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Hilcorp Secures 7 Well Permits 2 Days After Quakes
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection awarded Hilcorp Energy Co. seven new permits for wells in Lawrence County two days after a series of earthquakes rumbled through the Mahoning Valley and the company was ordered to cease drilling at its nearby Carbon Limestone well pad just across the state line in Ohio.
On March 10, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources asked Hilcorp to suspend drilling operations at its Carbon Limestone Landfill site after earthquakes measuring 3.0 and 2.6 in magnitude occurred in portions of Lowellville, Poland and Boardman.
Two days later, March 12, the Pennsylvania DEP awarded Hilcorp seven new permits to drill horizontal wells in Pulaski Township on the Artman farm, about six miles northeast of the Carbon Limestone site, DEP records show.
Hilcorp has complied with ODNR's request and is cooperating with the state as it investigates what caused the earthquakes.
"There's a lot of data and a lot of information they're going through," reports ODNR spokesman Mark Bruce. He says the state is collecting information from the company and the five seismometers it has in placed within eight miles of the site in Poland.
"They're really homing in and analyzing the data," Bruce relates, who noted it's "premature" to offer any explanation related to what caused the tremors or the next steps the ODNR will take.
According to maps on the website of the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenters of the earthquakes were near where Hilcorp was hydraulically fracturing a well at one of its Carbon Limestone pads. The ODNR spokesman confirmed March 11 that a "stimulation operation" was underway at one of the Hilcorp wells when the quakes occurred March 10 (READ STORY). At that time, he said it was unknown whether frack fluid was being injected into the well at the precise time of the quakes.
The 3.0-magnitude quake was followed by three aftershocks that ranged from 2.1 to 2.6 on the Richter scale, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Eight other minor tremors were also recorded throughout the area before and after the March 10 quakes.
All of the epicenters were near the drilling site, according to USGS.
Hilcorp has seven wells at its two pads in Poland in various stages of development, one of which is in production. It has permits to drill 12 wells at the Carbon Limestone site.
The company and other energy firms are targeting the Utica shale rock formation that holds large deposits of natural gas.
In a statement issued last week, Hilcorp said that an unspecified number wells have been drilled in the Utica "without incident." The company emphasized it's "far too early in the process to know exactly what happened, and we are not aware of any evidence to connect our operation to these events."
The company added that all activity at the site would be suspended until "we determine it safe to continue our operations."
Activists opposed to the industry's use of hydraulic fracturing believe there is a direct connection between the earthquakes and the drill sites. In 2011, the Mahoning Valley was hit with a series of earthquakes later tied to the operation of an injection well in Youngstown.
However, there is no injection well at the Poland site, leaving some to suspect that hydraulic fracturing caused the quakes. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that pumps water, sand and a smattering of chemicals into a well under high pressure to break up shale formations and release the oil and gas they contain.
In Lawrence County, Pa., Hilcorp has drilled at least one other well at the Artman farm and two others in Pulaski Township, records show.
No new permits were issued for horizontal wells in Mercer County, according to the DEP.
Meantime, interest in oil and gas exploration in the southern portion of Ohio's Utica shale continued last week as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued 25 new horizontal permits.
All of the permits issued were either in or south of Carroll County where the majority of drilling is taking place.
Hess Ohio Development LLC secured the most permits with 11, all of them in Harrison County, ODNR reported. Gulfport Energy Corp., based in Oklahoma City, was awarded seven new permits in Belmont County, while Denver-based Antero Resources Corp. received four permits, two in Noble County and two in Monroe County, the agency said.
Chesapeake Exploration Corp. of Oklahoma City received three new horizontal well permits -- two in Carroll County and one in Jefferson County, ODNR reports.
Thirty-nine rigs were operating in the Utica as of that date, according to ODNR's website. Also as of March 15, the agency had issued 1,148 horizontal well permits, companies had drilled 770 wells, and 385 horizontal wells were producing in the Utica.
There were no new permits in Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties – the counties that represent the northern tier of the play in Ohio -- during the week ended March 15, records show.
In recent months, energy companies have shied away from drilling new wells in the northern tier, specifically Mahoning and Trumbull counties, and have concentrated on developing their holdings in southern Ohio.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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