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Area Wells Lag Results from Others in Utica
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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Third-quarter oil and gas production among major drillers exploring in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties lagged far behind the other parts of eastern Ohio’s Utica shale, according to a new report from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The report, released Dec. 31, shows that most production in the Utica is concentrated in the southern tier of the play. Those wells drilled in the more northerly areas still await being placed into production, or are producing at rates well below their southern counterparts. To see the top wells in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, CLICK HERE to download PDF graphic.
“When you look at the south, you have more infrastructure built,” says Shawn Bennett, spokesman for Energy In Depth, an oil and gas advocacy group based in Columbus. “That’s why you see more attention there.”
The report released production numbers for the quarter ended Sept. 30 from 245 producing wells drilled by 17 energy companies in the Utica.
The ODNR survey is the first quarterly report issued. Previously, the state mandated that energy companies provide production data on an annual basis.
Five wells in Mahoning County were included in ODNR’s report while just one well reported results in Trumbull County. Twenty wells in Columbiana County were included, many of them shut in because they lack pipeline infrastructure.
Chesapeake Energy’s troubled Geatches well in Mahoning County’s Milton Township, one of the first drilled here in 2011, was never placed into production and therefore didn’t pump oil or gas during the quarter.
Meanwhile, CNX Gas Corp.’s three wells in Mahoning County have yet to demonstrate measurable production numbers, the report shows. The company’s Mahn 7A well on the Cadle farm in Jackson Township reported 440 barrels of oil and no gas during three days of production, while its 7C well at the site produced 2,122 barrels of oil and no natural gas in eight days of production.
CNX’s Mahn2 well in Ellsworth Township also registered empty and reported no numbers because that well awaits pipeline access.
The most productive of the five wells in Mahoning County to date is Hilcorp Energy Co.’s Carbon Limestone well in Poland Township. Over 92 days, the well produced 32 barrels of oil and 340,490 per thousand cubic feet, or mcf, of natural gas.
That well is hooked into a pipeline as part of the initial phase of the Hickory Bend infrastructure project, under development by Pennant Midstream LLC. A large processing center in Springfield Township is nearing completion.
Just one company – BP America – reported results in Trumbull County for a single well, ODNR’s report shows. BP’s Lennington 1H well in Johnston Township recorded 604 barrels of oil and 3,969 mcf of natural gas during 10 days of production. BP has drilled four others in the northern portion of the county.
Oil and gas production in portions of Columbiana County is much stronger but many wells could not report results for want of infrastructure there.
The most productive oil well in the county is Chesapeake’s Ayrview Acres 5H in West Township, which turned out 4,822 barrels of oil and 33,697 mcf of natural gas over 83 days.
Eight of the 20 wells listed in the report provided no data on production, most likely because of pipeline constraints.
By comparison, Columbiana County’s most productive natural gas well is Hilcorp’s Salem-Grubbs 1H in Salem Township, the report shows. While the well produced just 5 gallons of oil, it released 372,000 mcf of gas over 87 days.
A more balanced and robust production picture emerges from wells drilled in the southern counties of the Utica play, according to the ODNR data.
The top oil producer in the Utica is Gulfport Energy Corp.’s Boy Scout well in Harrison County, the report shows. Over a 70-day period, the well produced 41,617 barrels of oil and 135,524 mcf of natural gas.
In comparison, the best oil producer in the three-county region – Columbiana County’s Ayrview Acres 5H – yielded just 4,822 barrels of oil and 33,697 mcf of gas in 83 days of production.
As for natural gas production, Gulfport’s Stutzman 1-14H well in Belmont County yielded 1,249,739 mcf over 89 days, but produced an anemic 22 barrels of oil. The best gas producer in the Mahoning Valley is Hilcorp’s Salem-Grubbs 1H well in Salem Township.
Oklahoma City-based Gulfport and Antero Resources of Denver have consistently drilled some of the best wells in the Utica. Gulfport has 24 wells in production in Harrison, Guernsey and Belmont counties, which together produced 6,431,070 mcf during the quarter. These wells also produced 194,311 barrels of oil.
Antero also has hit pay dirt in Monroe and Noble counties, the report shows.
The company’s 11 wells produced a total of 4,177,754 mcf of natural gas for the quarter and 80,240 barrels of oil, according to data.
Chesapeake reported the most wells in production with 163, most of which are in Carroll County. Those wells turned out a total of 19,401,220 mcf of gas and 829,607 barrels of oil.
This year, Bennett says, many of the southern wells will be moving heavily into production because 2013 witnessed a large-scale buildup of pipelines and infrastructure in Carroll, Harrison, Noble and Belmont counties. “They’ve done the test wells, they’ve got results, and they’ll be developing this.”
The Utica play is still being assessed in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull, Bennett says. “I think you’ll see more exploration in the northern portion, in Trumbull and Mahoning County, and once those results start coming back in, then you’re going to see more of a build-out of the infrastructure to bring those wells online.”
“Overall, these a very promising numbers that came out in the report,” Bennett adds. “We have some great natural gas wells and some other wells that are producing decent amounts of oil.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story appears in the January edition of The Business Journal, in subscribers' mailboxes this week.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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