YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Hilcorp Energy Co. received two new permits for horizontal wells in Columbiana County, as that company continues to develop acreage in the northern Utica shale that it acquired more than a year ago in a lease assignment deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources awarded Hilcorp two permits to drill at the Nolker site in Fairfield Township, the agency reported. Last month, Hilcorp secured six permits to drill at the McNicol farm in Fairfield Township, which is part of the Brinker Storage Field.

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Range Resources says it believes the company’s Utica/Point Pleasant well in Washington County, has achieved the highest initial production rate of any horizontal well drilled in the Appalachian Basin. The company made the announcement at the same time it released a 2015 capital spending budget of $1.3 billion -- a decrease of 18% from its 2014 budget.