Marcellus and Utica shale update: Monroe and Noble counties lead pack

SALEM, Ohio — Drilling and plans for oil and gas wells appear to be picking up in Monroe County.

Monroe County

In October, five Utica shale permits were issued and 10 Marcellus shale permits were issued in Monroe County, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Three Utica shale permits were issued in Bethel Township to Hall Drilling. Two permits were issued in Seneca Township to Antero Resources.

In Ohio Township, six Marcellus shale permits were issued to Statoil USA Onshore Properties Inc.

In Lee Township, four Marcellus shale permits were issued to Triad Hunter LLC.

Noble County

Seven new well permits were approved by the ODNR last month in Noble County.
Three permits were issued for drilling in Center Township and three were issued in Marion Township. All six were issued to Antero Resources.

A single permit was issued in Brookfield Township to Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC.

Carroll County

Six permits were also issued in Carroll County. Three were issued in Lee Township, two in Fox Township and one in Perry Township. All of them were issued to Chesapeake Exploration.

Belmont County

The hunt for successful producing wells also appears to be moving in Belmont County. There were four permits issued during October.

Two were issued in Smith Township to Rice Drilling and two in Somerset Township to Gulfport Energy.

Guernsey County

Five drilling permits were issued in Guernsey County. Four permits were issued in Oxford Township to Chesapeake Exploration and one was issued in Spencer Township to EQT Production.

Other counties

Two permits were issued in Jackson Township to Halcon Operations for drilling in Mahoning County.

In Trumbull County, there were three permits issued. All of them were issued in Lordstown Township to Halcon Operations.

There were single permits issued in Washington and Columbiana counties. PDC Energy received a permit for a site in Waterford Township, Washington County, and in Columbiana County, Chesapeake Exploration received a permit for a Hanover Township site.

In Muskingum County, one permit was issued in Meigs Township to Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC.

State totals

According to the ODNR, there are 35 Marcellus shale permits and 953 permits for drilling in Utica shale. To date, 18 horizontal Marcellus shale and 597 Utica shale wells have been drilled.

There are two Marcellus shale rigs and 34 Utica shale drilling rigs currently working in Ohio.

Plugged wells

Three Utica shale wells have been plugged so far in Ohio, according to the ODNR. One was drilled and plugged in Clear Creek Township in Ashland County; a single well in Morgan Township in Knox County and one in Harrisville Township in Medina County, were also plugged.

Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, there were a total of 212 gas wells drilled, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. A total of 118 gas wells drilled were shale wells.

Lycoming County in northeast Pennsylvania was the hot spot, with a total of 26 drilled, according to the DEP.

There were 13 drilled in Washington County, and 12 in Susquehanna County, where a sweet spot in the Marcellus shale has reportedly been found by Chesapeake Exploration.

Ten wells were drilled in Butler County and seven in Greene County.

The companies drilling in Pennsylvania included: Range Resources Appalachia, LLC with 14 wells; Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC with 12; Chesapeake Appalachia LLC. with 11; and nine were drilled by XTO Energy, Inc.

Pennsylvania permits

Washington County led the state of Pennsylvania with the most permits issued for drilling. The Pennsylvania DEP issued 46 permits in Washington County alone.

The DEP issued 29 permits in Susquehanna County; 26 in Lycoming; 24 in Bradford; 13 in Butler; 10 in Greene; nine in Armstrong; and three in Beaver.

West Virginia

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection issued permits for drilling in the shale in Tyler, Wetzel, Marshall and Ohio counties.

In Marshall County, permits were issued for drilling in the Utica and Marcellus shale layers.

The DEP issued permits to Gastar Exploration USA, Inc. and Chevron Appalachia, LLC. for drilling in the Marcellus shale. One permit was issued to Gastar Exploration USA, Inc. and two permits were issued to Chevron Appalachia, LLC.

A separate permit was issued to Chevron Appalachia, LLC. for a Utica shale well. It will be on the same property as the Marcellus shale well. The property is owned by Williams Ohio Valley Midstream, LLC.

In Ohio County, one permit as issued to Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC for a well to be drilled on a farm there.

The Stone Energy Corporation received three permits to drill Marcellus shale wells in Wetzel County.

In Tyler County, EQT Production Company and Stone Energy Corporation received permits to drill Marcellus shale wells there.