Utica Rig Count Edges Upward

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The rig count in eastern Ohio’s Utica shale edged upward during the week ended Dec. 31 compared with the previous week, according to the latest update from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

ODNR reports there were 23 rigs in operation across the Ohio portion of the Utica last week, while 22 were active during the week ended Dec. 24.

Rig counts have increased slightly in the Utica since oil prices started to climb several weeks ago.

Five permits for new horizontal wells were issued last week, ODNR said, all of them to Eclipse Resources LLC, based in State College, Pa. Eclipse received permits to drill in the southern tier of the Utica, four of them in Guernsey County and a single permit for Monroe County, according to ODNR records.

As of Dec. 31, 2,342 permits for horizontal wells have been issued in the Utica and 1,882 are drilled. Of those wells, 1,472 are in production.

There were no new permits issued in the northern tier of Ohio’s Utica play, which includes Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Nor were there new permits issued in the northwestern Pennsylvania section of the Utica, specifically neighboring Lawrence and Mercer counties.

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