BP Files First Trumbull County Well Applications
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The first three applications for test wells related to BP Energy's oil and gas exploration in Trumbull County show that the energy giant is assessing an area just east of Mosquito Lake before its drilling program begins in April, according to state records.
Brammer Engineering, a gas-and oil-services company based in Shreveport, La., has submitted three applications for test wells in Gustavus, Johnston and Kinsman townships, says data submitted to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
BP spokesman Curtis Thomas reports that his company has contracted Brammer to work in its behalf in this area of the county.
"BP has contracted with Brammer Engineering to drill five wells as part of BP's appraisal program," Thomas said in an email. "The core samples provided will help tell us how promising the area is."
The new wells, he continued, are intended to give BP a snapshot of the geology in the region and provide important data as the company prepares to begin drilling operations this spring.
"All work will be complete and the information collected before we start our drilling program in April," Thomas added.
Brammer Engineering provides engineering, operational, land, regulatory, accounting, and health, safety and environmental services to oil and gas companies in the upper and lower Gulf Coast, the Mid-Continent and the Appalachian regions in the United States. The company also provides services to international clients.
Brammer applied for two wells in December that target the Utica formation, according to ODNR.
On Dec. 5, the company reported it wanted to drill a new well on the Roscoe farm just off Kinsman Road in Gustavus Township. Another well application, filed on Dec. 11, shows that BP wants to test a location just off county road 360 on the Miller property in Kinsman Township, according to ODNR records.
The third well permit, filed Jan. 2, is for a new drilling site in Johnston Township at the Lennington property off Stoddard-Hayes Road.
Last year BP acquired 84,000 acres in leasehold agreements in Trumbull County through a bulk deal with the Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley, or ALOV. Over the last months, the company has been engaged in due diligence to determine whether many of the leases signed are eligible for oil and gas development.
In December, BP reported it would drill as many as 10 wells in Trumbull County this year. The company has set up regional offices in the Youngstown Commerce Park in North Jackson, occupying a building that formerly housed FedEx.
Bruce Abbuhl, BP's Ohio program manager, told reporters during an open house there that the company selected particular sites because BP holds a significant amount of contiguous land in this area, especially just east of Mosquito Lake. This makes it easier to combine these leases into larger units that can accommodate a large horizontal drilling operation.
BP, he said, would likely invest "a couple of hundred million dollars" toward oil and gas exploration in the Utica this year.
The company is also in discussions with potential pipeline and midstream providers to help develop adequate infrastructure to gather and transport natural gas and natural-gas liquids.
Preliminary tests have already been performed in the area, such as 2-D seismic testing, which is used to determine the depths and slopes of the Utica formation.
Should the first test wells prove promising, BP said it would move forward with other oil and gas exploration opportunities throughout Trumbull County.
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