Wednesday, September 24, 2014YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Oil and gas exploration in Columbiana County is gaining renewed momentum in the wake of positive production results from this area of the Utica shale.
Two weeks after the Ohio Department of Natural Resources released second quarter production numbers that showed favorable output from wells in Columbiana County, two energy companies appear to be stepping up interest there.
Atlas Noble LLC was awarded new permits to drill four horizontal wells at the Firestone Homestead pad in Fairfield Township, according to ODNR's weekly update on new permits filed. The permits were approved Sept. 10.
Also, Hilcorp Energy Co., the most active driller in the northern tier of the Utica shale in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, has applied to ODNR for three additional permits at its Grubbs well pad in Salem Township, records show. Those permits have yet to be approved.
During the second quarter, the Grubbs 1H well produced 119.8 million cubic feet of natural gas, according to ODNR records. Other wells in the county fared much better, including Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s Dye well, which produced an impressive 526.4 million cubic feet of gas over the quarter.
Chesapeake's Tritten well in Center Township also performed well, producing 426.9 million cubic feet of gas during the second quarter.
Hilcorp has also increased its interest in the northern tier of the Utica, especially in western Pennsylvania, according to the latest permits issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
In September, Hilcorp was granted 18 new horizontal well permits for sites in Lawrence and Mercer counties, DEP records show.
Seven of these permits were approved for Lawrence County, five for the Chrastina pad in Pulaski Township and two for the Ambrosia property in Mahoning Township.
Hilcorp still appears to be bullish on Mercer County, where wells have generally experienced much weaker results than those in Lawrence or Columbiana counties. According to DEP production records, the four wells reporting results in Mercer County produced just 277.3 million cubic feet of gas combined for the first half of 2014.
But those numbers haven't deterred Hilcorp. The Houston-based company secured 11 permits this month for new wells in Mercer County, records show. Two of the wells are in Jefferson Township at the Zigo farm, while nine others are slated for the James well pad in Lackawannock Township.
A single well now in production at the James farm proved to be the best performing well in Mercer County during the first six months of 2014, DEP reported. That well produced 179.3 million cubic feet of natural gas during the period.
No new permits were issued for either Mahoning or Trumbull counties in Ohio, ODNR reported.
Twenty-three new Utica permits were issued during the week ended Sept. 20, according to ODNR records, the majority of which were in the southern tier of the Utica, where well results have been strong.
In addition to the four Columbiana County wells, ODNR issued four permits to Chesapeake for wells in Carroll County.
Two other well permits were awarded to American Energy LLC for wells in Belmont County, ODNR said.
American Energy, formed by former Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon, has signed a definitive agreement with MarkWest Utica EMG LLC and Ohio Gathering Co. LLC that would provide American Energy with processing and fractionation services for the gas it produces in the Utica.
American Energy has 60,000 dedicated acres in the rich-gas and condensate windows in the Utica. Ohio Gathering would provide natural gas gathering and compression services for all of American Energy's gas in the area.
MarkWest EMG will provide processing services at its plant in Cadiz, Ohio in Harrison County and at its Seneca complex in Noble County. MarkWest will also fractionate natural-gas liquids at its Hopedale fractionation operation.
ODNR also approved six permits to Eclipse Resources for three wells apiece in Harrison and Guernsey counties, four to Gulfport Energy Corp. for wells in Monroe County, two to Rice Drilling for wells in Belmont County and one to Antero Resources for a well in Noble County.
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Shale Gas Royalties Flowing in Columbiana County
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