Drilling Down
Chesapeake to 'Significantly' Increase Utica Production
Thursday, May 02, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Processing constraints might have curtailed Chesapeake Energy Corp's natural gas production in the Utica shale of eastern Ohio, but that's likely to change by the second half of this year, says its acting CEO.
"We've reduced cycle times there and our efficiencies are improving," Steve C. Dixon said Wednesday during a conference call to discuss his company's first-quarter earnings. "With the pace we're on, we'll meet those objectives and significantly grow production in the last half of this year."
Legislation Introduced to Ban Ohio Disposal Wells
Thursday, May 02, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Legislation introduced Wednesday in the Ohio General Assembly seeks to ban all new injection wells across the state that accept drilling wastewater, a prospect that one sponsor says is gaining some traction. "We're the dumping ground because our rules are so lax," said state Rep. Robert F. Hagan, D-Youngstown, who co-sponsored the bill along with Denise Driehaus, D-Cincinnati, in the House of Representatives.
A similar bill was introduced in the Senate by state Sen. Mike Skindell, D-Cleveland.
NiSource Exec: $300M Gas Project Could Grow to $1B
Wednesday, May 01, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A top executive at NiSource Midstream Services LLC says that the first well serving the $300 million Hickory Bend gas gathering and processing project should be in operation in the next few weeks as construction on the system's cryogenic plant in southern Mahoning County accelerates, as does the potential for expansion.
"We're developing an area that will allow for multiple plants to be sited," NiSource chief operating officer Chad Zamarin told The Business Journal Tuesday. "When we do come back and expand the location, it can be done at very little impact."
$65.5B Spent in 2011 to Drill 10,173 U.S. Shale Wells
Tuesday, April 30, 2013WASHINGTON -- An estimated $65.5 billion was invested to drill an estimated 10,173 U.S. shale oil and natural gas wells in 2011, according to a study, the “2011 Joint Association Survey on Drilling Costs,” released Monday by the American Petroleum Institute. The investment number represents an 87.6% increase in shale drilling expenditures from 2010 levels and more than half of an estimated $124.8 billion spent on all new wells drilled in 2011. The number of estimated shale wells drilled in 2011 is 43.8% more than in 2010.
Energy Job Fair Draws Applicants, Affirmations
Tuesday, April 30, 2013BOARDMAN, Ohio -- Shortly before the doors opened at 9 a.m. Monday, a hundred people had formed a long line as they awaited entrance into the Holiday Inn-Boardman. By mid-morning, the number of job-seekers had grown to 800, all looking for opportunities in the oil and gas industry as the Mahoning Valley Energy Jobs Fair swung into full gear.
"I have a company that wants to interview me next week," says Kendrick Ertley, who will graduate in two weeks from the University of Akron with a degree in mapping. "I'm looking for a GIS position."