Infrastructure Bottlenecks Slow Utica Shale Flow
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The lack of midstream infrastructure in the Utica shale in Ohio is drawing the attention of national news organizations as questions are raised as to whether the play will be as lucrative as first speculated.
While pipelines are being laid, gas processing plants are being built and lots of wells are being drilled, not much wet and dry gas is actually being pumped out of the ground and transmitted to processing facilities, the reports note.
Most recently, Hart Energy, a publisher that specializes in industry reports, studies and events, distributed an analysis Friday. “The problem in the core Utica is not reservoir potential; rather, development has gotten well ahead of takeaway and processing capacity,” reports Richard Mason. All wet gas pipelines are fully subscribed. Until additional pipelines are built, operators will endure infrastructure bottlenecks that keep significant production shut in.”
The article sites, in particular, Chesapeake Energy, which “has only connected 54 of its 254 completed Utica wells to sales and is producing less than half of its capacity on those wells because of infrastructure constraints.”
CLICK HERE to read “Growing Pains Beset the Utica Shale”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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