SALEM, Ohio — Utica and Marcellus shale well drilling permits continue to inch higher, and more drilled wells are in production — small, but sure, signs the oil and gas industry remains viable in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued 179 horizontal drilling-related permits between Nov. 1 and Dec. 16, 2016.
In western Pennsylvania, 42 permits were issued in Washington County, double the number of permits issued there in October and also September. Range Resources received 26 permits; EQT Production, 13; Antero Resources, two; and Rice Drilling received one.
Range received three permits for the Sheller well site in West Finley Township; seven permits for new wells on the Munce unit in South Strabane Township; three permits for the Harmon Creek C well in Smith Township; three permits for the Harmon Creek B well in Hanover Township; three permits for the Harris wells in East Finley Township; and seven permits for drilling on the Robert Jones wells in Donegal Township.
EQT Production received three permits for the Harbison well site in Nottingham Township; one permit for the Kevech well site in Fallowfield Township; three permits for the R. Smith wells in Carroll Township; two permits for the Haywood wells in Carroll Township; three permits for the Cogar wells in Amwell Township; and one for the Gallagher well in Amwell Township.
The Rice permit was a renewal of a permit for the Iron Man 6H well in North Bethlehem Township, and the Antero permits were for wells on the Hill unit in West Pike Run Township.
Greene County. In Greene County, drilling operators received 18 new permits since Nov. 1. Rice Drilling received 11 of those permits, five for wells on the John Briggs farm in Aleppo Township; four for the Great Tiger well site, also in Aleppo Township; and two on the Dennis Cholak site in Richhill township.
EQT Production received four permits, two for sites in Center Township (Huffman and Carpenter) and one permit in Franklin Township (Strope) and another in Morgan Township (Nicoloff). CNX Gas Co. received three new permits for sites on the Consol property in Greene County’s Center Township.
Other western Pa. counties
There were 12 permits issued since Nov. 1 in Allegheny County, all to EQT Production Co. for well sites on the Rostosky farm in Forward Township.
In Armstrong County, Snyder Bros. Inc. received two permits for new wells in East Franklin Township, and PennEnergy Resources LLC received two permits (one new and one renewal) for sites in West Franklin Township.
PennEnergy Resources also received 10 permits — six new and four renewals — in Beaver County. Eight were for sites in New Sewickley township; one new permit was granted in Economy Boro, and one was renewed in Marion Township.
There were four permits issued in Westmoreland County since Nov. 1, including two new permits to Apex Energy for new drilling on the Faulk well site in Salem Township. WPX Energy Appalachia received a new permit and a renewed permit for drilling on the Duralia and Skacel sites in Derry Township.
The DEP issued three permits in Butler County since Nov. 1, one modified permit and one new permit to R.E. Gas Development (Rex Energy), both in Oakland Township, and one new permit in Jefferson Township to PennEnergy Resources.
EQT Production received one new permit to drill in Toby Township in Clarion County.
In Bradford County, the site in northcentral Pennsylvania where the Marcellus Shale boom originated, there were 11 new permits issued, primarily in Columbia Township.
Since Jan. 1, 2016, the DEP has issued 1,247 permits across the state for horizontal wells.
Ohio permits
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources granted 35 Utica/Point Pleasant Shale well drilling permits in November and another eight so far in December.
Columbiana County was back in action with 11 permits, all issued to HilCorp Energy Company and for sites and legs on the Unkefer farm in Fairfield Township.
The ODNR issued 14 permits in Monroe County in November. Antero Resources Corporation received six permits in Malaga Township, three for the Caddis units and three for the Streamer wells.
Statoil USA Onshore Properties received two permits in Monroe County’s Salem Township for the Pfalzgraf wells, and EM Energy Ohio LLC received a permit for the Nick Nack well in Perry Township.
Eclipse Resources also received two permits for the Moser wells in Salem Township, and the CNX Gas Company received a permit for drilling at the Francis and April Kinzy well site in Switzerland Township, and commenced drilling. Gulfport Energy Corporation received two permits for the Potter sites in Monroe County’s Center Township.
Belmont County sites received six drilling permits in November. Gulfport Energy Corporation received five for drilling at the John well sites in Somerset Township. Ascent Resources Utica LLC received a single permit in Belmont County, for the Seabright Clr Bl 2H-A well in Colerain Township.
Ascent Resources also received four permits for drilling at the Troyer well in Guernsey County’s Londonderry Township.
December permits
In December, the ODNR issued eight drilling permits, as of Dec. 10, in the Utica shale.
Three permits were issued in Monroe County to Antero Resources Corporation, all for sites in Seneca Township on the E.T. Rubel unit. All three wells are now producing. Another permit was issued in Monroe County to Statoil USA Onshore Properties, for the Pfalzgraf N U4H site in Salem Township.
XTO Energy received one permit for a well in Belmont County’s Richland Township, the Kurth Unit D 5H.
Antero Resources also received three drilling permits in Noble County’s Seneca Township. Two are for the Iles Units, 1H and 2H, and a third at the Walsh East Unit 3H. Drilling is underway at all three.
There are now 1,472 wells producing in Ohio’s Utica and Point Pleasant shales, and another 250 drilled but not in production.
Carroll County still leads the Buckeye State with 430 producing wells, but 38 wells have gone online in Belmont County since early November. Belmont County now has 240 producing wells.
Harrison County now has 278 producing wells, up three from early November. Nine new wells started producing in Guernsey County, pushing the total there to 127 producing wells.
As of Dec. 10, there was only one permit issued in Ohio’s Marcellus shale in November and December 2016, to XTO Energy Inc. for a site in Belmont County’s Washington Township on the Boan/Marcum 2-1 well site.
West Virginia
In Marshall County, located in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle, the only permit issued since Nov. 1 was to SWN Production Company, which received a permit to drill on the Gladys Briggs well site.
In Wetzel County, EQT Production Co. received five new drilling permits for sites on land owned by the Coastal Timberland Company. In Tyler County, Jay-Bee Oil & Gas Inc. received a new permit for a well site on the Arthur and Lois Bloom property.
Jay-Bee Oil and Gas also received a new permit in November for a well site on Morgan Valley Farms in Pleasants County.
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