,000 barrels per day next month, according to EIA.

The agency reports that gas production is anticipated to increase in six of the seven shale plays across the country. 

The Permian Basin in Texas stands to post the greatest increase at 115 million cubic feet per day in January, while the Anadarko play in Oklahoma is projected to see production drop by 31 million cubic feet per day.

Overall natural gas production among the country’s seven shale plays is projected to grow by 341 million cubic feet per day to 89.3 billion cubic feet daily, the EIA reports.

Oil production across these shale regions is expected to increase by 96,000 barrels to 8.4 million barrels per day. The Permian play is anticipated to experience the largest single increase, boosting output by 71,000 barrels per day, according to EIA data.

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