Utica Oil and Gas Production Soars During Third Quarter

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Natural gas and oil production across the Utica shale soared during the three months ended Sept. 30, according to the most recent data made available by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The bulk of production comes from wells located in the southern tier of the play, the so-called “sweet spot” of eastern Ohio’s Utica.

Oil and gas production, however, slowed slightly in the northern tier of the Utica, which includes Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties,Most  when compared to the previous quarter, according to records.

Seventy-four wells reported production in Columbiana County during the period, which together yielded 7.953 billion cubic feet of gas. In the second quarter, the county’s wells delivered 8.992 billion cubic feet of gas.

The most productive well in Columbiana County during the third quarter was Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s Paige 3H well in Franklin Township, which produced 727.584 million cubic feet of natural gas over 92 days.

Hilcorp Energy Co.’s seven wells in Poland Township in Mahoning County yielded just 336.760 million cubic feet of gas during the period, Northwood Energy Corp.’s three wells in Jackson and Ellsworth townships produced 39.77 million cubic feet, and Pin Oak Energy Partners’ two wells in Jackson Township yielded 23.794 million cubic feet of gas.

In Trumbull County, Pin Oak’s six wells together produced 90.891 million cubic feet of gas, while Enervest Operating Co.’s Lennington well in Johnston Township produced 10.468 million cubic feet.

Oil production throughout the three-county region was negligible, according to ODNR.

However, oil and gas production saw a sizeable overall increase across the play compared to the previous quarter and year-ago figures, ODNR data show.

During the third quarter, Ohio’s horizontal wells produced 605.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas. This is compared to 554.3 billion cubic feet produced during the previous quarter and 460.8 billion cubic feet produced during the third quarter of 2017.

Oil production also witnessed an impressive increase. During the third quarter of 2018, Utica wells pumped out 5.545 million barrels versus 4.888 million barrels during the previous quarter.

Production of natural gas during the third quarter jumped 31.4% compared to year ago figures, while oil output rose 31.8% versus the third quarter of 2017, according to ODNR.

ODNR lists 2,242 shale wells, of which 2,198 reported production during the third quarter.

The most productive gas well during the quarter was the Cermak NE 5H, owned by Ascent Resources. The well, located in Jefferson County, yielded 2.986 billion cubic feet of natural gas during a 92-day period.

Eclipse Resources’ Mercury B 5H well in Guernsey County produced the most oil during the period, according to ODNR. That well yielded 128,163 barrels of oil during the quarter, the state agency reported.

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