Wednesday, September 10, 2014YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Hilcorp Energy Co.'s Carbon Limestone Landfill wells in Poland Township are showing muscle after just 22 days of production, according to reports released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Four of the six horizontal wells now in production at the Poland site's CLL2 well pad each produced more than 100 million cubic feet of natural gas over 22 days from the Utica/Point Pleasant shale formations during the second quarter of 2014, ODNR reports.
The best performing gas well at the site is the CLL2 3H well, which produced 134.9 million cubic feet of gas during the period, records show. The well is also the most productive well in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
A seventh well drilled at the Poland landfill's CLL1 pad elicited 98 million cubic feet of gas in 87 days, the report shows.
Drilling temporarily was halted at the Carbon Limestone location in March after a 3.0 magnitude earthquake in the area was linked to a hydraulic fracturing operation at the site. Hilcorp has since stepped up permit and drilling activity across the state line in western Pennsylvania to prospect oil and gas from that part of the Utica.
Hilcorp reported results for eight wells during the period, seven of which are at the Poland site in Mahoning County. The eighth well is the Salem-Grubbs well in Salem Township in Columbiana County. That well recorded 119.8 million cubic feet of natural gas production over the entire quarter.
None of the Hilcorp wells reported any oil production. Natural gas production includes both dry gas and natural gas liquids, since ODNR does not require companies to report those production results separately.
While Hilcorp's returns are solid, wells in the southeastern part of the state in Monroe, Belmont and Noble counties have produced stunning results.
Hall Drilling LLC's Hercher North well in Monroe County, for example, produced 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas over 91 days, the most productive natural gas well in the Utica. Meantime, Antero Resources' Myron well in Noble County produced the most oil of any well in the Utica with 78,309 barrels over 91 days of production.
Horizontal wells exploring Ohio's Utica shale together produced 88.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 2.467 million barrels of oil during the quarter ended June 30, a 32% increase from the first quarter, ODNR reported.
Ohio's Utica wells each produced an average of 175.9 million cubic feet of natural gas and 4,895 barrels of oil during the second quarter over an average of 67 days, ODNR reported.
While many of the big production numbers hail from wells drilled in the southeast -- dubbed the Utica's "sweet spot" -- results from wells drilled in Columbiana County rival some of those producing in the most lucrative areas of the play, records show.
Chesapeake Exploration LLC, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corp., reported results for 30 wells it has drilled in Columbiana County.
The Dye 10H well in Center Township proved to be the most productive gas well in the county, according to ODNR's report. The well produced 526.4 million cubic feet of natural gas during the quarter. Another impressive Chesapeake well, the Andrulis 8H well in Center Township, produced 508.4 million cubic feet of gas over 87 days.
And, the Tritten well in Center Township, the subject of Gloria Tritten's "Field of View" column in The Business Journal, produced the third-best production results in the county with 426.9 million cubic feet of gas produced over 84 days.
CNX Gas, a subsidiary of Consol Energy, has drilled three wells in Mahoning County -- one in Ellsworth Township and two in Jackson Township -- but did not include production numbers for the second quarter, since the wells are awaiting pipeline connections.
In Trumbull County, most energy companies have met with disappointing production results, causing them to pull out of this portion of the Utica play.
Halcon Resources Kibler 2-3H well in Lordstown yielded the most natural gas compared to any other well in Trumbull County with 101.3 million cubic feet of gas during the entire quarter. A second well at the Kibler pad produced 71.1 million cubic feet of gas.
Halcon's other wells aren't as productive, according to the ODNR report. Two wells in Jackson Township in Mahoning County, the Davidson and Grenamyer wells, produced 24.3 million and 64.6 million cubic feet of gas respectfully during the quarter. The Grenamyer well also produced 5,451 barrels of oil during the quarter, the most of any well in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
Halcon's Avalon 1H well in Vienna Township produced 42.1 million cubic feet of gas over 76 days, while its Brugler 1H well in Hartford yielded just 10.2 million cubic feet.
Halcon announced in April that it would suspend drilling operations in the northern tier of the Utica, citing poor well results.
BP America, another energy giant that zeroed in on Trumbull County, similarly announced earlier this year that it would abandon the Utica's northern tier. According to the latest production reports, four wells BP drilled in Trumbull County collectively yielded just 106.3 million cubic feet of gas -- less gas than a single Hilcorp well produced in Poland Township.
Related:
2Q Production of Oil, Natural Gas Soars in Ohio
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