Utica Production Up 25% in Fourth Quarter

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Production from horizontal wells in eastern Ohio’s Utica shale increased 25% during the fourth quarter of 2014 from the previous quarter, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The data show that Hilcorp Energy Co.’s wells at its two Carbon Limestone Landfill pads in Poland Township remain in steady production.

Hilcorp has drilled and has seven wells in production at the site. The most productive of these wells was the Poland CLL2 6H well, which produced 277.4 million cubic feet of gas over 92 days. Three other wells at the location that produced more than 200 million cubic feet of gas were Hilcorp’s CLL 3H well with 243.2 million cubic feet of gas, the CLL2 2H with 243.2 million cubic feet, and the CLL2 5H well with 268.6 million cubic feet.

No oil was produced from the wells.

Halcon Operating Co.’s two Mahoning County wells fared worse during the fourth quarter, ODNR said. The Davidson well in Jackson Township produced just 19.5 million cubic feet of gas and 300 barrels of oil over 89 days, and the Grenamyer well yielded 41.2 million cubic feet of gas and 1,982 barrels of oil over the period.

CNX Gas, a subsidiary of Consol Energy Inc., reported one well in production in Mahoning County, the Hendricks well in Ellsworth Township, which produced 2,724 barrels of oil during and 26.2 million cubic feet of gas over 75 days.

The most productive wells in the northern tier of the Utica shale are in Columbiana County, where Chesapeake Energy Corp. has established a large leasehold position in the southern portion of the county.

Chesapeake reports it has 49 wells in production across the Columbiana County, according to ODNR data.

The best-producing well in the county, and thus the Utica’s northern tier, was the Briceland Trust 8H well in Franklin Township, which yielded 539.5 million cubic feet of natural gas over 90 days. The company’s Judy Brown 6H well in Hanover Township was the second-best producing well with 425.7 million cubic feet of gas produced.

The Tritten well in Center Township proved the third-best and produced 345.9 million cubic feet of natural gas during the quarter, records show.

Columbiana County’s largest oil producer was the Altenhof 3H well, which produced 12,543 barrels during the quarter.

Wells in Trumbull County proved far less productive during the quarter, results show.

Halcon Resources Corp.’s Kibler well in Lordstown Township proved the most productive with 65.9 million cubic feet of gas and 1,862 barrels of oil, while another well at the pad yielded 48.3 million cubic feet and 1,454 barrels of oil.

Ohio’s shale wells combined produced 3.5 million barrels of oil and 164 billion cubic feet of natural gas during the quarter, ODNR reported. Oil increased by 545,000 barrels of oil and gas by 33 billion cubic feet compared to the third quarter of 2014.

Over the last two years, Ohio has experienced a 200% increase in oil production and a 350% increase in natural gas production.

ODNR’s latest report lists 828 wells, of which 779 reported production. Forty-seven wells did not report production because they are awaiting pipeline infrastructure.

The best producing gas well in the Utica was Eclipse Resource’s Shroyer 2H well in Monroe County with 1.89 billion cubic feet of gas produced over the quarter.

American Energy Utica ‘s Shugart Daddy 3H well in Guernsey County was the state’s largest oil producer with 56,496 barrels of oil produced during the quarter, ODNR said.

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