ODNR Issues 14 Permits for Utica Wells
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued 14 new horizontal permits for oil and gas exploration in eastern Ohio's Utica shale for the week ended Oct. 11, the agency reports.
All of the wells permitted are located in what is considered the central and southern tiers of the oil and gas play, first developed by energy companies in 2010.
PDC Energy, based in Bridgeport, W. Va., was awarded seven new permits for wells in Noble County, ODNR reported, while Denver-based Antero Resources secured three more in the county.
ODNR said it issued two permits for RE Gas Development -- a division of Rex Energy, based in State College, Pa. -- for new wells in Carroll County. Pittsburgh-based CNX Gas, a division of Consol Energy, secured a single permit for a well in Monroe County, and Chesapeake Corp. of Oklahoma City was issued a single permit to drill in Harrison County.
Since 2010, the agency has issued 1,548 horizontal well permits in the Utica, and 1,111 of those wells are now drilled. The Utica boasts 601 producing wells.
No new permits were issued for wells in Mahoning, Columbiana or Trumbull counties during the week, ODNR reported.
The Utica was also quiet just across the state line in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP shows that no new permits were awarded to oil and gas companies in either Lawrence or Mercer counties for the week.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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